All of Grace

Today is our daughter, Gracie's, birthday.

A year ago Grace and I were pretty sure we were going to name our new baby Madeleine. Then it happened. The bathroom birth.

Little Gracie's first thoughts were probably, "Ahhh, that was easier than I was expecting."

In the hospital room when Grace and I finally had a chance to reflect on all the craziness of the bathroom delivery, we were so incredibly thankful for the Lord's mercy upon our family. Praise God that my precious wife was okay and that our baby was born with no complications. So many things could have gone wrong that morning, but by God's grace things worked out perfectly.

Grace and the baby did just fine that morning. In fact, the doctors thought that the baby was exceptionally healthy. So we started to sing this song called All of Grace, and that's when we decided that her name had to be a reminder of God's abundant grace. Her middle name, Olivia, comes from the word, "olive," which is a symbol of abundance. Also, since Grace was named after her mom, we decided to continue the tradition and name our daughter Grace as well with a nickname of Gracie.

I remember cuddling with Gracie the evening after she was born and telling a handful of visitors that I couldn't imagine actually being able to love another child as much as I love AJ. She was such a little bundle of joy, and I was so thankful to be able to hold her tiny body in my arms. Gracie and I bonded that night.

Here's a video of her birthday party. After Gracie blew out her candle I looked around the room and saw everybody's smiles. I was reminded of how each of our friends and family members have shared in our laughter and our tears this past year, and how God used each of them uniquely to bless us. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness and His abundant mercy!