Just the two of us

Daddy is off on a fun trip to Pennsylvania to see an old college friend get married. So it is just me and Charis for a couple days and I am going to try and blog.
Josh left yesterday (after his flight was delayed five hours) and Charis and I went to Nanna and Opoo's house (The Ferrells). I had a yummy dinner, and she had lots of lovings from Auntie Crystal and Uncle Jordan. She did not sleep that well last night. Right when I thought she would finally nod off she wanted to eat again (about 1:00 am) and then fed every four hours, so not much sleep for mommy. Oh, and she spit up an entire feeding last night. I know people say that it really isn't that much, but we were both covered - kinda gross. And in the middle of the night when I was changing her she decided to pee all over the changing table and her clothes. So yes, I had to change her outfit twice last night.
This morning was time for another bath and I decided to take her in the shower with me. It took lots of prep and organization, but who is better at that than me. Looked like she liked it better than a regular bath - probably because of the body heat. And miracles of miracles, I did not drop her!
That's about it. Not tons to do today. We are going to Grandma and Grandpa's house tonight (The Huffs), so that will be a nice excursion. Then daddy will be home tomorrow. We miss him a lot.
Have a good day all.

Having fun with Daddy


An attempt at a family picture

Eating and sleeping... that's it

Charis has been eating and sleeping a lot the past few days. As we try to get her on a regular schedule, she seems to eat less and sleep more, except at night. Nighttime has been a bit of a struggle with her. Some nights she just doesn't want to fall asleep, no matter how she is rocked or fed or whatever. We know it is just a stage, but we can't wait 'til she is on a regular schedule with a regular routine.

On a lighter note, she made the cutest face the other day. I was holding her, making great eye contact, when she crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue at me. It was so funny, I couldn't help but laugh. She has brought so much joy into our lives. I can't imagine our family without her.

Asleep, finally

Learning how to conduct for the first time

Sporting the fashionable Brazil Baby T

First Day at Church

Today was Charis's first time at church. Of course, it couldn't be easy. On the way out the door she spit up all over her outfit and carseat. Needless to say, Moriah was a little late. Once she got to church, she was an angel. She slept the whole time and looked beautiful for the onlookers. She is such a little darling.

Yesterday was her first real bath. She loved the water and didn't cry 'til the very end. I think she was a little cold. So far she is a wonderful baby. We love all her cute little quirks; like when she sleeps, she stretches, but doesn't put her arms down (notice the picture). She'll sleep that way for almost an hour. She also makes the funniest faces when she is ready to eat. Charis is truly a grace gift from God.

She loves her little tub

Snuggling with Mom after the bath

Her time with Nanna

Christocentric Insights

Last night I had the priviledge to attend our church's teacher training seminar, let by our new pastor/teacher, Paul Alexander. While a lot of the content was review (though still refreshing and encouraging to hear), some materiel hit me in a new way and I wanted to share some of that with you and read your thoughts on it. Here we go:

The Reversal of Babel: In Genesis 11, we read about the tower of Babel. At this time man was supposed to be spreading God's rule and blessing throughout the world by multiplying and filling the earth, but instead he had gathered together to promote his own name and his own rule, defying God. God's solution was to confuse their speech, stopping them from spreading their own rule. Fast forward to Acts 2. Man is again gathered together, but this time, God is ready again for them to spread the message of God's rule through the gospel and God's blessing through Christ. However, the boundary of speech is still with them. God's solution is to reverse the effects of Babel and allow men to speak in language understood by all. Now His blessing can again be spread and his rule can grow, filling the earth through the power of the Holy Spirit and the gospel.

