December 3, 2007

Tonight I was ready to put Anna to bed and she threw me a curve ball. "I want to tell my little brother goodnight." So what did I do? I put her in the car and headed to the hospital and she told Noah, "good night". While we were there, I found out that his eye exam earlier this afternoon went well. He is Stage 1 which means normal according to the nurse. His iron was increased today because his hematocrit was a little low, but his doctor felt like this would correct itself because his body was already making immature red blood cells . The increased iron will just give him a boost. Now we are both on iron for our anemia. He is feeding a little over 50% orally, so he is getting the hang of things. After a three or four day streak of large weight gains ( around 60-70 grams/day), he slowed down a bit and gained 2 grams yesterday, but this is normal. He is now 4 lbs 9.4 oz and taking in 42 ml per feed every three hours.

Tomorrow night Tom will get home from Memphis!!! We are supposed to have "wintry" conditions here, so pray that he gets here safely and without too many delays. Our friends, Jeff and Mary, had their healthy baby boy Allen today, and Mary and Allen are doing well!!!

Do you ever feel like you make the same mistakes over and over again, and then think "when will I get this through my head?" Well I do daily. I make plans that I think would be perfect (like a scheduled C-section on Dec.21st, 2007), and it seems like God always trumps me with plans that surpass mine by miles. I guess I continue to plan because I am human, but Noah's birth has once again reminded me that God has plans that we can't even imagine. Tom and I have said many times this past month that we wonder what all has happened that we don't even know about that has glorified God. He can take what could have been a tragic event and turn it into a beautiful witness of His love for all to see.

"But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations."
Psalm 33:11

Please pray for the following:
Noah, and his big sister Anna, that they would come to know the Lord at a young age
God's continued working in the lives of our friends and family
Tom's travel home
My mom (Susan) for continued comforting and encouragement after her surgery for a detached retina
Noah's neonatologists and nurses
Opportunities to be salt and light to others

Please thank God for (at least) the following:
His love, grace, faithfulness, and provision
His strengthening of our family
His working in the lives of all those who have played such an important part in Noah's life already: those who have and continue to pray for him