Liana

I have a niece! (Well, on July 3rd I will have a niece, but I don't freaking care, she's my niece now!)

Sharaya (Aharon's little sister) had her baby! Liana June Marie Roach was born Monday, June 15th at 2:26 p.m. She was 9 pounds, 6 ounces, and 21.5 inches long. (She's exactly one day old!)

Although Sharaya and I did not always have a good relationship, I have been working hard since about February to try and fix that. Yes, I was in her wedding, but I still wouldn't have considered us close at that time. It really wasn't until February when it basically hit me that she was going to have that baby and that she would then be my niece. I was going to have a niece. I did my best to try and make things right with Sharaya. Unfortunately, I can't go back in time to when we met five years ago and be her friend then. Although if I could, things may not be like they are today and I wouldn't want to lose that.

I always knew that I wanted to be as close as possible for the birth, but I never thought Sharaya would want me right there. (I'm not even sure if she knew what she wanted to do until it was time!) I did my best to be available for her over the last few weeks, and on Sunday when she headed to the hospital, I headed up too. She did not end up having the baby that night, and I went home. Maybe I should have stayed, but I didn't. She was set to be induced at 6 a.m. Monday morning, and I arrived in her room at 5:55 a.m. on Monday morning. We were in that room all day. We had hoped for a baby by noon, but she wasn't ready. At 2 p.m., it was time to start pushing.

Sharaya and I had talked a little during the day about me being in the room. I kind of wanted to, but I have a weak stomach for smells (but nothing else) and wasn't sure I'd be of any help. But I'm also good with being rock solid emotionless when necessary. When the nurse needed somebody to hold a leg, Sharaya said I could do it, so I did.

And let me just end with this, when Liana was born, the amazing feeling that followed is truly unforgettable. I've always wondered how parents always say they loved the baby so much more when it was born. I've never understood that. Sure, it's your kid, but it just got here. Let its personality grow on you a little. But nope. You don't have to. It just hits you like that. And I'm not even the parent, just an aunt. I can't imagine what it will feel like when it's my own kid.

Sharaya, thank you for allowing me to experience something so amazing with you, Jeremy, and Liana.

Jesus IS watching!

Aharon and I went shopping last night to finish up our wedding and honeymoon shopping. Really, we were only shopping for Aharon since getting him to go is difficult. Thus, we were out shopping in the pouring rain with only 21 days to go. He still needed a dress shirt, belt, sun glasses, shoes, shorts, and a tie. Plus we needed a tie for my dad, Nick, and Aharic. So off we went.

Things were going very smoothly. We left around 5 and by 7 we were on our way back home. About 10 minutes outside of Chesterfield, my phone rings. It's Aharon. I automatically assume he's pocket dialed me and tell him so. He begins looking around for his phone, but doesn't find it. We pull over and get out to search the car. No phone. He decides he must have left it in a fitting room. We get back in the car and turn around.

First I call Old Navy since he was most anxious to get out of there. Nothing's been found. Then I called Kohl's. Same thing. I call his phone again, and there's no answer, but the phone still rings. So it hasn't been shut off. Aharon says to call and shut off service with Verizon, hoping that if someone has it they'll think that it will never work again and will turn it in. Instead, though, I send his phone a text message.

"If you have this phone, please turn it in. We were out shopping for our wedding and don't have the money for an insurance claim. Do the right thing. Jesus is watching."

We get back to Chesterfield and decide to go to Old Navy first. Aharon is almost positive he left it here and figures it's most likely that a kid grabbed it here. We get out of the car and take one step toward the store. But then, I get a text message. From Aharon's phone!

"Kohl's customer service."

I stop walking and say, "I think your phone is at Kohl's...because it just texted me."

So, back in the car and over to Kohl's. We get to customer service and Aharon asks if anyone turned in a cell phone and describes his. The girl asks if we were the people who had called a short while earlier. I tell her yes. She then tells me that while she was on the phone with me, a guy walked into the restroom. A few minutes later, he walked out, slammed the phone down on the counter, and then walked away without saying a word.

I asked her if she had texted us saying it was at Kohl's customer service. She said no - she couldn't even figure out how to get the phone screen to turn on.

All in all, a good day.

Thanks, Jesus!

Yes, He Knows He's Never Lived in New York.

I went down (this is like the first time I've ever said I went down to someplace and then found out that yes indeed, the direction I was traveling in was down!) to Mount Clemens yesterday to get the marriage license.

For anyone who doesn't know, Aharon was born in Canada. This has caused considerable amounts of, well, crap, throughout the last five years. Canada doesn't like that he calls himself an American citizen but then states his birth place as Sarnia. America doesn't like it, either. Apparently they've never met someone born in another country before because you'd think by the look they give us that we were telling them that he was born to a family of prairie dogs or something! He was born with American citizenship, but his social security number was issued through immigration. That means his first three digits correspond to a New York birth. The problem? There's no record of him ever living in New York, but since he was born with citizenship, nobody seems to understand why it all had to go through immigration, either. It makes sense to me, but apparently I'm the only one.

So back to the original point. Because we get so much drama every time we do anything that involves social security numbers or the government in general, I took every single piece of identifying information I could find with me. We're talking birth certificates, passports, consular's report of birth abroad, Canadian birth certificate, driver's licenses, social security cards, and voter's registration. (Aharon couldn't go with me because his allergies were acting up and I knocked him out with a nice dose of Benadryl. Accidentally, of course. I didn't expect him to fall asleep - just to zone out. But nope. Out cold. For like 2 hours.)

And guess what happens when I arrive?! They only piece of identifying information I need to present them with is MY driver's license. Not even anything for Aharon. He didn't even have to sign the form! Only I did. At one point, the girl asked if Memphis was in Macomb county. I told her that we both lived in the half that was in it, and that I had brought voter registration cards to prove it. But she didn't want to see them!

I was perfectly prepared for any obstacle and I encountered none. And honestly, it kind of made me upset. I was ready, and nobody cared!