Bryan Baldwin Stonecipher is here!!!

This is John, doing my very first blog. And what an exciting event to blog on!

Today was a great day.

Bryan was born at 5:51 PM, weighing 8 lbs 6 oz, measuring 20 1/2 inches long. He seems to have a sweet disposition so far. He has a really cute little cry, but has not cried much at all yet. Even when the nurse gave him his first bath, he only cried out twice, and when she gave him his first shot, only one little cry. I'm thinking he must be really tough like his Dad (yeah, right), but most likely he's just exhausted :)

The entire day went very well. I prayed early this morning that the Lord would give us a nurse at least as good as the one we had last time with Reagan, nurse Alicia, who had done such a wonderful job. We arrived in the delivery room around 6:15 this morning. After a few minutes, our door opened and I was stunned... "Look who's here!" I said to Jennifer, as nurse Alicia walked through the door! God had obviously been answering my prayer even before I prayed it this morning. You see, Alicia only works part time, and there are 10 nurses on duty at a time, and God gave us Alicia. What a gracious and loving heavenly Father we have!

Alicia got the induction started, and after a while of contractions, Jennifer got set up with an epidural, which went very smoothly. The rest of the day was just as smooth. Jennifer was very comfortable and got to rest some. Around 3:00 this afternoon, nurse Alicia had to leave, and was disappointed that she had not gotten to deliver the baby. But Alicia took great care of us all day long, and made sure we were in very good hands, handing us off to nurse Chris before she left. Chris did a great job as well, and around 4:30 things started moving along. Dr. Robbins and Chris delivered baby Bryan at 5:51 PM. The umbilical cord was torn during his exit, but all was well. I told Jennifer I get to brag now that my Bryan is so advanced he cut his own cord. Kidding of course. I did get to do the honors.

After that, we were very busy with getting Bryan all checked out, getting Jennifer prepped for a room move, calling family, then visiting with family, etc. We apologize for the late notice to so many of you.

I can still remember the night Jennifer told me she was pregnant again. She had waited a couple of nights after she find out, to try and figure out how to tell me. Well when she told me, of course I was very surprised, and my initial reaction for just the slightest moment was a lightning-fast mixture of fear, anxiety, and shock. But the very next second, my heart was filled with joy and gratitude for what God had given us. We had not planned on having any more kids, but obviously God had a different plan for us. And we are SO glad He did! Jennifer and I spent the rest of that night praising God together for what He had done for us, recounting His sovereignty, and expressing our gratitude to Him that He had blessed us and entrusted us with another little one. I quickly came to realize that when we contemplate the miraculous work of God in creating new life, for a Christian the only appropriate response to this kind of news is gratitude and praise. And how grateful we are!

We are thrilled to finally meet Bryan in person. He is so peaceful and wonderful. What a gift. Our heavenly Father is gracious and kind. This miracle of new life never ceases to amaze. We give God all the glory for His goodness to us. Only God can make new life, only He can sustain it. We pray that God will grant little Bryan salvation at an early age, and that Bryan will grow to love God more than anyone or anything else.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and your expressions of your love for our family in these recent days leading up to Bryan's birth. It truly could not have gone better, and we could not be more thrilled or more grateful.

Psalm 100
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.
It is He who made us, and not we ourselves, we are His;
we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Thank you God.