Christmas 09

Snow Day

Pals

Since Reid's arrival, Asa and Ellie have begun to play together more than ever. They pass the time playing with their toys as we tend to Reid throughout the day. Hopefully this trend will continue. This picture was actually Asa's idea. He asked me to get the camera and take a picture of the two of them on his John Deere tractor.

Welcome to the world, Reid!

God was very gracious in answering our prayers for a very uneventful and healthy delivery. We arrived at the hospital yesterday (11th) around 6:45am and checked into our room. After Jess got poked and pricked for all of the IV's, we waited for the Pitocin to do its job. The doctor came in and broke Jessica's water around 12:15pm. The nurse came in and checked Jess again at 1:15pm and was surprised to realize that she was well along and ready to deliver. The nurses scrambled to get the room prep'd and told Jess not to push in any way because he was that ready to come. The doctor came in around 1:25pm and asked me if I wanted to help deliver the baby. I laughed and jokingly said, "Sure." I didn't know he was really being serious. So, after 30 seconds of instructions, the doctor got the head out and let me sit down and pull him out the rest of the way. It was a pretty cool experience, but I can't say I want to be a doctor now after helping to deliver a baby.

Jess is recovering well and we are looking forward to heading home today. Reid has been nursing really well and had a good first night of sleep too! Hopefully, both trends will continue and only get better and better :) More pics to come!

5 Days and Counting...

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little guy who, Lord willing, is coming into the world next Tuesday. Jessica is really, really, really ready to be finished with this pregnancy stuff. Once he arrives we will post pictures as soon as we can. Please pray for a very healthy, quick and uneventful delivery.

Columbia Bound!

After the shocking realization that on May 22nd when I graduated from seminary only 5 guys out of 32 had secured a pastoral position in a church, I did not know what God had in store for the Middlebrooks family. But through a set of ordained events by God, I met pastor Paul Joiner at the PCA General Assembly and began discussing the associate pastor position that they had open at Zion Presbyterian Church in Columbia, TN. In going through the interview process and finally having the opportunity to visit the church and the town of Columbia, it became very apparent that this could be a great fit for our family. So after candidating for this position two weekends ago, I was called by the congregation to be the new youth and family minister of Zion Pres.

We are extremely excited about this opportunity to serve at Zion. Looking back it has been humbling and amazing to see how God has worked in orchestrating our steps to this point. We will be moving up to Columbia toward the end of September. We are very greatful for the prayers and encouragement that many of you have given over the past several months. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Idaho vacation

We spent eight days out in Twin Falls, ID with Jess' side of the family. It was a very relaxing and refreshing vacation. It is a beautiful place to visit. Here are a bunch of pics from the week.
-chad

IT IS FINISHED!!!

After 3 years of study, I finally received my Masters of Divinity degree from RTS. The graduation ceremony was last Friday night. I was blessed to have my family and Jessica's mom and our sister-n-law come down and join in the celebration. It was a great weekend of celebrating and thanking God for his faithful provision throughout these past three years. We only have one more month down in Orlando, which brings sadness of having to leave many friends that we have made, but also excitement for what the Lord has in store for us in the future. Thank you to so many of you who have faithfully prayed for us and encouraged us throughout our journey in seminary.

Beach Fun

Fun at Nonna & YeYe's house

Easter '09

Morning at Downtown Disney

And # 3 is...........................A BOY!!!

We went to the doctor today for a check-up for Jess. She is fifteen weeks along, so we weren't sure if we were going to be able tell the sex of the baby for sure. As we were looking at the ultrasound, the lady said, "I know what you're having, do you want to know?" Then I said,"I do too, it's a boy!" Jess and I were both really surprised because we thought it was going to be a girl.

We are very excited that the baby is healthy and things are looking good. The baby's due date is August 18th, so we will keep you posted. We are one blessed family!

Gator Park Fun

Jess and the kids went with uncle Tommy and aunt Sara to a gator park yesterday. They had blast seeing all of the gators. Asa's favorite part was getting to pet one of the little ones.

We have all enjoyed having Tommy and Sara back from Italy. They have been visiting with us for the past week, which has been great since we haven't seen them in over two years. We've had a lot of fun catching up with them, especially Ellie, who got to meet her aunt and uncle for the first time. It's really good to have them home for a couple of years.

Birthday Girl

We celebrated Ellie's 1st birthday today. We had a joint birthday party for Ellie (born on the 8th) and Samantha who was born on the 6th. Last year when we were in the hospital having Ellie, our room ended up being right across the hall from Len and Erin, who go to our church and were having their baby at the same time. So we thought it only fitting to celebrate their birthdays together in the park. Ellie didn't tear into her strawberry cake as much as Asa did with his cake on his first birthday, but she enjoyed it nonetheless (the differences between boys and girls :) Wow...hard to believe we now have a 3 year old and a 1 year old and on Tuesday we'll also have a 32 year old.