Meet the newest addition

Cole Michael Benallick was born at 3:47 AM on Sunday, July 16. He joins our family weighing 6 lbs, 11 1/2 ounces and standing (or lying) at 18 1/2 inches long.

He'll spend most of his first day in the comfort of the incubator getting lots of oxygen and lots of rest as he came out to play about 2 1/2 weeks early. All signs suggest though that our little "Warrior" (as is the meaning of the name Cole) is healthy and a picture of perfection. He looks like his big brother Carter with big brown eyes and long, skinny fingers. He's hardly made any noise since he's been born so we're not sure if we've got a quiet one on our hands or if he's just storing up his energy for a little later:). I haven't had a chance to hold my little man yet so I'm a little anxious to do that seeing as it's been nearly 12 hours since he was born.

There is truly no more amazing experience in this lifetime then watching the birth of your child. Having had the priviledge of watching all three of my kids come into this world I can truly say that I am a rich man.

There is no denying the goodness of God and the wonder of His creation when you witness the beginning of a new life. Someone as precious as Cole could not have been created by something without feeling or without deep love. God has blessed us.

If you want to know who one of my hero's is that answer is simple- it is my wife. To have gone through the physical trauma that comes with child birth three times in the past 4 years is no small feat to say the least. Add two surgeries to the mix in that same time span and you have yourself an incredibly strong woman. My wife does not give herself nearly enough credit for how strong she is. I am so proud of her. Words cannot do justice to my feelings for her.

I know this is starting to sound like an Oscar acceptance speech or something- "I'd like to thank God, my wife, my agent . . . blah blah blah"- so I'll wrap it up for today. I just wanted to get some initial thoughts down on the ol' virtual paper before my brain begins to forget all that has transpired in the past 24 hours.

I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for Cole. I can't wait to see his relationship develop with his big brother and his big sister. I can't wait until we can sleep through the night again :).

I'll try to add some more pics of our little man as we go along here.