Katerina Joy was born on May 18th at 9:25pm, weighing 5 lb 15 oz. and 19.5 inches in length. She is a wonderful blessing! Her name means 'pure' and the short form of her name is Katya. It's a name I fell in love with while I was in Ukraine a number of years ago. Joy is after my mom's name.
5 weeks have already passed since her birth and we are enjoying this new journey together as a family. It is truly amazing how such a little person can change your life and touch your heart more deeply than you can imagine. And all she does is eat, sleep, and well...you know the rest :)
We had a 'Thanksgiving for the Gift of a Child' service for Katerina a few weeks ago and our dear friend Barclay lead the service for us. He asked us to pray for a verse for Katerina, one that would be with her throughout her life. We chose Zephaniah 3:17: "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love,he will rejoice over you with singing." We pray that she will indeed bring delight to the Lord and be a 'pure joy' for his glory!
While I am on maternity leave I have the privilege of being a regular part of the congregation at church. The view from the nursery window is certainly a change from the view from the front! I am thankful for this time and blessed to be seeing things through new eyes. God has been teaching me what it means to nurture and love my daughter, leading her even now to love and worship Him. It is my prayer that Kent and I will be wise and faithful parents for the wonderful gift God has blessed us with in Katerina.
