Dear Friends,
I hope this email finds you all well and resting in the goodness of our Lord! I will apologize in advance for the delay in sending this email to you all, and of course, you may have already heard the news by now. As any of you who are parents know, there are good days and bad days, and finding time to get the word out with a new little one can be a challenge! There are those who call at a good time and find out right away, and those who have to hear way too late – sorry! Our baby boy, Jackson Scott Maes was born on Monday, June 18, 2007 @ 9:19 PM, weighing 6 Lbs. 12 Oz. and was 19 In. long! For being three weeks early, he is the healthiest little guy you can imagine, at a great weight, great lung development, and a natural nurser. And did I mention he’s the cutest little boy in the world? No bias there. He has been such a delight, and the Lord our God has brought many trials and challenges our way to humble us in this time, and never failing to give us great mercy and deliver us from the pit of despair in our times of need. We are so blessed to have this new addition to our family, this heritage, this reward for which we are so undeserving and in such need of grace to raise in His fear and admonition. I want to thank each and every one of you, sincerely, for the ways in which you have each individually provided during these past few weeks -love, support, helping hands, meals, trips to the store, and the best help of all – prayer. We are eternally grateful, and I assure you, we could not have made it through this time without the love of our friends and family. The Lord granted Bryan this whole week off of work without problem (his job was very understanding) and my mother who was originally going to be coming out July 19th, is now going to be here on Monday – yet more mercy! She will be here for two weeks, and I am so thankful and cannot believe the grace of our Lord! As this birth was a Cesarean, I find myself in a much different position than with the birth of Maron, thus my mother’s help this soon is a blessing! Please pray that our family will persevere and glorify our Lord in all that we do. Emails are welcome, please do! Much love to you all,
By His Grace,
Rachel (on behalf of the whole Maes family)
KATIE OR SOREN PREGNANCY ANNOUNCEMENT (An Oldie)
Dear Friends and Family,
I hope this letter finds you all well, and trusting in/learning daily from our Lord Jesus Christ, who is so merciful. This letter is to speak of God’s precious continued mercy to our family, as He has visited my womb yet again, and we are expecting our third child. It is of course very interesting to see the world’s and even Christian brothers/sisters’ reactions to this news the third time around. Among many responses, you get the typical “Again?!”, or of course “Do you feel ready for this?”. While these responses can be very hurtful at times, I think in the world we live in, these responses are to be expected.
I speak firsthand as a selfish, impatient person who prefers a minimum of 9-11 hours of sleep a night (no, I’m not exaggerating 
that remembering the blessed purposes God has for children in the lives of us parents can get juuuuust a little hard to remember when you’re sleep deprived, and longing for some quiet time to yourself. But herein lies one of the most blessed truths about having children, God uses them so often to break that selfishness, remind us we are not our own, we were bought with a price, and we now have the beautiful mission of equipping these little gifts from Him to be God-fearing warriors in God’s kingdom, for His glory.
I will never be “ready” in the way people ask it, to be a parent. Sure, I can diaper-change with the best of them, make food for four people while signing up for a new car insurance policy on the phone while making sure Maron makes it to the potty in time while signing off for what the UPS man just delivered while answering Bryan’s questions who doesn’t even realize I’m on the phone- but we all know that is not what parenting only is. And it doesn’t matter how much we can accomplish if we are not doing it with joy for God’s glory, with love. Realistically, if you wait for the perfect amount of money, perfect house, and oh yes- perfect disposition and temperament to have children, you will NEVER have them. My friend Trisha graciously reminded me of so many of these truths as I struggled with the challenges of last week and the question of how I could be what God is requiring of me at this time. Thanks to Trisha, who has six children, and has had three miscarriages – talk about a woman with experience.
Suffice it to say, we are certainly less-than-equipped or perfect in all of the areas required to have this baby, but I can honestly say, even the third time around, I am so excited, so blessed, and so reliant on the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the ALL-sufficient one that knows our needs before we ask of Him. And He is the same God who saw fit to give Maron and Jackson to us, and now this little one.
As I sat at home today trying not to puke my guts out while Maron and Bryan were at church, I was watching Jackson sleep and was overcome with emotion at the thought of yet another one of these treasures! When I think of the VILE, WRETCHED person that I am, to think God would bestow this grace on me, is well, unthinkable. That he would entrust to me such precious gifts, when I have so often squandered what He has given. So I say, AGAIN! AGAIN! AGAIN! Woohoo! A sinner has a good gift granted yet again! I hope someday in America even a seventh child will be cause to rejoice in God , and give glory to Him! Until then, I would be blessed by any and all prayers you can offer for this mission we are on. What can I say, this is just a bit of heartfelt rambling from yours truly,
Rachel,
Child of God
