This was written in a state of exhaustion, so please excuse poor writing or mistakes. I am not exactly sure what I even wrote. We will clean this up later after we get some rest. :)

At approximately 11pm on Saturday, August 14, Joanna awoke with abdominal pain. This was fairly normal as she has suffered for months with such discomfort. She noticed however that instead of the constant pain, these were coming and going. We took out the watch and timed the pain and then checked the

books to see whether this meant anything. The contractions were coming every three minutes and lasted for about  thirty seconds each time. This seemed to be too close together to be real labor as we thought it would begin gradually over a period of hours. The doctor had told us to come in when the contractions were about 5 minutes apart. Joanna was convinced that this was not labor and as it was nearly midnight on Saturday she was reluctant to call her doctor in. The pain intensified and finally I convinced Joanna to at least let us drive to the hospital which is about 15 miles away. She was in terrible pain during the contractions yet she kept saying this can't be the real thing. When we arrived at the hospital we sat in the car for about 30 minutes to see if they would subside or disappear, perhaps this was just false labor. We knew that if we walked in the hospital door that they would be required to call the doctor in and she didn't want to do this unless she was fairly certain she was actually in labor. After a particularly painful bout, she agreed to go in though she still thought this was not actual labor. The nurses brought us right into our own room and after a quick examination found that she was already dilated 4cm, well into labor. Surprisingly, another woman in Estes Park that was also due the same day as Joanna (August 19th) had also just arrived. To have two women in labor on the same night is a rare occurrence for this small town

Unfortunately, the night didn't go as fast as we would have liked. The contractions became increasingly painful and Jo decided that she really didn't want to go through with having a baby after all. Just after 6am she was given the go ahead to push. This very painful period lasted for over two and a half hours. The doctor kept debating on whether to intervene. It was an exhausting and very painful time, yet Joanna had amazing endurance and strength. At 8:53 our little guy arrived. He was 8lb4oz and 21 inches, considerably bigger than we had been expecting. He was pronounced robustly healthy, and with all his 10 fingers and toes. He is a beautiful little boy and it is hard to believe he is ours.

The first night was a bit rough as he was very restless, but today he is doing much better. He is sleeping, eating and exploring the world. We were kept in the hospital for about 36 hours from the time of admission and sent home today just after noon. It is nice to be back in our own place and to finally have our little guy here.

As for the name, we went back and forth on quite a few names. We liked the name Luke because the Apostle Luke was both a doctor, a learned man and a man of great faith. A balance that we want to see in our own lives. He also played a very significant role in bringing the gospel to Europe and the Balkan Peninsula. Some think that he may have been of Macedonian origin himself, coming from near the town of Philippi. Luke is also a name that works well internationally. As for his second name, I thought Skywalker would have been ideal. What boy do you know who wouldn't like the name, "Luke Skywalker"? Well, Joanna put her veto on that name and so it is a name I will use in secret. We therefore chose "Benjamin" in honor of my grandfather on my mother's side, V.J. (Benjamin) Mikkelson, a man of great character and faithfulness. He has some big shoes to walk in, but our desire is to see him grow up to be the unique person that he was created to be.

During the next week or two we will probably not do much communication and just hide from the world as we readjust. Our phone will be on the answering machine during this time, so please feel free to leave messages and to send e-mails. We will respond as soon as we are back on our feet.

Thanks for all your love and prayers!

Erik & Jo

More Photos Here

Watch this website for more information, coming soon!