The Partial Kingdom: The Kingdom of God is defined by Graeme Goldsworthy as: God's people in God's place under God's rule and blessing. In Genesis 12, a kindgom promise is given to Abram that he would have a land, descendants, and blessing. This is promise that would be partially fulfilled in several ways, but never totally fulfilled until the events of Revelation 22 take place. We see Israel as a partial fulfillment of this promise. They have a physical land in Palestine; they are a physical people group; they are under God's rule; they spread God's blessing to the nations around them (specifically under Solomon's rule). However, they are not the total fulfillment of all that the promise intended. They do not spread God's blessing to all nations, they do not contain all of God's promised people, etc. Rather, Israel is a model for the kingdom still yet to come. The aspects of their kingdom point to the fulfillment, which is ultimately Christ. Even the church doesn't fulfill the ultimate expression of the Kingdom, although it serves as an even better model than Israel. Christ is the only one who fulfills God's people in God's place under God's rule and blessing. Christ is the ultimate place: the tabernacle (Jn. 1:14), the ultimate temple (Jn. 2:18-21; Rev. 21:22), and the ultimate Lamb (Heb. 10:10). Christ is God's people (Mt. 1:1- the Son of David, the Son of Abraham; Gal. 3). Christ is the arm of God's rule and blessing (Mt. 12:28, 28:18; Luke 22:20; 2 Cor. 1:20). God's Kingdom is now here in part through Christ and the people of God who are the children of Christ, the true seed of Abraham. This Kingdom will continue to grow and spread until God makes all things new through His established King, Christ. There is no need for a reversion back to previous models, like Israel, or even the church. There is no need to revert back to old sacrifical systems or temples. Christ fulfills all.

The Wilderness Wanderings: As Israel was being prepared for her entry into the promised land and the beginning of her ministry to spread God's message to the nations, she was tested in the wilderness. She failed the test and was judged with 40 years of wandering and ultimately with exhile and rejection. Christ underwent this same test. As he prepared for his ministry, he was also tested in the wilderness, yet was successful. He use the same text from Israel's wanderings and defeated Satan's temptations. After that he gathered to himself 12 men, also an allusion to Israel's 12 tribes. Even in this small example, Christ is seen as fulfillment.

Sorry for the length, but I was excited about what I learned. Keep on studying and unfolding the many layers of our precious scriptures.

-Sola scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus, soli deo Gloria-

Another growth spurt already??

Charis has eaten so much today. She fed almost every two hours and was awake a lot. It is a little early for another growth spurt, but you never know. Hopefully she'll sleep most of the night. She had a visit from Aunt Megan and they had a great time together. I know Charis is looking forward to seeing everyone this Sunday at church.

Last night was kind of rough. Charis slept a lot, but made loud noises every few moments which kept Moriah awake. Needless to say, Moriah was very tired when the sun rose and ended up sleeping in 'til 11 this morning. Other than that, things have been going swimmingly.

Tonight I had a chance to go to our church's teacher training class. It was great to learn even more about our great God and the bible. It is so encouraging to know that the way I teach Charis the bible as she grows will help her understand and know the one true God. Our prayer is that she will grow not just physically, but spiritually towards a relationship with Christ. Only time will tell how that develops.

On another note, our house is showing very well and we have some interest from a few different buyers. We are continuing to trust God to provide for us and can't wait to see how He will bring glory to Himself through our home and our family.

Check out the long monkey legs

She almost stayed up on her own, but eventually fell over

Scheduling has begun

The schedule has begun, and Charis is adapting well. We began her on her feeding schedule yesterday and so far so good. She is sleeping better and eating right when we wake her up each time. We ran into a slight snag last night though. At around 4 am Moriah woke up experiencing some pain. It was because, well... you know how on a farm you need to milk the cows everyday or they get too full and start becomming uncomfortable? We'll just leave the explanation at that. Anyhoo, Charis was still sleeping and it had been 6.5 hours since her last feeding. We had to wake her up for her to eat, and then she went right back to bed. We are hoping she'll start sleeping through the night a little early... you never know.

She is still growing fast. I can't believe how we are noticing her arms and legs growing and the pudge getting bigger in her cheeks. You can see her big belly in the picture. I already notice she feels a little heavier when I carry her. She is starting to have better control of her head and her expressions are just priceless. It still seems unreal that she is really here in the flesh.

