After Alexis was born,
Bobby left for Afghanistan and he was there for 4 months. Then he was given a
break from the long assignments away from home and we were all glad.
Soon, Maria was
pregnant again with a third child and we were all happy. This time it was another
boy, Michael, and just five months after his birth she was pregnant yet again.
Steven was born prematurely in July instead of August so he was a little small,
but normal and healthy.
However, each time they had hoped for a girl
and each time were a little disappointed. In just a short period of time, the
family had grown by two more children. But that wasn’t it; about 8 months later
Maria was pregnant again and again we were excited, but a little wary. We were
a little concerned about Maria’s stamina to have so many kids so close
together.
This time, both Bobby and Maria firmly
believed it was a little girl. She would be named Sophia Maria because her
initials would be the same as Super Mario Brothers, Bobby’s favorite video
game.
Soon, it was time for a
visit with both Maria’s parents and us. Her parents live in Houston on the
other side of the Gulf. So it was all planned. They would leave Germany where
they are stationed with the Air Force and arrive in Houston just a day before
July 4th. That visit would be about 1 1/2 weeks and then they would visit
us for 2 ½ weeks.
However, about three
days after they arrived, Maria began to bleed profusely. At first, we were not
too alarmed. We had been through this all before with Alexis. But then the next
thing we knew, she was in the hospital getting four units of blood. The doctor
said she had a blood clot on her placenta and also a possibility that the baby
was too small for its age. She would have to be on complete bed rest for at
least a month.
When it came time for
them to see us, Bobby and three of the kids came out without her and the
youngest child, Steven. We understood the probability that the visit would be
longer than the 2 ½ weeks planned. Meanwhile, she came home from the hospital
to her parent’s house and was resting comfortably.
But after only a few
days home, her water broke. She was rushed back to the maternity ward. Within
24 hours, she gave birth to a 5 ½ month old fetus that weighed only about one
pound. It was too young to survive outside the womb. We were sad and we cried
on a very rainy day as I believe the Lord cried with us. Then we found out it
was a girl after all. Maria took pictures of her dressed up like a little doll.
Bobby bought a locket for her picture so she would always be remembered and she
could wear her close to her heart. She was the little girl who didn’t make it,
Sophia Maria.
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