the.feeblefutts

I am sure many of you are well aware, but we have had an eventful past 24 hours.

In December, while we were on a family vacation with the Baumans we found out that Bethany was pregnant. It was sort of our last hoorah before we started our prevailing adventures in South Asia.

Of course this announcement brought a host of emotions, the greatest of which was excitement. We were obviously excited for the next chapter of Beth and Lar’s lives, excited that the Baumans would get to spoil a grandchild of their own without us having to be the guinea pigs, and excited that we would get to be an Aunt and Uncle for the second time.

But what harsh timing on part of our Father. The news also brought us to a point of reality. That reality is that we are missing life events as we travel in South Asia. And this reality makes us sad. We love our family and friends and don’t want to miss sharing life with them.

But thank goodness for technology. And thank goodness for friends like Brandi and Jeff Akin. When we found out about the pregnancy, we had a pipe dream of being Skyped in for the occasion. Unfortunately, the world of wireless has not been introduced to the conveniences found in hospitals. That’s why we are so thankful that the Akins provided their 3G card for our use on the day of Carson’s Bridge Class shower as well as his big arrival. Thanks.

The following is a log of the previous 24 hours of our lives. Note that this documentation is subject to Indian Standard Time. Also, if birthing and pregnancy terms make you squeamish, feel free to skim. Oh and if Emily Blackwell is reading this, don’t pay attention to the time column.

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2009

• 8:51AM - We receive a cell phone call from Beth and Lar.

• 8:52AM - We call them back using Skype so we can see them. Beth calmly tells us that her water broke. We were the first to know :)

• 8:58AM - The Bauman household receives the news while we were Skyping Brant.

• 9:54AM - Lar calls to let us know that they have settled into a hospital room.

• 10:30AM - We go for a run in an attempt to curb all of the emotions and excitement [we carry the cell just in case].

• 11:12AM - Mommy Bauman calls to let us know that Beth is already dilated to a ‘good’ 5cm and is about to receive her epidural.

• 12:26PM - We talk to Beth on Skype after her epidural has set in. She is already dilated to 7cm.

• 12:54PM - Larry announces that they are calling in the Doctor.

• 12:55PM - Beth asks for someone to make sure that her feet are still attached to her legs.

• 1:15PM - Dr. Birch arrives.

• 2:40PM - Brant claims to hear ‘labor sounds.’

• 2:52PM - There is gossip among the peanut gallery about crying coming from Carson’s hospital room.

• 3:05PM - Our power goes off and we go into conservation mode.

• 3:07PM - Our power comes back on. We stay in conservation mode. Brant gets update. No news.

• 3:21PM - Dr. Birch comes out of Carson’s room and visits her office for a moment. Quickly goes back to the room.

• 3:27PM - Larry announces Carson Jack’s arrival. [4:24AM Arkansas time] Auntie Ams and Cha Cha Joe celebrate by drinking a Coca Cola and eating some Peanut M&M’s.

• 3:31PM - Doctor says ‘Mom’ and ‘Baby’ are doing just fine.

• 3:47PM - We get to see Carson Jack. He’s B-E-A-UTIFUL.

• 4:14PM - We get official word on length and weight of Carson... 7 lbs 1oz and 20.5 inches long but we hear he will shrink a few inches over the first couple days.

• 4:18PM - We get to see Carson get all cleaned up. Don’t tell, but the hospital broke every rule for us. Thanks.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2009

• 7:04AM - We wake up to a cell phone call from Brant. Carson wants to see us.

• 7:10AM - We Skype with Beth, Lar and Carson. CJ is wide awake. Beth looks great and Lar can’t stop smiling. Had to cut the call short because Carson was sucking on Lar’s t-shirt. Guess he was hungry.

The morning after Beth’s big announcement was a bit somber for us. Ams was dealing with being gone for Carson’s arrival. And I was dealing with having to deal with us being gone for Carson’s big arrival. Thankfully we were with family. And thankfully Mommy Bauman could sense the tension.

During Amberley’s time with our Father and her mother that morning, their prayer time turned from material issues to that of eternal value. That morning they asked that Carson’s birth would combine with a spiritual birth for a South Asian.

What wasn’t placed in the timeline above was an answer to that prayer. Ams and a friend have been meeting with a girl for the past few weeks that they met on a college campus. Last week the girl committed to reading John’s account as well as solely praying to our Father.

During their meeting yesterday, Sun [we will call her] didn’t make any decisions to put sole trust in our Father’s Son. But she did confess to believing that He is the one true path to freedom.

How cool is it that? A prayer that was prayed nearly eight months ago would be answered so bluntly within hours of CJ’s arrival.

So... What wonderful timing our Father has. We have been giddy for the past 24 hours. We have a new nephew who is healthy. Siblings who are new parents. And a new hope that we are where we are for a purpose and time such as this.