We would still covet your prayers as far as our future goes. We would really like to sell our house to get out of the mortgage payments. It is getting a little tight, but still manageable. God is taking really good care of us and proving Himself faithful time and time again. We aren't worried about the future, just doing our best to follow His will.

She'll eat anything when she's hungry

Already practicing immodest tanning

Jews vs. Arabs

I know this blog has been mainly about our new baby, but I recieved this email from my dad and thought it interesting enough to post for you all to read. Enjoy.


The Global Islamic population is approximately 1,200,000,000, or 20% of the world population.
They have received the following Nobel Prizes:
Literature:
1988 - Najib Mahfooz

Peace:
1978 - Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat
1994 - Yaser Arafat:
1990 - Elias James Corey
1999 - Ahmed Zewai

Economics:
(none)

Medicine:
1960 - Peter Brian Medawar
1998 - Ferid Mourad

**************************************************************************
The Global Jewish population is approximately 14,000,000, or about 0.02% of the world! population.

They have received the following Nobel Prizes:
Literature:
1910 - Paul Heyse
1927 - Henri Bergson
1958 - Boris Pasternak
1966 - Shmuel Yosef Agnon
1966 - Nelly Sachs
1976 - Saul Bellow
1978 - Isaac Bashevis Singer
1981 - Elias Canetti
1987 - Joseph Brodsky
1991 - Nadine Gordimer World

Peace:
1911 - Alfred Fried
1911 - Tobias Michael Carel Asser
1968 - Rene Cassin
1973 - Henry Kissinger
1978 - Menachem Begin
1986 - Elie Wiesel
1994 - Shimon Peres
1994 - Yitzhak Rabin

Physics:
1905 - Adolph Von Baeyer
1906 - Henri Moissan
1907 - Albert Abraham Michelson
1908 - Gabriel Lippmann
1910 - Otto Wallach
1915 - Richard Willstaetter
1918 - Fritz Haber
1921 - Albert Einstein
1922 - Niels Bohr
1925 - James Franck
1925 - Gustav Hertz
1943 - Gustav Stern
1943 - George Charles de Hevesy
1944 - Isidor Issac Rabi
1952 - Felix Bloc h
1954 - Max Born
1958 - Igor Tamm
1959 - Emilio Segre
1960 - Donald A. Glaser
1961 - Robert Hofstadter
1961 - Melvin Calvin
1962 - Lev Davidovich Landau
1962 - Max Ferdinand Perutz
1965 - Richard Phillips Feynman
1965 - Julian Schwinger
1969 - Murray Gell-Mann
1971 - Dennis Gabor
1972 - William Howard Stein
1973 - Brian David Josephson
1975 - Benjamin Mottleson
1976 - Burton Richter
1977 - Ilya Prigogine
1978 - Arno Allan Penzias
1978 - Peter L Kapitza
1979 - Stephen Weinberg
1979 - Sheldon Glashow
1979 - Herbert Charle s Brown
1980 - Paul Berg
1980 - Walter Gilbert
1981 - Roald Hoffmann
1982 - Aaron Klug
1985 - Albert A. Hauptman
1985 - Jerome Karle
1986 - Dudley R. Herschbach
1988 - Robert Huber
1988 - Leon Lederman
1988 - Melvin Schwartz
1988 - Jack Steinberger
1989 - Sidney Altman
1990 - Jerome Friedman
1992 - Rudolph Marcus
1995 - Martin Perl
2000 - Alan J. Heeger

Economics:
1970 - Paul Anthony Samuelson
1971 - Simon Kuznets
1972 - Kenneth Joseph Arrow
1975 - Leonid Kantorovich
1976 - Milton Friedman
1978 - Herbert A. Simon
1980 - Lawrence Robert Klein
1985 - Franco Modigliani
1987 - Robert M. Solow
1990 - Harry Markowitz
1990 - Merton Miller
1992 - Gary Becker
1993 - Robert Fogel

