Such a great Daddy!

Having a child inevitably changes a marriage, as so many who have gone before have told us. I am especially grateful for these changes, because in just two short weeks Harry and I have been transformed in beautiful ways by Susannah Joy's arrival into our lives. We are experiencing a new type of intimacy...one that is rooted in th beautiful common bond that is our daughter. We are experiencing a new type of love...one that is new and overwhelming, one that drives you to levels of self-sacrifice for her and for each other that you never imagined possible. We are experiencing a new type of joy...one that is present even in those stressful and exhausting moments of parenting a helpless, needy infant.

I have seen a new side to my husband of almost seven years, and I am so grateful for him. I love him so much more than ever before! He has become a selfless servant to me and to our daughter. Susannah and I are so dependent on him much of the time, and he comes through for us again and again without complaint! He gently and tirelessly cares for us, to the point where we'd be nothing without him!

Susannah and I are thankful for a Daddy/husband who:

--gently changes diapers, bathes, rocks, dances with, sings to, dresses, kisses, and strolls our precious blessing

--makes Mama breakfast in bed after a wearying night...delicious homemade buttermilk pancakes topped with peaches and blueberries!

--relishes those moments when Susannah is awake and savors the soft warmth of her on his chest and in his arms when she is asleep

--refills my water from the pitcher in the fridge a zillion times a day (nursing does make one thirsty!) and brings me granola bars and cookies and other snacks while I am resting or nursing

--admits that he can't imagine life without this precious little girl

--loves my post-partum body and all its many facets of recovery and remnants of the pregnancy, because it is proof that we have brought life into this world together...that my body has fulfilled the purpose for which God has created it

--takes one of Susannah's nighttime feedings (actually, it's an early, early morning feeding that he's been doing!) so that I can sleep 5-6 solid hours...and does photo shoots of her during this time since she's pretty perky at this hour of the dawn! Ah, his excitement when he captures just the right facial expression at just the right angle... :)

--delights in the fact that our baby looks so much like him, especially in her eyes and nose and red hair!

--shares his tender, overflowing heart with the readers of our blog

--spends his days tending to the bodily functions and needs of his THREE girls...because we have a doggie, too! (We are grateful that Daddy is off for the summer...teaching is a great, great job for our family, especially this year!)

--spends hours and hours over two days attempting to fix a toilet that resists all intervention...yet he perseveres!

--cleans the kitchen and tidies up our home before visitors come (and before his wife has a breakdown at the piles of stuff that have so quickly evolved!), and tends the yard even when he is ready to drop

--assigns formal name labels to our baby's facial expressions and movements, laughing and "awwwww-ing" as she does them

--reminds me to care for myself so that I can be a better Mama to our sweet Susannah Joy

I am sooooooo blessed to have such a remarkable servant-minded husband, and Susannah is blessed to have such a tender-hearted daddy!