Can you believe it? It has been
over two years since we posted any photos online. What does it take
to make us get back to using this, a birth in the family? Well, as a
matter of fact....
Let us welcome Joseph Christopher Billington.
Joe was born at Adventist Hospital in Portland Oregon, at 7:50PM on October
25, 2006. He was 7 lbs 2 oz, 20 inches, and three weeks
early. We were not totally prepared at home, as none of our other
babies have ever been anything other than right on time or a bit
late. But there was a lot of family around this time now that we are
on the West coast and close to the relatives, and all the help with the
other kidlings and making the home ready was priceless. Thank you,
guys!
We actually had our camera with us at the hospital, but
it didn't have batteries or memory card in it! (Remember that part
about not being prepared?) Wendi's sister Cindi had her camera
though, so she caught all the pictures before and after the
delivery. We don't have those pictures yet, but we do have a bunch
taken at the hospital the next day, so here they are.
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Mommy and Joseph. It
was a long labor, it started on Monday night when Wendi's water broke, but
dragged on slowly until Wednesday night when all the hard work was
rewarded with a healthy baby boy.
Baby Joe and Wendi worked hard together. Wendi had
whooping cough early in the pregnancy, which caused coughing fits so
severe that she suffered bleeding early in the pregnancy from a tear in
the placenta. Making matters worse, one of the coughing spells resulted in
her breaking three ribs. She had an adverse reaction to one of the
medications she was given for the pain, and started vomiting as a
result. So here is my dear, precious wife, at risk for losing the
baby, bleeding, coughing and vomiting with broken ribs. With a
change in medication and a lot of rest, Wendi and Joseph were able to make
a miraculous recovery.
I help to run a power grid covering much of the Pacific
Northwest and as far inland as Utah and Wyoming, but a guarantee you that I will never EVER work as hard or
carry as much responsibility as my wife, nor is there any amount that one
could ever pay her that would be a just compensation for all she
does. I am the luckiest husband in the world. |
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Genny has made it no secret
she longs for a little sister, but she still totally adores her latest
little brother, too. She just read what I wrote about her and added
that there is something to be said about being the lone princess over four
brothers, too. She is the first to jump to hold Joe when Mommy asks
someone to take him. Genny is a priceless treasure and superb helper
around the house, I am not sure how we would get by without her help. |
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With the arrival of Joseph,
it has dawned on Jimmy that he is the second man of the family, with three
younger brothers to watch out for when I am not around. An hour or
so after Joe arrived, he stood next to the hospital bed and somberly told
Wendi how glad he was that Mom and Joe were both safe and healthy.
He then bowed his head and prayed a little prayer of thankfulness quietly
to himself. Jim is usually pretty loose and erratic in a fun way,
but this serious side gives us pause. As I write this he sits on the
couch ignoring everything but two-day-old Joseph on his lap. |
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Johnathan is pretty much wholly
sold on how cool it is to have a new baby in the house. There was a
bit of a gap between John and Mark, so John was used to being the littlest
kid and had also adapted to being the second youngest, but he is now
rather pleased to be squarely in the middle with some prospects of
eventually being counted amongst the "old kids" in the family.
Johnathan is exceptionally affectionate and is very happy to have Joseph
here. |
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We couldn't get Mark to sit
with Joe for a picture at the hospital. Clearly Mark is nonplussed
with the arrival. Apparently he thought that all this talk about a
new baby in Mom's tummy was some sort of joke. In fact over the past
few weeks he has pulled up his shirt, pointed at his belly and showed
everybody "Mark's Joseph". The same thing happened to John when Mark arrived, and it lasted about two weeks, so
we figure the same this time. At left is the closest we got Mark to Joe
for a picture yesterday before he figured out what we were doing and backed
off! |
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Aunt Ashley with baby Joe
at the hospital. Ashley has been a big help, being the first family
member to actually stay at home with us after the hoopla died down. Working
in her favor was that instead of taking time off of work, she merely had
to get permission to take a few days off from school. Such a deal! |
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Grandma Green was one of
the lucky few in the room when Joe arrived. Wendi has been too far
away through four other births, but there wasn't anything that would stop
Grandma Green from attending this one (we actually had finally asked everyone to
give and go home to wait - she defied us!). Time off from work, and
then an extended two-day labor were apparently worth waiting through. |
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Grandpa Green made sure everyone
was behaving at the hospital, but he made sure he found time with Joseph,
too. |
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Baby Joseph at home after
dinner time. |
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Mommy Wendi, very glad to
be home with a sweet new baby boy. |
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Parting shots: I
wanted Mark to consider posing with Joe again. These pictures sum up
his feelings about that.
"You want me to what?"
"Bwahahah, what-EVER!" |
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