Last weekend we celebrated my daughter Anna’s first birthday. As a way for Anna to remember her one-year-old self, I asked the people there to jot down a word or phrase that either they see in Anna or that they would hope for Anna to embody one day. Here is what people wrote:

• “Vocal” – Lindsay
• “(Future) Daughter-in-law” – Samantha & Everett
• “Enjoy Life’s Cashews!” – Karli
• “Sunshine & Joy” - Grandma Marianne
• “Grace” - The Staffords
• “Anna is LOVE” - Pappy
• “Joy” - Nanna
• “Blessing”
• “Child of Promise” – Dad (me)

Early Thursday morning on September 30th at 12:42 AM Anna Rose Kocak was born to us. The wait was long and the labor was difficult; however, Bridgette and Anna are both healthy. Anna is growing and developing perfectly and Bridgette is healing quickly from her emergency cesarean section (C-Section).

Here are some of my favorite photos of Anna Rose Kocak:

Anna right after birth

Anna day 2

Anna sticking her tongue out

Anna is such a good eater, we had to give her a pacifier.

After 35 days away with the Air Force near St. Louis, I expected August to be a slow month; however, the past month has been filled with unending visits to the midwife, tours and classes at St. Joseph’s hospital, and of course, tolerating Baby’s R Us.

I have expanded my garden, chopped down a tree with a dull axe, and cleaned out the garage. Bridgette has deep-cleaned the house, set up the nursery, and neatly ordered all the ‘baby effects’ that come with having your first child.

We hosted a baby shower, a bridal shower, and had 6-8 girls stay at our house one weekend (fortunately, a friend let me crash on his couch).

We experienced our ‘full-term’ child make protruding movements on the surface of Bridgette’s belly, we’ve read baby birthing books, and even worked through a few early contractions together.

Oh, and we have prayed for our daughter: prayers of thanksgiving to the Father of all for this early marriage blessing, prayers of illumination for how to raise her, and prayers of supplication for the birthing process to be as ‘natural’ in Lexington, KY for Bridgette and I as it was in the manger in Bethlehem for Mary and Joseph.

But alas, as I begin to observe the waning of summer and the coming of fall, I am reminded that the new season is no longer about colder temperatures, football, or fall classes at Asbury Seminary, but a season of  new kind of normal. A season of fatherhood, a time where I will finally meet Anna Rose Kocak face-to-face.

The weekend before finals week, Bridgette and I found out on Friday that my father has lost his job after 29 years of faithful service. Then on Saturday we got the news that Bridgette’s beloved grandmother, Carole Myers passed away suddenly while recovering from hip surgery.We also had a wedding to attend the next weekend in Ohio…

So we left last Monday on a somber journey home to comfort family and friends. The week began in Amherst, Ohio at my parents house on Monday night where we helped my father piece together what to do next after being ‘let go’ by the company he invested 29 years in. From there we traveled to Hudson/Streetsboro for grandma Myer’s showing and funeral. During all of these travels, Bridgette and I somehow managed to finish the rest of our final papers and take exams. The week ended in a celebration as we celebrated the marriage of Bridgette’s friends from High School, Lindsay and Karly. Sunday morning we drove away from Ohio, physically exhausted and emotional wore out. But the week didn’t end with the drive, because we decided to host a Lost part at our house on Sunday night. So we capped off a chaotic ten days by watching the series finale of one of our favorite shows of all time.

But the good news is: the semester is over, Lost is over, and summer vacation is here!

Yesterday Bridgette and I went in for our twenty week check up at the doctors. For many weeks now as we prayed for the baby, we felt like it was a boy. Bridgette was like 95% certain it was a boy. I WAS just as positive about the sex of the baby as my wife, but over the past few weeks my heart has been warming up to the possibility of being a father to a little girl. As I entered into the doctors office yesterday, I was 50/50 whether it was a boy or a girl. As the ultrasound technician did the scan, I was studying the anatomy looking for little man parts (in a prior life, I was a Radiology technician). As we got to the abdomen this is what we saw.

In this picture you see the pelvis (left) with the  two femur bones coming out of them. There is a little gray circular area in between them that with the parallel lines proves that our first child is a GIRL!

Bridgette and I decided on the name Anna Rose Kocak (ARK). Anna in Hebrew and Latin  means grace and favour. I personally like the name because of Anna the prophetess who never left the temple but stayed there fasting and praying. She had eyes to see the child Messiah and to prophecy over him. My prayer is that my daughter can also be devoted to prayer and a deeper life in Christ, so that she may proclaim Christ to her generation.