This past Friday turned out to be a pretty awesome Valentine's Day.

First of all, it started out well.

Kyle always leaves me little post-it notes on my vanity mirror before he goes to work. 

Checking that note is one of my favorite things about waking up.

This morning, he had the beginnings of a little scavenger hunt for me! 

I ended up traveling around our house, finding notes and thoughtful little gifts 

that made me fall more in love with my husband than ever.

I am an extremely blessed woman. 

And I KNOW it.

Thank you, Lord, for my beloved.

And then, I somehow managed to be PRODUCTIVE! I gave the kids showers, I made them healthy pancakes for breakfast, we did school, I went to both Sam's and Kroger, there were naps...I mean, things happened!! And I can't always make that statement! I think I may have even cleaned the bathrooms!

And I had an evening with my family and Josh and Lauren and their family to look forward to - some time to catch up with them and relax together.

At 4:30, I got a call from Beth that made my day even MORE exciting. Beth and Michael were expecting baby number 2, due today, actually. And as I was Beth's doula at the birth of Aden, she and Michael had asked me to do the same at this birth. 

I was honored and excited. And a little nervous about how Wyeth would do without me. He has never taken bottles and despite Kyle and I attempting to give him one, he seems offended when we attempt it. He's strictly a momma's boy. I had plenty of milk pumped and ready, and we just figured we'd make it work. I really really wanted to be at this birth.

I asked my friend, Holly, who doulas quite frequently, how she managed to doula with a nursling. She said, "Take your pump, rely on your help (aka Kyle) and pray for swift births."

I began praying months ago that Beth would have a swift birth. 

That call at 4:30 was actually preceded by a text from Beth at 4:00 saying that I shouldn't get excited but that she'd been having contractions for about an hour. We chatted about things and then I told her to let me know if things changed. I gave Kyle a heads up.

So when she called at 4:30, it was to tell me her water had broken. I let Kyle know and he said, I'm coming home. We were thinking we'd have plenty of time, since Beth's contractions weren't that much.  He arrived, I started getting things together, and at 5:30, I got a call from Beth saying things were definitely getting more serious and they were heading to the hospital. I said, Cool, just pick me up on your way. 

On the way to the hospital, it became clear that things were moving along quickly. I had actually grabbed some towels in case things moved so quickly that we had a baby in the car. (we didn't).

At the hospital, while the nurses took their sweet time and thought about taking us to triage, I could read Beth pretty well and realized we were actually about minutes from delivery. The rapidity of her progression was exactly like what I experienced with Dorien and Wyeth's birth and I could see where things were moving.  I conveyed this sense of urgency to a passing nurse who quickly got us into a room, bypassing triage. Fortunately, this nurse was a like-minded, natural birth proponent who'd had home births herself, and she knew exactly what kind of birth we wanted. 

Michael and I encouraged and supported a very amazing Beth who delivered a 9 lb, 11 oz, 21 inches long baby boy at exactly 6:24 pm.  From water breaking to baby being born, less than 2 hours. Nice.

So I now have a new nephew and my kiddos have a new cousin- 

Benaiah Reed.

Named after the chief of David's mighty men of valor. A strong name for a mighty little man.

I could not be more honored to have been there with Beth in her moment of glory. Being present at a birth is to witness one of life's most sacred events, and it changes you, each time. 

And God was so good - Kyle never had to try to give Wyeth a bottle. He just came to the hospital, brought us all some pizza and I nursed Wyeth there. God most definitely answered my request for a swift birth.

Beth said maybe next time I should ask for something not QUITE so swift. 

It made for one heck of a Valentine's Day.