Tiny Tess

The newest addition to our family, my little niece Tess, was born on Tuesday at 2:30 in the morning. Refusing to conform to the norm, she came in an unlikely manner. I received a call from my older sister Kelly out in Pennsylvania at about 4:30 in the morning on my cell phone. I attempted to ignore it on the first ring. However, on the second call I managed to pull myself out of bed and answer. I assumed that it was one of my sister's children, unaware that there is a two hour time change between there and Utah.
Instead my sister told me that little Tess had been born at home a whopping two and a half months early. My brother-in-law had delivered her before they were even able to call 911. An ambulance was called after the fact, and Tess and her mother were whisked away to the hospital. Imagine our surprise. I immediately threw on my clothes and was out the door for the two hour drive up to Idaho. When I got there my brother was already there. Half an hour later, my sister Jennifer came. My sister Ashley had been staying with Jessica to help her during a particularly difficult pregnancy and was taking care of Jessica's two other girls when I got there.
It is amazing to me what an inspired unit the family is. I can't name how many times they have helped me through scrapes, encouraged me to follow my dreams, and have shared my happy times with me. But I felt such pride as we all came together during this minor disaster. I got to see tiny Tess, how small, how fragile, at just a little over three pounds, and I knew that she had come to the right place, welcomed by a family that loves her.