Psalm 127:3-5
Behold children are a heritage from the LORD. The fruit of the womb is His reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

Well, we now have another arrow in our Quiver! Lillian Leigh Everett was born at 4:10 on tuesday the 2nd of November 2010! Praise be to God who bestows upon his children the gift of new life. (Our own children, “Scary”) I cant really remember life without my wife and our first little girl, Olive Lynn. Even so, the statement, “I have kids!!!” feels so unnatural. I think its b/c… I’m still a Kid! right??? The fact is, I do have a child, now 2 children. This statement cannot begin to describe the realities of what that means to me as a man and even more so, a father. Fatherhood has brought me a wonderful gift…the weight of responsibility, heavy back breaking weight that tears at the fabric of the soul. This weight is actively loosening the tendons of habit and convenience in my daily life. This may sound like a downer, well, I said, it was “a gift” for a reason. Convenience and comfortable living are the crutch that can keep us (me) not only stale but self reliant.

I did not remember what it was like to have an infant in the house until last week when they sent us home with this little person. I had forgotten how small a baby is, and how truly needy they are. It is such a great picture of where we are spiritually and how even holding our little heads up is an impossible task! The parallels to Our Father in heaven are vast and everywhere in this season, I am so grateful for the reminders.

The Everett house is once again experiencing: “Sleepless Nights in the Crib”! The stillness of our home from 12 to 5 am can be instantly filled with dirty diapers, interesting smells, and gas propelled regurgitated goodness. Good times! Even in all the sleeplessness, I am so grateful that he has deemed us worthy of this gift. The honor of nurturing a soul, a soul that has been since the foundations of our world; A soul that will continue on for eternity has now been deposited here, in our house, in our spot of time. Its mind blowing!
He is the Perfect Father and we want to love these kids like He loves us; with patience, a strong hand, and gobs and gobs of grace. Please help us Lord.
And remember this: Its always a sleepless night in His crib. Praise God!

Psalm 121:4
Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.’

If you are about to have a baby here are a few tips:

My Daughter birthday is coming up on the 19th and my wife and I decided on getting a swing set. I saw this one at Costco and thought this doesn’t look to difficult so, I purchased it in 6 boxes. 2 full days later with some significant help from good friends, we did it! Joey, James and Dan ended up saving me from not only injured pride but utter defeat from huge stacks of wood and hardware. If you decide to ever build one of these make sure you have help. I started to do this by myself and I would say this in hindsight, “IT CANNOT BE DONE!” So take a couple of Days off with some friends and family and go to work. It really was a good time. We will unveil the structure on Tuesday the 19th! I cant wait.

My Daughter and I were having breakfast this morning and she taught me a new dance. I think joy is contagious maybe this will spread a little cheer your way, it sure made me smile.
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I love this kid.

I am so proud as a father to announce that my daughter is making her musical debut singing her absolute favorite song.
Lose My Soul (feat. Kirk Franklin & Mandisa / Afterparty) “Toby Mac!”

I am hoping Toby will ask Shane and I to bust a rhyme on his next project. That would be phat!!

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