happy birthday ava grace!

i cant believe its been an entire year since that chilly sunday morning when i got the call that 'today was the day'. not that the experience is mine.. its totally kelly's story! but i wanna tell it from my perspective. ...i had been spending every spare minute i could with my friend kelly. i was on maternity leave and she was preggers. she was on bed rest..in the hospital.. and i could not bare the thought of her sitting up there by herself all day every day. so almost daily korb and i packed up and hung out with her. by way of chick-fil-a, of course. i had put off going back to work as long as i could.. monday the 6th of november was d-day. i had planned to pick my mom up on sunday afternoon. she would be babysitting the little man so that i could continue my career (see how long that lasted ;)! but i was really stressed that i was gonna miss ava's birth. after taking almost 12 weeks off i couldnt very well tell my boss that i needed another day..at a moments notice..cause one of my friends was having a baby. the answer would not have been good. so i was sure that i would just have to wait by the phone.. and pray that the news was all good whenever she decided it was time. after all she had only been 'cooking' for 34 weeks. and tho kelly had been on bed rest..all had been pretty uneventful. the fluid was low..but not any lower that it had been. she could have made it to 36 or 38 weeks. it was just a judgement call on the part of the nurse or sonographer of the day. i left home late morning on that sunday to drive to wichita falls. i had been in the car for about 20 minutes when kelly called. it was time. the c-section was scheduled for mid afternoon. i immediately called my parents. hysterical of course. it seemed too early. and i was gonna miss it! like there was no other option.. my mom and dad told me to turn around. go straight to the hospital. i argued that i HAD to go to work the next day.. and i HAD to have a sitter. they told me that they would figure it out. just to go be with my friend. i love my parents. so thats what i did. i called kyle.. told him i was on my way to the hospital and i would keep him updated with any news. i did not call kelly.. just showed up as quickly as i could. and thank goodness.. they had decided the situation was too dire to wait til mid afternoon. they were about to take her back when i arrived. we had a good hug..and cry..and then i waited. with kellys parents of course. and aarons mom. kate and rob were there too. it seemed like forever.. but then came the proud dad to show off video of his little miracle. crying and breathing on her own! what a blessing that was.. it was amazing to be able to be there. i know that she didnt know i would probably miss it if she waited one more day but i like to think she did. and what a blessing she has been every day after that for the last year! i love her very much!