My father shared the following piece of the Bible in church this morning, and I thought I'd pass it along to you as an encouragement to all of the dads out there.
My children, listen to me.
Listen to your father's instruction.
Pay attention and grow wise,
for I am giving you good guidance.
Don't turn away from my teaching.
For I too was once my father's son,
tenderly loved by my mother...
My father told me,
"Take my words to heart.
Follow my instructions and you will live."
(Proverbs 4:1-4)
I'm thankful for my father, who gave me both good instruction and a good model. I pray I am already doing the same for Gwyneth.
And, as I did last year, I'm posting a video of the experience that made me really feel like a father for the first time...
Nate
59 comments:
How beautiful! Thank you for sharing again, Nate. Happy Father's Day!
.. and I'm sniffling like I did the first time I saw it :>) What an incredible moment!!
I'm with Melissam2......I blubbed both times :)
Thanks so much for sharing that!
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!! Watching the video brought tears to my eyes like the 1st time I saw it!!! You are an awesome daddy!!! Have a great day.
*HUGS*
~Krystal~
Durham NC
What a blessing she is!! Happy Father's Day Nathan!
Thanks for posting this. I'm sniffling away with the other ladies. Happy Father's Day!
Yet more tears!
Hope you have many more fathers days with your wonderful girl x
Thanks for the posting...loved seeing that again. Happy Father's Day to you!
The Shemenski's
Ohio
What a great way to celebrate Father's Day. One to show every year.
Beckie in TN
Crying as much as the first time I saw it... maybe even more so this time because now I know the story has a happy ending. :)
Awesome video. Like the rest, I too needed a tissue. :) And like you, I had a little one. I love the song you chose for the video. What is the name of the song?
Happy Fathers Day! You girls are wonderful.
Beautiful video. Happy Fathers Day to you Nate. Enjoy your day!~Darlene
Happy Father's Day, Nate! Cying again as I watch this video of your little blessing from God. God is good all the time and all the time God is good! Have a great day!
Fabulous, Nate! Since I wasn't reading you last year, that was my first viewing. Thank you for sharing such a personal and beautiful time in your life.
You are a wonderful and gifted blogger, too.
My wishes for a Happy Father's Day are but a distant tap-tap. You have all the happy right there with you. Blessings, Barbara
I remember that video so well (probably not as well as your family, but still...I do remember it well)
Happy Father's Day to you Nate!
Watching you and Tricia's families from afar always fills me with so much hope for the future.
Thank you for continuing to share so much of your lives with us, despite the blog reading 'trolls'.
-Laura Anne
Ohhh, I remember that video! It made me tear up the first time I saw it and it choked me up again today.
What a precious, precious video to have. Thank you for sharing it again.
Happy Father's Day, Nate!
Happy 2nd Fathers Day Nate! You are a wonderful example for Gweneth and we are so blessed to have you continue to share your journey with all of us out here in Blog Land. Thank you!
Amazing and beautiful video. I cried...your story is incredibly inspiring! Thank you so much for sharing it with all of us :)
Happy Father's Day!!
~Holly
Happy Father's day Nate! You seem like such a wonderful father and I hope you are enjoying your day.
Your video is precious. So lucky to have that filmed so you can watch it over and over again. I remember holding my girls for the first time in the NICU. I wasn't able to for so long, and I would give anything to have had it on video. Lucky you!
Wiping tears like everyone else. Truly a beautiful site. Happy Fathers Day, Nate.
I defy anyone to watch that and not choke up with tears. it's just so beautiful.
as always, thanks for sharing.
BEAUTIFUL!!!!!
crying, just like the very first time you shared this moment with us!
Magic, what human contact does. It calms and reassures.
Thank you for sharing this precious video clip with us again.
Karen et al
Vancouver, BC
Canada
Happy Father's Day! I can't believe how fast time has flown by! It seems like you just posted that video!
Still makes me cry! Happy Fathers day!
Still makes me cry! Happy Father's Day!
Happy Father's Day Nate!
wow!! what a video! you guys have been on such an amazing journey! i'd love to know who sings that song!
thanks for sharing! :)
hannah
and I cried again this year! Thanks for sharing and so glad you had such a wonderful day with your family! Happy Father's Day!
Wow! Its nice to see how far she's grown in 18 months or so.
I still teared up cause its been a blessing to just watch her grow!
Happy Father's Day!
Laters
Kristen
I couldn't stop crying while watching this video. You are such a sweet daddy! I especially bawled like a baby when you thanked your wife for that baby.
It's so great to see how God has worked in Gwyneth's life this past year. :) Thanks for sharing the video with us!
I'm crying...
