It has been a while...

It has been quite a while since our last post, and we apologize. The culprit is called pregnancy! Seven weeks and counting until our little Harper will be here. Melanie and I have been so exhausted and we have actually looked at each other and said, "We need to post to our blog!" and then we went to bed.

So let me fill you in on what has been going on:

::sickness::
Melanie and Whittaker have been and still are sick. I have learned that pregnancy and sickness make an already tired mama even more tired. This pregnancy has been great for Mel but my sweet wife is tired. Please be praying for her.

::Whittaker::
Our sweet boy is turning into a little man more and more each day. From the discovery of the words "I can't," to the fascination of turning on every light switch he passes in the house; he is a great joy to us.

Just a short story. I was out in the yard picking weeds, and it was Texas hot. I was in the middle of thinking "this sucks" when the back door opened and Melanie asked me if I would mind if Whitty was out there with me. I said "no problem." (Whittaker has a new love for the outside since discovering that he can pee on a wooden slat fence. have people clap for him and get candy. Hey, wouldn't you???) As he came outside with his puffy eyes that had just woken up from his nap too soon, he was fascinated with the mayflies that would fly up as he walked the yard. So we talked to the neighbors over the fence and saw the puppy next door and then I went back to picking the weeds.
As I bent down to pick up each weed, there was Whitty bending down with me. He was mimicking my every move and picking out a few of his own. Then he walked up next to me and rubbed in the sweat and sunscreen beading up on my head and said "I lud you Daddy." My exhaustion went away just like that. What a sweet boy we have. He is getting more excited about seeing his little brother every day.

::Melanie::
Melanie has taken on a part time job at the church designing the background graphics for the worship for all 3 campuses at Cross Timbers and she is great at it. For any of you who have not witnessed the brilliance in Melanie's design sense, you are missing out. She has been searching frantically to find the fabric to design Harper's bedding and room with much disappointment, but we now have found all that we needed. We have not even started on the room but that is quickly rising higher and higher on the to do list. She is officially to the point that she feels really pregnant. She has noticed in the last few days that Harper has started to drop and she is realizing as we all are, "Oh my!!!......OH MY!!!!!!!......he will be here fast!" Please be praying for a safe and speedy delivery, as well as continued health for her leading up to the delivery. Please pray for Whittaker as he welcomes Harper into our family and for a smooth transition. He is so sweet with other babies and I am sure he will do great but prayers cannot hurt.

::Barrett::
I am enjoying being a husband and father more than I ever have. Melanie and I continue to become closer and closer and our marriage is continuing to grow as well. I love what I do for a living and I am still amazed that I get to lead people in worship every week. It is what I was made to do. I took vacation time 3 weeks ago and we did nothing but stay at home as a family and be together for 7 days. It was the best vacation I have ever been on. After vacation and going back to work I told Mel that I was grieving the loss of it. We realized it had been 2 years since Melanie and I got to go to church and worship holding hands and actually ride to and from service in the same car. What a blessing!
To be brutally honest with you all before I went on vacation I was Barrett the "worship leader" or Barrett the "pastor." Those titles held my worth and gave me my value. But after spending 1 week alone with my family I have rediscovered the value in being a husband and father first. What value is there in helping lead people to Christ if you are not leading the ones in your own home first?

::Harper Josiah::
He is doing great and growing like a weed in that sweet belly. God has shown His greatness through showing us He is more powerful than any doctors diagnosis. Because of the two-valve umbilical cord, Melanie has to begin doing non-stress tests on the 18th which means she will be in the doctors office at least twice a week. Her doctor told her that she will pretty much feel like she has a second family there.
Harper will be here sooner than we even realize and our life will be turned upside down. The countdown to no sleep has officially begun.

::Our Family::
To sum it all up God has been so good to us. We have recognized His power to save us from ourselves and from the things of which we have no control. I pray that He begins to show you the same, and that you recognize His affection for you in your own life.

We love you all,
Barrett, Melanie, Whittaker, and Harper