Our Growing Family

Looking at the little baby in my arms I marveled at the fact that I actually had a daughter. So tiny and helpless and ours to love and care for. LV looked as proud and thrilled as he had when Sailor had been born. We prepared to go home and I couldn't wait to tell Mom that she had a grandaughter.

After I was settled in bed at home LV went to my parents to bring Sailor home and share our happy news. Mom came home with them and worked around the kitchen until our hired girl arrived several hours later. I wasn't disappointed at her excitement of having a grandaughter.

Sailor admired the baby but was much more impressed with her pacifier than anything else. I realized he must not have forgotten how much he used to like his own pacifier before I had weaned him from it.

Not long after my six weeks of of relaxing and enjoying our new baby was up LV had to go help someone with their hay. my day was going well, I had put Sailor down for a nap in his toddler bed and was taking care of the baby. After she was asleep I placed her in her crib and went to get some other things done. I peeped in Sailors bed on my way to the kitchen and was horrified to find it empty.

I looked through the house but there was no sign of him anywhere. I noticed the back door was slightly ajar and my heart sank. I ran outside calling his name. I looked for him in the barn, in our machine shed, and remembered how he loves playing with ears of corn so I checked the corn crib but there was no sign of a little boy anywhere.

I ran the half mile to where our mailbox was thinking he may have wanted to go fetch the mail. He always enjoyed going with me. I couldn't think of anywhere else to look except all our fields and the woods and felt helpless at how I was supposed to find him by myself, especially with a baby that would wake up and need me any minute.

I ran to our phone shanty and left a message on my parents voice mail and then called one of our local taxi drivers and told him to go over and tell them to check their phone. I checked the baby and then kept searching and calling for Sailor. My brothers were there to help before long and we continued looking.

I went into our hayloft and called again and then happened to spot the corner of Sailors favorite blue blanket on top of a stack of hay. I climbed up and found him curled up, sleeping, with the baby's pacifier in his mouth. I was so relieved to have found him safe and sound, and a little amazed how at two his conscience had already made him seek a hiding place to enjoy a forbidden object.