Days have passed into weeks now, and our daughter Adley is already 5 weeks old! She is growing day by day and sometimes we wish she would just stop! We know that her baby months will quickly pass into toddler years, and further on from that I don't even want to think about. One of my favorite things to do with her is actually, yes, change her diaper! She loves her changing table, and I get the biggest smiles from her when she is plopped down there ready for a clean dupy. Now, now, I know what you are thinking, but they are smiles, and they are because of me and no other reason.

Jenny is doing so well, the newest super-mom to the IHOP community, and I'm so proud of her! We are really enjoying our time together with Adley, and all the wonderful visitors coming to see us. It definitely has been a sort of "baby" moon, and even though there is alot going on around us here on the base, we feel like here in our refuge the "pause" button has been pushed. In this time, the Lord has been revealing Himself in awesome ways, and as you parents know - having children is a deeper step into His heart, and His holiness! Adley is the joy set before us, and no sacrifice seems to great for her.

Another one of my favorite things to do is look into her eyes really close. I can see my reflection in her eyes, and it brings tears to mine. She has beautiful eyes, mostly shades of blue but somedays bordering on brown. It's a mystery to us what color her eyes will settle on - but deep down in her DNA it is already written. Yesterday when I did this, she smiled and cooed. Oh, the joys of parenthood!

Oddly, Adley really enjoys fans! She loves to look at the spinning blades going round and round and just becomes transfixed on them. From her swing, which goes side to side, perhaps the blades going round provides a soothing visual practice for her. We can tell that her vision has increased, as she is now able to see farther and farther away. I stand at various distances from her and watch her eyes follow me to see if she can still see me - sometimes almost across the room! Greater vision has brought her great joy and newfound fascination, but also frustration and even terror at times. Imagine only being able to see what's right in front of your face and then all of the sudden to see a myriad of objects moving all around you, colors, shapes, patterns - dancing. The blur of it all can over-stimulate her to frustration, but (hopefully) also usually sleep.

I used to tell Jenny how much I enjoyed staying up while she slept, watching her, reading or something right next to her. At times she would get upset, supposing that I preferred her asleep than awake - but there is something so incredibly peaceful about your beloved sleeping next to you, and I think just now with Adley she is understanding what I have meant. As she nods off to sleep, I sing to her "The beautiful justice of God is coming! The beautiful justice of God! The beautiful justice of God is coming ... Adley Belle. Adley Belle, Adley Belle, the beautiful justice of God is coming, Adley Belle!"

Lastly, the Lord has been speaking to me about His justice (random, huh?) and I shared some of it during my weekly Apostolic Prayer Briefining last week. I've posted the download under our Resource Section, but also below for you to stream now if you have some time to listen. I start off with a summary of the value of praying the Apostolic Prayers (which are the prayers the Apostle Paul and others wrote, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in the New Testament) but then talk for most of the 40 minutes on God's justice. I have really been shaken by this, and plan to write more about it over the next few weeks here. Bless you all!