Seth Emmanuel Austin

The world is indeed a better place. Seth Emmanuel Austin arrived at 1:12 am, Saturday August, 2nd. He weighed 8 lbs 12.5 ounces. He's 20 ½ inches long. So all of that "little man" was inside Diana. After 25 hours of labor, Mom is sore but extremely happy.

Seth's name is very meaningful to us and we wanted to share. Seth means "appointed". He was the third born son of Adam and Eve, "appointed" by God to take Abel's place after he was killed by Cain. Seth is considered the father of mankind since his lineage eventually led to Noah.

As for Emmanuel...there's another story. Last April, as Diana was preparing for her 22 week ultrasound, she was afraid for the worst. We had some dear friends who lost a little boy named Liam at 23 weeks. Diana also miscarried in January of 2007. So the fear of losing a child was very real. As Diana was driving, she was praying. When she stopped at a stoplight she was overcome with a sense that God has always been with her and will always be with her, through the best and through the worst. The Hebrew word for this is "Emmanuel" - God with us.

Diana came to me that afternoon, told me the story, and we agreed that if we had a son his middle name should be Emmanuel.

Austin means "Majestic". So our son's full name is Seth Emmanuel Austin "Appointed by God who is with us and majestic". God has appointed Seth for a special reason in our life and he has appointed Seth for something special in his own life. God will be with our family through everything.

I'm still getting used to this blogging thing, so expect fancier posts as we all move along. Hope all is well with everyone!!