adjusting

We are now officially "adjusting" to the new normal of having FIVE girls.  It's always shocking how much of life is affected by such a little person!  Here are some pics that are pretty typical of life these days!

Baby Cumming's Birth Story... and Name

In Exodus the children of Israel are attacked by the Amalekites.  Moses stands above them, with the support of Aaron and Hur, to raise the rod of the Lord.  As long as his arms were lifted up the Israelites won the battle.  Moses set up an alter called Jehovahnissi, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner, after their victory.  When He was raised up, God literally changed things and delivered His people.  That is what I experience delivering this baby.

We headed to the hospital trying to decide if we should call 911, go to the closer hospital, or risk the 45 minute drive out to the hospital my doctor was expecting me at.  Cory because quite the aggressive driver.  And as we neared the freeway I told Jenna, my doula and best friend in the seat beside me, and Cory that I was at the threshold of the need to push.  After the next contraction I texted a handful of friends to please pray and got back immediate responses to pray.  One of the replies was: Becky Jo, get in the glory. He’s there.  So I started to expect God to use this time.  I could either freak out, get scared, and have the baby in the car OR I could trust Him and expect Him to show up supernaturally.  The next contraction came and stopped before it should have.  I started to cry.  I felt an overwhelming awareness of His pleasure in this child in me and His presence in the present situation.  I knew that He was hearing and honoring the prayers of His people.  It was like I could feel the atmosphere changing. 

Cory and Jenna have been with me in labor before.  They knew I was at the end.  Cory started going faster and faster hoping to get noticed by a policeman and wave him forward to get an escort.  As we neared the hospital I came up against the last contraction in the car.  The Lord had shortened everyone up to this point, but I now had no more to fight with.  The baby was ready to come out.  I was more aware of what was happening in my body than I possibly have ever been before.  The contraction began and I told them, “Call out to the LORD!” Jenna and Cory both broke out in authoritative prayer.  Only a couple of seconds into the contraction I started praising Jesus.  He literally stopped it.  If I had seen a blind man see, I would have marveled at seeing a miracle; if I’d heard or a lame man getting healed, I would have marveled at hearing of a miracle; this the I did not see or hear, but I FELT the hand of God miraculously and physically intervene in the reality of my body in labor and stop it.  We rounded the corner and made it to the hospital!!

We were praising God as we pulled up to the valet.  Cory and Jenna jumped out yelling, “we need a wheelchair.” They grabbed some of our stuff, the valet guy ran for a chair, but we didn’t have that much time so with one of them under each of my arms we attempted to walk me into the hospital. The pressure of gravity alone sent me into what felt like another contraction.  I saw seats in the foyer and knew I needed to sit again or else… I started squatting in the hope of sitting down, and just then some one showed up with the chair and sitting stopped the progress of labor.  We made it upstairs to triage and Jenna told the nurses our situation, but they must hear that sort of thing a lot from people who don’t really know what they are talking about, because they obviously did not believe us.  The nurse calmly asked me to take put a gown on and wanted to check me.  Well we almost accomplished that, but then came the next contraction and my water broke as I got on the table.  She went to check and see if I was dilated, but as she looked, she knew what we meant.  The nurse grabbed hold of the bed and started wheeling me down the hall.   Another nurse was telling here there were no rooms available and she barked back that she was taking me to a room. 

We got there and I told everyone that I would need to push when the next contraction came.  One of the nurses said, “oh don’t do that, we don’t have the table ready yet.” I told her I would have to.  And as they got me in the bed I was sent into the next contraction and had to start pushing.  The bed was not broken down, there were no stirrups the nurses had their backs toward me getting ready and the baby’s head was out before the doctor even got a chance to turn around and catch.   Everything was perfect.  She started crying and breathing right away, there were no complications; she was perfectly pink. 

We named her Kalee Nissi.  Kalee is a feminine version of Caleb (to honor what the Lord spoke to Cora Lee).  It begins with “Ka” like Katie Jo’s name (who prayed her in).  It means keeper of the keys.  Look at Matthew 16 for that one…or ask Cory.  I believe that is a prophetic word for what the Lord is birthing in this season.  Nissi means banner.  The Lord was lifted up and was a banner over us.