Well, Rachelle Elizabeth Tebbe was born last night. Following is some pertinent details and intrigue:

Weight: 8lb 5oz

Length: 20inches

Complexion: Beet red/ purple

Present at the delivery were Michelle (as one might expect), myself (Dan), Michelle's mom (Peg), our good friend Renee Grubb and her daughter Tabitha, Dan's brother Andrew (who tactfully assumed hall-pacing responsibilities), the midwife, Maya, and a troupe of travelling Russian acrobats to round out the circus. I jest about that last one, of course. The midwife expressed consternation at the number of people there, wondering if it is common in America to have so many people there to help along the labor. I pondered reassuring her that no it's not common, we are just odd like that, but decided that wouldn't be very reassuring.

Andrew, who is born on Feb 25, was rooting for her to be born before midnight so she could share a birthday with him. Peg, who is born on Feb 26, was hoping she'd be born after midnight so they could share a birthday. Neither really cared, of course, but it added some intensity to everyone's predictions of when the baby would be born.

The labor progressed much quicker this time around (unlike Hannah's 49-hour stint) and it was going to be close. At 11:58pm Rachelle stuck her head out for a holler, and a bit later decided enough was enough and popped out. Every head swivelled around to check the wall clock, and saw that it was 12:00 exactly! The midwife ruled that that means the birthday is Feb 26, and pointed out that anyway, by her watch the wall clock was a few seconds slow. So Rachelle shares a birthday with Grandma Burson, just like I share a birthday with Grandma Tebbe. Hooray!

Well, Baby Tebbe #2 is coming along soon. Michelle started having contractions at noon today (25 Feb) and so we'll be heading off to the hospital in an hour or two. Pray for us, and we'll keep you posted!

Yes, these are exciting times for us! Here are just a few things that are making these days feel almost like "Christmas in February" (no, SNOW is not included in this list!):

1. Dan is finishing up a challenging but growing season with his Basketball guys at European Finals this week. I'm praying that they'll play the best they have all season as a really unified team! We are definitely looking forward to having Dan home more often, especially on the weekends.

2.  We are looking forward to meeting our newest family member in the next few weeks, especially as Hannah has taken a particular interest in the local newborns lately! On that note, Michelle's Mom flies to Germany on Friday, the 22nd, to be with us for a month!
ALSO, WE ARE EXCITED FOR OUR GOOD FRIENDS ERIC AND KIM AS THEY PREPARE TO FLY TO VIETNAM THIS WEEK TO ADOPT THEIR LITTLE BOY EVAN !!! (For more details, see their weblink to the right - "Crawford's Blog")

Some days it sure doesn't seem like winter here because its been so warm and balmy several times already this month. We're almost to the point of hoping for no snow this winter and just going straight to spring! It actually was "spitting" out today, just above freezing, and occasionally it would turn to little snow flakes. And we had one day where it snowed for a few hours during Christmas break, but other than that, we've had only rain this winter. In the last few years, though, we seem to get more snow at the end of February and March...it will be a great "Spring Break" for us with the new baby and maybe lots of snow!

We are very thankful that we're all feeling better these days, and Hannah has enjoyed some fun times with friends over to play and friends at the pool! Below are some pictures of her times with all these other little gals around!

Pray for our staff and students at BFA...we have many with the "Winter Blues" - or should I say, "Winter Flu"? - after two weeks back at school. Dan had to stay home from school today and many of his Basketball players are down for the count. Upwards of 50 students have stayed home from school this week because of bad colds or the flu. Pray that Hannah and I will be protected from all of this - we're healthy right now and hoping to stay that way!

While we are rejoicing in our health, however, we'd also like to point out that Hannah is so healthy these days that she's running around, climbing up and down stairs and chairs, and managing to bump, scrape, or bruise her face several times each day! We had a little scare this week thinking she had the chickenpox, but it just turned out to be a rash (we think it might be because she is starting to get her 12th and 13th teeth!).