Peter and I have been saving up for a new camera.  October is “Pastor Appreciation Month” and our very generous church allowed us to add a good bit of money to our fund.  Yay!  Peter found a great deal on Craigslist.  A quick phone call to the Seller later, we agreed to drive 45 minutes to meet them on Friday night.
And then, Friday night turned into date night when our best babysitter, Sarah,  called and said she was home from college and wanted to watch the kids for us.  Score!  Peter and I don’t get out much alone and we were quite excited.  The camera was a great deal, so we ended up buying it right then and there.  We went to Chili’s and then to Borders.  We relished a night out alone.  We love having conversations without interruptions.  We also love sitting in the car in complete quiet.  
However, I got this weird feeling as I flipped through magazines at Borders.  Was I having contractions?   I said nothing to Peter, but noticed that they weren’t going away.  On the drive home, I casually kept an eye on the clock, not saying anything to Peter.  It was odd.  I had just scheduled our c-section with the Hospital for November 2.  
About that time, I looked out the car window and noticed this:
A full moon.
I broke down and told Peter.  
Every five minutes I was timing a contraction, about a minute long.  
We sat in the hospital parking lot for awhile, pondering what to do.
I finally caved and we walked up to the Birthing Center to have them check me out.
The nurse’s eyes got wide when she checked me.
I was dilated to four centimeters.
And my contractions were coming every 2 minutes.
Dr. Allen called the team and announced that we were having a baby that night.
What?!
And all we had was our new camera.
No clothes, phone charger, or toothbrushes.
Just a fancy camera we didn’t know how to use.  
An hour or so later, we put it to good use.
While the Anesthesiologists checked the baseball scores and  I felt that oh-so-odd pulling sensation, a little cry pierced the air and Eliza Grace was born.  October 22, 2010. 10:51 p.m.
We cried.  
And we took pictures.  
Most of all, we felt God’s blessing on us as we held her and kissed her sweet cheeks, fully realizing that the last time we held a baby girl, we had ushered her into the presence of Jesus.  
“Our hearts ache, but we always have joy.”
2 Corinthians 6:10
P.S.  We “Aunted” Sarah.  After all, she ended up spending the night at our house, sleeping in our bed between William and Kate.  What a way to spend Fall Break!  We couldn’t have done it without her!  I don’t think she minded that her babysitting turned into a little more than she had bargained for.
P.S. 2.  Eliza weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.
P.S. 3.  The camera takes pretty good pictures, huh?  Don’t worry, we have plenty of dark, blurry ones.  We didn’t have a lot of time to look at the manual.  And, it turns out, you don’t need as much as you think when you check into the hospital.