When your heart beats outside your body...

I am smitten.

Absolutely beside myself,

IN
LOVE...         again. 

It feels so good to look at him, to hold him in my arms, and to see our family holding and loving on him... I almost have guilt.  Why is it that my eyes cannot stop gawking at his goofy faces, wondering why he raises his eyebrows, why he has the biggest pouty lips, why he grimaces with pain, and then smiles all in the same 13 seconds... and all without making a sound and all with his eyes closed. Aaaah... newborns... our newborn... our son.

Born screaming and flailing around at 6:07 am on Tuesday, August 3rd.

We are blessed.

Introducing, our fourth child, our third son:

Archer Samuel Heath

8 lbs.

20 1/2 in.

I will do another post soon which will have birth details, and more pictures.  His first name was something that we liked. His middle name brought tears to my eyes when I read the meaning, knowing I would always think of his life, especially the beginning, being covered by prayer.  Samuel means "God has heard" or "God is listening".  We know that God is always listening, and he always hears our prayers.  We also know that just because He hears our prayers doesn't mean that the answer is yes.  Sometimes it is no, sometimes it is yes, and sometimes it is beyond yes.  We thank Him for his "yes" to our prayers for Archer, and we hope that his life continues to reflect God's love and hope. 

I will never forget when we told my grandma that we were expecting this new little one.  With tears welling in her eyes she told me that she had been asking God to send us a new baby, "unless He had a better idea".  I am in awe of her faithful and disciplined life. Always aware of who calls the shots, and who she is bringing her humble requests to.  I thank God for her witness to me. 

We knew that this new life was covered in prayer and that many people were praying for him before they even knew he existed.  In our opinion, the meaning of Samuel reflected the fact that these particular prayers brought before our God were heard and answered, and to our delight, with a yes.  God always hears our prayers, and even though the answer isn't always a yes, it is good to remind ourselves that the answers are always what is right for our life, and that God always deserves the glory, no matter what the answer is.  May God always get the glory for Archer's life, and my uneventful pregnancy.