I can’t believe that a year ago today, I ate Olive Garden for dinner with Josh in Gainesville, FL. Also, I started to feel things moving around and thought I was experiencing Braxton Hicks for the first time. For those of you that were not following along back then, the title of the post was so correct: Braxton Hicks got it wrong!

I talked with my brother and sister-in-law late and got off the phone around 11:30 pm EST. They were excited that I was getting signs of an upcoming birth. I just seemed to think that it was at least 2-3 weeks out at that point. Boy, I was wrong!

By the time we went to sleep at midnight, I was feeling contractions (even though I did not realize it). Finally at 4am, I woke Josh out of a deep sleep to let him know I was in pain! Lots of pain for 4 hours straight! And isn’t God’s timing amazing? Dr. Kays was just getting back from an extended vacation; it was his first shift back.

Ella Renae West was born into the world only a few hours later after they attempted to slow down the birth! And our long journey started…

It’s just hard to believe that we are sitting here at home 1 year later with a beautiful little miracle.

We praise God for taking us on the road less traveled. Each day, He surprises us with how He uses our story to bless others as well as ourselves. Sometimes we wonder why He chose us and then we have to stop and remind ourselves that although it doesn’t always makes sense, He knows best. We feel honored and privileged that He has entrusted Ella into our care. May we always strive to please Him in all we say and do.