18 Years Ago Today

Our First Family Day.

After seven long years of waiting, we finally increased our family. Serendipity arranged for Grandmama to be there when we welcomed our daughter.

We couldn't keep our eyes off our little girl; even when we stopped to eat ourselves.

After seven years of musing about names for our children, one would think we could pick one out right away. However, Steve couldn't commit. I sat in the back seat with the beautiful baby, gazing, cooing, and singing to an unnamed child. I would try to set deadlines, like "By the time we reach the Georgia/Alabama border can we settle on a name for her?..."By the time we reach Birmingham...the Mississippi border...Tupelo... Please, let us have a name for her by the time we get home..." I had tried our four top favorite names out on her throughout the five and half hour trip: Emilie Christiane, Afton Elisabeth, Charlotte Elizabeth, and Laurel Alane. When we approached Oxford, I just started calling her Emilie. She just felt like an Emilie. Steve finally confirmed the decision just before church on Sunday (three days later).

Carrie and Rachel Roberts had decorated our porch to welcome Emilie. The June heat did a number on the balloons; but it didn't swelter our jubilation.

We had ridden the roller-coaster of infertility for so many years that we had elected to not prepare for a baby until we knew the time was imminent. So, we didn't have a nursery or a crib. When we arrived home, we made a bed for our princess next to our bed by lining the bottom drawer of Steve's heirloom dresser and covering it with a crib sheet. Emilie slept very happily there for a little more than a week.