A, you're adorable...

There they are, the two most beautiful Adas I know. Well, actually, they are the only ones I know, but they are beautiful none-the-less!

We all know that the birth of a child is one of those events that is hard to top, but this past Easter Sunday, when Ada was born, that blessed event was taken up a level. At 7:47am, She made her debut into our lives. Definitely a moment that had Johnna and me on a high that even fatigue had yet to diminish. So as that afternoon came, I was left almost speechless as Nan knocked on the hospital room door with Gran at her side.

I will never forget how my heart felt as I realized that Granny was going to get to see her namesake on the day she was born! I remember saying to Johnna and Nan that not many people have had the privilage of being in a room with two Adas. One, less than a day old and the other will turn 96 in May, Lord willing! It was the icing on the cake for a day that I thought couldn't possibly get any better!

And in true Granny fashion, she sang the ABC Song to Ada, telling her how adorable she is and how much she is loved with each passing letter of the alphabet! So Granny, I guess I can only sum it up by saying....."U" made my life complete, "V" means you're very sweet, Double-"U" "X" "Y" "Z", It's fun to wonder through the alphabet with you, to tell you what you mean to me!

I love you most 'cause I said it first!



Sleep tight, sweet child, as you dream of the letters of the alphabet, and rest knowing that you are loved more than mere words can say. Blessings.

Welcome, Ada Danielle

I can just see their blurry eyes now, filled with excitement as they rush to see what Peter Cottontail brought them for Easter. The excitement of discovering each and every goodie in their basket, sampling a sweet or two before they even get a bite of breakfast. Geting dressed for church. Gathering up the family and heading out the door to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior.

Well, I'm sure that's how lots of people spent this past Easter Sunday. We just weren't among that number. Little did we know just 12 hours earlier, but God had a different sort of celebration of new life in store for us this Easter......Hallelujah! At preciselly 7:47AM, we got the Easter present that beats all Easter presents, our little girl Ada Danielle. She weighed 7lbs 5.2oz and was 20 inches long.

As we had pulled an all-nighter, we had blurry eyes ourselves. But instead of a basket filled with sweets, we had the joy of discovering each and every sweet part of our new little bundle. What a sweetie she is, too! We may not have gone to church this Easter, but we did have the opportunity to thank God for not only the gift of His Son, but also the gift of our daughter!

I am so excited to share this great news with all of you. The good news of Jesus and Ada. So as you admire the photos of this beautiful baby girl, remember that she was created by a big God who loves you very much.

I'm going to sign off for now, but will be sure to post back with more details of that joyus day. For now enjoy these images knowing that we love you all and can't wait for you to see Ada in person. Blessings.

Easter Eve

If I'm not mistaken, this is only the second shot of Carley with the Easter Bunny in her life. It was an impromptu shot taken in front of the Blue Chip Cookie Company in Loveland. She had a good time decorating an Easter cookie for her mommy. They were offering this service free for children 12 and under on Good Friday.

Still no baby today. Johnna and Carley both have colds. :-( We actually had to take Carley to Children's Urgent Care North today. The poor thing had a terrible ear ache today that had her in tears. Johnna has been feeling pretty rotten most of the day. She is still only having the occasional contraction, but lots of pressure as well as a sore back and legs.

Today is my sister, Kim's, birthday. I guess there's no danger of her having to share her birthday with our daughter. (Sorry Kim) There's still 3 hours and twenty minutes left in today, so I guess I have to leave the possibility open!

It seems that Carley has grown about a foot in the past few days. I took a shot of her at Nisbet Park yesterday. When I got home and saw it on my computer screen, I could hardly believe that was my little girl. It just serves as a reminder that we need to cherish all the more, the days of our children's lives. The modern "Butterfly Kisses" is "Dance With Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman. I can hardly listen to it without crying my eyes out! It is definitely true, today you're dancing with a little girl pretending to be Cinderella, tomorrow you're dancing with a young woman on her wedding day. Of course for my little girl that wont be for another 40 years as I have forbidden her to even date until she is 47!

