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I'm so excited for you guys to welcome baby Thomas soon! So thankful that our paths got to cross again here in Irvine, from the Riverside Praxis days. Thank you Irene especially, for the ways that you concretely loved us by instilling to us different things that you learned when you were younger. I remember also going to you when I was house manager at SL1 because I really didn't know what to do as the oldest sister at the house, and you would patiently give me advice on the things that you learned from Versailles House. It sounded like such a warm time, and an environment I wanted to recreate. Praying that as you welcome the baby girl that your home will continue to be that warm environment for the students who you minister to. Congrats!

~Sharon Tung :)

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Dear Brad and Irene, praise God that you're having a baby girl and that she's on her way soon! I am very excited for the both of you and can't wait to meet little Irene!!! First, thank you for being great CSUF leaders, really appreciate all that was poured out. My prayer for both of you is that together you will experience God's love even greater while raising baby Thomas and that you will continue to remember through all stages how faithful God has been in your lives already! I also pray that she will be a blessing to others (family, friends, students) that meet her - and pray that she grows to be a strong woman of God. Thank you Irene for mentoring me and leading me faithfully while at csuf, with all the care and love I have received from you I think you will be a pretty awesome mom/mentor/friend. Congrats, Irene and Brad! God is GOOD!! Sandy Phan

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I'm so thankful and happy for your precious gift of life God has given you!
I wanted to share with you Psalm 40:4-5
"Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!  You have multiplied, O Lord my God your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you!  I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told."
Seeing your journey with God, I'm so thankful to see God's love and faithfulness to both of you and with the new chapter in your life, I pray that you will continue to put your trust in God.

With Love, Sharon Kim

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Sophia and I are both excited to meet her!😊 I’m so thankful for God’s answered prayers and this precious gift of life! I hope and pray that as you enter motherhood, you will grow in your prayer life to surrender many areas of fears & worries for the baby. I will also be praying for a safe delivery!

One piece of advice is that you don’t have to listen to everything your in-laws or mom will tell you on how to take care of the baby. They may tell you strange things (i.e. using the swing will give the baby brain damage, the baby is too skinny and needs more milk), and you can just ignore it! If it is coming from your in-laws, you can tell Brad to tell his parents to not give unsolicited advice. They may have a bigger overprotective instinct than you and Brad and just want what is best for baby. And if you have any questions about anything, you can reach out to the many moms here and email your doctor.
- Cindy

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Dear Brad & Irene,

Wow, can't believe Baby Thomas is about to arrive! We're thankful for our years in Riverside together - recalling the days when Brad was a single bro serving in 4C with us and later receiving Irene when you were newly weds and now the time has come! Irene - we go way back to my senior year when you were an ambitious freshman - so thankful to see you grow over the years and to see God's faithfulness over your life! My prayer for you guys is that as you become parents and learn to love your child, you'd also grow deeper in your understanding of God's love for you and that the role of parenthood would provide you with another layer of insights as well as compassion over others your trying to love around you. I also pray that you'd be patient with one another and quick to forgive - standing as one household!

My #1 advice is to sleep train your baby! This can be done! Nathan slept through the night at 5 weeks and my other two kids more or less as well. 1) After the baby can hold up her head - you could try moving her to her own room. This will help you guys and the baby sleep better. 2) Try to feed baby on a schedule and for the last feeding before the evening, feed her a little extra. When she cries at night, instead of picking her up right away, try patting her back to sleep so as to wean her off of the middle of the night feeding. You don't have to feel bad for your baby! She can be trained! We'll be praying for you and looking forward to meeting baby soon!

