IT'S A BOY

On Friday September 11th. Anna and I had the ultrasound doctors appointment. We got to look at our baby through the ultrasound and it was truly amazing. The doctor had her reasons for studying the ultrasound and that was to make sure everything she was looking at looked normal. She wanted to make sure that everything was proportionate as well as look for things like four chambers of the heart. She also saw the bladder and stomach and was able to tell us that the kidneys were functioning. She said that everything looked great! We also told her that if she was able to tell us we would like to know what the gender of our baby was. She was able to tell us, she is sure that we are having a BOY!

Since this is our first child we both had no expectations as far as gender. We just want a healthy child, male or female. To find out now and know that I am having a son sparks up all these fatherly feelings that I had never felt before. Now I know its a son that I can put with all these feelings that I am feeling. Now I can refer to the child as him instead of it or the child. I feel like the bonding process is starting already and we are still months away from the birth. The due date is February 5th and I have from now to then to continue my bonding with my son.

Please continue to pray for Anna and our future son as the pregnancy progresses that they both stay healthy and the baby continue to grow strong. Pray that Anna feels better every day and that this pregnancy be a tremendous blessing for both of us.

I'm a protector

The reality of being a father and all the responsibility that comes along with it has been on my mind lately. Soon I'm going to be responsible for someone who is 100% dependant on me for their survival. That is a role that I think I will thrive in, dependability is something I pride myself in. Responsibility is something I'm good at. I am a protector by nature. I have always been the protective type toward the people in my life that I care about. I have always put friends and family before myself, their well being ahead of my own.

When I was eight years old my mom and dad had my little brother, my only sibling. Other than the occasional beating he took from me, okay daily beating, I did my best to intervene on his behalf any time he found himself in trouble. I got into a handful of fights as a kid so that Steven wouldn't have to.

Now as a married man I have the responsibility of being the leader and protector of MY family. My wife and our future children are top on my list of things that I will protect now. I cant wait to raise our children and lead my family the best I can. Anna and I have been given a great template to follow based on how our parents raised us. More than that we have the example of our heavenly father. So if we can just instill those values that we've learned from our biological parents as well as the values that we follow from our heavenly father we will have done a great job.

There is going to come a time however when I wont be there to protect our children from possible dangers. I wont be there on the school bus someday when conversation goes to a place our children arent used to. I wont be there when our children are peer pressured by friends to smoke or drink. I wont be there someday when the pressure to have sex is brought up. The thought of these things could keep me awake at nights from now until the day I expire if I would let them. That is why the time we pour into our children when they are young is so important. The beliefs and morals that we hold highly will translate to them. That is why the people we surround ourselves and our children with when they are young is so important. I hope and pray that our children come to know Jesus as their personal lord and saviour at a young age. So when they do face these pressures at different times of their lives they are prepared and they know right from wrong and hopefully make the right decision.

Our pastor at Grace Community Church, Jim Brown, said in a sermon once that he wants the members of his church to be the type of people who will DEFAULT to prayer not worry when things get tough. In a time of despair we dont give up, we dont give in, we default to prayer and putting our faith in God. It's that motto that will help me sleep at night when our children are growing up.