1.31.2009
I remember the day we found out "Operation Everything Works: Part Deux" was a success and we were on our way to a little girl. I was reserved about being excited, yet could barely hold it in all at the same time. This go 'round, everything seemed to move like clockwork.
We went to the visits, did the check-ups and I couldn't be more excited about being a dad. They had scheduled to induce Carrie (on her birthday) so we woke up, went to the hospital, and knew a baby was in route (which I completely loved being a Type "A" must have a plan kind of person).
I was there for EVERYTHING. No lie. I hate blood. I hate pain. I hate the sight of needles (oddly enough with all the tattoos), but it was unreal. I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything in the world. Watching Chloe Elise Bedell come into this world was a beautiful thing. If you are an expecting dad or plan to be a dad, be there for it all. Don't be a wuss. Suck it up and support your wife sucker. She'll love you for it. Trust me.
Being a dad opens your eyes to a new reality. Being in charge of someone's growth, learning, feeding, changing, morals, guiding, directing, etc. It's a tall order. I ask God daily for Carrie and I to be the parents He wants us to be, to make the choices He would want us to make, and to put our family before my job as a pastor. Yep, the church is second to my family.
If I can be the best husband and father to them as I possibly can be with God guiding me- I will in turn be a better pastor and I believe God will honor my efforts for putting them first.
So now we're 8 months into having this little bundle of joy and she is great, I don't know what we'd do without her. But along the way raising her, we had some interesting moves in the last three and a half months that really changed our ideas of what it means to "listen to God..."