• Day One

    February 17, 2009 - Comments (27)

    At first, it takes forever.  Nine long months are stretched out before you, but it may as well be nine years. The doctor confirms your suspicions that a baby is on the way, declares a due date, and the waiting begins. You count the days.  You paint the room.  You buy the crib.  But mostly, you just wait.  Wait for your life to be changed by a little baby.  

    Then all at once, it's like somebody accidentally stepped on life's remote control, and the whole thing is thrown into fast forward.  Before you can catch your breath, you're throwing a suitcase in the back of the car at three am and racing down the highway to the hospital.  The blur begins.  All the months have dwindled down to mere minutes, and everything begins happening so fast.  The nurses come in and out, you hear the heart beat on the monitor, the doctor arrives, push, push, push.  A baby cries.  She's beautiful.  She's in your arms.

    Although you couldn't wait for this moment to arrive, you find yourself wishing you could slow it down somehow.  You don't want it to be a blur.  More than anything, you want to soak up every little detail of every little second.  Counting all her fingers and toes.  Taking pictures in one hand, video in the other.  Calling the family with the good news.  Finding out how much she weighs, and guessing who we think she looks like the most.  "Don't let this be a blur," you tell yourself.  And then, you happen to look up at the clock, and day one of baby's life is already coming to a close.  

    Delaney Ruth West, I'm so glad you are here!  I can't stop looking at you, and I'm jealous every time somebody other than your mother holds you :)  I get teary eyed when I see the way your big sister looks at you in amazement.  What a family I have been blessed with!  What a child.  

    Mark my words, little girl.  I'll be looking for the guy who stepped on my remote control until the day I die. I am determined to spend our days together in slow motion.  "Don't let this be a blur," I say.  "Don't let this be a blur."

    6a00e54ee2f9a68833011168885ed0970c-800wi.jpg

    Matthew West POSTED BY:
    Matthew West

    • 27 comments

    1. 1. Wifey Boyd commented:

      Tue 17/2/09, 5:07 pm

      Delaney is BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Congrats on Daughter #2, your girls are adorable! I am glad to hear that Mommy & Baby are doing well. ENJOY!!!

    2. 2. Beth Ann Hubert commented:

      Tue 17/2/09, 5:19 pm

      Congratulations!!! LOVE the name…Delaney is our favorite name for a future baby girl so I was so excited to see it! She is precious! Glad everyone is healthy! Enjoy your beautiful new blessing!

    3. 3. Miranda B. commented:

      Tue 17/2/09, 5:19 pm

      Oh, Matthew! She’s beautiful!! Congrants on a new baby girl!! Praying for you guys!
      In Him,
      Miranda

    4. 4. Stephanie K. commented:

      Tue 17/2/09, 6:44 pm

      Aw, she is adorable. Congratulations. :)

    5. 5. abby commented:

      Tue 17/2/09, 7:23 pm

      She is adorable! I love baby’s. I have a baby brother and like you said the days go by way to quickly. (listen to me i sound like a grown up! I want the days to go by, so i can drive. JK!) Anyway she is beautiful and your new song is great too.

    6. 6. Sarah commented:

      Tue 17/2/09, 8:15 pm

      awwww! She is soo prety and cute, And I Love her name . Congrats! :)

    7. 7. Whitnee Hogg commented:

      Tue 17/2/09, 8:28 pm

      Wow, she is a beautiful baby! Cherish each moment!

    8. 8. Jennifer Eckert commented:

      Tue 17/2/09, 9:13 pm

      Congratulations on the new girl. It sounds like everything went well. Unfortunately you don’t live in Minnesota and go to my church. Otherwise I would be calling you in a few days to set up meals for your family.
      The Children’s pastor at my church went to the hospital today with his wife for their first (they will be getting the call from me soon). Unfortunately that baby is about 2 weeks early because his wife slipped on ice and hit her belly hard enough to cause the water to break. I’ll probably have an update on that tomorrow via our church’s email prayer chain.

    9. 9. Steve and Heather Paiva commented:

      Wed 18/2/09, 6:00 am

      Congratulations West family your gift has arrived!!
      May God give you a smooth transition into a family of 4!!
      we will be looking for a picture of the sisters together!
      love the RI fam

    10. 10. Chuck Petersen commented:

      Wed 18/2/09, 6:26 am

      Praise the Lord for a healthy baby and safe delivery. We were praying and checking your web site every hour on Monday. Ruth is a beautiful name, our youngest daughter’s middle name is Ruth (we have 3 daughters). You will soon realize that no boy is worthy of dating your daughters.

    11. 11. Mary Adam commented:

      Wed 18/2/09, 9:45 am

      So glad to hear that everything went well with Delaney’s birth! Congratulations Matthew, Emily & Lulu!! What a beautiful addition to your family! God bless you all!

