Love,
Daddy
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Sophia Elisabeth Monreal Pictures
Sophia Elisabeth Monreal
Born at 7:44 AM on November 2, 2009 at MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, ND
Birth Weight: 5 lbs. 9 ozs.
Length: 16 3/4 inches
David and Jennifer Monreal
Monday, November 02, 2009
Good Night Sophia Elisabeth Monreal
Dear Sophia Elisabeth Monreal,
What a day it has been. We have been excited and nervous for your arrival for months. Last night as your mom and I prayed we knew that a journey was ending and a new adventure beginning. Your name means wisdom and we have asked for God’s wisdom every step of the way. At so many points along this journey we didn’t know which way to go and the Lord provided the way and made our path straight.
Having you has been quite a journey, and I mean that literally. We drove thousands of miles over the months for doctor’s appointments and your mom was willing to go through a lot to see you born healthy. It was also a spiritual journey of trusting our Savior and trusting that He gives wisdom to those who ask in faith. Watching you be born and hearing the sound of your voice made it all worth it.
We have longed for another child and we have loved you from the moment we knew you were coming. The moment I saw you for the first time a place in my heart opened up for you and I sensed a new pool of love for you without loosing a drop of love for your brother and sister.
Another little girl in the house! This morning as I held you in my arms I thought of all the joy we will share in life: dances with daddy and walks in the park, going out for ice cream and swinging in my arms, these are the things I look forward to. I told you all about your big brother and big sister, how much they love you and how happy they are that you’re here. You’re big brother is all boy so you better watch out! But big sis will take you under her wing and teach you everything she knows.
We talked all afternoon and I never wanted to put you down. I kissed your forehead and I kissed your cheek. I laid you on my chest and watched you fall asleep (I started to fall asleep too!). These days are so short and one has already passed. Days will turn into weeks and months and years. In all those future days, here are two things I always want you to know. First, I will always love you and nothing will every change that. Second, it is my greatest desire to see you come to know Jesus as your Savior and walk with Him each day.
I have never missed a day of telling your brother and sister I love them and on this, your birth day, I want you to know how much I love you too. I will always remember our first, best day we spent together. You are daddy’s little girl and you will always be my little sweetheart.
Good night Miss Sophia Elisabeth Monreal!
Love,
Daddy
Sunday, November 01, 2009
A moment to say thank you.
Dear Friends,
As we continue to be in the midst of a whirlwind of crises and challenges I think it is only right and fitting to express my thanksgiving to our Lord and Savior for His sustaining grace and the depth of love He has shown through so many. As we have gone through these last several months (and honestly continue to go through them), the Lord has provided many people who have loved us, cared for us and met practical needs. Beyond that, we have known that a great many people have prayed for us fervently and faithfully and we know that we have been sustained by God's grace in answer to many prayers. So I want to thank the Lord and also thank each of you who have read these blogs and specifically prayed for me and my dear family.
Although this in no way diminishes anyone's acts of service, I would like to take a moment to specifically thank one person whom God used to minister to me personally. He is a personal friend who also served as one of our summer interns at the church. His name is Cody Wilde. Cody is finished up his undergraduate degrees in Minneapolis and said he would stop by while I was in town for Grace's pacemaker surgery.
With Jennifer in the hospital in Fargo on bed rest with our third pregnancy and no one able to travel with me I knew that there would be a deep sense of "aloneness" while anticipating the surgery and waiting for it to be completed at Children's Hospital. On one level I knew it wasn't a major surgery but emotionally it was difficult having had so many things go wrong the last time and a two day stay at Children's Hospital in San Diego turned into almost two weeks in the neonatal intensive care.
Cody stopped over the evening before the surgery and hung out in the hotel with me keeping me company as Grace was going to bed. He offered to stop by the following morning after Grace was taken back into surgery. After walking with Grace into the surgical room and watching my little girl be put under, Cody was there in the waiting room to hang out with me.
We talked a little bit about the surgery and a host of other topics. When Grace came out of recovery and we were able to go up to the room Cody graciously went with us. He spent the day there just hanging out, talking, and helping like there wasn't anything else in the world that he needed to do. He stayed there until it was time for us to go to bed. In a sense it was nothing but to me his being there was everything. Not through anything he said or did, but just his being there with me was a reminder of God's grace and goodness and in a very real sense God's answer to many prayers for us by you.
The surgery went great and we found out the day before that one of the delicate aspects was not needed after all. But the emotional drain of anticipation and the stark reality of driving your child across the state alone to have surgery was difficult. I was reminded once again of the mystery of ministry to others. Most often it isn't what we say or do that has the most lasting impact, but our willingness to be there, to really be there for another person that makes the difference.
I have many people to thank and I hope to be able to effectively do that over the coming weeks but I didn't want to miss this opportunity to thank one person specifically for making a difference in my life at a very straining time.
Thank you Cody for being there for me.
Your friend,
Dave
As we continue to be in the midst of a whirlwind of crises and challenges I think it is only right and fitting to express my thanksgiving to our Lord and Savior for His sustaining grace and the depth of love He has shown through so many. As we have gone through these last several months (and honestly continue to go through them), the Lord has provided many people who have loved us, cared for us and met practical needs. Beyond that, we have known that a great many people have prayed for us fervently and faithfully and we know that we have been sustained by God's grace in answer to many prayers. So I want to thank the Lord and also thank each of you who have read these blogs and specifically prayed for me and my dear family.
Although this in no way diminishes anyone's acts of service, I would like to take a moment to specifically thank one person whom God used to minister to me personally. He is a personal friend who also served as one of our summer interns at the church. His name is Cody Wilde. Cody is finished up his undergraduate degrees in Minneapolis and said he would stop by while I was in town for Grace's pacemaker surgery.
With Jennifer in the hospital in Fargo on bed rest with our third pregnancy and no one able to travel with me I knew that there would be a deep sense of "aloneness" while anticipating the surgery and waiting for it to be completed at Children's Hospital. On one level I knew it wasn't a major surgery but emotionally it was difficult having had so many things go wrong the last time and a two day stay at Children's Hospital in San Diego turned into almost two weeks in the neonatal intensive care.
Cody stopped over the evening before the surgery and hung out in the hotel with me keeping me company as Grace was going to bed. He offered to stop by the following morning after Grace was taken back into surgery. After walking with Grace into the surgical room and watching my little girl be put under, Cody was there in the waiting room to hang out with me.
We talked a little bit about the surgery and a host of other topics. When Grace came out of recovery and we were able to go up to the room Cody graciously went with us. He spent the day there just hanging out, talking, and helping like there wasn't anything else in the world that he needed to do. He stayed there until it was time for us to go to bed. In a sense it was nothing but to me his being there was everything. Not through anything he said or did, but just his being there with me was a reminder of God's grace and goodness and in a very real sense God's answer to many prayers for us by you.
The surgery went great and we found out the day before that one of the delicate aspects was not needed after all. But the emotional drain of anticipation and the stark reality of driving your child across the state alone to have surgery was difficult. I was reminded once again of the mystery of ministry to others. Most often it isn't what we say or do that has the most lasting impact, but our willingness to be there, to really be there for another person that makes the difference.
I have many people to thank and I hope to be able to effectively do that over the coming weeks but I didn't want to miss this opportunity to thank one person specifically for making a difference in my life at a very straining time.
Thank you Cody for being there for me.
Your friend,
Dave
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