Tea and Cookies with the Ferris's

Miriam and I had the privilege to have hot tea (or in my case, cocoa) and cookies with some dear friends of ours, Mike and Denise Ferris. We met them when we were at Healing Place, and they have been an incredible blessing to us over the years. They have been a sounding board for us, always giving great advice and encouragement.

There are relationships that we all have that only go so deep and then there are relationships we have where we can let our guards down and let everything hang out. Thank God for giving me friends that I have the freedom to share my thoughts, dreams, fears, and emotions with.

Merry Christmas!

Miriam and I would like to wish all of our family and friends a Merry Christmas. The experience of being first time parents with Ian being exactly a week old today has to make this Christmas the most special one to date. To invite you to celebrate with us, I uploaded more pictures of Ian with glimpses of our Christmas day. Be sure to check them out by clicking on the picture or here.

Thanks to Mr. David and Mrs. Shirley, Andrew and Cindy, and Deborah for making our Christmas even more fun. It was nice to relax, play games, laugh at Ian's many expressive faces, and catch a few minutes here and there of sleep. I missed being able to see my family this year and all of the pounds that I am sure I would have put on at the dinner table at Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw's.

If you're like me, you've crossed paths with parents who think that their bad child's poop doesn't stink. Well, I must say that changing your own baby's diaper isn't as horrible as one might imagine. Looking into that little boy's face makes me forget all about getting peed on twice already.

I can't wait to leave the land of the sleep deprived and rejoin the rest of society that sleeps at night. Enjoy your sleep tonight, and I hope that I just might.

Christopher Ian is HERE!

What a special day! It's definitely been one amazing ride. Miriam started having contractions yesterday but they did not get closer together throughout the day. At about 3:00 AM this morning, that all changed. She was having contractions 5 minutes apart and thus our excitement began. After monitoring the contractions for a while, we arrived at the hospital at 7:00.

Ian didn't waste any time. Within hours, he was ready to make his way onto the scene. I'm absolutely AMAZED at the miracle of childbirth and how Miriam was able to go through labor and delivery so...so...hmmm...naturally.

Christopher Ian arrived at 2:01 PM EST. He weighed 5 lbs 13 oz and was 18.5 inches long. Both Ian and Miriam are doing great!

Here are a few pictures for you to share in our joy!

Lunch with Whitney Alexander

Miriam and I had the opportunity to have lunch today with a good friend of ours, Whitney Alexander. Whitney is a great guy and has been serving the youth at First Pres in Baton Rouge for a number of years now. He's always busy with the next activity or trip for the youth. You cannot imagine how crazy his schedule is over a typical summer. I am still able to vividly remember serving at a camp in Bristol, Tennessee, with him when I got sick and was able to experience the pain of impacted wisdom teeth. Trust me, you want to avoid that.

It's hard to believe but seven and a half years ago he was the pastor that married us and presided over our wedding ceremony. It was a very special day for us, and Miriam was very happy that Whit was able to do the ceremony because he was her youth pastor when she lived in north Louisiana.

It was exciting to hear about his recent trips to Jamaica and Zambia. I always get a little jealous when I hear about people making trips to other counties. I think that every American--especially every Christian--should make a trip outside of the US to get a taste of the world and to get a realization of how much we take for granted. We are so blessed to live in the US!

Thanks, Whit, for being a great friend and adviser over the years. He is one of several friends that I have that I always know I can count on to give me sound advice and perspective.

Dosage of Insanity

Why do we torture ourselves this time of year with going to the mall or any store for that matter? It's just complete insanity, but that's exactly what Miriam and I did for most of the day, all for the sake of being out of the house and getting lots of walking in. At this point and time, I think she's up for whatever contributes to Ian making an earlier arrival than the due date.

I have to admit that I have a couple places that I could spend a ridiculous amount of time while shopping: an electronics store or a Christian bookstore. It's like letting a kid loose in a candy store. I was able to pickup Desperation Band's new CD as well as the newest Israel & New Breed CD. I can't wait to give them a listen!

iPod Playlist

For some reason, I regularly get asked about what music I'm listening to, if I have any music recommendations, or if I've seen any good movies lately. It probably has a lot to do with me listening to music constantly and my propensity to watch way too many movies. What can I say? I LOVE music! All flavors and varieties, depending on my mood at the time.

To help others with finding new music, I've added a new section to my blog: iPod Playlist. I've even kicked around the idea of reviewing a CD when I listen to a new one. I will occasionally update this list as I change out music on my iPod.

Rock on!

Holiday Cheer

Check this out! Miriam and I wanted to spread a little holiday cheer.

Happy Holidays!

Flickr Pictures

For all of you out there who have been constantly reminding me that I need to post some pictures, I finally uploaded some to my Flickr account.

You can find them under christopher4lsu.