Medicine:
1908 - Elie Metchnikoff
1908 - Paul Erlich
1914 - Robert Barany
1922 - Otto Meyerhof
1930 - Karl Landsteiner
1931 - Otto Warburg
1936 - Otto Loewi
1944 - Joseph Erlanger
1944 - Herbert Spencer Gasser
1945 - Ernst Boris Chain
1946 - Hermann Joseph Muller
1950 - Tadeus Reichstein
1952 - Selman Abra ham Waksman
1953 - Hans Krebs
1953 - Fritz Albert Lipmann
1958 - Joshua Lederberg
1959 - Arthur Kornberg
1964 - Konrad Bloch
1965 - Francois Jaco b
1965 - Andre Lwoff
1967 - George Wald
1968 - Marshall W. Nirenberg
1969 - Salvador Luria
1970 - Julius Axelrod
1970 - Sir Bernard Katz
1972 - Gerald Maurice Edelman
1975 - Howard Martin Temin
1976 - Baruch S. Blumberg
1977 - Roselyn Sussman Yalow
1978 - Daniel Nathans
1980 - Baruj Benacerraf
1984 - Cesar Milstein
1985 - Michael Stuart Brown
1985 - Joseph L. Goldstein
1986 - Stanley Cohen [& Rita Levi-Montalcini]
1988 - Gertrude Elion
1989 - Harold Varmus
1991 - Erwin Neher
1991 - Bert Sakmann
1993 - Richard J. Roberts
1993 - Phillip Sharp
1994 - Alfred Gilman
1995 - Edward B. Lewis

The Jews are not promoting brain washing the children in military training camps, teaching them how to blow themselves up and cause maximum deaths of Jews and other non Muslims.

The Jews don't hijack planes, nor kill athletes at the Olympics.

The Jews don't traffic slaves, nor have leaders calling for Jihad and death to all the Infidels.

Perhaps the world's Muslims should consider investing more in standard education and less in blaming the Jews for all their problems.

Regardless of your feelings about the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians and Arab neighbors, the following two sentences really say it all:

If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence.

If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel

Moving right along

It's been over two weeks now, and Charis is doing great. She seems to be falling into a regular routine of eating, being awake, and then sleeping. It has been good for us to know what her cues for feeding are and she is latching on right away. Feedings are taking a lot less time than they were even a few days ago.

I'm a little sick today, so I called off of work and I will be home with the wife and daughter. We are going to be outside a lot, enjoying the weather before it gets too cold the rest of the week. It was great to hang out with both sets of grandparents yesterday. What a blessing to have so much love surrounding our little baby, wherever she goes. I am so glad we are close to family.

As night closes in, Charis is starting to have a rough evening. As I am writing this second half of the blog, she has finally fallen asleep after being awake for almost 7 hours. We think it is too much caffeine for Moriah, but we're not sure. We rely on God more than ever now, and that is a great place to be. I'm going to try and sleep now... night

Her cord has finally fallen out

Alone for some quiet reflection

"What, I have to obey my parents?!"

Growing like a weed

Her first doctor's visit went very well. She has grown another inch and now weighs 7lbs. 12 oz. We are finally learning what her true hunger cues are and that is relieving a lot of stress in trying to feed her. She is sleeping great and this upcoming week we are going to finally try to get her on a regular schedule.

Yesterday she had her first babysitting experience. Moriah left her at her parents house and came to be with me at the youth film festival at our church. It was only for an hour, but we were glad to be together. Today we take her to the other set of grandparents for a few hours because our neighborhood is having several open houses for new home buyers. Since our house is up for sale, we thought it would be good to be a part of that.

Other than that, not much is going on. Charis is healthy... no more eye goop, and starting to focus on things better. Her eyes don't wander as much and it seems she controls herself a little better when she is wiggling around. She doesn't need as much help from us to fall asleep which is great.

