His Name Is Josiah

We had our fifth baby at 3:30 this morning. We are thinking either Chubby Checkers or Shorty Britches for a name...just kidding. We will be praying today for a confirmation from God on the name. UPDATE 03/24/09: His Name is Josiah. My prayer for Josiah is that he will be a man of convictions and bravery, even at a young age. Josiah was the name of a King of Judah that was eight years old when he stepped onto the throne. It was prophesied of him before his birth that he would be used to judge and destroy the work of rebellion and idolatry in the very place that Israel celebrated their rebellion. Josiah was used as an instrument of restoration and purity in the Kingdom...a man of bravery and conviction. Jamie and I both feel very confident that Josiah will have a great calling and purpose in the Kingdom.

HE CRIED TWICE: He cried two times. The first time he cried was right after delivery. He settled down quickly. The second time he cried happened when Phoebe ran into the room grinning and pushing people out of the way like she owned the place. When she got to the bed, she climbed up and got all in his face thinking that she was being so sweet. As soon as he opened his eyes to take a peak at the sensory overdose that he was experiencing, he burst out screaming again.

THE KIDS ARE EXCITED: Right after the baby delivered I went in to see the girls. Phoebe was fast asleep, but labor had woke up Abbigail and Abbiyah...these two were in bed together smiling their heads off and asking what we had. They knew exactly what had happened. Forest didn't have a clue until Kari B woke him up to bring him down. Forest is extatic! He and I both wanted a baby boy soooo bad. Forest laughed and laughed and kept saying "He is so funny", "This is so awesome".

JAMIE A HEROIN FOR ALL GENERATIONS: Jamie worked very hard in labor. The baby had his fist up under his chin making for a stubborn delivery. Jamie was in hard labor for 4 hours 30 mins. She did great! Nobody could imagine how brave and committed Jamie is when it comes to delivering our babies. She moved from tub, to shower, to exercise ball, to bed, to birthing stool, to dancing with me, and back to the bed for delivery. Jamie worked hard for this baby from the beginning with aerobics (hillarious), strong diet, iron via nasty slimy green chloraphyll drink, and prayer. Jamie worked even harder to finish. Thanks to everyone for your prayers...we know without question that Jesus Christ spoke life into existence according to His plan and sustains this life through the word of His power.

THE DREAM TEAM: The mid-wives were great. I was glad to have had Michelle here to deliver the baby. She has been a part of all of the kids birth and has now delivered three of the five. Her assistant Kristen has many friends in common with us through relationships in the church. We heard a lot of great stories from Michelle between contractions...she is such a ham...we love her. Michelle is to childbirth what Kung Fu is to fighting. Even Michelle is reckoned a gift from God in our home. She has been a part of five births in our family without one single emergency in any of them. She coaches Jamie along in the process from the beginning. Michelle and Kristen both kind of made fun of me because I made a spreadsheet on the computer in our room, and was keeping track of time between contractions. They may have laughed when they saw me doing that, but I am certain that this proved to be invaluable!