~Angela & Jacob

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I'm so thankful and excited for the baby girl that's on the way! Can't believe you'll be a mom soon, Irene! Still remember the days when we were in Jeannie Lee's LG together in Berk Praxis and all of us were struggling through different issues and feeling so doubtful that God could use us. Now that you're going to be a mom soon, I'm just reminded of God's faithfulness in your life and how He's so into bringing life to those who are broken and dead, and this baby on the way is a reminder of how He has vision for you to grow into the role of not just being a biological mom, but as a spiritual mom to many people. A word of advice I have is to treasure your times with God, in his word or in prayer, and in fellowship with others. As a mom, you'll feel more harried, have more to do, have less time, and have less bandwidth than when you're a non-parent - so all the more, it's so crucial to be able to slow down and be anchored in God's words, reminding you that you're His beloved and that He's well pleased with you. Love, Jenny Chen

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Can't wait for Baby Girl Thomas to enter this world! 🤗🌎💫

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Can't wait for Baby Girl Thomas to enter this world! 🤗🌎💫

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Irene, so thankful to experience together God hearing & answering our prayers for Baby Girl Thomas to be born!  🙏 🙏  My prayer is that after having this precious baby, your love and devotion to God will not waver and that you (and I) will not slow down for the Lord! 💪 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️

One tip is to get baby girl used to sleeping without needing to be rocked/bounced in your arms. When you see her yawning, swaddle her up, feed her if she takes the bottle, and then put her down in her bed even if she's slightly awake. Doing this routine saved my arms and a lot of time..now, Hope can soothe herself to sleep 😉 🤩 🙌
Congratulations, again!!! 🤗🤗🤗

💐Frances

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Just some tips to make life around the house a little bit easier:

Tip 1: Just say thank you =) Your husband wants to help but may not know how and he might not do things 'right' or as you would like. If you need to instruct him, say it as nicely as you can and don't get mad. Sometimes I just let things go because it's not worth getting frustrated over.

Tip 2: If your baby throws up frequently: sit on a towel wherever you feed her so you just wash that instead of your cushions, sheets, or blankets. You can also lay her on a towel if you have her on your bed. Buy waterproof crib sheets and bed sheets for yourself. Elevate baby head on a pillow ~15m after feeding. It's okay if she doesn't burp, lay her down for a few minutes and try again. We had a colander next to us to catch the waterfall of milk.

Tip 3: Buy 40 bibs. Have two baskets for diapers, wipes, and bibs, one upstairs and one downstairs.

Tip 4: Buy extra pump parts. Clean breast milk bottles with brush that has a sponge on the tip to get rid of fat.

Tip 5: Among other things, ask for liquid formula while at the hospital to take home. Asher drank this while I waited for milk supply to come in.

- Donna

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Irene, I'm really thankful to God for blessing you with the miracle of this baby girl! I think time and time again, God has shown to you how faithful and good he is to you, despite the doubts and worries. As you enter this new stage of life, I really hope and pray that you would trust that God's ways are better than ours/yours. And he wants to bless us more than we could experience on our own.
Knowing you Irene, my one tip for you and Brad is to really communicate your expectations to each other.  Instead of assuming that the other person should know to do something, to be loving and communicate what you would like for each person to do, whether that is regarding taking care of baby, or house chores, or even how to communicate.  This will save you from growing bitter and resentful towards one another and just save yourselves from emotional bandwidth.  :)
And remember, you are not alone, and you have a sea of moms who have gone ahead of you and can show you the ropes.  I'm really excited for you guys, and you'll really learn another side of God's love that you might never have understood before having this baby! YAY! Can't wait to meet her!
🌺Love, Bessie

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Don’t fret about breastfeeding/ pumping, and you will be a happier mom 🙋‍♀️

Tip 1. Don’t let the lactation consultants  guilt trip you. I didn’t even bother to schedule any appointment with them. It’s okay if you don’t have milk. Formula is perfectly fine -- and  you will be a much happier new mom!

Tip 2. Baby grows up just fine with formula, and nowadays formulas are well designed and nutritious. (so don't feel guilty giving your baby formula)

Tip 3. If God blesses you with milk, just pump based on your schedule — don’t let pumping dictate your life. I pumped 4 times a day to make sure I have a good sleep at night 💤 when baby is sleeping. You can train your body to pump less but produce the same — if it doesn't produce the same, just do formula — it helps with weaning anyways 😅

Tip 4. You don’t need to really “breast feed”  and can be “explicitly pumping” (as long as you don’t feel too sad about not breastfeeding  :D)

- Pacie ⛽ 🍼 (don't want to be a 🐄)

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Congrats on the New Addition to your Family!