I can never tire from watching this video, Nate! Without a doubt - my ALL TIME favorite. I'll never forget the first time I saw it! So POWERFUL!!! I hope to see it EVERY year at Father's Day. I have been blessed by that song time and time again ... every time I hear it, I think of you holding sweet baby Gwyneth for the FIRST time! At that time, God was using you and your story to minister to me in ways that you'll never truly understand ... this side of heaven. All the while, God was also using Matthew West's music in my life during that time in a HUGE WAY ... in a way that I cannot explain. I'll never forget hearing that song and knowing that WITHOUT a DOUBT I absolutely HAD ... HAD ... HAD to share it with you. It was VERY clear to me that God shared that song with me for the very specific reason of sharing it with YOU. I'll never forget that undeniably "divine" moment in my life. I'm happy to know that we will both forever be touched by that song.
I tear up every time I see that video clip. Holding Gwyneth for that first time must have been so wonderful, so blissful. I'm sitting here trying (unsuccessfully) to imagine what it would have been like to be in your place, or in Tricia's place at that time - how wonderful it must have been to finally hold Gwyneth, how difficult it was for Tricia to not get to see her for so long. Thanks for sharing the clip again and Happy Father's Day!
What a beautiful video.
My DH has said many times that the first time he held our tiny preemies was the first time he really felt like a dad too.
I love this, time and time again. How far you all have come, and happy Fathers Day!
Happy Father's Day once again, Nate. This video moves me to tears, reminding me so much of the first time I got to kangaroo-hold my own preemie baby.
Then I just watched the video of Gwyneth crawling again - what joy see how far she has come and how happy and healthy she is now.
Here's one more YAY Gwyneth! And endless thanks to God for all these amazing gifts.
I just found you on somebody's sidebar and decided to check over here when I saw the CF in your title. Our friends had a CF son born a month after our son. We watched the process for many years, prayed with everyone in our church for him, and were so proud of him when he graduated from college - it took him two extra years because of all the "tune-ups" every spring break, but he was the first in his family to achieve this goal. He was on experimental drugs which worked so well for him, but when the experiment was over, they were outrageously expensive. He finally had a double lung transplant several years ago, found a wonderful girl to marry, and life seems to be very good for them. No kids yet - I think she is infertile, ironically. But I love your story. I have preemie twin grandbabies who were not supposed to thrive or arrive - they did by C section 7 weeks early, so I have some experience there as well. I am so happy for all of you.
Unfortunately, due to a sad family situation, I had to take my blog private, but wanted to stop by and wish you a most Happy Father's Day - I wish you many many more!
Me again - I just watched the video and cried. So beautiful. The song is perfect! Was it written just for you guys? Our preemies were born on January 7, so amazing.
I'm at dawn.carlson@colostate.edu, just in case.
Very touching. Happy Father's Day!!
We're about to adopt two little sons from Ghana so my heart is very close to orphans right now. How beautiful to see how loved & treasured your daughter was & is & how I long for all children to be so adored!
I hope that you had a great Father's Day :-)
Thank you again for sharing such a wonderful moment...
She truly is a MIRACLE!!! I can't believe she was REALLY that tiny. Pictures just don't show as much as you holding her in that video does. Happy Father's Day one day late, Nate! You're such a great father & husband! God Bless!
Beautiful. Happy Father's Day!
I remember watching that video for the first time and crying. I cried again watching it for the 2nd time. So precious and powerful. It reminds me of holding my tiny son Isaac who is now with Jesus. It amazing to see how much Gwyneth has grown. What an amazing blessing from the Lord! Happy Father's Day Nate! You are a wonderful Daddy to Gwyneth!
That is one of my favorites... the song inspired us to go buy the CD as I was pregnant the first time you posted this. We used it at our daughter's baptism, and every time I hear it, I get teary. Happy Father's Day!
Wow... crying again!
Still a great video....and I still get teary-eyed when you say, "Thank you. Thank you for doing this for us". Gets me every time. You've all come a long way. I hope you had a wonderful Father's day....and I'm sure you did!
Touched deeply (again) by seeing the hand of God in your lives. You need to post some virtual kleenex when you post these videos!
The Sweetest video....ever HAPPY FATHER'S DAY To You!
When you show us how big Gweneth has gotten and we see how beautiful and healthy Tricia is, it's easy to forget how fragile this story's beginning is. Thank you for continuing to share your hopes, fears, dreams, and love with us all!
Hi! I'm a NICU nurse and new to your blog, and I just loved this post! One of the best parts of my job is placing sweet babies on their moms and dads so that parents can spend that special time with their special baby. Thanks for posting this!
That was beautiful. Just.....wow!
It's incredible where she used to be and where she is now. Praise the Lord! He's been so good to your family. : )
it gets me every time!!
What an awesome blessing. Thanks for sharing Nate. Happy belated Father's Day.
I have followed your blog since before Gwyneth was born and I've seen this before, yet still blubbered like a baby while watching. I love your family and pray for you guys like you are a part of mine. I know it's after Father's Day, but I want to wish you a Happy Father's Day for every single day of the year.
Could life get better than this?I hope not...be healthy and happy...that is all is needed of us at the end of the day.
Beautiful video... I am new and trying to catch up on everything. I would love to know the name of this song!
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