Of Blizzards and Babies

The predicted blizzard did blow through on Tuesday evening. Winds gusted up to 60 mph, and the storm dumped 20 inches of snow on us. It was a sight to behold from inside, of course, and we were fortunate not to lose power during the storm. We experienced "thundersnow," lightning and thunder in a snowstorm, for the first time. It was eerie to say the least.

Early Tuesday, while we prepared for this storm, my sister-in-law Katherine, a week overdue with her sixth, was at the hospital to be induced as scheduled. Four of her five children waited there in hopes of being able to greet their new sibling immediately after birth, but as the day progressed and the labor didn't, they came over to spend the night with us. They arrived with about an hour or so to play outside before the storm really kicked in.

As the winds grew stronger and the snow drifted, we wondered what the next couple of days might be like stranded in the house with six kids. We hoped we had bought enough food to feed us all and hoped the power would stay on. Keeping everyone warm could be tricky. After the kids were all tucked in and asleep, we turned on the news to catch stories about main thoroughfares in Chicago that were shut down with cars bumper to bumper, stranded as they tried to get home from work. Cars were running out of gas, and owners were abandoning them there. My sister-in-law Margie was already without power.

And still no baby . . .

We received updates about Katherine's progress throughout the night as the wind howled and children slept. At 4 a.m. we received word that Katherine was experiencing bleeding and would likely need a C-section. We prayed and waited. At 6:30 the phone rang and as Nathanael answered it, the kids appeared in the doorway eager to hear any news. Stewart told them via speaker phone that they could rejoice that Becket John had entered the world, and both Mommy and baby were doing well. There was no going back to sleep after that!

As we gazed out of our window, what we saw was truly amazing--snow everywhere drifted up almost as high as the van with twenty inches of virgin snow over the entire backyard! Everything was still in the bright sun. We realized it would be quite some time before it would be possible to take the kids to the hospital--much to their disappointment. However, a hot breakfast and sending them out to build forts and play "capture the flag" seemed to ease the wait.

Nathanael shoveled for four hours and freed the driveway, but not the sidewalks or a path from our back door to the car. The snow plow hadn't come up our street either. So, even though our car could go down the driveway, it couldn't go out. Finally around 2 p.m., a friend drove his Land Rover up our street to pick up Nathanael along with Becket's eager siblings to go to the hospital after waiting all day long.

The kids have been in and out from playing in the snow many times since yesterday, and I can barely keep up with the wet clothes. They are having a blast in the remnants of the biggest storm of the decade. And today, after our street had been plowed late last night, we went to visit Becket and parents at the hospital.

He's very cute and . . . a little bit famous! Katherine and Stewart were featured in an article about blizzard babies in the Chicago Tribune today. You can check the article out here.

We praise the Lord that Becket arrived safely--blizzard and all.