A River Trip, 2 Births, And An Earthquake

I may just be the best wife on the planet. Ron had a once in a lifetime chance to go down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Trouble was the timing of the trip.
We had just flown to Phoenix from our home in the bay area to pick up our new baby son, Ryan. Cameron was only 17 months old and we were expecting another baby any day. This 3rd little one was going to be born near our home, so driving to Arizona seemed like a crazy idea. But that never stopped us before!

So we packed up Ron's gear and all the baby gear, loaded the kids in the car and headed out for the 13 hour drive. Ron got onto the river just before the call came that Elizabeth, our 1st daughter, had made her appearance into this world. So Mom and I packed up the kids and headed down the road for an overnight trip. We arrived home early Sunday morning, showered and headed to the hospital. She was a beautiful baby with thick red hair.

Although we were exhausted, it thrilled us when the nurse said we could bring her home later that day. My sweet Ryan cried uncontrollably the whole trip home so we whisked him off to the pediatrician to find he had double ear infections. Poor baby, 2 weeks old and had been on a plane ride, then 2 long car rides.

Later that night when we all 3 kiddos were finally asleep and Mom and I had collapsed into bed the room started rocking. Yep, we were having an earthquake. Seriously?! I told mom we had to get the babies up and go outside. She informed me in a low, firm voice that if I woke anyone up I would be going outside without her. So the babies slept on and I got over breaking the golden earthquake rule and everyone slept soundly for at least 2 hours.

Elizabeth didn't end up staying with us. a couple days later her birthmother changed her mind. Heartbroken and spent Mom and I watched her drive away. It was an emotional and exhausting few weeks. But I always felt bad that Ron never even got to meet our little girl.

His river trip was a blast and we grieved our loss together when he got home. The boys kept us busy and our lives were later blessed with Tanner and Natalie. But Ron still smiles and shakes his head that I agreed he should go on the river with so much going on in our lives. So you see, I may just be the best wife on  the planet!

In HIm,
Joyful
2-20-2011