The past couple of weeks have been a bit on the crazy side for my family.

You may know that my wife and I were expecting our seventh child, with a due date of either the 20th, or the 26, or the 28th. I don’t know why we had three due dates, but we did. Crazy, I know.

With this being my wife’s seventh pregnancy, and a few other factors that could contribute to complications, we scheduled an inducement for February 18.

Little did we know we wouldn’t need it.

Early on the morning of the 12th, my wife woke me up and we headed to the hospital. And that afternoon, my seventh child, a girl, arrived in this world. Mom and baby both came through the delivery just fine, and after a couple of breathing hiccups, we were able to take our daughter home on Valentine’s Day.

Her name is Mercy Dawn, based upon Lamentations 3:22-23, where Jeremiah states that God’s “mercies are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness.”

Mercy Dawn is just another reminder that God is present and deeply involved in our lives. We are excited to have her home and begin this parenting adventure all over again with her.

As she grows, and as with all the rest, many of our adventures will teach me dadhood lessons, and I will share them with you, so that we can grow together.

In the meantime, I’m going to go hold my daughter.

Be deliberate, Dad!

Keep us in your prayers as Mercy Dawn begins to grow and change. We need to continue to be the best parents we can be for her, as well as the rest of our kids. And, any input you may have for a large family would be greatly appreciated! You can leave your thoughts in the comments by clicking here.