Thankful Hearts

First off, I apologize that Jessica isn't here to to the bloggin', but I thought I would try and give you all an update. So please cut me a little slack. And, I hope you all protect me from Jessica for putting up a picture of her and her awesome belly. Happy reading to all!

Well, what an overwhelming week this has been. As most of you know Jessica has been pretty frustrated that the baby had decided to make such a late entrance to his own party and I have been out of work for the past four weeks. So, we decided we were going to make it an extra special "fast Sunday". Needless to say, the Lord hears our prayers! On Sunday afternoon we were with Jessica's family and I was talking to her father when he told me that he wanted to offer me a job as a production and installation manager at his cabinet mill in Ogden. I was pretty amazed that I would find a solution to one of our dilemmas that very same day. I felt good about going to work for him and Monday afternoon I got a call from another complany I had interviewed with and they offered me a job as well. I never imagined I would have to make a decision like that. After a lot of careful deliberation, prayer, a blessing from my dad, and some negotiation I have decided to go work for Carl.

Just when we thought that it couldn't get better we went to our appointment on Monday and found out that we would go in Tuesday night to start the induction process. It was a long slow process because Jess could only eat ice cubes and I could only eat McDonalds and Paradise Bakery, but we made it through the night. In the morning the nurse came in and told us that with the Petocin we would probably have the baby Wednesday evening. YIKES!! Jessica was so upset, but, the doctor came in right after that and broke her water to help speed things up. From there it moved right along. Jessica started having really regular contraction and the baby started moving into position pretty quickly. At about 2:45 the nurse decided that we would try and get the doctor to come over to start the delivery. The doctor got there close to 3:00 and we (jess) started pushing. Right after she started pushing I could tell that the doctor was getting a little nervous about something, but I didn't know what it was. I then noticed that inbetween contractions the baby's heart rate was dropping to dangerous levels. I could also sense the doctor's urgency and I got a little more nervous even though he didn't really say anything. He then very quickly went into some spiel about forceps and vacuums and how these things could possibly hurt the baby but that he might need to use them. By this time I wasn't really sure what he was trying to say but he just told Jessica to push some more. Once the babys head cleared I could see that the cord had wrapped around Porter's neck twice and it was so tight that the doctor couldn't even get his scissors in to cut the cord. I could see Porter's little face and it was completely purple. I am sure most of you could imagine the instant feeling of helplessness and terror that I felt in that moment. All I could think was, "Heavenly Father help my child." The doctor was able to get Porter out and into the hands of the nurses who were standing by with oxygen for the baby and from there everything seemed to go fine. Jessica and I are so proud and humbled to announce the birth of Porter Thomas LeBaron born on December 5th at 3:19 p.m. weighing 8lbs.14oz. and measuring 22 inches long. A beautiful, BIG, and healthy boy. And yeah, you read it right, Jess was only pushing for about 20 minutes.

As I look back on all that happened today. I keep coming back to that feeling I had when I saw Porter with the cord around his neck and knowing how fragile his tiny life is, I know that I would have given anything to keep him alive. While I have been thinking about this, I think of our Heavenly Father and His Son. Can we even fathom the agony and heartache and even more than that, the love, that He has for us to let His son die? It is wonderful to me. As I mentioned at the top this is a time to be thankful. This scripture has been in my head a lot lately and I think it fits well with my feelings today.

Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.