You are My Sunshine

July 1^st

 

Thank GOD! Call out his Name! Tell the whole world who he is and what he’s done! Sing to him! Play songs for him! Broadcast all his wonders! Revel in his holy Name, GOD -seekers, be jubilant! Study GOD and his strength, seek his presence day and night; Remember all the wonders he performed, the miracles and judgments that came out of his mouth. Seed of Israel his servant! Children of Jacob, his first choice! He is GOD, our God; wherever you go you come on his judgments and decisions. He keeps his commitments across thousands of generations, the covenant he commanded, The same one he made with Abraham, the very one he swore to Isaac; He posted it in big block letters to Jacob, this eternal covenant with Israel: “I give you the land of Canaan, this is your inheritance; Even though you’re not much to look at, a few straggling strangers.” (1 Chronicles 16:8-19 MSG)

Came in to tell my nugget good morning and she surprised me with some new furniture! Stella is in a bug girl bed. Yay!! Nurse Mary also said Stella pooped in EVERY diaper last night and woke up early before her feedings to tell nurse Mary she is ready to eat! She is a Terry after all and we get a little cranky when we are hungry. So proud of my sweet girl. Hopefully her day stays bright and sunny!

Stella Update: Docs just made rounds and she is doing great!! They are lowering her air flow to 1 liter. She is going on full feeds today and they are going to bottle feed her as soon as they move her feeding tube. If she tolerates, IV comes out today!! So now we have big reasons to celebrate today... happy dance FB and keep on praying because God is answering our prayers!!

Stella Update: What a productive day our Stella has had! She had her first play date with her sisters. Lily is not allowed to hold her yet (which made her very sad) so she held her baby while Samantha held Stella. They loved and cuddled on her, it was super cute. By the time I left the ICN she was pretty much a rock star! Practicing how to bottle feed, pooping non stop, and she got rid of a lot of accessories like IV polls and tubes. If she keeps showing off, she might have her IV out in a couple days. And bonus nurse Tammy is back tonight and after her bath she is going to play dress up. Her breathing is amazing and she is more alert for kissing and loving on. Well FB, we prayed for her to breath with little support... GOD ANSWERED! We prayed for her to poop... GOD ANSWERED! We prayed for her to be able to digest... GOD ANSWERED! So I turn to you again my friends. Please pray she is able to suck and swallow at the same time. We need the suck/swallow combo to get closer to home. My heart is so full right now and I'm so thankful for you all. I feel so blessed by all the encouraging posts and messages. You celebrating with us brings our family so much joy. Stella is a blessed child to have so much love and support. Our God is good and you have been a constant reminder of His goodness to me.

Today I sat and held Stella while I listened to a woman sing to her daughter from behind a curtain. Her voice was soft and tender as she sang "You Are My Sunshine" to her 2 lb baby girl. She was born at 26 weeks and in an incubator. There were lots of monitors, polls, and tubes being used to keep her alive. She had been there for 3 weeks and had a very long road ahead. Her prematurity came with many complications and all this mom could do is sit and rock by her side while she sewed a blanket for her precious child.
I couldn't help but think about what our God feels like when we are in spiritual prematurity. When we are struggling to make it daily to breath in this world. Weighed down by sins heavy burden and imprisoned in an incubator of pride, fear, and doubt, we cling to life in hopes that tomorrow might be a better day but we are so weak and tired we can nearly hold on. But, there is our God patiently waiting to touch His child. Eager to give us all the love and acceptance we could ever want or need. Just waiting for us to be ready to hold His hand and surrender to Him the burdens we cannot bear. He loves us so much and just like this mother longs to hold her tiny baby, our God longs to hold us too. Oh how great is His love for us... all we have to do is accept it.