It's me for you and you for me

On their album Befriended, the Innocence Missions' Karen Peris sings the words to the closing song:

Look for me as you go by

Hang my head low, so low.
Don't see me only as I am but
see me how I long to be.
Shining like a flowering tree
under a gray Pennsylvania sky.
Look for me as you go by.
Hang my head low, so low.
Every burden shall be lifted.
Every stone upon your back slide into the sea.
It's me for you and you for me.

Nothing better sums up my feelings after one week of fatherhood than that last line: "It's me for you and you for me."

On Monday, we went for our first walk as a family. It took us four hours just to get out the door. Every time we were finally ready to leave, she was either hungry, or messy, or just needed to be held. Finally, we made it outside, bundled Olivia in blankets and strapped her into her stroller, and started out.

Olivia in her stroller

I'm not sure whether it was Ohio's beautiful autumn, the clear blue skies above us, or only that we were all together, but that afternoon will be one of my favorite memories as long as I live. Everything we did and saw, every word Devona and I said to one another, and every squeak from Olivia seemed to be so good.

Outside, the trees were gorgeous. Autumn is without doubt Ohio's most beautiful season. Everything around us glowed with yellows, oranges, reds, and all those colors inbetween that no one bothers naming.

Gorgeous trees in our neighborhood

We went up to a coffee shop not too far from our house. We managed to get in a few quick sips before Olivia got bored and requested that we leave. On our way out, we ran into some friends who couldn't believe how beautiful Olivia was. We can't believe it either.

That evening, we set out a blanket and some pillows on the living room floor, and the three of us curled up together and watched the movie Big Fish. The movie is great, but it was made so much better by watching it together.

All day long, and ever since, I get this feeling that the three of us are like the Three Musketeers or something: "All for one, and one for all." The love between us seems to grow the more it passes from one to another. I like our little band of three. I wouldn't have it any other way.

God has blessed our family so much. Not only with a new child, but with faith, hope, and love. I'm learning from experience that what the scripture says is true: "The greatest of these is love."

These words -- more from the Innocence Mission -- say it well:

Martha Avenue Love Song

Walking through the world, walking under trees.
Many things that only you and only I have seen.
When you say Oh look and see,
then there is the sky, five o'clock in winter
when the pink and green arrive.

Now we're blown around. And I can't let you down,
my sun and my sweetest sound.
Oh you are my friend, oh you are my friend.