Dear Gracie

Gracie,

In your short little life, you have filled us with so much joy and you've been such a blessing to us. I can not imagine life without you now. There have been a few sleepless nights and emotional exhaustion in the last 3 weeks but I wouldn't trade one minute with you. You are so special and loved and beautiful. We pray for you daily. We pray away fears and pains, we pray for joy and peace for you, we pray you will know how much we love you and how much more your Savior loves you. I praise God for you little one and the special way God made you.

Here are a few of your "favorites" in your first 3 weeks of life:

Hanging over Daddy's Shoulder like a "sack of potatoes"

Tucking your little thumb inside your fist

Your hands by your face when you sleep

Daddy's book Jungle Sunrise

and Basketball

Daddy Love

"The first man a little girl falls in love with is her dad."

“Walk alongside me Daddy, and hold my little hand.

There are so many things that I don't understand.

Every child needs a hand to guide them as they grow,

So walk alongside me, Daddy -

We have a long way to go."

-HELEN BUSH

To Jonathan, the father of my child, and the love of my life.

Today we went on our first family outing to the park. We have been pretty much home-bound since Gracie's arrival so it was wonderful to get outside. It was great to be back at the park where Jonathan and I used to spend so much of our time. Gracie didn't notice much since she slept the entire time, but it made for a very peaceful outing for us. We walked the trails, talked, and soaked up the beautiful Saturday sun. We are looking forward to living a Spirit-filled adventurous life as a family and sharing this beautiful world God created with Gracie.

Here are some pictures from the park. We used the stroller for the first time and it only took us about 30 minutes to figure out how to put the car seat in it. :o) Gracie, your momma and daddy are going to get better at this whole parenting thing - I promise! :o)

This is Gracie asleep in the car.

This is daddy documenting after we finally got the car seat in the stroller...and Gracie is still sleeping

Here I am pushing sleeping Gracie in the stroller.

And here she is sleeping next to Mark Twain

"People who say they sleep like a baby usually don’t have one." - Author: Leo J. Burke

Here is Gracie this morning after a long night of not much sleep. Really Gracie? This is when you decide to sleep? :o)

Dancin' with my Boo

I love dancing with my baby girl. I recently made a playlist for her on my computer. We have everything on it from Ray Charles' "You are so Beautiful" to Shawn McDonald's "Over the Rainbow". As we dance around, she usually falls asleep as I sing to her. I love these times with her. I know there will be a time when she is too big to hold, and when she realizes her momma's singing is not the best, but until then, we will dance and sing and fall asleep making the most of each precious moment.

Picture Crazy!

The sheer volume of pictures I have taken of my precious baby is unreal! I knew I would take a ton of pictures, but it is really ridiculous just how many I have taken. I have taken a grand total of 855 pictures and my baby is only 13 days old! That is approximately 65.7 pictures a day! I think I need help!

Here is one of the 855 pictures that captures our days and nights perfectly!

Isn't it amazing how many diapers a tiny newborn can go through!

Bad Hair Day

Yesterday we decided to bathe Gracie for the second time. Apparently you are only supposed to wash newborns one to two times a week. Well, we washed her hair and towel dried it so she wouldn't be too cold. I then decided to put a hat on her so she would be extra warm. When I pulled the hat off an hour later this was the result. She was sporting a do somewhere between punk rock mohawk and some kind of peacock thing. No matter what we did that hair would not comb down! Sorry Gracie, mommy gave you your first bad hair day. (I will say, she took it like a champ!)

this look is pure shock that mommy and daddy are laughing and taking pictures

I will say, this morning, the bad hair day produced the cutest side faux hawk imaginable! We hope she rocks this more often. How cute is my little rock star!

He is Risen!

As I sit here typing this blog, Gracie is on my chest sleeping peacefully and my husband is helping me with errands that need to be run. Sometimes I can't believe this is my life - so blessed, full of love, joy, laughter, and our Lord Jesus Christ! Sometimes when I feed my sweet girl I whisper to her how much I love her and how much more God loves her. Today, on this beautiful Easter, as we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, I can't help but imagine the love the Savior has for us! I can't help but be in awe of how much i love this little one in my arms. Yet, as children of God, how much more is God's love for us. I guess I have never truly wrapped my mind around what it means to be loved as a child of God...until now.

We dressed Gracie in her special little dress for Easter, bundled our baby up, and headed to church to celebrate the greatest day in the history of the world. I pray one day my little Lovie will understand the love of her Savior!