Welcoming Grandbaby #5

Okay, so how much love can this grandma pour into my newest grandbaby? You would think by grandbaby #5, the whole gushing over these little ones would be over. But no. Not even close.

Maybe it's because this one is particularly special. She didn't come to us in the usual way.

This past Sunday night, I sat in a waiting room at the hospital praying. Labor was going slowly. I was prepared for a extremely long night when, suddenly, I hear my daughter and son-in-law say, "Congratulations, Grandma!" I looked up and they were beaming. Their daughter had been born just minutes earlier.

Wait... their daughter. And they were telling me about it? Yes. And showing me pictures as well. You see, my daughter was right there when her soon-to-be adopted daughter came into this world. How wonderful is that?

She planned to do skin-to-skin with her newborn, but this precious little girl was whisked off to the NICU for a variety of reasons. Without going into any more detail, just know that my newest granddaughter has captured my heart. No, she's not related by blood. But she's related by heart and that is all that matters.

She'll be in the hospital for awhile and my daughter will be right there beside her 24/7. In the meantime, I'll be caring for her 5 YO, my grandson, and doing miscellaneous things in her house, like carrying rotten fruit to the compost and watering some neglected plants. For months now, it's been all about the baby; especially these last few weeks. The waiting was excruciating at times. We just couldn't wait to meet this new little one... this little girl who would enrich our family with her very presence. 

I am so blessed.