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Congrats on the New Addition to your Family!

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Dear Irene, what an amazing blessing to have this baby girl on the way!  It truly is a testament to God's enduring faithfulness and care in your life.  As you prepare your home and your hearts, I'm sure that there's a lot you must feel anxious about.  I encourage you to pray for your little girl now, and to continue to pray for her especially in those times that you are holding her or in those moments you stare at her as she sleeps.  This precious girl is God's gift to you and you can trust that He loves her AND you far more than you can imagine.  He knows what is best for the both of you.

As you know, I'm all for the sleep training !  I've passed to you everything that helped me, but definitely put the baby down while she is drowsy but still awake so that she can learn to fall asleep on her own in the crib/bassinet. As she gets older, avoid having her fall asleep drinking her bottle or else she will associate the two and later on need the bottle to fall asleep.  Try to do something in between feeding and her falling asleep in order to break that association.

And run the bottles through the dishwasher!  That saved me so much time...

Enjoy your time with your little one.  She will grow up fast! Looking forward to meeting her,
Jessica Fu

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Irene! I am so thankful for the gift of life that God has given you and Brad!  One picture I held onto is how Hannah after God answered her prayer, she brought the boy to the temple and left him there:

1 Samuel 1: 24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young.
1 Samuel 2:11 And the boy was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.

It's a reminder that our babies are gifts from God. They are God's, not mine, and not only that, the highest hope I can have for them, is that they "will be" God's by their own choice -- that they will know Him, that their eternity will be set, that they know the God of the universe loves them. And the best gift I can give them from the young age, is the knowledge of God, the fear of the Lord, rather than the best ____ from the world.
I know you tend to think about worst scenario, but it's exactly those worst moments that clarify the importance of our kids' needs to know God, and also a reminder for me that they are in God's hand -- It's my prayer that you will get to experience such freedom and peace when motherhood and worries seem overwhelming.

-Pacie

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Dear Irene,
I'm very excited for you and thankful to God for this gift of life. I pray that you will entrust baby to God before she arrives, and remember that God loves her even more than you do. I think my advice is to be honest how you are feeling as a new mom, your fears for your child, instead of trying to seem like you're fine b/c overly fretting about baby seems "un-spiritual" or maybe the worry others will tell you you're being too much. The advice, calibration, and prayers of other moms is crucial, and helps fight the fears & over-protectiveness that can take over. I remember both the times of being silent about my fears b/c I wanted to seem more surrendered than I was, and how that made me feel lonely, and like no one understood b/c their kids were healthy. But I also remember times of honest conversation and prayer, being affirmed that I am not alone and as a church we are raising Jonathan together, regardless if he may have a unique health issue. This verse from Is. 49 was one I went back to a lot:

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me."

I pray you will experience the assurance that God loves your baby beyond your limited human love, and one big provision is the Body of Christ to raise her together. I can't wait to welcome baby into this world, and I'm so happy for you and Brad!
❤Kelly Pang

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The world tells us that being good parents means to spend a lot of time with them, give them the best in terms of material things & lessons and opportunities money can buy, and that I need to see that it's all up to me to parent them. But all I need to do is look at the evidence before me of the kids who grew up in our church with their parents committed to serving God to see how God's ways of raising our kids in community is far better than kids who grow up with the world's values.  So my advice is Matt 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." As I put God first, I think that paints a more beautiful picture for my kids of how we are meant to live in community and helps them to redefine family as Jesus did. There is so much that God wants to bless my kids with in the community that I cannot possibly give on my own and I need to trust that.
🙏 Heavenly Father, thank you for this precious gift of life that You have given Brad & Irene. I pray for safe delivery and recovery.  Please give Brad & Irene the grace they need to raise this child and love her as You do.  As they grow into their role as parents, may it open up ways in which they can appreciate even more your Father's heart toward them personally! In Jesus' name I pray, Amen! 🙏
- Cynthia

