It has been a wild Monday morning and that might be putting it lightly.
I woke up this morning to get ready for work and as I was getting dressed I asked Amy if she had gotten enough rest. She said she had but in the middle of the night she got up to go to the bathroom to go number 1 and she felt wetness between her legs then as she was on the toilet she was going but didn't feel like she had control over her bladder. So she finished and went to bed and was fine. She told me this and was doing fine in bed so I finished getting dressed, made my lunch, and headed out the door to work.
At 7:20am, Amy called me in tears saying she thought she needed to go to see the doctor because she was having strong contractions. I asked if she called the doctor yet and if she wanted to call our friend Amy to take her since I was 40 min away at work. Our friend Amy came to get Amy and I would be called if I needed to go the hospital, as it was a lot closer to my location than our home.
I got a call from our friend Amy saying I needed to get to the hospital right away that the baby might be coming. The baby might be coming today? The due date is November 28th and this is over a month early!
I grabbed my stuff and got to the hospital as soon as traffic would allow me, I get up to the 2nd floor, find room 223, reach for the door handle, and the door opens and a nurse says "you're right on time" as she turns and another nurse turns with our baby girl in her arms. Did this just happen? That just happened.
From Amy's perspective...They get to the hospital and they check her into an examination room to make sure she does not have a kidney or urinary infection that might be triggering the contractions. They tell her to get up and get a urine sample and Amy stands up and says "I think the baby is coming." They lay her on the bed in the room, take off her bottoms, and the nurses start moving forward because they can see the top of the baby's head! They get started fast and by the time Amy has her next 4 contractions the baby is out and I am walking into the room. It happened crazy fast...for the both of us!
Isabella Sage Llanes was 34 weeks and 2 days. Over a month early from her original due date. Weighed in at 4 pounds and 8 ounces. Measured at about 17 inches long.
Miraculously enough she is fully developed and they did not need to hook her up to any machines to help her do anything full term babies should do on their own. She was breathing fine, she was holding her temperature fine, and she was keeping her pink color.
All glory to God for Amy and Isabella to be doing so well.
This is purely a miracle.
It has been a long time since I have posted anything. Those of you close to me know why I have not posted and the rest of you are about to find out why this is...
In the mean time Amy was still planning on going to Texas to visit family and attend the baby showers that our parents had already planned. I was planning on waiting to hear about this job and probably not going to go to Texas with her. Until I got the phone call that, again, they went with someone else.
While we were in Texas we listened to the sermon on the mount from the book of Matthew and it had really encouraged me. So I had to remind myself that the birds and the flowers are taken care and that God would take care of us too. I then soon started to realize that God had been blessing us in ways I was not seeing. We started counting our blessings and realizing that we were not worthy. For the last few weeks I have been seeing the smallness that I am compared to who God is. Sure, I have had to be broken and humbled, but if through all of this I am being made into a better Christian, a better husband, a better friend, a better son, and a better father...then it has all been worth it.
Is this time of uncertainty over and the reason I write now? No.
I needed to write all of this out to share what we have experienced. We have experienced so much in these past 2 months that it has felt like a life time. As I mentioned that in my anger I was like a pharisee going over my list of things that I have done for God...now I look back and think of how much pride was in my heart. Pride that I did not know was there until I heard, read, and meditated on scripture that my righteous acts are but but filthy rags onto God. They mean nothing, because there's nothing that we can do to earn anything from God. So it has been a very humbling time for me, all the while, scripture and God's promises are all that we have to hold on too. I've seen now that certain scriptures means so much more when it's all you have to hold on to when nothing else is certain in this world. My faith has been tested in ways I never thought it would be.