    12. 12. Aaron Chambers commented:

      Wed 18/2/09, 2:53 pm

      Congratulations Matthew to you and the whole West crew. She’s beautiful and we can’t wait to meet her!

    13. 13. Cathy Jackson commented:

      Wed 18/2/09, 6:12 pm

      Congrats, Matthew, Emily and big sister Lulu! She is beautiful and you are all blessed! What a miracle she is!
      Love to all

    14. 14. Jennifer Eckert commented:

      Wed 18/2/09, 9:29 pm

      Just thought I would give you a quick update on our Children’s Pastor. He and his wife had a baby boy that was over 8 lbs early this morning (Wednesday). So who knows how big the kid would have been after 2 more weeks. Everyone is doing fine from what I’ve heard so far.

    15. 15. Sarah Taylor commented:

      Thu 19/2/09, 10:50 am

      Oh, my word, she is BREATHTAKING. And so is your writing. Thank you for posting this for all of us who enjoy hearing about your life. I love that you are surrounded by beautiful women – your wife and now your two girls. And just when I thought you couldn’t ever find a name as good as LuLu, you hit us with Delaney. Well played.

    16. 16. Beth commented:

      Thu 19/2/09, 11:28 am

      Congratulations to you and your family!
      Honestly, the first time I heard of you and saw you was in INDY (at THE CREEK) right before you went home to “have your baby”! The concert was WONDERFUL and EXCITING! I’m still singing songs in my head at home and while I’m at work! Thank you for your gift of song and may you and your family continue to be blessed because of the spiritual gifts you give to others when you sing and give testimony of your life before our Great God! I’ve downloaded songs from that Sundays concert by you AND the 2 other Great Groups that played with you. God has open my eyes to the true gifts of music and I’m trying to fill my head with that and not all the negative stuff out there at thepresent. Thank You so much! God Bless and keep you safe on the road.

    17. 17. Sarah commented:

      Thu 19/2/09, 11:39 am

      She is beautiful!
      I love her name.

    18. 18. Kristin Camiolo commented:

      Thu 19/2/09, 1:45 pm

      She is so beautiful…
      my Rosie is impressed with her little hat! :)
      You all have been in our prayers, I will have to show G the picture when she gets home, she had us checking the webpage about every 30 seconds on Monday! : )
      Welcome, Delaney…and congrats, fam!

    19. 19. Lei Peavy commented:

      Thu 19/2/09, 2:32 pm

      Congratulations on baby girl #2! She is precious! Is Lulu (big sister) her real name, or is it short for something? Levi (your stage friend from Alabama) wanted to know if the baby had made it here, so we looked it up. She really is beautiful. Congrats to you and your family-God has blessed you greatly.
      Sincerely,
      Lei (and Levi) Peavy

    20. 20. Kim Berry commented:

      Mon 23/2/09, 8:34 am

      Congrats!! We met you at the MWS weekend and became fans of you!! The weekend changed our marriage. We came home pumped to share with our 4 kids. Just finished listening to your awesome CD for the 2nd time today! I pray that life with your precious girls is not a blur…they will be 15 before you know it!!!

    21. 21. Geoff Hilton commented:

      Sat 28/2/09, 8:35 pm

      Congratulations on your new baby. Me and my family went to your concert in Bismarck, North Dakota where we discovered that both of our families were going to be expanding in February 2009. We had our baby, Ashlee Lynn on February 17, 2009. My wife went into the hospital on February 16 to be induced, but didn’t have the baby until the 17th. God bless you and your family and your music. Your music is a blessing for my family. Thank you.

    22. 22. Jodie Fleming commented:

      Thu 5/3/09, 11:37 am

      SHE’S GORGEOUS! She NEEDS her CARICATURE drawn!!

    23. 23. Megan commented:

      Thu 5/3/09, 4:40 pm

      hope all is well with you, Matt!
      I actually went to high school with you (we were in Chem clas together- remember Mr. Redig?), so i feel really proud that i know someone famous :)
      Congratulations on your beautiful baby girl!
      You guys really do make some gorgeous kids!

    24. 24. Tammy Carlton commented:

      Thu 19/3/09, 10:46 am

      Congratulations! What a Blessing!
      She is just precious!
      You have one beautiful family there!

    25. 25. cindy commented:

      Fri 20/3/09, 11:08 am

      My middle name is DeLane, so I love her name and have never heard of anyone naming their child this, but I absolutely love it!!!
      Congrats on your new baby girl:)
      God Bless you

    26. 26. Julia commented:

      Mon 30/3/09, 4:13 pm

      Congrats!!! Hey Matthew you should come up to Minot ND cuase I would love to hear you in concert!!!

    27. 27. Hannah commented:

      Mon 30/3/09, 6:37 pm

      AAAWWW!! Cute ! HDG

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