Well, gotta clean up the house. See ya tomorrow...

Sleeping like an angel

She loves the carseat

Doing push-ups

Charis is getting so huge. It seems like just yesterday she was swimming in all of her clothes, and now her arms and legs stretch them all the way out. She's already filling out most of her 0-3 months clothes. I knew that she would grow fast, but this is ridiculous. It's a good thing she is so cute.

She has been doing really well this week. She is eating a ton and sleeping a lot. It hasn't been as much of a struggle getting her to feed lately, thank the Lord. And (get ready to be jealous), at night she sleeps between 5-6 hours without waking up, usually between 2:30 am and 8:00 am. We are so proud of her and her little accomplishments. Like today, she was having tummy time and she lifted herself up like a little push up, picked up her head and turned it to the other side without any help. It looked like she was struggling a little, but she got through it. We can't be more happy with how she is doing.

Thanks everyone for your prayers and support. Only a few more weeks before she is out all the time in public. Hopefully she'll be ready for all the attention. Tomorrow is her 2 week check-up (wow, 2 weeks old already!!) and we are looking forward to what the Doc will have to say about our little girl. I'll try and keep you posted. Night.....

Charis is already speaking her mind about things

Time for yet another nap

"Hmmmm, what should I do next... poop, eat, or sleep?"

Baby out on the town

Charis is doing splendidly. Although she still has trouble getting started for her meals and her eye still has a little goo in it, she is doing great. Moriah took her out on the town today. It was their first trip together, just the two of them, and they went to mommies old work to get some files. How exciting. Charis has slept most of the day, and seems very relaxed about the whole traveling thing. She falls right asleep in her carseat and love the hum of the engine.

Moriah is doing a lot better today too. She is already up and around, running errands, giving Charis a bath, and doing most of the things she did before Charis came. Tomorrow, Charis is going to visit me at work. It will be good to see the ladies in the middle of the day. Well, that's it for now. Later....

Charis does the weirdest things when she sleeps, like raising her hand for a high five or to ask a question...
maybe she has to go to the bathroom

knocked out on the sofa after a hard day's work

Charis has some eye goop :-(

Our first time with a sick baby has gone pretty well. She woke up last night with a blocked tear duct, causing some swolleness in her eye as well as nasty yellow goo to seal her eye shut. She didn't cry to much about it though. We got some drops for her and the swelling is already going down.

On another matter, she hasn't been feeding very well. It's like she is hungry, but just won't take the food that is right in front of her. Even now at this young age she is showing stubborness and a willfulness to do things her way or not at all. The world may tell us that she's just being a baby, she'll grow out of it, don't worry, but we know why. The sin nature is inborn in all of us. What a picture of that she has been. For all of her cuteness and adorability, she still has those selfish tendencies already. Hopefully we can train her up to obedience and selflessness, but we have time for that. She only 10 days old after all, and we have a lifetime (or at least 18 years or so) to pour ourselves into her and show her Christ's love and show her the grace she was named after.

If you can, pray for patience for us. Not only do we have little Charis to care for, but also life keeps moving on in all other areas. We continue to wait on God for full-time work as well as a buyer for our house. We have no doubt that He will take care of us, and we look forward to how He will bring glory to His name through us. We'll keep you posted on how it all works out.

By the way, she is growing like crazy. She has already maxed out the length of the arms and legs of a few of her newborn clothes. She's going to be a giant...

Isn't mommy beautiful?? I think so

She loves sucking on the pinky

Our little Napper

Charis is so sleepy. We still have yet to let her wake up on her own for a feeding. She is growing strong though. Her arms and legs seem like they are really long for an infant her age. Also, her hair is getting really blonde. So much for that dominant brown hair gene, but I still have hope for the future.

She has gotten so much easier in the past few days. For those of you who don't know, we were given a nipple shield for her nursing in the hospital, and since the day she was born, she hasn't been able to feed without it. By God's grace, she finally got off of it yesterday, enabling her to get much better feedings. It is so much easier to get her started and once she starts, she does it all by herself.

