Piddlin' On The Prairie and Mischief From The Maple: The Stork Has Delivered!

My second-born sister just had her first baby last week Thursday. Her pregnancy followed the same path as mine did, particularly with Wyatt, in that she started showing signs of preeclampsia about 2 months prior to her due date. Her body was so swollen. Her legs looked like tree stumps. Thankfully her nose never got as wide as mine did!!
Since baby Devon Rose has joined this world I've fought the urge to buy a plane ticket and run out there to eastern Pennsylvania. It has been really hard. This is the first of my blood neices/nephews to be born. My parents, 3 other sisters and brothers-in-laws have kept me updated minute by minute, hour by hour with what has been goin on and tons of pictures!
Baby Devon was born via c-section after 9 hours of my sister laboring. At 9 hours in, the doc was concerned about my sister's blood pressure and the baby was showing signs of stress. Devon started movning back up the birth canal. Devon was born at 6:26 p.m. (eastern time) on April 9th, 2009. Daddy was by momma's side the entire time. Initially there were problems with Devon's breathing and temperature but they got that taken care of. My sister is still in the hospital because her blood results showed that her liver was high in enzymes. Her magnesium levels were seriously low. Her blood pressure was still higher than it should be. She has been on bedrest since the birth.
As the oldest sister, my heart is aching to be there with her. I never knew it would be this hard. For the 8 years since I've moved back home to Kansas, my sisters and I have become closer than ever. Despite the 1000+ miles that separate us my relationship with each one is strong. I love my sisters so much. We've had quite a life together growin up. We've experienced so much. In just this past year we have seen our parents marriage end. Our ages are 30,28,26 and 23. This was no shock to us as we have seen it slowly crumble since we were old enough to sense something was not right. Through the breakdown of their marriage, we have spent years living at a Bible college, being pastor's kids, spending 35-45 weekends per year in churches all over the Midwest and East Coast for 6 years, being missionary kids, living in a third world country and the only white kids in an entire province, returning to the US knowing it was because of our parents relationship, moving out of our parents home, college, marriage and now babies. My sisters and I know each other inside and out. We stick together. We've had to. Many times it was just us four girls together, battling emotions, scars, situations, and strife that we could do nothin about 'cept pray. We have prayed a lot together: for our parents, for our lives, and each of our families. Now, as my sister is starting her family, I want so much to share that with her. I want to be up with her for her mid-night nursings. I want to just be with her as she experiences the miraculous inexplainable thing we call motherhood.
*(2hrs after I started typing this)* I just got a call that she should be goin home today!!!
Proud Papa: