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Day Three was marked by plenty of diaper changes - and a roommate for Kristen. The hospital had 12 new deliveries by noon! We made due with a little less space, and had a good day all around. Kristen was able to get up and shower and move around quite a bit. She continues to improve and really enjoyed switching to solid foods!!

Kristen felt a lot better today - and continues to have more energy each day

The diapers kept filling - and I kept changing them

I call this pose “Magnum”

A kiss before lights-out

Isaac’s second day was filled with visits from caring family and friends. Grandparents, aunts, and uncles all came to visit and hold Isaac. Here are a few pictures to capture the day:

Grandma Sue with Baby Isaac

Grandma and Grandpa Van Corbach

Grandma and Grandpa Pruett

Aunt Kara

Aunt Bailey

Uncle Brian

Grandpa Ken

Grandpa Steve

Daddy’s little boy

I call this pose “Blue Steel”

Here are a few pictures we took on the evening Isaac was born, and the morning after. Enjoy!

Isaac Andrew Pruett finally arrived late Sunday night! He weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces, and was 20 inches long. Mother and baby are both doing well. We all spent today recovering, and will continue to use this week to catch up a bit.

I’ve been amazed at how naturally Kristen and I have adapted to our new roles as parents. I know I have tons to learn, but I’ve been surprised at how quickly my attitude and my actions have shifted. I’m now feeling incredibly protective of my new son, and notice myself taking opportunities to be his advocate without really thinking about it. It is so cool.

The night Isaac was born, I had an opportunity to hold him by myself for a moment - and was struck by a single thought: In my arms is a boy I barely know, and I already would do anything for him; God knows me - even designed me - and loves me with the same depth and generosity. How humbling to think that God doesn’t just love me because the Bible says so or because I’m a pretty good guy. He loves me because he sees me as his own child, his own creation.

I know I’ll learn much more from this experience in the days and years to come. I love the quote: “The years teach much which days will never know.” I’m excited to see the man I grow into - and see my little son grow up into a man in the process.

It amazes me how every time I have a break or vacation coming up, I get sick.

I don’t have too terrible of a bug this time, but it is enough to have me feeling tired and lethargic. I’m trying to stay hydrated and just rest. I watched The Transporter - which was actually pretty good. I hadn’t seen it before, but wanted to see it since the lead actor is supposed to be the next Bond. Jason Statham did a good job - and I think he’ll be a good Bond. Can’t get much worse than Brosnan. Shudder.

Since I’m sick, work will have to wait. I tried logging in remotely to get some work done, but it was just tough to be very engaged. I figured it would be more fair to my employer to just take the day off and come back energized on Monday once I kick this thing.

I’m off to curl up with HP6 and some home made cookies. Hopefully I’ll feel better real soon.

Well today is the due date - but no baby… Kristen is in good spirits, and we’re just trying to be patient. Soon. Very soon, I’ll get to welcome my son into the world. I’m not sure how it will impact me, but I’m quite sure life will never be the same again - in a good way.

Last night we rematched the team that blew us out in City League basketball. The game went back and forth the whole night. They went up 10-0 in the first 5 minutes. We called a timeout and started to gain momentum. At halftime we were up 24-22!

By the middle of the second half, we’d extended our lead to 46-37. At that point we promptly did our best to lose the game. I made several bonehead plays - fouled a guy shooting a three, took an ill-advised shot against a double team, and picked up my fourth foul. We only had five guys playing since our big man went down with a bad ankle - so getting into foul trouble with almost 10 minutes to play was a bad move.

The score tightened up to 48-47 us, with about 16 seconds remaining. Our point got fouled and missed the front end of a 1 and 1. Our opponents called timeout and drew up a play. With 15.5 seconds left they inbounded the ball to their big man. We were in a 2-3 zone with me at the left forward spot. I saw their best player trying to spot up in the corner so I slid out to cover him.

As their big man drove to the top of the key, my man started to cut to the basket behind my back. I saw the big man out of the corner of my eye and was able to tip his pass away just as my man would have had an open look at the basket. My man chased the ball down to the oppposit corner, but I stayed with him. He had to put up an off-balance, leaning 3-pointer with me and a teammate in his face. The ball bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded - a narrow victory for us - but redemption nonetheless.

The power went out at work today while I was at lunch. When I went to swipe my badge to open the front door - I couldn’t get in! So everyone was given the afternoon off - which is pretty sweet.

It has been quite some time since I had the chance to just enjoy a sunny afternoon - and today is a gorgeous day. Ironically, I bought a new frisbee golf disc at lunch on a fluke. Guess I’ll have to give ‘er a toss and see how she flies. Couldn’t ask for a prettier day to take a long walk in the park.

My city-league basketball team hit a brick wall this week. At least that’s what it felt like. We had a double-header scheduled, and only four people showed up! About 10 minutes into the first game, a fifth team member arrived, so we were able to run 5 on 5. Amazingly we were ahead with only four players! At the very end of the first game, our sixth player showed up - so I thought we’d be set for the second game.

How wrong I was.

We won the first game easily, I think by 20 points or so. The second game we played a weaker team - but somehow we just couldn’t play together as a team. We made bad passes. We stopped passing. We took bad shots. We didn’t stop shooting. We ended up losing by 22 to a team we should have blown out. I guess we lost our legs, I don’t know.

We’ll bounce back next week and hopefully resume our winning ways. I think we’re 7-2 on the season, so that’s pretty sweet.

Dave Anderson has created a “Fab-Five” list of Leadership Principles and I have to say I’m challenged by each one:

1. Leaders are there to serve followers;
   the followers are not there to serve leaders.
2. Don’t treat unequals equally.
3. Building a foundation on moral sand doesn’t last.
4. Hold others accountable for results.
5. You can’t do it alone.

While I intellectually agree with this list, I realize I need to put them into practice more consistently.

I often look for ways to serve my leaders - instead of ways to serve those who are following me. I guess there’s a tension there that has to be balanced. I need to serve my superiors, but I know those who look to me for leadership need my help to do their job as well.

I’m afraid I have a hard time treating anyone equally - but I probably give non-performers too much ground before confronting them. I think it is necessary to treat all people with respect and dignity. However, treating performers and non-performers equally in respect to their results is a recipe for disaster.

I think the thrid principle is the easiest to overlook because I consider myself to be a man of character and integrity. While I may have high moral standards, I need to always be building a strong moral foundation in all aspects of my life. Do I always act with moral consistency? How quick am I to compromise my principles when it is to my immediate benefit?

The fourth principle is challenging as well. Do I hold others accountable for their results? In the current project I’m leading at work, I need to actually let the team know the expectations - so I can hold them accountable. Without the standard, how can they know if they measure up?

The final principle is so easy to violate. It is so easy to get a super-hero complex and think that a little more work on my behalf will make the difference. While at times this pays off, it is a quick step on the path to burn-out. I need to allow others to succeed and to thrive - if I rob them of the opportunity to grow by doing everything myself I am doing them a disservice as their leader.