Like her Dad!

This evening after getting home from Hallie's doctor appointment, I had planned to be productive and get some work done since my office hours have been pretty skimpy as of late.  BUT...I ended up having an awesome night hanging out with Lacey and with my baby girl sleeping on my chest (I love it when she does that).  We just laid around, and it was great...she is so precious...I can't help but stare at her.  And now Hallie and I are up late.  Well, she just fell asleep.  It's probably not a good thing, but she is already like me in that her days and nights are a little mixed up.  She stays up late, likes to sleep alot, and likes to eat a whole lot...sounds like her dad to me.  The only difference is that she is so cute while she does it all.  I am so proud to be her daddy!  "God, help me to love Hallie the way you call me to love her.  Help me to love her sacrificially.  Thank you for her.  She is a beautiful gift from you.  I give her back over to you--She is yours."  Although she seems to be like me now, I pray that Hallie becomes more like her heavenly Dad everyday of her life.

The Last 10 Days

Hallie's now been a part of our lives for 10 days! I will try to do a quick review of the past week and a half (with pictures of course).

Day 1
I went in at 7:30 to have labor induced. Everything (except the very end) went really smoothly, and at 10:13 miss Hallie Grace was born. She weighed 6 lb 3 oz and was 19 in long. Perfect!
Day 2
We had lots of visitors at the hospital. Hallie was dressed for her debut in a cute little outfit with a big pink bow, and in our defense, the bow didn't look as big in person as it does in the pictures.
Day 3
After a lazy morning at the hospital, we were both discharged. The outfit that we had picked out for Hallie to wear home was a little (or a lot) too big so we had to improvise. She still looked precious in her little green outfit. I rode in the back seat with her on our way home because I may have been a tad nervous.

Day 4

The first night at home was a little rough, and we had to ask guests not to stop by until late afternoon so we could get rest. When we finally got moving, Philip put Hallie in her swing to test it out. She's got a little growing to do.

Day 5

We made a trip to the doctor's office on Saturday because Hallie's bilirubin levels were high when we left the hospital. She had a great golden complexion, but it turns out that it was jaundice so the doctor prescribed the biliblanket. So we had our very own little glowworm for a few days.

Day 6

Sunday was our church vision-casting day. Tim, Wes, Codi, and Philip all spoke; I really wanted to be there, but it was a little more difficult than I expected to get out without Philip being there to help. Philip's parents, sister, nephews and my mom, grandparents, and aunt all came over as well as the Gregorys. So, needless to say, we had a busy day without making it to church. You can really tell how orange Hallie was next to Caleb and Faith.

Day 7

We had another doctor's appointment that was pretty uneventful. Then, we took Hallie to the church to see the people Daddy works with. Even though the day wasn't extremely busy, miss priss decided she wanted to sleep for about 6 hours (we couldn't wake her up at all). To bad it wasn't at night! This is how we end up by the middle of the night.

Day 8

Hallie is 1 week old! We had our first day at home with no visitors and nowhere to go. It was a nice break. At 11:30 P.M. when Hallie is always wide awake, we took some pictures to commemorate the occasion.

Day 9

We had another lazy day. Yay!! My mom came and spent the day with us. Then, some of the students stopped by after Encounter to meet the newest member of the student ministry. That night, we finally got a picture of me giving Hallie a bath. Turns out sponge-bathing a baby is a pretty quick process, and we couldn't seem to coordinate Philip getting the camera before I finished.

Day 10

The Mataks came by to visit during the day. Philip is the GCM football chaplain again this year, and the first football game of the year was tonight. It's just the little one and me, and it's hard to believe how great she is. She sleeps a lot during the day, but when she's awake, she is so content. I find myself not wanting to put her down; she's so wonderful.

Change. Change. Change.

Life will be changing dramatically on Monday! I will have labor induced, and Hallie will become a huge, life altering part of everyday of the rest of our lives. We are so excited and can't believe that this is already here. So...with life changes, blog changes are also coming. My unknown, random, not very consistently updated blog is now becoming a family blog where both Philip and I will post, and we can update family and friends on the new addition to our family. Writing in a place that anyone can see is definitely out of my comfort zone, but I have confidence that this can be a great thing. More to come soon!

WHOA!

I was reading a friend's blog today, and she mentioned that she had 100 more days until her due date. I am only 3 weeks behind her, and I have to admit, I got a little freaked out. Only 120 days! We aren't ready at all! I have picked out the crib and the bedding which I totally love, and I guess now I just wait until showers to see what I get before I start buying.
Here are pictures of the bed and bedding:

I've never liked roller coasters.

These past couple of weeks have been such a roller coaster ride for both Philip and me. Neither of us have ever lost someone close to us, and I don't know how to deal with it most days. I can't stop thinking about Logan, and I even had a dream last night about him hugging me when he knew I needed it. Other times I just can't focus on anything, and I think it probably has something to do with wondering where my focus and priorities should be. I looked at some pictures today from a shower that Philip and I were invited to that we didn't attend because I was leading a D-Now (Logan was there and in several pictures). For the past two weeks I haven't quit regretting doing that D-Now, and seeing those pictures make me regret it even more. I told Philip Sunday after the D-Now that I didn't enjoy it at all, and that it would probably be my last one other than ours, of course. I wish we had gone to that shower 2 days before Logan died and spent time with him! Did God really want me to do that D-Now? Did I even pray about it? Did anything good come out of me being there? I HATE THIS! All this gets me thinking, I want to be around the people who are most important to me. What does this mean for ministry? Is Philip feeling the same thing? Where do the students of FHSM fall into this because I want to be able to drop things and go to everything that I know our closest family and friends will be at. I don't want to regret something like that again, I don't want to feel like this again. Don't get me wrong, there have been plenty of times and days that have been excellent where I couldn't have been sad if I wanted to be. I have joy through it all even though I've been more sad lately. I'm just confused and on a roller coaster of emotions.
God, show me how to deal with this and get past the regret. I want to be effective in the ministry you have us in right now, and I'm not right now. Be my strength and my comfort and may my will be Yours. Help!

On a lighter note. Easter was great and we were able to see all my family, the Mataks, and some of Philip's family. I really need to get better about taking pictures because Philip and I both wore purple, and I love when we match (he hates it). More importantly, we celebrated that Jesus is Risen, and that is why and how we can have a personal relationship with him!

Also, we are having a baby GIRL!