Happy Birthday Matthew :-))

Here goes trying to capture our first week as parents of imho (in my humble opinion) a gorgeous sweet lovable little boy! I'll tell it in pictures since #1 I know that's what you came to see and #2 I'm tired and lucky to get on here to tell for what ever length of time before our little guy wakes back up again hungry :-) Here goes....

Sunday November 1
Sweet friends came over to occupy our thoughts and bring us dinner the night before going in to the hospital:

Pre night prep administered:
Family arriving moments before:
Hey little guy :-)))



Our new family of three :-)

Baby Stats
Just no words yet... and he's awake.


I'll leave you with something Billy shared on Facebook that made me cry:

A Moment I Will Never Forget

Mon at 12:04am

As I sit here with the brief few moments I have until Matthew's next feeding/changing/medicating, I think of a bible verse Lori and I recited many times over the past four plus years. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." After going through infertility issues, then adoption issues, I wasn't sure exactly how God was going to fulfill that promise, even though I knew He would. Now that we have a four day old beautiful boy, I am amazed - although not surprised. God has been full of surprises that we continue to discover. So I wanted to take this time to do what a good friend suggested and speculate over the whirlwind that was the last 4 days.

Only some people know this, but literally days before Lori and I found out we were pregnant, I had a friend approach me in church and very hesitantly ask to talk to me. I could tell he really didn't know why he was telling me, but I could also tell he felt compelled to do it. He simply said "God wanted me to tell you that you are going to have a baby soon." I didn't have the words to respond because I didn't understand what I was supposed to do with that information. I only responded that I appreciated him telling me and I will have to pray to know what it is God wants me to do with that.

Long story short, when Lori was feeling sick for several days, I went out and got a pregnancy test (a familiar trip that had always ended up in disappointment). We were overwhelmed at the news that we were indeed pregnant. And after the euphoria wore off, it was a day by day journey of giving God control as we feared any day could bring us unfortunate news that this gift we had prayed for many years wasn't going to happen.

And on November 4th, at 4:11 p.m., Matthew took his first breath in this world. So many emotions were going through my mind that day and the night before. The days leading up to the night Lori was due to be induced, I was thinking of the little things we did daily that would change forever. Almost as if I would miss the freedom. Random thoughts like these passed through my mind with the foremost thought being how amazed I was that our wait was finally over.

I'm sure the many hours of labor we had were not much different from anyone else. I tried to be as supportive as any husband could and Lori tried to keep the best attitude while she was in such pain and discomfort. Once she had dialated fully, it took only 15 minutes of pushing and they went fast. I had too much going on in my mind to really log them here, but I will never forget when Matthew made his entrance. I had only a feeling of hope that it hope that everything would be okay and concern for Lori. I had made some connection to him as he grew inside Lori and I felt his kicks. But I had nothing else to identify with him. That all ended in an instant when I saw him.

He was real! It only took seconds to make sure he looked fine and everything was normal, but after that was the feeling of awe. Nothing else in my life compared to that unique moment of seeing my son for the first time. I remember the humble feeling of thankfulness and tears of joy I felt. And I couldn't take my eyes off him. Every detail of his face and his expressions and watching his brand new eyes take everything in. They had cleaned him off and after crying briefly, he was quiet and at peace looking at us all. I have never felt so full in my heart looking to my wife and to my newborn son all in the same room as if we'd all just met for the very first time.

I know God designed marriage not only for companionship, but to prepare us for greater responsibilities in serving Him, in learning to love, and in sacrifice for others. Now I know God designed children to show us how much He loves us.

I have one final moment to share. It was before we went to the hospital as I was cleaning house. Lori has a desk calendar that shares a bible verse for each day of the month and very soon after she found out she was pregnant, she changed the calendar to stay on her due date at the time, November 3rd. We all know we look for significance in these things. The verse was nice but not something I would always remember the moment by. So when I found it 4 days before we went to the hospital, I changed it to November 4th as our new date. I was greeted with another one of God's little surprises. The verse for 11/4 to remember Matthew's 4:11 p.m. arrival was Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Sometimes, God just makes me smile.