I'm A New Man

After what probably totals about 8 or 9 hours of sleep in the last three and a half days, Hannah got home and allowed everyone (including herself) to string together hours at a time of sleep, wonderful sleep. I feel like a new man. She ate at about 10 then 2AM and was up just before 7. It was great - hopefully a sign of days to come because I can handle this.

Still Overwhelmed (in a good way)
Being home provided a little more reflective time to ponder wha has just happened in my life. All the kids were in our room, on our bed this morning while Lora was feeding Hannah. I looked at each one of them and wondered why I've been so absolutely blessed by God with these kids. I love each one of them and they each bring something different to this family. I'm overwhelmed by this great family.

On top of that, as we've been sharing Hannah's birth with people, I've realized again how blessed we are. People from from all over - Texas, Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, Maryland, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and more places have called or posted comments here on line about how they've prayed for us and Hannah. First off, thanks. Hannah's umbilical cord was small, short and wrapped around her neck when she came out. Even though she was 7lbs 12oz she was still our smallest baby and her size was a concern to doctors 3 weeks ago. We've wondered how things may have turned out if all these people hadn't been praying. We'll never know this side of eternity, but I'm convinced that things would have been very different without all those specific prayers. Again, I'm overwhelmed.

One More Thing
Finally, here we are in North Carolina for just over a year, starting a brand new church that's been going for only 3 months and I'm able to spend this time with my wife, kids and newborn. People (most of whom we've known for 3 months or less) have volunteered to bring meals for the next couple of weeks. God's assembled a capable staff that are continuing to plan and develop ministry without missing a beat. And they've even divided up the Sunday morning speaking so I have one less thing to worry about for the next few weeks.

When we moved here knowing virtually nobody but with a dream and vision for starting a new church, I never forsaw what's happening now. Didn't know how God would work things out, but was confident enough in my calling to know that he would. I'm so undeserving, so humbled and so grateful to be able to ride this church planting roller coaster. God is faithful and I continue to be overwhelmed.