Eleven!

I was 24 years old and being re-assigned from Texas to New Jersey. Kristin and I convoyed our two cars, coordinating our stops over a cheap set of walkie-talkies. She struggled with drowsiness along the endless miles of interstate, but we thought nothing of it. We finally reached "The Garden State" and within a couple of days discovered we were expecting our first child.

We have vivid memories of the delivery; it didn't go well. I was jarred into the realization that Kristin might not make it through labor. Suddenly, the medical staff whisked her away into an operating room and by the time I was prepped for entry the c-section was almost complete.

Hard to believe that was 11 years ago. It's harder still to believe that it will be another 10 years before our youngest child gets to this point!

Kristin's parents joined us tonight (after a week in freezing Alamosa, CO) to watch Eli open birthday presents. The big hit was the lava lamp! Somehow its slow motion action kept the older children mesmerized the rest of the evening.