New Baby

On Sunday, Elaine comes to me after church and says, "I've been having contractions about every 10 minutes." Elaine has been induced every time up until now, so it really is a new experience for us. After getting home, Elaine decided to eat dinner before going in to the hospital to see if she really was in labor or not. With the flood, traffic was a big concern. Sunday night, the traffic was pretty calm. We got to the hospital at about 7 pm with contractions about 6 to 7 minutes apart. Every other sentence out of Elaine's mouth was, "I want an epidural now." That was her other concern, that the anesthesiologist wouldn't make it.  We met the on call Dr. Billings.  Elaine also had a nice conversation with our nurse Jamie, who just lost her home in the flood and was living in her mother-in-laws basement for the next couple of months.  The anesthesiologist came quickly and finished the epidural by 9:15.  By this time, Elaine was fully dialated and effaced.  This is Elaine after her epidural... very happy. 

Dr. Billings finished up a c-section, then rushed to our room. 2 contractions later, Emily was born at 10:11.

She almost a full pound heavier than our other kids.
Happy Dad! I must admit, I'm extremely happy and love our new bundle of joy.

Ben quickly adjusted to the fact that he didn't get a baby brother.  He always wants to help, even with stinky diapers or when she is crying.

Ashlee always wants to help too... even with stinky diapers.  She is so excited to be a big sister.

Family Photo

Mara was shocked that Emily was smaller than her baby doll.

Sleepy Daddy...

Sleepy Mommy...

The Story Isn't Over...

Sometimes titles, just don't seem to fit.  Like our blog name....  Our hearts and prayers are drawn out for our neighbors who have been affected by this record flood in Minot.  Our small worries about losing water/sewer or having a divided city and having Emily born in a clinic set up in our kids elementary school if we are cut off from the hospital seem so small compared to the devastation around the valley.

These first pictures are from Friday morning, at about 7am.  Mandatory evacuations were in place for over 1/4 of the city since Wednesday.

 The mandatory evacuation zone crossed right around where the flood is here.  I didn't realize it when I took the picture that I got the American Red Cross building.  The American Red Cross has been doing some great help with those displaced and didn't realize they were also displaced.

 Here is another corner of the mandatory evacuation zone.

 I sat on this corner for a while and talked wth the person who lived there.  He had moved out and was just watching the water rise.  The water was already seeping in through the basement and like most people, had no flood insurance.  Below is his blue house with a picture from the door.

Saturday, June 24th. 

I went running with Mara.  She rode her bike and did great going the 4 to 5 miles.

The flood destruction is masked by the trees in the valley. It looks like just another beautiful summer day...

The water this morning is 5 feet higher than yesterday and over 3 feet higher than the record set in 1881.  (Feel free to look at the pictures from Friday and imagine 5 more feet there.  The news has several houses where houses are almost completely covered and only a portion of the roof is visible.  They said some completely inundated.)
I always thought of floods as water rushing violently.  Although I'm sure the water is rushing violently, the water on the outskirts are extremely still.  The catholic school by the stoplight is a two story building.  The steps and ensuing entryway is almost entirely covered. 

The water is expected to rise about 3 more feet.  Mara demonstrates how high.  (Elaine said Mara's estimate is about 5 inches too high).

On the way home, Mara found some turkeys.  She found out that they run really fast when she tried to chase them.