Written By: Andrew M. Wolfe

Jodel and I are proud to announce the birth of our second daughter,

Myrah Jean Wolfe, at 10:34 p.m. on Tuesday, July 29, 2008.
She was 20 inches long and weight 6 lbs. 15 oz.

This little one comes with quite a story!

After an uneventful day with no pre-labor, Jodel went to put Anastyn Marie (our firstborn, now 14 months old) to bed. Nursing her to sleep kicked Jodel into full-fledged labor – the contractions started at 4 minutes apart and 40 seconds long! We second-guessed it for about an hour, thinking it might still be false labor, but at 10:15 momma told me I needed to get Nana to watch Anastyn. The back pain was so bad at that point she said it was definitely time for an epidural. I called Nana and took Anastyn downstairs so she wouldn't crawl all over mommy.

Fifteen minutes later, my wife screamed, "AAANNNDDDRRREEEWWW!!!" and I ran upstairs. "Call 9-1-1!" she urged. I'd never called 9-1-1 before. "Really? Are you – are you sure?" I asked. "CALL 9-1-1!!"

Scarcely had I spit out "My wife is having a baby, like, RIGHT NOW!" and our address before Jodel called to me from across the bed in the master bathroom: "OH MY GOD! SHE'S COMING!!"


"That can't possibly mean what I think it means," I thought as I dropped the phone and dashed across the room. But it did. By the time I got there, my wife was holding our newborn baby right there above the floor of the master bathroom. That's right – Jodel delivered her own baby! I got back on the phone with the 9-1-1 operator, and (after congratulating the proud papa) they guided me through wrapping her up, wiping her off, and using a shoelace from my steel-toed work boots to tie off the umbilical cord while we waited for the paramedics.

Mommy and baby are healthy and happy and back from the hospital now. Our firstborn, Anastyn Marie (now 14 months old) is insatiably curious about the new arrival and enjoys pointing out that baby has a nose!

"Myrah" means "myrrh," an incense many know from the Christmas story as a gift from the magi, but which has been an integral part of worshiping God from the Exodus through to modern-day High Church traditions. The "MJ" initials recall my grandmother Mary Jane, who passed away shortly after Myrah was conceived, and to an extent the other Mary's in my family as well: Aunt Mary Jo, Aunt Mary Eleanor, and grandma Marilouise. (Both grandmothers Mary Jane and Marilouise were church musicians, bringing the worship and family themes full circle.) The "Jean" follows a tradition of middle names in Jodel's family: Barbara Jean, Jodel's mother; Jennifer Jean, Jodel's sister; and Courtney Jean, Jodel's niece. One last bit of significance: My pet name for Jodel from our early courtship has been meri jaan, an Urdu term of endearment meaning "my life"; it became her online screen name, and so many of her online friends know her as MJ as well.