are you ready?

"Are you ready to become a dad?"
"As ready as I can be."
"Well, what you need to do is ..."

As a new father, I have received an endless stream of advice about how to best raise our daughter. From sage to silly, from "if you let her sleep in the bed with you, she'll never stop" to "every time Amanda gets up, you should get up - and get a bowl of ice cream while you're
at it," I've been preparing for my daughter's birth for some time.
Yet as much preparation as I did, as much advice as I got, nothing could have prepared me for how amazing it is to be a dad. But I also realize more and more each day how much I don't know and how much more I could have done earlier in preparation to live the life of a father.

We are now in the midst of the Christian season of Lent, the season of preparation before Easter. And like becoming a parent, the joy of Easter is something that will always overwhelm our senses and is something that, in many ways, we can never be fully prepared for. Yet
the more we can do, the more we can prepare, the more we can savor the experience and the better we can live once the time comes as an Easter people. Preparing, by giving something up to remind ourselves of Christ's sacrifice, by taking on a new commitment to recommit
ourselves to Christ, or by simply reprioritizing our life, will not change the overwhelming power and life-giving message of Christ crucified and raised. What it can do, however, is change us - make us more aware, make us more sensitive, and make us more equipped so that when He comes, we will be ready to shout with joy that He lives.

There are some things, like being a parent and knowing Christ's love and forgiveness, whose explanation simply exceeds words. But let's do what we can to get ready, because when that day comes, I want to truly be as ready as I can be.

now the moment you've all been waiting for ...

JULIA

FRANCES

von HERRMANN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Hey Peter, what do y'all want for lunch?"
"Hold on, let me ask the boss."
"Isn't three days old a little early to be speaking?"

This conversation between my father-in-law and myself basically describes the last week of our lives. Miss Julia has been the center of everything, and I'm imagining will continue to be for quite some time. And we're loving every minute of it.

Born Monday, February 23 at 12:44 p.m., weighing in at 7 pounds 2 ounces and 19.5 inches tall, Julia has already gotten a marriage proposal, and I've already put several strapping young toddlers on notice. She's of course daddy's little girl. Momma's pretty fond of her too.

It's been interesting, however, seeing the effects that stress, the overwhelming amount of things to know, and general fatigue have on us. As I put it yesterday, between the three of us (me, Amanda, and her mom who's staying with us for a few days), we've got half a clue at the moment. I was sitting in church Friday during a funeral and realized that I had no idea what socks I had on. I hoped they matched my shoes. Shoot, I was just hoping for even being dress socks, rather than white socks or hiking socks. Luckily, I had in fact correctly dressed myself, but I realized that the next several years will be interesting, because I'll be doing a lot of flying by the seat of my pants (I really hope I remember to put on pants).

But now the adventure is beginning, and the three of us are on our way. I'm off now, though. She's sleeping. Time to go and admire.