Meeting Isaak

- Gideon Meets Isaak -

Since the C-section ended up being quite late in the day we did not have enough time to go pick up Gideon, who was being watched by his aunt Karina, and bring him to meet his brother. So it ended up that he came to see his new brother the next day after school and a nap.


- Playing Buddy's -

Holly is doing well. She said that Isaak is very clingy. He does not like to lay in his bed, that he likes to eat, and that he likes to sleep with his mama. All well and good except that Holly didn't get much sleep. She was tired, and uncomfortable, because of the soreness of having a baby ripped out of you. But she was in good spirits and looks amazing. Just glowing. Pray for her recovery because I know it breaks her heart that she can't fully take care of Isaak yet on her own.


- Being a Part of Things -

Thank you for all of the congrats and well wishes. We feel so surrounded by your love! Thank you for your prayers. We have enjoyed the visit of some of our friends that are living here in Ghent. Pieter, Kaylee and Mika came by to hold the little guy and to see how Holly was doing.


- The Visitors -

Gideon's reaction to Isaak was priceless, and I hope we got some of his good reactions on tape. He was mostly curious and amazed by this little baby. He calls him baby all the time and points in a careful way, but has also come close in saying his name. Every time Isaak cried, Gideon would say "sad" and have a worried face. He would point to me and say "Hold ya" and want me to hold the baby so he would stop crying. Such a giving brother, since "Hold ya" is the phrase I hear most from Gideon wanting me to hold him. Gideon played with the bubbles Isaak was blowing, let Isaak hold his finger, and was content to sit and watch him.



Some have asked about his name:

Isaak - A biblical name, that we liked the sound of, that is not used very often. We liked that it works both in Dutch and in English. In Dutch it will sound more like ee-sah-k. I love the thought of a name that was given thousands of years ago that means laughter. God gives us so many reasons to laugh, and it is fun to use this name to think of that.

Ahrens - Is a family name, like we did with Gideon, (Gideon's middle name is Thomas which is Luk's middle name, and Opa's first name) we wanted a tie to a family name in the middle name. Holly's grandpa was known as John O. A. - the A. stands for Ahrens, which was the family name of John O. A.'s uncle. We liked the sound of it and the family tie.

Brazle - Well no choice there, but we like it. It is different, wierd, and hard to know how to pronounce in Dutch. Oh, your a Brazle, do you know....