Chance Kelosky always planned on having a family. He was used to working with children. He thought he knew what to expect.

And then Jocelyn came into his life.

“That first moment when you see your daughter’s eyes, or your child’s eyes, there’s no preparing you for that moment,” Kelosky said.

Kelosky, 26, of Butler will observe his first Father’s Day as a dad on Sunday.

His wife, Chelsea, gave birth to their daughter, Jocelyn, on April 3.

The couple met while attending Riverside High School in Ellwood City, Lawrence County.

They have been married for two years and moved to Butler when Kelosky got a job as youth director at First United Methodist Church.

Kelosky said they were ready to be parents and eventually hope to have three children.

“I love kids,” said Kelosky, who volunteered with youths before finishing his education at Geneva College.

Now, he spends his days overseeing a youth group, preaching to youth and organizing mission trips and community service projects.

He deals with children in grades seven through 12 and said that he enjoys helping young people connect with their faith.

Jocelyn is now a little more than 2 months old.

“Everything is perfect. She’s perfectly healthy. Great kid. Sleeps well; sleeps all night from 9 to 6:30,” he said.

Being a new father is full of surprises.

“You can always have a plan, but you always have to be flexible,” he said.

“Sometimes there’s frustrating moments, but there’s always a joy in the midst of them because you get to take care of her.”

Kelosky said he sees a wide variety of father figures at his church, some good and some who are often absent.

One of his goals as a father is to not get caught up with work, spending extra hours away from home.

“I don’t want to miss the small, but significant moments. I’m going to do my best to be as intentional as possible so that she knows that I will always be there for her,” he said

Another goal is to make sure that Jocelyn understands the importance of religion and God.

“Jesus is really the one she is going to need and so I want to do my best to point her to Christ. I think that is the mission of my wife and I to love her like Christ loves her the best we can and hopefully to connect her to Christ through the church or however God sees fit,” he said.

Two months in, he said the realities of being a father are still setting in.

“There is nothing she could do that would make me not love her and God sees me the same way,” he said.