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Wow, I am so thankful, and it's so amazing that precious baby Thomas is about to come into this world. I'm so thankful for how God has been so good. I know there are a lot of unknowns, but one thing I pray that you and your family will experience throughout this time is that there is a whole army of aunties and uncles who are praying for you guys and will be available to help you raise baby Thomas together! One advice I want to give is never hesitate to ask for help. I remember going through raising Ian and there were a lot of questions I had, but I just opened up my life to others' help whether it be people bringing food or even helping me load the car, helping to watch him.
Prayer for baby Thomas: I pray that she will be able to bring whatever fears she might have to God and God's people and learn to trust in the Lord all the days of her life.
(attached this photo as a reminder that we're all raising our kids up together in this Body of Christ and that your daughter will be ushered forth into this Body filled with so many older sisters waiting to receive her!)
-Ernie

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One piece of advice I want to share with you is as a new mom, there will be so many unknowns and you will have many questions.  Instead of going to the blogs where you will be inundated with all sorts of worldly advice that will not necessarily benefit your child, or worse yet, be tempted to focus only on your child and nuclear family, talk to other moms.  There are many seasoned moms in our church,  so talk a lot with them about baby or ask for advice about different transitions baby makes or questions you have.  It will help calm your fears and anxieties about being first time parents!  And share your mistakes with other moms to get perspective... chances are we've done them too!
Praying for a safe and speedy delivery!  Looking forward to meeting baby soon!👶🏻

-Jessica Yen

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Till now the Lord has helped you - Congrats Brad & Irene!

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Till now the Lord has helped you - Congrats Brad & Irene!

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We're so thankful to welcome baby Thomas into this world with you, as it's been a long journey and God has helped you each step of the way to provide you with this precious child.
1 Samuel 7:12

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.”

Becoming a mom definitely brings up a lot of maternal instincts to be protective and hold onto our child because it's a different level of love we have for our child. I pray that as you recount all the ways God has been your help throughout your lives, you will know that He isn't trying to take away this good gift when your commitment to God conflicts with times with your child. Oftentimes, I can think I know my child and what's best for him, but when I talk with other moms, it really helps to get different perspectives and calibrate my feelings. I'm looking forward to raising your baby girl together in this community where we can share woes and wins and experience collectively how God helps us all as we try to obey Him and live out this calling together. Will be praying for a safe and healthy delivery!

Yao

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Congrats Brad & Irene! Advice to make things a little less complicated

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Congrats Brad & Irene! Advice to make things a little less complicated

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I'm so thankful that God has blessed you guys with this precious gift. I know that you have shared your worries and concerns about what after the baby comes will be like, but my prayer for you is that you will believe that you are not alone and that you are raising your precious daughter in the church where there will always be people to help and people who have been there. One practical tip is to have double of everything if you can. it just makes things a lot less harried. So we had 2 full days worth of bottles (so that if one day you get home late, you are not having to stay up later to wash bottles and wait for them to dry in the morning to fill them), 2 diaper bags (so that one is always ready to go), 2 car seats (so that you're not having worry to leave your car seat for your spouse to get later), 2 of their favorite blanket (so if one is in the wash, you have one that you can still use to help put them to sleep), etc. Hope this helps! Love, Dora

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Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.
My prayer for you is that as parenthood comes with many fears, that both of you will recommit to fear the Lord foremost through it all, and that you will gain many precious experiences of God providing for you and your family in many specific ways. I hope and pray that your new baby will be most blessed through growing up seeing your lives of faith and those of the body of Christ around them. Steve and I are very happy for you and are thankful we get to raise our families together. Looking forward to meeting your baby!
Love, Eunice Kim

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Finally welcoming baby is definitely a very joyous occasion, but then reality hits when you're constantly tired with needing to wake up to tend to baby and on top of this if baby is fussy and doesn't sleep well, this makes it feel much harder. Somethings I learned that I wanted to pass off to the both of you is that if baby is a fussy baby and wakes up more than the usual every 2 hrs at night, don't just stick to your usual routine, but try anything to see what works. This may include changing formulas (if you guys end up using formula down the road, there are formulations for gassy babies),  swaddling the baby nice and tight as it helps calm them, and changing up different bottles (there are also different bottles to try to help with colic/gassiness - e.g. Dr. Brown's). Above all, what helps the most is just to ask other mom's when you're just not sure!
-Tiffany

