Fun Daddy-Daughter Moment

One of my favorite parts about being a father is watching Eliana take in the world.  The times when she is awake without gas discomfort, alert but without needing to eat; they are an inredible time to just stare around and take in the world.  The best moment is when she's looking at me.  Most of the time she's not looking at me, it seems, but through me, but then for a moment her eyes will lock on mine and we have an incredible moment of Daddy-Daughter connection.

Last night we had one of those moments.  At 3:45 am, while having finished eating, I was laying with Eliana, drifting in and out of sleep.  She on the other hand was alert, content and quietly taking in the world.  I happened to pop my eyes open and she was looking at me!  She is sooo beautiful.  Snuggling in close, nose-to-nose for eskimo kisses, I began to tell her what I hope to tell her every moment I get the chance, three simple words:  "I lo..."

The three simple words never came out of my mouth, for at that moment, our non-spit-up baby, decided to project her first spit-up directlly into her daddy's mouth.  Yummy.

"I'll just take that as an 'I love you' Eliana," I mumbled, mouth still full of baby spit-up.

She's Here!! - Welcome Eliana Anai Book-Satterlee

Eliana Anai Book-Satterlee

 October 12, 2009, 9:18 am
6 lbs 6 oz, 18.5 in

We are incredibly proud to welcome Eliana into our home.  She is soooo adorable.  Mom and baby are doing fine, having come home from the hospital on the 14th.  Our little girl has a full head of hair and long little feet attached to here skinny little legs.  She's got a good set of lungs and likes to show them off whenever she's being changed.

Mama can't help but laugh at the crazy tongue.

Proud Daddy (she didn't like the beard so it had to go shortly after this was taken)

Almost a month!

So I am just realizing that it has almost been a month since our last blog...I am definitely falling a little behind!  Life has continued to surprise us with its fast pace, but we have been enjoying it immensely.  Mid-September friends and family started arriving for my sister Stacy, and her (now) husband Nick's wedding.  Below is a picture of all the "Book" cousins that have kids so far.  Of course mine is still in utero, but we decided she still counts! 

My dad is quite excited about all of the boys he has since all of his daughters are now officially married.  For the first time ever the guys actually outnumber the girls in our family.  Below all of the guys (minus my brother-in-law Brian who was still in Florida at this point) are going out early in the morning to pick up bales of hay.  The weather has finally transitioned to cool, comfortable fall temps, but at this point it was still in the 100s!

Here is a pic of beautiful Stacy, the last of the Book brides, on her wedding day.  Katie, Stacy and I all have September anniversaries which are each three years apart accordingly.  Stacy and Nick's wedding was lovely, we all had a great time.

After all of the excitement time has seemed to come to a screeching halt, well maybe not halt but at least is moving at a very slow pace, as we await the arrival of our dauther and continue to raise support for Spain.  Right now we are only a week away from our due date, October 11.  However, first babies are often late, so there is no telling when this little one is going to make her grand entrance.

One of the greatest blessings for us has been that Kevin has been contracted to work for our mission, LAM, as a recruiter while we are raising support.  This provides us with a small income to help with the added baby expenses.  He has been contracted through the end of March, so April has become our new goal leave date for Spain.  It has also been amazing to watch little by little our financial support grow.  God continues to encourage us almost daily with your generosity, thank you so much!

We still have a good chunk of support to raise, however, so if you are interested in supporting us and haven't done so yet, now would be a great time!  Also, if you know of a church or small group who would be interested in hearing about our mission in Spain we would love to come visit you, so just drop us an e-mail: booksatterlee@gmail.com.  Thanks for everything!