Attempting to do better...

Hello family and friends! We greatly apologize for the delay (of, oh about 4 months) of our blog. It seems that over the last few months, we have been overwhelmed with so much going on and the fun has only continued! Plus, other than finding out we were having a girl, it didn't seem like there were too many updates with our pregnancy... until the last few weeks...

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, so we'll attempt to fill you in on what has been going on so you're up to speed. And, especially now that Ellie is here, we will update you on her status and growth along the way - and share pictures of our little angel. We think she's pretty darn cute at least!

We are so grateful for your support, love and prayers and look forward to each of you being an important part in Ellie's life! We are a blessed family, a family of 3 already!

First pictures of our baby

Last week, Lisa and I took our first visit to the prego doc. Driving there was a little surreal knowing for the first time we were going to see/hear our baby. Thanks to NBC and FRIENDS, my biggest fear was not being able to see our little guy (oops, or girl :) ). O, how television over-exaggerates everything.

For some reason I thought I was going to have to watch my wife get into "stirrups" (I think that's what their called) and feel grossly awkward. Lucky for me, our first visit didn't need anything from me except to answer, "Is this the father?" All I had to do was sit and watch while the nurse plastered Lisa's belly with goo.

2 seconds later there it was, on a screen in the corner of the room, Baby Benk.

Clear as day. Looked like Mr. Peanut laying down, without a cane and top hat of course. Amazing. Beautiful. Real. Until this point all we had were 5 (don't judge me, had to make sure) sticks that used to say "Pregnant" as reality. Now I'm starring into my wife's stomach at our little baby. Not only were we able to see the baby, but also got to hear the heartbeat.

That's healthy by the way. In the first picture the mouse is pointing right at the heart. We could see it beating. It sounded like a horse race, that's how fast it was beating. Fluttering is a more accurate description.

Walking away from our first visit, I think Lisa and I were both so overwhelmed with what we just saw and hear, when we got in the car, we didn't know what to say. It was beautiful and sobering. We're going to be parents, and we couldn't be more excited .

Lastly, it would be a shame for me to glory in what we have and not praise the One responsible for such a gift. We are humbled that God would allow us fertility to have a baby. When you see the pain that plagued Abraham and Sarah during her barrenness and their longing to have a child that they had no control over, it humbles me greatly that God would bless us this way. And it burdens us deeply to see our friends who empathize with Abraham and Sarah. Thankful that God fulfilled his promise to Abraham as He is also faithful to fulfill his promises to us, that we are undeserving of.

Thankful. Humbled. Blessed.

Welcome

What you know: This blog was created to help inform friends and family about what's new with the Benk's.

What you don't know: This is my 4th or 5th (depending on if you count wordpress) attempt at creating a blog. Well, since you don't follow my other blogs, then we can assume how all those turned out. Floating in cyber somewhere.

None-the-less here is my last attempt at creating a successful blog. And if you're reading this then well at least it "works". Lisa and I wanted to have an avenue to be able to allow friends and family to feel apart of our lives although many miles separate most of us. And if I could be quite honest, emailing everyone with updates is quite often painful and I lose interest quickly. So hopefully this will be a little different.

So, without further ado, welcome to our blog. And I'll ask ahead of time for patience as we embark on the new (to us at least) world of blogging.

Much love.