Oh well, I guess I'll go for tonight. Please keep praying for us! We'll check back in soon. Blessings.

Lord Willing and the Creek Don't Rise...

As you can see, the creek did rise and I would have to assume the Lord wasn't willing! No baby yet. With the rains that we have had over the past several days, the creek was bound to rise.

But alas! The rains stopped, the sun was shining, and at precisely 1:48am, the Vernal Equinox pushed Winter into the history books forever! So, if ever a day brought with it the hope of new life, it would have to be today. At least it would be if it weren't for one thing. In just a few days we will be celebrating THE day that truly offers the ONLY hope of new life......Easter!

Yes, Easter. The day that our Lord walked authoritatively out of a borrowed tomb. Beaten, mocked, crushed under the weight of the cross that would eventually become His mode of execution, spat upon, His mother watched helplessly and His Father Forsook Him. He was counted out once and for all.

The beauty of this tragic story is that His Father not only embraces Him now, but because of Jesus' great sacrifice, He embraces us as well! Just as He has gone from a state of death and seeming helplessness, so do we. His victory over death is our victory also. His life offered up becomes ours. He is definitley not out for the count, He is risen victoriously. Now that is a day of hope and new life!

I have given up on my trying to figure out when our new daughter will come, and just thank God that it is in His time and not mine. He has it all figured out. He is in control.

Carley and I went for a little walk this evening before dinner. We went down to the river to see just how much it has gone down in a short time. Carley must have seen something that cought her attention. She looked with the kind of excitement that only a child can. It was written all over her face. She discovered something on this first day of Spring that had her wide-eyed. So, even though the excitement of new things is in the air today, and no matter when the baby is born, there is always the hope of Easter. For that, I am thankful. For that I am secure.

For now we wait on the gift of the addition to our family. But we do it with the peace of knowing that the greatest gift of life we could ever hope for is ours even now. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow, maybe not. Either way, we already have the greatest gift God could give. Everything else is icing on the cake.

Here is that picture of Carley. I hope you enjoy it and have that kind of wide-eyed awe of the gift that is Easter for yourself! Blessings.

Irish Dancer's Delight!

Red hair, pale skin with beautiful freckles.......she has Irish dancer written all over her! Well, even if she isn't "really" and Irish dancer, she sure got a taste of what it is like this afternoon. We went to Pizazz gift shop in old Loveland this afternoon to see the world class McGing Irish Dancers. As a special little bonus, Carley was blessed to "dance" with them! They were all very kind. They even let me get a shot of them with Carley.

The dancers are off to Belfast, Ireland this Friday for the World Irish Dancing Competition. This, all after winning first place in the prestigious All Ireland Championships in Killarney, Ireland just three weeks ago!

Carely was immediately taken with their curly locks, intricate costumes and carefully choreographed footwork moving in perfect time to the Celtic music projected through the speakers. Being "on stage" with them was almost more of a thrill for her than she could handle. (I think she was ready to cry afterwards) She now wants to be one. GULP!

As well as the entertainment we enjoyed this afternoon, we had a good day of worship at church this morning. They held child dedications today. In spite of the MAJOR contraction Johnna had durring a little girl's dedication, (approriate timing I must say) still no baby today. She did have many intense contractions today, so we must be getting closer. ;-P Johnna tried moving things along by grocery shopping and cleaning out the fridge today, but to no avail.

Not much else to report. My mom has a very busy day at work tomorrow, so she has kindly requested that the baby not show up until after 7:00PM. I guess 21 more hours isn't too bad, but that's it, that's where we draw the line!

Oh yeah, we did buy the letters in her name to hang on the nursury wall. They are...well, lets just say somewhere from A to Z, and there are exactly...well, lets just say, enough of them to spell her name. If you can't figure it out from those great clues, you'll never figure it out.

