Dear World!
Let us introduce you to Viola Madeline Wenzel! (V-eye-o-la)
Born May 15th, at 5:31 in the morning, she weighed in at 8 pounds, 5 ounces, and came out rocking black hair! Lori did such an amazing job! And here she is, not two minutes after giving birth, with the glowing smile of a mother who just overcame the battle (sans meds) to bring this baby girl into the world!
And then, like the freakin' champ she is, tossed on her sunglasses and left the house five hours later to get the baby checked out by our doc. I kept telling anyone we ran into that this baby was born five hours ago! Everyone was completely shocked and looked at Lori as if she was The Goddess of Maternity. Seriously, this girl blows my mind...
Despite Lori's motherly feelings, this baby turned out to be a girl! We were both quite shocked! But we said if it was a girl, born on the 15th, we'd name it after my great Aunt Viola who she'd share a birthday with. I got on a video skype call with her at 8:00 am and introduced her to her newest relative. She was pleased as punch when I told her the name but still couldn't believe why she hadn't changed out of her nightgown. She turned 93 that same day!
Honestly, I still have to pinch myself to realize both Marian and Viola share a birthday. Of course the concept was always in the back of my head but, for me, life is never that convenient. Nevertheless, my dreams of combining presents in the early years has come true! Thank the Lord!
Yolanda, our midwife, did such a phenomenal job. And of course, once again we caused her to skip a night of sleep, but no complaints from her. As always, she was prepared for anything this delivery had to throw at her, but everything went completely fine!
Lori's mom, Madeline, was in town this past week and was an incredible help before she swapped with my mom who just arrived. The other night we had dinner at my sister's house and our future became quite evident when her two girls, Beatrice (18 months) and Gemma (2 months) and my two girls all start crying at the same time. Since that moment, I've dubbed the four of them the Golden Girls.
I am elated. This is life at it's finest. Having a happy family and growing that family to share such amazing moments with friends and family (and you!). So, I admit this might be a little bit of a stretch. But somehow, deep inside, I feel this baby has served as a strange confirmation from God. Marian, our first, was a complete surprise screw up. But now, this little Viola, a baby Lori and I joined our hopes to have, was born on the exact same day (only one hour later!). The life that felt like a horrible mistake before we came around and jointly celebrated her birth, has once again been redeemed by the birth of our second child. And because of that, we will celebrate our two childrens' births on the exact same day. It could be I'm stretching for confirmation, but that's all I have these days, evidence of God's continual interaction with my life. And it's moments like this, moments when everything feels as though it's happening just the way God had always planned. And THAT is a ridiculously good feeling!