Ladies and Gentleman, Your 2028 Heisman Trophy Winner is...

Madden Tyler Barnes!!! It is either the '28 Heisman, or the '36 Masters, we aren't sure yet. I guess we will let him decide what he wants to do. So, Madden came a little earlier than expected (two weeks for those who don't know), but we are so happy that he is here. He is such a joy to us and we feel so blessed to add another beautiful child into our home. And if the title didn't give it away, this is Tyler posting the article, not Shelley. So, let me give the rundown of how this kid came into the world...and if you just want to see the pics, scroll down the page(which wouldn't offend me because that is how I often "read" other people's blogs). So without further ado, here is the story: Monday morning, I hopped on a flight and flew to Houston for work. Our plan was for me to work that week, and then induce labor on the 12th. Shelley was having some contractions and some discomfort and told me that she was positive the kid was coming before I was scheduled to come home and said, "I hope you make it home if he comes." I just shrugged it off and thought she was a bit over reacting about this kid coming and that there was no way he could come before we were to induce. Shelley went to Barnes Park(no relation to us) so London could play around and had fun with Jessica and Jaden Barber. Shell took London to Cherry Hill right after the park for 4 hours and had some fun in the water and sun with Emily and Samuel Simmons. Shelley told Emily that she was sure that she was going to have this kid within the next two days. Contractions were on and off the rest of the day and continued through the night. Tuesday morning, Shelley was feeling tons on pressure and continued with the contractions. I was up and running for work and hadn't really talked to her. Shelley had to make her way to the gym(which still amazes me that she can and does work out at 9 months pregnant) and then came home and did some rigorous deep cleaning of our house in preparation for our little man. Mom came over to help watch London and did a ton of cleaning for us, for which we are so grateful. The house looks great! Afterwards, Shelley ran off to her doctor appointment. Her doc is out of town, but the bullpen doctor told her that she was dilated to a 4 and that if she felt like she was having any labor pains, she needed to call her husband. He also said that if Shelley ran around the block a couple times and came into the hospital, they wouldn't turn her away. So Shelley sends me a text that said the baby is coming, call me as soon as I could. I looked at the text and thought if the baby was really coming, she would have said something like, "get your butt on a plane, I am in labor!!!" (Maybe that is what I would have written, but Shelley felt her message was clear enough that I should have known, but I didn't call her for about 2 hours. To my defense, I was working and didn't have a free second. And I didn't feel much urgency in the message she sent). When I finally did call her, she said that she was feeling the pains and that I needed to get home. After talking to her, I felt that I needed to get home 'cause this baby was on his way. I didn't think that it was possible for me to get home that night, but I was going to do everything that I could to make it happen. At 6:20 p.m., my company booked a 7:05 p.m. flight for me at an airport I was 20 miles away from. We got to the airport at 6:33 and I checked in for the flight, which the nice people at Frontier Airlines barely let me get on because I was so late. I had a free pass to get through security quicker, and then sprinted to the gate to get on the plane. Right after I boarded, they shut the door. Then we sat on the plane for an hour and a half while maintainence fixed a problem. The only worry was that I was going to miss the connecting flight in Denver if they took too long. Shelley was at her parents' house and decided to take the Docs advice and went for a run with her sister(I know, Iknow, what the heck was she thinking?! I don't think the doctor was serious about going on a run, but she took a 4 mile jaunt with her sister to start the labor). Meanwhile, my plane landed at 9:30 in Denver and the flight to Salt Lake left at 9:47. I sprinted to another terminal, only to find that plane was just about to start boarding becuase it was luckily delayed by 15 minutes. I got on the plane and called home. Shelley was in the shower and going to the hospital as soon as she got out. I told her mom I would meet them there and to keep that kid in her belly. Shelley checked in at 11:15 and I got there at 12:15. From there, we just had to wait for the contractions to keep doing their thing. Shelley was at a 5 at 1 a.m. and we thought it would be any minute. The nurses didn't break her water because the doctor wanted to sleep, and so we waited and waited. Shelley got an epidural, but must have just felt miserable all night long. Finally, at 8, the doctor came in and broke her water. She went from a 5 to a 10 in about 20 minutes. She pushed for 25 minutes and at 9:16 on August 5th, out came Madden. He tipped the scales at 7 lbs, 4 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. We are so blessed that he has a clean bill of health and everything has been going well with him. Shelley is quite the trooper, never complaining and ever so happy. She is doing wonderful, more beautiful than ever, and we hope her recovery time is swift and we feel like it will be. I am so proud of her and all that she went through to bring another soul into this world. London was a little nervous the first time that she met her brother, but she has subsequently warmed right up to this little guy. She is proud of her little Madden and wants to hold him all the time. She was singing songs to him in a car ride home and when she was holding him. She was very upset when Shelley was going to feed him because he was under a blanket and she needed to see him. She is going to be a wonderful big sister and she is so sweet to him. This whole event brings so many things into clearer focus for me. I see the Lord's hand all around me and feel ever so grateful to Him who reigns on high for blessing me with so many miracles. I am in awe of His majesty and Grace, and am so grateful for the plan that will allow me to be with my family forever. Thanks for all the phone calls, text messages, notes, and prayers on our behalf. We love you all, and can't wait for you guys to meet Madden.