Sarah's Surprise!

It is always startling to receive a phone call in the middle of the night. I received just such a call around 1:50 a.m. yesterday.

As I groggily answered the phone and tried to sound alert, I was surprised to hear my daughter's voice on the phone. It was the pregnant daughter. The one whose voice I expected to hear in the middle of the night the first week of March--not the last week of January.

Her explanation for the phone call: her water had broken and she needed me to report for babysitting duty at her house ASAP. She had been very anxious thinking about how fast she might deliver this child since Carson's was a quick labor and delivery.

I drove the 30 minutes to her home and got set up on the couch to try and sleep the rest of what was left of what was going to be a very short night for me and what turned out to be a very long night and morning for Sarah and Jeff.

It was 12 hours later when Lincoln Blair Excell made his entrance into the world.

At 5 weeks early, he weighed 5 lbs. 7 ozs. He is in NICU being monitored and getting a little help with his breathing. He needs to figure out how to eat before he can go home. And he needs to be able to maintain his body temperature.

Sarah is doing well. Jeff is going back and forth taking care of baby boy #3 at the hospital and helping me take care of boys #1 and #2 here at our house.

Enjoy your rest while you can, Sarah, because the peaceful moments will probably be few and far between when all three sons are residing in the same household.

Congratulations to Jeff and Sarah on the beautiful addition to their family. What a sweet surprise!!