All that I thought of as I waited patiently (or impatiently as the case may be), for news from the hospital was that my baby was now having a baby.  Memories of her childhood washed over me as I recalled the first time I held her in my arms and she stuck her tongue out at me.  She still does, even at 27 years old because she knows it drives me crazy whenever I try to take a “serious” picture of her.  I remember when we first moved to the country and my little citified preschooler refused to walk farther than the end of our driveway and when I attempted the half a mile jaunt to the mailbox, she stood in the middle of the road refusing to take a single step further and yelled, or should I say screamed, “I’m delirious!”  Strong-willed?  You betcha!

Then there was the fateful day when her Dad tried to teach her to ride her bike.  He had duct-taped a hockey stick to the back of the bike’s banana seat and then he ran along holding the hockey stick encouraging her to peddle.  Her thought must have been, “Why should I pedal when Dad is doing quite well pushing me?”  You guessed it, as soon as he let go of the stick she toppled over sideways…again, and again and again.  She finally crashed at the foot of the driveway and tossed her helmet into the ditch and kicked the banana seat with all her might and declared, “I am NEVER riding this stupid bike ever again!”  Needless to say, her Dad did not accept that news with grace and declared with equal determination, “Oh yes, you will young lady.  We do not quit when things get tough!”  Those words seemed to stick with her right through her elementary, middle, high school and university years.  Laurelle never quit when the going got tough.  There was only one time she had the urge to give up and that was after bullying nearly got the best of her in middle school, but with determination and support, she pushed through that trying time in her life and persevered. 

We got the call at 7:00 a.m. Saturday that Laurelle’s mild contractions had “blossomed” and she was heading to the hospital.  Her baby’s due date was Feb. 26th but we suspected that baby would come a little sooner…at least Laurelle hoped so.  They sent her home telling her that the contractions were not regular enough.  Within four hours she knew that they needed to trek back to the hospital.  She texted me saying that they were admitting her as she was 4 cm. dilated.  The waiting game for the expectant Grandparents began.  Matt, kept us updated by text right through the night.  We slept little waiting for news.  Finally Matt texted just before five in the morning on Sunday saying that although Laurelle had valiantly laboured for well over fifteen hours and pushed for the last three hours, baby was not progressing and a c-section was ordered.  My husband and I clasped our hands and prayed for our daughter and for the new life to be born.  I had Laurelle by c-section and I knew the journey she would take undergoing the procedure and the recovery process. 

At 5:46 a.m. Jaxon Paul was born and we were told later by our son-in-law that Jaxon, who had been a pretty active baby all through the pregnancy, had decided to do one last turn just before delivery and somersaulted so he presented breech to the doctor.  He was unceremoniously yanked out by his little feet!  He weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz.

When we got the news, Charles and I hugged each other and yelled, “We’re Grandparents!”

When I held my new grandson for the very first time, words cannot adequately describe the emotions that overwhelmed me.  My daughter looked tired, exhausted really, but grateful to have her baby at long last.  This much-prayed-for baby.  After two devastating miscarriages, Laurelle could have given up in her desire to have children.  The pain of loss so great that it nearly overwhelmed her after the second miscarriage.  But she believed that God had a plan and a purpose for her life, and that included children through birth or adoption, and she was prepared to let God lead her. 

As I cradled little Jaxon in my arms, I praised God for this little miracle, this little gift from God to our family.  Once again our life verse rings true today!  “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” 

Happy Birth Day, Jaxon!