May 4, 2008
On the Event of your 1st Birthday
Dear Karis Ruth,
As we look back on this precious first year of life with you, we desire to dedicate you to the Lord once again. We want to remind you of the meaning of your name and the special gift of grace you have been to us.
Aaron cooking up the burgers
Your name, Karis, means Grace or, more literally, a gift. When you were born, we hadn’t decided on your name. It took us a couple of days for us to decide. But as we talked about the name Karis some more, the more it seemed obvious to us that it was your name.
Auntie Larissa & Cousin Trinity
Immediately after you were born, you weren’t breathing. In only a matter of seconds, the joy and excitement in our hearts had turned into fear and horror. [For those who do not know, Karis was born at home in a surprise breach birth, and her placenta was delivered with her, making it necessary for her to breath right away]. And in that moment, there was no other place to go but to God through prayer. God’s grace was completely surrounding your birth in every aspect.
We realized that you are special gift from the Lord entrusted to us for a season, however long or short, to raise in the love, nurture and admonition of the Lord. We pray you would come to know and comprehend His grace in your life and desire to follow hard after Him at an early age, and may His grace be reflected in every aspect of your life.
Uncle Christian & Karis
Ruth, meaning friendship or companion, is given to you in honor of your great-grandmother, who passed away two months before you were born. She was a tender and welcoming woman wherever she went. She loved the Lord and her family. With this Godly heritage, we pray you would follow the Lord with all your heart, and would have a heart of compassion for the needy, and desire to be a friend of sinners. May your light shine for His glory!
The family looking on as Karis puts her whole head into her cake!
We love you and cherish every moment we have had with you. We feel completely inadequate as your parents, and realize the huge weight and responsibility that has been entrusted to us, but we trust that the Lord would guide and direct us in every step of the way. We dedicate you to the Lord and entrust you into His hand. May His love and mercy be reflected in your life!
Yum! Yum!
With much love,
Mommy & Daddy
Fantastic goods from you, man. I’ve take note your stuff prior to and you are simply extremely great. I really like what you’ve received right here, certainly like what you are saying and the way in which by which you are saying it. You’re making it entertaining and you still care for to keep it sensible. I can’t wait to learn much more from you. That is really a terrific website.
Lindsay, do you have any pictures when she was smaller? Any “birthday” pictures?
I always love to see pictures of babies!
I’m glad it turned out for you Lindsay. The main reason they don’t do breech birth naturally anymore, (at least for the first born) is because the head is the biggest part of the baby. And if the head can come out, the rest can follow. If a baby comes down feet first, and sometimes bottom first, the head maybe too big to fit thru the birth canal. BUT if the woman has delivered vaginally before, she SHOULD be able to deliver vaginally.
As an OB?GYN nurse, homebirthing scares the bejesus out of me. Maybe it’s my schooling? Or knowing what can and still does happen.
All my babies were born via c-section, and I wouldn’t trade it in for the world. My 1st was in distress, and needed to come out immediately. And the other 2 were planned c-sections.
I’m very glad you had a wonderful experience, and I’ve heard many wonderful stories. I don’t think I’ve heard of any homebirths gone wrong. I think it’s definitely a matter of preference. No right or wrong way, the key is having a healthy baby and mom in the end.
Happy Birthday Karis!
Lindsay, Karis’ story reminds me of why I don’t homebirth. That is ONE of the reasons I won’t do it.
Did you know Karis was breech? Or did she flip? Any signs that there was something wrong, w/her? A placental aburption has a high mortality rate, so glad she was ok!
Giving birth to my daughter at home was one of the most wonderful experiences for me. It was such a peaceful labor. God was totally in control. We had a wonderful and godly midwife who has delivered over 3000 babies and several breach deliveries as well, so I was confident in her abilities.
We did not know Karis was breach until I was fully dilated. She must have rotated in the last week or so, because the midwife believed she was in the correct position. I am so thankful to have her at home, because if I had delivered at a hospital, it would have been an immediate c-section, because they don’t do breach births naturally anymore. We believed it was definitely the best for my baby and myself to deliver at home. They kept careful watch over her heartbeat and such, and the Lord’s grace was completely over it all. That is another reason she was given the name Karis.
After birth, the midwife provided mouth-to-mouth and she started breathing within a few moments. I wouldn’t have traded this wonderful peaceful labor at home for anything else! Yes, I am a big fan of home birth! Although I know everyone may not feel as comfortable with it, and that is totally fine.
Lindsay,
Thank you for sharing your beautiful prayer for Karis.
I can understand how you felt after her birth. Our son was born 4 weeks early with pneumonia,which left him unable to breath well. He was put on oxygen in an incubator for a few hours then sent to the nearby children’s hospital. When the Dr.s came to tell us what was going on I was devastated. We prayed as soon as they left and told God how thankful we were that He had given us our son and that we entrusted our baby into our Heavenly Father’s arms. We also prayed for strength and patience because at that time we had no idea if he would make it through that night. That was the hardest prayer we every had to pray. We knew that God would want us praying for His will, not ours, but when you are praying that His will be done, even if it means losing a child, it is defiantly one of those time you are praying completely out of obedience and trust.God answered our prayers, as He answered yours, and our son recovered after a week in the NICU. To this day, when people ask how I dealt with it all, my answer is alway, “That was one of those times when there was only one set of footprints in the sand”.
Blessings to you and your family as you celebrate this wonderful milestone! You are in my prayers…
~Cherity
What a sweet post for her birthday! Happy Birthday, Karis!
Aww, her first little carrot cake! That’s my favorite dress on her, she’s so beautiful in yellow. She’s a little daffodil.
Many happy birthday wishes for darling little Karis! May the next year bring many blessings, joy, and fun to your entire family!
Happy Birthday, Karis! You look so much like your mama.
By the way, we have had our children at home also.
Lindsay, this is beautiful!
It is so important to continually dedicate our children to the LORD!
In fact, it’s part of a parenting workshop I hope to be presenting soon about keeping the focus. One of the activities is taking time to write a prayer of dedication for each child in the family. Yours is so beautiful, I was wondering if I could use it as an example at the workshops.
Thank you for continually sharing with us!
Go for it! I think that is a wonderful idea!
Happy Birthday! Well, our little Hana Kate is a bit younger than Karis, but we just had a family baby dedication for her, and we wrote a letter for her on May 3 here
. It was interesting to see some similarities in our letters.
We also began her birth at home (trying for a home birth), but had to transfer to the hospital. By the grace of God, our midwife stuck with us there and we avoided a C-section.
Dear Lindsay,
I wish you the best for your cute little daughter. You have such a wonderful little family – as we say in Germany – a family from a “picture book”. I pray for you, your husband and child. Madeleine