Hello all! This is Chelsea, Amanda’s sister, updating everyone on the happenings of the last 12 hours.

I wonder sometimes if God finds it humorous when we try to make our own plans, decide our own fates, and tell God when or how things will happen. Well last night we all got a glimpse of what happens when God takes over our “plans.”

Amanda went into labor last night and headed to the hospital with all of the kids in tow. In a panic, my parents gathered their brains and headed straight up to take the kids. I think everyone was nervous except the kids who were so excited that today was the day they got a new brother or sister, they couldn’t care less that it was 3 days earlier than what we all “planned”. I got to the hospital around 7pm, after they had been there maybe an hour. When I first saw Amanda you could visually see the labor pains she was in and it seemed to be happening so fast. We all kept our composure but there were so many questions floating around the waiting room that sometimes we let the kids be our joy as they couldn’t contain themselves with excitement. At about 8:30pm she went into surgery and Josh came out to the waiting room as the doctors decided to put Amanda under anesthesia even for the c-section. We all were getting quite anxious at around 9:50pm when there was no word on the baby yet. After Josh did some exploring we found out that the baby went straight to the NICU. They casually just mentioned to him that SHE was doing great so far. Josh quietly said, “she?” and they followed up with, “you didn’t know it was a girl?” 

It was established that Clayton got to tell everyone so Clayton runs down the hall screaming “it’s a girl, it’s a girl”, everyone in the waiting room was shocked, except for Danner, who has said all along it was going to be a girl. Josh went into the NICU to see her for the first time and the nurses printed off pictures for us to see. Josh identified her as Bowers immediately by her stubbornness as she was already trying to pull the tubes away from her. After the grandparents took their turn seeing her Clayton just stared at the nurses desk at the NICU. I don’t know if it was because it was late or Clayton’s face looked so pathetic trying to get a glimpse of his sister that they allowed all 4 siblings in there to see her for the first time. After the aunts took their turn we learned that Amanda was out of surgery and was now recovering in her room. I’ll let Amanda go into more detail about the surgery but as far as we know it went awesome. They got what they needed and there were no surprises. It would be a hard road to recovery but we all know Amanda, and that will be a walk in the park.  She is one of the few people I know that sets up challenges for herself that seem impossible to accomplish, just so she can see how far she can stretch herself. For Amanda, this is just one more challenge for her to win, and she will!

So our beautiful miracle girl has arrived, fighting her way into this world at 4lbs 13oz and 18 inches long. She is tiny but absolutely beautiful, there is no other word to describe her. Amanda is recovering, anxious to see her daughter, and fighting back the best way she knows how, through prayer.

As her sister, I can’t thank everyone enough for their prayers, happy thoughts, and love that surrounds this family. They are truly a family after God’s own heart and a blessing in the lives of everyone they touch!