On Monday two weeks ago I woke up with nothing lined up, no job leads, no interviews, and only some hope to hang on too. I got up and read some scripture and meditated upon it and as I was getting ready to pray I was reminded of God saying in scripture to ask for what you need in prayer and it will be given, knock and the door will be opened. So I fervently prayed for something to happen that morning...whether it be a phone call for an interview or some job lead. Little did I know that Amy was praying this exact thing on her commute into work that morning. At 12:30 that afternoon I received a phone call from an agency to come in and fill out some background check papers and asked me to get there ASAP. I was there within an hour and by 2PM I was asked if I wanted to go work a temp job tomorrow, that Tuesday! It was incredible how we prayed for something that morning and God delivered in a way that we still cannot fathom. It is not my ideal job and it doesn't pay near as much as what we need long term...but it was an answer to prayer and gave us some more hope to hold on to...and this what we needed and prayed for.
God has given us so much already and even though we know He will take care of us and our baby girl...this time of uncertainty is still very scary for the both of us. Through all this we have seen in so many ways how we are loved by God, our family, and our friends. What I have learned from God, myself, and my wife in this period is something that will stick with me for the rest of my life. I will never forget this season in my life.
(I'll try to keep everyone updated on everything a little better from here on out)
It's easy when I am in control. I don't have an issue with flying or taking public transportation as some people do because they hate not being in control of the vehicles. But I do have an issue when I don't have control over my day to day normal business of life.
The fear of the unknown. What's going to happen next.
It is completely out of my hands at this point.
And all I can, all we can, say are three words that mean so much in a time of uncertainty.
I and TRUST and YOU.
I saw this video on a show and thought it was hilarious. It is strictly to be funny. But since we are dog owners we could relate to most of the video. The end is just crazy and ridiculous...but what on the interwebs doesn't end all crazy like, right?
Baby HD from summer of tears on Vimeo.

I listened to another Matt Chandler sermon yesterday as I was mowing the yard and he mentioned something that reminded me of how some people see/perceive Christianity to be. How it is viewed or how it is to act as a Christian.
- The inspiration of the Bible by the Holy Spirit and the inerrancy of Scripture as a result of this.
- The virgin birth of Christ.
- The belief that Christ's death was the atonement for sin.
- The bodily resurrection of Christ.
- The historical reality of Christ's miracles.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.We have a life of commission that He has laid out for us! Lets freely work out the plans that He has for us without the fear of failing. I'd rather try working it out at the risk of failing anyway, than not try at all.
Lets do some catching up:
one meme i decided to do...
Directions:
1. Put your iPod, iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS
1. IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Handshake Drugs - Wilco
2. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Thief In The Night - Leeland
3. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A GUY/GIRL?
Gimme A Sign - Ryan Adams
4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Biased Bigotry - MxPx
(ahemmmmmm...not really.....ever)
5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE PURPOSE?
I Repent - Derek Webb
(i love it)
6. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Kid A - Radiohead
7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Prepare Ye The Way - Caedmon's Call
(i hope i don't have a big head)
8. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Rescued - Jack's Mannequin
9. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Mood Rings - Relient K
11. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Simple - The Beta Band
12. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
The Heights - David Crowder Band
(this one worked out awesome!)
13. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Nice and Blue - mewithoutYou
14. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Stuck Inside Of Mobile With he Memphis Blues Again - Bob Dylan
15. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
A Glass Can Only Spill What It Contains - mewithoutYou
16. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
The Lovers Are Losing - Keane
(good thing we are already married and we are not losing)
17. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST
Prophecy - Remy Zero
(...and it's not a spiritual gift of mine)
18. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Something In The Way - Nirvana
(another almost perfect fit)
19. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Born Again - Jeremy Casella
(i mean...i am baptist, right....right)
20. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
First Breath After Coma - Explosions In The Sky
21. SONG THEY WILL PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Lazy Gun - JET
(hmmmmmm...maybe i spend too much time with my iPod)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR ROOMMATE?
Mutha'uckas - Flight Of The Conchords
(i will direct that to the dogs and not Amy)
22. WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Spit It Out - Brendan Benson
I won't tag anyone for this meme because i would not want to be tagged in any either. But if you decide to post this, let me know so that i can go read yours.