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Always always always get everything you need to leave the house the night before and put it by the door or better yet load it into the car - your own backpack, lunch etc. Mornings are hectic enough with getting yourself and baby ready, its best not to worry about much else or else you'll feel frustrated or end up forgetting things. Also its good to have extra bottles ~12 so that you aren't always washing bottles and you can use the dishwasher too! Lastly memory has never been quite the same so I keep notepad by my bed to jot things down before I sleep or I set up alarms on my phone for reminders :)

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Oh my goodness, I'm so excited for you and thankful for this blessing in your life! God has been so faithful to both of you, and I am so thankful we get to raise this baby in our community.

I am thankful you can raise her in a stable environment in a stable household in a God honoring community that will really give her a sense of security, identity and calling as she grows up.

One word of advice: Take time to pray for, pray with, and read the Bible with your child. It's good for the child and for you, to remember what's ultimately whats most important - for them to learn to relate to their heavenly father, and know that they must live before him, and know that He is one who is always with them.

Another advice is be honest with others and rely on others to help you bear the burden of motherhood and ministry. Specifically: there are so many times I feel so many different things, and it can really pile up as a burden. We're sinners and we also sin as parents - yes, against our own child; or motherhood makes us realize our sinfulness and limitations more. Be basic about it - confess and ask for forgiveness, be known and loved. Let that anchor you in the gospel so that at the end of it all you're refreshed and have a new supply of god's love to give to your child, your husband, and those God's placed in your life to love in the body of Christ.

-Jeanne Tay

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We are so excited to meet baby Thomas!  One story that  impacted me as I became a mom is Hannah's story in 1 Samuel.  After God granted her the child she so desired, she praised God for who He is:

There is none holy like the Lord:
for there is none besides you;
there is no rock like our God.
1 Samuel 2:2

I pray that as you welcome your baby daughter, that you will also be full of praise to God for listening to your prayers and granting you this wonderful gift.  I pray that baby Thomas will see your devotion to the Lord as she grows up, and learn  herself the beauty of a life surrendered to God.
-Lois

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We are so happy for baby Thomas🎀. One verse given to us as we received James was Psalm 34:11

Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

I learned this is the best gift to give to our child, even when there are many moments of fears and frustrations, and we will always feel inadequate as parents. It is so precious as we prayed together and this child learns to fear God, to love God and trust in God. And this is my prayer for Baby Thomas as well.
Advice: ask for help when you need, always receive help and advice from others.

Ken and Carmen

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Wow! So happy for the two of you! I think one advice I would give is to not do parenthood alone. It's easy to think that you need to take care of everything on your own, to handle juggling this new baby on top of your already busy schedule.  Try to find ways to incorporate others into your life during this new chapter of your life and allow it to be a time where you can actually ask for help! Irene, I know you are so used to handling so much with your own strength, but I pray that parenthood will really help you to get used to asking for help and receiving help! Things like receiving help with meals (for you and brad), help with childcare, getting advice from others, and just being able to express your weakness and helplessness and experience being strengthened by others! I really wish I could be there to see your baby but hopefully will be able to after this pandemic time. So happy for you and will pray for both of you!

Heavenly Father, I thank you for this gift of new life for Brad and Irene. I know that both of them have had difficulties in their own families, so I know they receive this precious life with a lot of fear and trembling. I pray that you will give them confidence, not in their expereince or upbringing, but in their trust in YOU to provide and love this new child. I thank you that they can raise this child in this Body of Christ!

~Hannah/Jammy Yang

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Congratulations Brad & Irene - Your lives are going to change! 

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Congratulations Brad & Irene - Your lives are going to change! 

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Advice for leaving the home:
However long it took you to get out the door previously, factor in at least an extra 30 minutes with the baby. Make a check list of what to pack in the diaper bag. Then pack the bag the night before, otherwise you'll be flustered and late to everything.
You're life will never be the same in a good way. Yes, life will be more hectic and busy with baby, but God will teach you many lessons on His love and His heart through this blessing of a child.
- Connie