Why yes, we can!

6 weeks. Feels like there should be birthday cake when you reach this point... it's been a long, awesome, grueling, eventful, tearful, most amazing 6 weeks.  Yesterday I thought back to being in the delivery room and meeting Eliaya in person.... the details are already a little fuzzy. Perhaps this is the "heaven-sent" amnesia required for Eliaya to have siblings, haha.

Praise the Lord Jarrod has finished up the semester! He does so well, especially since his study time has been dramatically intruded on. I know he's extremely thrilled to have a few weeks between semesters to just rest and fully enjoy being a dad. This marks the completion of our first year in seminary! 33 hours down.... 61 hours to go!

Sunday May 6th, two milestones occurred. That morning, while getting ready for church, I handed Eliaya off to Jarrod and he was dancing and singing to her. During a pause, she stared at his face and gave the biggest smile I've seen yet. We then had to reassemble Jarrod as he melted onto the floor. 'Baby girl... what ever you want... it's yours' was written all over his face.
The second was partaking in the parent-child dedication at church. It's a neat ceremony of sorts.... more for us than the children. It was an opportunity for Jarrod and I to publicly declare our intention to train Eliaya in the way she should go (Proverbs 22:6), to store the Word in her heart (Psalm 119:11), and to meditate on the Word as a family (Deut 6:7). What an honor, and what a weighty task. Praise Him that He does not leave us to do this on our own... but strengthens us with His Holy Spirit.  Here's a family pic from dedication service.

What else have we accomplished recently?
-Well, we are sleeping at nighttime! Everyone, Simba included, fares much better now that Eliaya sleeps. She's getting into a good routine of eat-play-sleep during the day and, most days, can be convinced that naps are not a threat to her existence. And days when she does nap, she'll sleep for 5-6 hours at night! Perhaps she listened during all those every hour and a half nighttime feedings when I told her this was not the way to get a sibling....
- Note to all... you CAN wash a car while wearing a baby. The neighbors will look at you funny... but E sure thought it was fun. she would get splashed in the carrier every time I sprayed down the car.
- Second note to all... you CANNOT leave the house without a second change of clothes.... never know when the biggest explosion you've had to date will come (ours was at the zoo this morning.... giraffe exhibit). Any pointers on washing car seat covers??

On a more serious note.... Jarrod and I have been deeply troubled by the recent posts in the media regarding homosexuality. Jarrod wrote a good response to it all on facebook, check it out. For all who claim to be Christians: we must call sin sin. There are parts of the Bible that are tough to swallow... definitely. But if you're unwilling to submit to Scripture despite your feelings about a subject, then don't call yourself a Christian. We must stop trying to straddle this middle-ground of claiming Christianity while holding our thoughts on a subject as gold, believing them over Scripture. (Romans 1, we cannot trust our thinking) It's time to closely examine what we believe and make a choice

Thanks for reading, have a blessed day!
~the Reeds

Milestone!

Just a quick update... We are four weeks old today, go in to the pediatrician next week for our 1 month appointment. Praise the Lord she's started sleeping at night (it's amazing how much more refreshing 3 hour stretches are compared to 30 minute ones)!! Still working on convincing Eliaya that naps are not secretly trying to destroy the world....

But the exciting news... we're rolling over! Not especially gracefully... but rolling over none-the-less. Enjoy!

Life Lessons

3 weeks old..... whoa, my baby is 3 weeks old!

First off, praise our awesome, almighty God. It is only by His grace through your prayers that we survived. Eliaya is a beautiful, amazing little girl. She's definitely a blessing. That being said... it's not been especially easy. I can already tell the Lord is using her to reveal my own sin and to grow Jarrod and I in holiness. I have been meditating on two verses these past few weeks
Galatians 6:9 "Let us not grow weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  This has been powerful to me, especially during those early morning feedings. I know God purposed for me to be a mom and He gives, and will continue to give, me the strength to be such. When I am tempted to throw in the towel and give up on the ways Jarrod and I decided on regarding how to raise Eliaya, I think on this verse. It's also encouraging to think that loving on others and praying for them... it's not in vain. the Lord will have His glory. The work He's called us to partake in, it's worthwhile. Parenting, sharing the Gospel, washing dishes... there is a harvest if we do not give up.
The second Scripture God's been teaching me a lot through is 2 Peter 1:5-8. "For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self control, and  self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. If these qualities are yours and are increasing they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ." Becoming a Christian is anything but a call to stagnation. We are to grow in Christ-likeness, in faith, virtue, knowledge.... This has been convicting. Since Eliaya's arrival, I've realized my time is not my own. She's hungry when she's hungry. She needs changed / snuggled / prayed for regardless of the red numbers on the clock. Anger rears its head. My self-absorption now stares me in the face. Praise Him for grace. I feel like I am moment by moment repenting and growing in self-control. It's amazing how the God of the universe can use a baby to change my heart.
            Jarrod went to a conference a earlier this month, Together for the Gospel. It's a gathering of evangelical leaders, seminary students and pastors from all over to discuss/assess how the church is doing in reaching the lost. I encourage you to check out the website, you can listen to / watch the main session speakers (www.t4g.org). I was especially challenged by David Platt's message. Pray before you watch that one... God will use it.

Eliaya is doing well. We head to the pediatrician in a week and half for our 1 month check up. I wonder how much she'll weigh! She's definitely growing. Here's some pics from the past few days. Please continue to pray for us.... Eliaya does NOT like to sleep. She fights it with all she's got. Her most ear-splitting screams come about 45 seconds before she zonks out. We joked before... but I really do think she's going to have Jarrod's personality.... 1st born syndrome.....

 Thanks for checking in!

Love,
the Reeds