Funny Story...by Robert

This is my first time every blogging and I'm not sure how to start out describing the birth of our 3rd child but I thought since I'm the one telling it I'll call it a funny story.

Friday started out like any other day. Karin felt fine, but ready for the baby to come, and I was preparing to take a quick trip to see BYU play Florida State in Florida. I know you're probably thinking what husband leaves his 9 month pregnant wife to go to a football game? This idiot does. She wasn't due for 10 more days, what were the odds that she'd go into early? Obviously I miscalculated what the odds were.

Karin dropped me off at the airport at 11am and while saying good bye I said "call me if you have any kids while I'm gone." I landed in Atlanta just a couple hours later and called home. To my surprise Karin's mom said she was going into labor. I couldn't believe it. I immediately started trying to find a flight back. I ran to a Delta customer service counter and told them my wife was in labor and I needed to get back to Salt Lake NOW. There was a flight in 5 minutes but they had already closed the gates and I couldn't get on that one. The next flight was at 6:45pm and would get me to Salt Lake at 8:45pm. I was told this flight was over booked and that I wouldn't be able to get on it. I actually ran to 4 different Delta counters hoping one of them would help me in some way. I asked them to put me on stand by or anything. I thought if they would do that I would make a plea to passengers boarding the flight and hope someone would give up their seat. Everyone I talked to at Delta said the same thing that I wouldn't be able to get on that flight. The next Delta flight left around 8:45 and wouldn't get me in until 10:45. There were 2 seats left on that flight but I wanted to get home sooner. I won't tell you the cost was but I'm pretty sure I could have flown to Hawaii for cheaper.

Thinking there was no way I could get on the earlier Delta flight I started to look at other options. I decided to check with United Airlines. I was checking my phone to see if I could find something else. I had about 6 messages my family was sending me texts and emails helping me look for options. That simple act meant so much to me and showed me how much they cared for Karin and I. I found a flight though United and thought I might be able to go through Denver and get in a littler sooner. I ran, took a shuttle, and ran some more to get to United Customer Service desk only to find out they didn't have any tickets left. At this point I was getting worried I wasn't going to make it back until late. I remember thinking I need help and I said a prayer. I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier but I felt comforted that prayer

Knowing that the United flight was not an option I decided I had better get on the later Delta flight that would get me in to Salt Lake at 10:45. I ran back to the Delta Counter and was told there was only one seat left and the price had gone up $300 in the 30 minutes since I last asked. I got the ticket and as I was about to leave I asked the lady if she would now put me on stand by list for the 6:45 flight. She put me on the list but told me that there were 8 people ahead of me on standby and that the flight was already full and that she doubted I would get on. She then said I had 11 minutes to get back to the gate before they would close it. I started running. By now I was just dripping in sweat. When I made it to the gate the last ticketed passenger was just getting on. There was a line of stand by passengers and I sort of just went to the front of the line hoping no one would say anything, someone actually did and asked me if I was a Diamond Member. I didn't know what that meant but I said "I think so". When I got up to the agent who I had already spoke to a couple of times earlier when I was begging to get on the flight. I told her I now had a ticket on the later flight. I again asked her if there was anyway I could get on the flight that was now leaving. She started typing and said "Somebody must like you." I looked up at the screen that showed all the standby passengers names and saw that my name was now the first name, ahead of all the other 8 waiting on the list. I'm not sure how it happened, but for me it was nothing short of a miracle. I got on the flight and didn't see any other stand by passengers get on. I was so grateful and thought back to my prayer.

Now that I'm on the flight all I can do is wait and hope to make it in time. As the plane started to make its decent into Salt Lake I went to the front of the plane and asked if anyone would switch seats with me, I was in the very back of the plane. I wanted to be close so I could off as soon as we landed. I told those in the front few seats my wife was in labor. Everyone sort of looked at me and then one guy on the front row gave up his seat for me. As soon as the plane door opened I was off again running through the airport. My sister Liz was waiting for to take me to the hospital.

As we got on I 15 I called Karin's phone, no answer. I then called her mom's phone. I asked her if I had missed anything. She said I had a new little girl. I was crushed. I wanted to be there so bad. I had just missed it by a couple of minutes. She told me she was healthy and that her and Karin were doing well. I showed up to the hospital minutes later only to have every nurse and doctor to remind me that I had just missed it. When I finally did get to see Karin and Charlotte I was greeted with big smiles, which made me feel so happy. I was so glad to see them and immediately fell in love with that little baby. Though I would have loved to be there I probably wouldn't have been a ton of help. I don't do to well in that setting. When Brooklyn was born I passed out while Karin was pushing and doctors had to attend to me for a couple minutes. Karin actually said it was nice to not have to stress over me passing out or anything. Luckily Karin's mom was there for her she is a champ and I owe her so much.

We are both so happy that Charlotte has arrived and is doing well. Though I could have made things a lot easier by never trying to go on that trip...it worked out pretty well. We have a health baby, I was able to see a small miracle as well as feel the love my family has for me, as they were all doing all they could to help get me back, and last but not least we have another "funny" story to tell people about the birth of our little girl.