By Grace We Build

In the past year, you have met Maggie Violet and Trinity Grace, Ruthie and Rachel’s babies.  Well, now we have added one more baby to the household.

Ellie would like you to meet…  Clara Rose!

Unlike Maggie and Trinity, Ellie apparently did not adopt Clara.  Here is the story, according to Ellie (she has stuck to this story for over a week now)… She had Clara last week (delivered in our basement hospital by Dr. Ruthie), and the baby had to be taken to another nursery because there was a very “tough” baby in our nursery that broke all the tools, so Ellie’s baby had to go to a different nursery.  The nursery just happened to be a nursery in Hartville where babies to be adopted are usually taken.  So we were just picking up her baby last night.

Now get this…  Let me just begin by saying that God is so kind to us!  We walked into Hartville Collectibles last night, made our way back to the nursery, which is actually a special room with the huge glass window where you look in and view 6-8 babies lying in real hospital bassinets.  Instead, we find the window covered with brown paper and a sign that says “Clock Room coming in Spring 2010.”  No nursery.  No babies.  A worker saw our shocked and sad expressions – especially a Mommy and Daddy who were probably about to cry as they thought of a little girl who had dreamed of this moment  for months, had carefully chosen a name, and knew exactly what baby she wanted (blonde hair and able to take a bottle).  The woman seemed as sad as we were and said that she had come into work the day before to find it that way – she had had no idea they were closing the nursery.

Ellie was very sad, but then the woman showed us that there were still a few newborn babies in a display case.  Lying there were three babies, and (praise God!) one was a blonde baby who could take a bottle!  The woman went in the back and scrounged around for any of the memorabilia that is usually given, like a pledge to care for the baby, a baby Bible, and some “It’s a Girl!” stickers.

We were so blessed by Ellie’s response.  She did not once complain or cry because she did not get to go through the whole “adoption” process with a “nurse” who showed her how to care for her baby and took her picture in the special rocking chair.  She was simply thrilled to have her baby!

It was Daddy and Mommy who wanted her to have the “experience.”  We were able to print out a birth certificate from the Middleton doll website, and we reenacted the experience this morning in the basement, with Mommy acting as “nurse.”

And here are the girls and their babies.