Lets set the stage; I have been very fortunate in my life.  I grew up with loving parents, never wanted for much of anything that I did not receive. I get along with most people.  My siblings (one brother, two sisters, all younger than me) and I all have very good relationships.  I have been blessed with relative good health.  School was never a problem for me, I made it through elementary/high school/college with minimal effort.  I enjoyed the benefits of athleticism and played collegiate baseball.  I have been fortunate to fall into a career field that allows me flexibility, decent earnings, and is quite enjoyable. I am truly blessed to find my soul mate (Julie) and we joined our lives in a union of marriage that I am confident will stand the test of time.   Of course, not everything is perfect and we certainly have our hard times and struggles, but for all intents and purposes as my father in law always tells me, "Blake, you have got it made".  I couldn't agree more.  :)

October 10th, 2013
- Jumping ahead a bit in this chronicle; Julie is pregnant with our fourth child.  Our daughter Brylee is six years old, son Garrett is four years old, and son Cayson is two years old.  As anyone might expect, there is never a dull moment in the Deuser house.  When Julie and I decided that we would like to have a fourth child just like with our previous pregnancies.....it didn't take long.  Julie hoped and prayed that this child would be a little girl so Brylee would have a sister to play with.  As fate would have it, baby Deuser #4 was a boy.  Julie is a pro at pregnancy.  She stays active, she knows what she can and can not do.  With any of our pregnancies she has never been "really" sick.  Of course she has days where she is nauseated, etc, but all four pregnancies went smoothly.  Baby #4 was no exception.  Through the whole pregnancy, every doctor visit, every ultra sound (three of them), there were absolutely zero flags/problems and no concern that anything could be wrong.

October 11th, 2013
- Julie wakes me up, very early in the morning, and says that she is having very regular contractions and she has been having them for a couple of hours.  We are still about three weeks short of her due date, but she never made her due date with any of our other three children, so off to the hospital we go.  We live about 45 minutes from the hospital.  There were a few moments in the car when the thought crossed my mind based on Julie's responses to the contractions that, "Damn, she is going to have that baby before we get to the hospital".  Thank God, she didn't.  :)

We arrive at Floyd Memorial Hospital.  Julie gets registered and taken up to labor and delivery.  She is dilated to about 3 cm, but the nurses and doctors want to wait and see if she progresses before they make a decision on whether to keep her or send us home.  An hour passes, and Julie has progressed to 5 cm.  This being Julie's fourth baby delivery things progressed quickly.  She received her epidural and seemed to be pretty comfortable considering she was getting ready to push a watermelon through a garden hose. :)

The time arrives; 10:21am, 7lbs 6oz, 20inches; Deacon Robert Deuser has arrived.  A beautiful healthy boy has joined the Deuser family.  Family and friends at the hospital meet him and everyone immediately falls in love.  I mean, seriously who wouldn't?  After his initial feeding and being passed around the room Deacon is taken to the nursery for his new born screening.  We are taken to our regular room where Julie rests for a couple of hours (she earned it) and after his first bath and assessment Deacon is brought to our room.  Everything is grand!

~10:30pm;  Our pediatrician arrives to take a look at Deacon.  Technically, all pediatricians have 24 hours to come assess new babies.  I believe our pediatrician is exceptional, and we have a very close relationship.  The only reason it took him 12 hours was that it was his daughter's senior night for high school soccer.  He came after the festivities.  Most doctors would have just waited until the next morning.  I remember that the doctor showed up and Julie had to use the restroom as soon as he arrived.  While Julie was in the bathroom the doctor gave me a glance and asked, did Julie have any ultra sounds during the pregnancy? My response was yes, three of them actually.  Julie returns to the room, my sister has come to visit so she is sitting in the room as well, the doctor looks at both Julie and I and says, "I think he has Down Syndrome".

Gut Check.....