She's here!!!

Daisy Love came into the world March 31st at 7:38 PM, weighing 7 pounds 6 ounces and is 20 inches long. I will share the delivery story once I am feeling up to it but, for now I just wanted to post some pictures of our little girl as well as to share with you (I had written this a few weeks ago) how we chose her name. Say what you will but, we are absolutely in love with this name and it has meant a lot to us for quite some time. If you read below you will learn why:).

2009 was a bumpy year for me and Joey for various reasons. It was a year that we felt stretched, tested and tried in ways we never could have imagined but, through it all we constantly turned to the Lord in prayer for strength and patience and we soaked up every sermon that encouraged us and helped us to press on joyfully in spite of the trials we faced. One of those sermons I actually posted on this blog last year, because it ministered to Joey and me so much during that tough time; it was titled "When my Heart is Overwhelmed." More than anything that message was a powerful and convicting reminder for us to praise the name of the Lord no matter how tough times get and we received the message with open ears. It really ministered to both of us in a powerful way. The Pastor's daughter, some of you might recall, has the same name that we decided to choose for our daughter (well, minus the last name of course). Joey and I had been at odds over a name for our little girl for several months and I had been getting frustrated that we would never come to an agreement on one. Instead of complaining about it to Joey I decided to pray about it and asked the Lord to pick our little girl's name for us and to put it on both of our hearts so that we would both be sure. Not long after we watched Pastor Britt's sermon together at home and as I said before it just rocked our world and soothed our aching hearts to say the least. When it was over I felt oddly confident that the name Daisy was meant for our daughter but, I wasn't looking forward to asking Joey about it so I prayed about it first but, as it turns out, Joey was 100% sold on the name already. He loved the name Daisy just as much as I did when he first heard it and he actually had planned on asking me about the name later in the day. We immediately felt that God had placed our little girl's name on both of our hearts and answered our prayers because it landed on both of our hearts so naturally and we had so much peace about it together. When I went to California in December of 09 for my work sales conference I was very surprised to see that Pastor Britt and his wife were at my work's Christmas party. We are publishing a book for Britt so he happened to be a guest and speaker at our brunch. I worked up all the courage I could muster and after brunch ended I shared with Britt's wife that Joey and I were beyond blessed and encouraged by her and her husband's faith in the midst of their daughter's crisis. I told her that we were so inspired and transformed by Britt's message that we too wanted to name our daughter Daisy Love and she almost started crying much to my surprise. She was so happy for us and so honored that her husband's sermon and their life struggle had ministered to us in such a way that we would adopt their name for our daughter as well. It felt surreal to have the mother's blessing and this encounter completely sealed the deal for me and Joey!

Lastly, I LOVE flowers and nature and I am so happy that our daughter's name is sweet, simple, and will always remind me of Spring (my favorite NC season) and laughter but, most importantly, her name will always remind us of how much God loves us, because he reached down from Heaven and gave us a huge hug last year when we needed it most!
Daisy Love, even before you were born the Lord picked out your name. We know God has wonderful plans for your life and we can't wait to see them unfold!

Dearest Daisy:

We are so honored to be your parents and so thrilled that the Lord has given you to us for a season. We will cherish you all the days of our lives and we are ecstatic that you are finally here and in our arms!! Welcome to our world Daisy girl! May the Lord richly bless you, protect you and love on you all the days of your life!

With all of our love,
Mommy and Daddy