Look Who Finally Decided to Show Up!

So after a week of playing and waiting . . . look who finally made his entrance! Noah Michael Hale was born on Friday morning, November 7th, 2008. He weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz. and was about 21 inches long. Erin invited me to come into the delivery room and watch him come into the world. What a beautiful experience. Can't quite describe how I felt. I was just in awe. The birth of a baby is truly a miraculous process. Noah started to cry immediately and pinked up beautifully. Thanks, Erin and Mike, for letting me be there.
I was so glad that I had another few days in Minnesota after the baby was born.

There's nothing better than being a grandparent.
Noah's beautiful mother. Erin is such a great mom.
We made a gingerbread house from a kit that we picked up at the supermarket. The frosting included in the kit was terrible stuff and the gingerbread house just wasn't holding together very well . . . the roof kept trying to slide off. Mike finally took the situation in hand and with the finesse of an oral surgeon he carefully nailed the stupid thing together. I wouldn't have believed it could be done unless I'd seen it myself. Problem solved!
This was on the day that I had to leave. Mike took the kids and I to a wonderful bookstore called the Wild Rumpus. What a fanciful place . . . wood slat floors with little windows that looked down into a crawl space where there were mice and rats running around (in enclosures), a ceiling that looked like it was broken away to reveal a cloudy sky AND a chicken running around the place. Honest . . . a live chicken! There were old couches and braided rugs where you could curl up with your little ones and try out a book or two with them. Could have spent days in there.
I took this just before Mike took me to the airport. Abbie loves to hold Noah and mother him.
I felt like my heart was going to break as I left this little family. The only thing that made it bearable is that Brent and Annie and I are going to Minneapolis for Christmas this year. I can't wait to see them again.

On the day that I was to come back to Utah, Brent called me to let me know that my dear friend, Kim Madsen, who has been fighting ovarian cancer for four years was in the hospital. After a period of "remission" the cancer had begun to grow very aggresively and Kim had decided that she was through with surgery and chemotherapy. They sent her home on hospice care and she's managed to stay around for Thanksgiving, the birth of her granddaughter Lila Faith and the blessing (today) of her little grandson, Huckleberry David. I've had the great privilege to be with her and to watch the interaction between her and her family. It's been very sad for me to see how heartbroken her husband and children are but at the same time it's been a very sacred experience. The Spirit is very strong in their home. Kim is one of those people who's been able to make the dying experience an inspirational thing for everyone around her. She's a dear friend (to many of us) and I'm going to miss her terribly. I thank the Madsens for allowing me to be part of this difficult and tender time in their lives.