So we stopped. Very quickly. And I joked that he better hope our daughter wasn't born while we were there because I'd forever tell that story.
Guess when she was born.
We were pulling out of the stadium when I got the text that forever changed our lives. Our third child, our second daughter, had been born that morning and was healthy.
Truthfully, my estimates show we were most likely at Mass when she actually came into the world, right as I was wrangling a restless two-year-old out front, praying before a statue of Our Lady of Grace which was adorned with a vase of roses (hello, St. Therese).
We high-tailed it to Arizona and arrived just after midnight. The hospital was so incredibly accommodating, letting our entire family, kids and all, in to meet our daughter and sister in the middle of the night. And the birth family. Words cannot describe our experience meeting them in that crowded hospital room that night, around one in the morning on Christmas Eve, so I won't even try. I will just say that it was as grace-filled of a room as I've ever walked into.
And there was the tiny baby with a full head of hair. One family - so generous, welcoming, loving and selfless - putting her into the arms of another.
One year later, that baby is all toddler (suddenly!), with big, blue eyes and gorgeous curls.
And she is so loved.
We adore her beyond belief. And I know her birth family does too.
Happy first birthday, Esther Grace Therese. You bring us immeasurable joy, and we thank God for the gift He has given us!
