A New Nephew

After Nora and Topher's wedding, we were all exhausted, but we had one more stop to make that evening after everything was cleaned up. My brother, Mark, had called my dad very early the morning of the wedding to tell him that he and his wife, Katie, were at the hospital. Katie was in labor! Their baby's due date was April 6, and while we knew that he could be born on the day of the wedding, we hadn't really thought it would actually happen. All day long, we kept checking for updates from Mark. Things were progressing through the morning, and by 11:00 that morning, she seemed pretty close. We hadn't heard anything new by 2:00 that afternoon when the wedding began, and we heard nothing during the reception either. Katie's parents and sisters were at the wedding, and no one knew anything. We were all getting a bit concerned. Finally, around 5:00 that evening, Mark called to tell us that Ryan David was here and that all was well. Ryan was born face-up, and it was a difficult delivery. The doctor ended up having to use a vacuum to help in the delivery, and the vacuum caused a cut on Ryan's forehead. Other than the cut, Ryan is perfectly healthy, and he has a full head of dark, curly hair! Proud grandparents. Baby Ryan.

Three generations of Loach men.

I was so happy to get to hold my new nephew! I didn't think I was going to get to see him on this trip, so I was thrilled to get to meet him before we left the next morning to go home to Michigan.

The new family.

Ryan is adorable, and I'm so happy for my brother and sister-in-law! April 2, 2011 was probably the most exciting day yet in the lives of each of my siblings, and I feel so blessed to have been able to be there! Sometimes, living so far away from my family, I feel sad that I have to miss things, and God was very good to me in allowing me to be part of both of these exciting events!