The day my life changed.

As I sit here at the end of an exhausting day in the hospital looking at my wife, I can't help but be incredibly proud of her and what she has done.

This morning at about 2 AM, Erin woke me from my sleep and said, "I think we need to go." I was a little bit startled and a little bit pissed off, to be honest. I had been up watching some of my stories on my iPod, and time had gotten away from me. I went to bed too late, and then I stayed up too late watching some more of the fantastic show Heroes. I had been dozing for about 20 minutes when she woke from a sleep that seemed like hours without the added benefit.

I've always thought it was a cliché for the husband or partner to be running around like an idiot when his wife goes in to labor, but I have to confess that I was that idiot. I couldn't find my shoes, I couldn't find my keys, and the dog even pulled me down into the wet grass chasing after who knows what in the 2 AM darkness.

I don't know when we pulled out of the house, but I know we did it twice because on the first try I left her tennis balls (a cheap massage tool) at the house. After returning to get them, though, we were on our way to something that would transform our lives forever.

We got to the hospital around 3:30 AM or so, and after checking in through the ER with a very helpful nurse, we were hurried up to the L&D floor to be triaged for the night. Our nurse, a really great person who was incredible throughout the labor and delivery, did a few routine checks. She closed her exam with, "You're staying." Erin and I both knew what this meant, but there's no way we could know what the next few hours would be like. Any notions or ideas we may have had were about to be thrown out, and I was going to experience something that would likely eclipse any event I experience for the rest of my life.

Amelia Jane was born this morning at 10:25 AM weighing in at 7 lbs. 6 oz. and 20" in length.

Please keep her and her mommy in your thoughts and prayers. In a fit of exhaustion at this moment, the story of the day cannot be told. Thanks for your understanding.

God's peace.