Blessing Upon Blessing

Five months ago our lives were shaken up more than we could have ever imagined. In less than 24 hours we went from having the most normal, healthy pregnancy we could have asked for, to having to deliver our little girl 12 weeks before her due date and having to see her in critical condition. When the doctor told me he likely would have to deliver Little Suzie within the next few days, I remember thinking that I would never see my little girl alive. I had no idea how many babies could survive being born so early. I remember the day after she was born the doctor said to us, "Your baby is very sick. We think that she may have a 40% chance of living. Let's hope that she is on the right side of the odds." Thankfully, we know that we don't have to try to "beat the odds." We have a most loving, sovereign God who has every detail of life planned from before time even began! We had no idea what the next few months would look like and now that we are here, five months later, I am overwhelmed with how gracious our Lord has been to us.

The first several weeks of Suzie's life, while she was in the most critical condition, people would always ask us if we ever struggled with asking God why...why us? This morning I found myself asking God why...why would He choose to bless us so much? Suzie has come so far and has exceeded all of her doctors expectations. As we have dear friends whose children are still in the hospital and one family that had to say goodbye to their little girl not too long ago, we see that God has shown us so much mercy and blessed us more than we could have ever even asked for. We praise Him for what He is doing in our lives through our little girl and for showing us what a privilege it is to be a part of His body.

All that to say, Suzie is doing very well:) She weighed in at 9 lbs. 11 oz. on Friday...almost 10 pounds! She is just a few days past her five month birthday. Per the doctor's recommendations we are still going to keep her from large crowds through the cold and flu season. But she is enjoying going to people's homes and having visitors come over. She is such a people person and just loves to be held...all the time:) She naps better on the sofa than she does in her crib and can sleep 7 hours at night before I have to wake her to eat. She is constantly putting her hands in her mouth, is tracking much better with her eyes, and getting a lot better at lifting her head. She is cooing up a storm and laughs on occasion. I think that we tell her how cute she is at least 20 times a day. She is one loved little girl. Here are some of her most recent pictures...my favorite is the one of her with daddy.