We went for another walk yesterday with the grandparents (my mom and dad). It is so nice to get out and get some fresh air. It was really windy though, but Charis didn't seem to mind. She slept right through the whole thing.

Well, later this morning is church. My first one without my precious girls. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and giving all the fun updates, but it won't be the same without them there with me. A camera phone picture doesn't do her justice, ya know?

I gotta get back to helping feed the baby. Later...

Getting a little chubbier

Charis is almost back to birth weight. She came into this world weighing 7lbs. 6oz. A few days later she was down to 6lbs. 9oz. We made a few changes in her feeding and, thanks to our God, the amazing anatomy of a baby, and some great help from Sue Bixby, she is back to 7lbs. 1oz. and climbing. She has gained 5 ounces in the last 2 days. God is so good and Charis is growing big and strong, just like we prayed. Now that she is feeding properly, she is sleeping all the time, which is nice for us because we can catch up on sleep. She has been such a blessing to us. She has already taught us so much about patience and trust in God. Our prayer life has been great since she came into our world, and we hope it continues.

In other news, I have finally gone back to work, leaving Moriah home alone for much of the day. She keeps busy by getting visits from friends and family and I keep busy by working. But, it isn't as fun as being together as a family. Tonight we plan on taking a walk together in the beautiful evening weather we are having. It will be Charis's first trip in the stroller.

Well, the sun is setting, so we better get to our stroll....

Her hands are so tiny

Sue has been such a great help

Charis after eating 2 ounces from mommy...

Finally getting a full tummy

Last night was our first night with more than 3 hours of sleep. Charis is finally feeding properly and sleeping like a newborn should. It has been a struggle the past few nights to get her to latch on and take a full feeding, but with the help of some great nurse friends, she is finally getting a full tummy.

She is also learning to sleep on her own. She loves her little swing and rocks herself to sleep all the time now. We still can't get over how cute she is and how amazing God is to give her to us.

Yesterday was a day of a few firsts for her. She took her first trip to the store (Walgreens) to get some more baby stuff for her and Moriah. She slept the whole time and missed it all, but that's ok with us. The more sleeping the better. She also went to Moriah's parent's house for a little bit and met their dog (Nightfall). Nightfall was so confused and just kept walking around the table she was on, sniffing and looking strange. Charis is such a good traveler and we hope she continues to love taking trips. That kind of runs in our family.

Thank you all for your prayers and congratulations. We can't wait 'til you all get to see our little bundle of joy in person. She is truly a grace gift from God.

Everyone loves a changed diaper

Her first bath (don't you just love Moriah's shirt)

It's getting a little easier

Wow... it's amazing what you can do on so little sleep. But seriously, things have been getting better. Last night Moriah and I got several hours each. She was gracious and let me have 6, getting only 4 herself. It is still amazing to think that just a few short days ago, she was inside of Moriah. We can't get over how cute she is (is it just us or is she totally cute?) and all the adorable little faces she makes. God is truly an awesome Creator.

If you all would keep praying for us, we would really appreciate it. We had our at-home visit this morning from Sue Bixby and it was extremely helpful. We found out why she was losing so much weight (almost a pound since birth) and why she wasn't sleeping or feeding correctly. It was nice to get answers to some of those questions and Charis is finally eating and sleeping regularly. We are still getting used to her little appetite, but eventually things will even out... we hope.

As I reflected on her eating, the truth of 1 Peter 2:2 really hit home. We are to long for the pure spiritual milk of God's word as our newborn Charis longs for her food. If she doesn't get it, she starves and would eventually perish, just as we would perish without God's word. And, just as she is satisfied with every swallow, so we are satisfied as we digest what God tells us each spiritual meal.

Well, I've got to get back to fatherhood. Until next time...

This is her, "What just came out of me?" puzzled look.



The four generations together.

Her first "look"... Zoolander would be proud.