We're Parents ( for over 2 weeks and its still sinking in)

If you are friends with either one of us on facebook you know Kai has arrived. He was born May 11th, 2012 at 10:08 am. He weighed 6 lbs 14.5 oz and measured 19 inches long. The birth experience was great up until the 2 1/2 hours of pushing. He was face up and had his arm around his neck and hand up by his face. I guess he did not want to come out. My midwife ended up using the vacuum to help pull him out. Gideon even had to sit down the last couple of minutes because he felt like he was going to faint. When I was pushing through a contraction he would also stop breathing.

Waiting for Kai was definitely not easy, especially since he came 8 days later than his due date. Gideon was getting really antsy and kept worrying about not having a job yet. After Kai was born Gideon was so glad that he has had some time to spend with Kai. Gideon is a great dad. He has changed more diapers than I have. Gideon always gets up at night after I feed to change Kai's diaper and rock him back to sleep. These first couple of weeks we can't stop commenting on how cute he is. We feel deeply blessed to have this new joy in our lives. We have enjoyed hanging out with my family. Grandma and Grandpa Mercer are so happy whenever they get to hold him. Luckily Grandma and Grandpa Walker will get to come meet Kai in person the first week of June. Gideon is still in the process of looking for a job, but we know God has a plan for us while we are home for this little while. Please pray with us that we would be patient and trust that God will provide while we are here.


With no job and adjusting to a new family member, our lives feel a little bit in a jumble. We are now longing for some sort of routine to at least feel a little normalcy in our lives.  Please pray that we would continue to trust God, that He has everything in control and peace.


We have been going on long walks, hanging out with friends, doing lots of laundry (baby clothes, spit up rags, blankets), spending lots of time with family, applying for jobs, giving Kai baths and showing Kai off to our church family.

Thank you for praying for us these past nine months, as we have prepared and awaited Kai's arrival. He is healthy, absolutely adorable, and continuing to grow every single day! Please continue to pray with us that we would be great parents and we would be able to show Christ's love to him.

Since being home we have been able to meet with the Children With Hope board members. We have not quite yet began to prepare for our departure to Kenya, but it is always on our hearts and minds. If you would like to see more about the Children With Hope organization you can visit their website at www.childrenwithhope.org, and they are also on Facebook at Children With Hope. The organization has gone through some difficult transitions these past couple of months, but God is growing the organization through the difficulties. Our job will remain the same and we are excited to see how God will work.

Above pictures of Kai. He has already grown and changed so much.

Above pictures are of the new kids at Children with Hope Tobiah Home. Their names in order Jared, Joshua, Sophia, and Rachel.

It looks like Kai already has lots of friends to keep him busy.