Even though I had myself convinced otherwise, I guess Monday is gonna be another work day for all of us since the little one has yet to arrive. But, tomorrow is another day, so I better get to bed. Johnna has a doctor appointment tomorrow at 3:45. Maybe this will be the last time we hear her heartbeat via a little microphone held up to Johnna's beautiful belly before we get to hear her lungs in all their glory as she makes her grand entrance into this world we call home. :-D

For now, enjoy one more shot of Carley with her new found best friends. Blessings.

Big Sister-To-Be

Now that's the face of the cutest big sister I have ever seen. At least she will be soon, good Lord willing. She is so patient. Carley was the first person to know that we were going to have another baby. She has kept track of her benchmarks counting down the big day; Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, CHRISTmas, New year, her birthday, Valentine's day, St. Patricks Day, Easter......well, we hope Easter doesn't get here before the baby, but we'll see.

She has not only been patient, but she is also excited to help out with her new baby sister. When I think about what kind of big sister she is going to be, I immediately realize that she is going to be great. She has a compassion and caring attitude that I know will be a major part of her big sis experience.

From the time she was old enough to think, she has wanted to do things for, and give to people who don't have the things that she does. I think back to when she was about four years old. she wanted to go to Children's Hospital at CHRISTmas time to give gifts to the sick cildren in the hospital. She is always talking about Hector, a little boy in Mexico, that she sent gifts to a couple of years ago. We heard about him from a pastor friend of my mom's who was going there on a mission trip. Hector was one of three children to a struggling single mother. She has his picture on her dresser and looks at it often. She would sponsor every hungry child through Feed the Children if she could!

She is always faithful to pray for anyone who says that they aren't feeling well or is hurting. She is so careful to pray for her mother and I in a specific way every night. I know that kind of compassion can only come from God. I pray that He will continue to nurture that in her as she grows. I pray that He will strengthen her to serve people all throughout her life in big ways. She is an inspiration to me, and I know, by God's grace, she will be an inspiration and blessing to everyone she comes in contact with.

As a father, I know I have many faults, but it is great to know that in spite of what I am, our children have a Heavenly Father who will nurture them as only He can. It just helps to serve as a reminder that EVERYTHING I count on is in His sovereign control, and for that I am truly thankful. Our God is big, and our God is good!

It is about 9:01 on Thursday as I write this. Johnna says she has had contractions an hour apart for the past three hours. She just may be right. That baby might show up tomorrow!

No matter when she shows up, I know that she will be greeted by not only an excited big sister, but a whole lot of family members who can't wait to smother her with kisses!

Johnna has been working long days this week with her classes in the evenings. As much as we want the baby to show up now, it would be nice if she had a couple of days to catch up on some sleep. I'm sure she would never say that, but I know she could use it. It is gonna be in short supply here before long to be sure!

Well, I guess that's about it for tonight. Will keep you posted if anything changes. For now We'll leave you with a quick shot I got of DJ getting in the St. Patrick's Day spirit. Blessings.

Countdown to God's revelation

Now that I have your attention, I must confess that I myself don't really have revelation from God, but rather God's handywork of a little girl, will be revealed any day now.



As you can see, the chosen vessel of that great gift is my beautiful wife, Johnna. 40 weeks of out-of-whack hormones, sore backs, hurting and swollen feet, a kicking baby and a countless host of other burdens climax in a pain I can't even begin to imagine, to bring forth a moment that will forever overshadow all of those pains with joy inexpressible.

I will forever admire her for her willingness to not only endure this once, but twice! THANK YOU JOHNNA! I LOVE YOU!

Johnna is in the middle of finishing up her PALS class. Her last class is this Thursday. It is over at 9:00PM, so she has her mind set on labor pains starting at 9:01, so that our new daughter will be born Friday, Johnna's father's birthday. (How's that for planning?)

Even with our best laid plans, God has a timetable of His own that trumps ours about one million percent of the time. So we will have to wait and see what HIs great plan is and fall in accordingly.

I will not be rambling on much more tonight. I will just share some images of my favorite ladies as we wait for the arrival of (insert name here) You didn't actually think I was going to let it slip did you?

Anyhoo, enjoy our first installment. Untill next time, blessings!