Three Weeks

I can hardly believe Hope is three weeks old today! Time flies when you are having fun! I want to take a moment and thank you all again for your prayers. I have made some serious progress in the "worry" area of life. (Post on my thoughts on worry to come) I had really become complacent to some things, chalking worry up to something normal, natural and ok, and honestly it is what it is and it is allowing Satan to have a stronghold. I have tried to commit myself to fighting that fight harder and not just allowing worry to take over. Worrying is NOT trusting in God. I have really been able to let a lot of that go, not to say it is not still a struggle, but I am so enjoying being the mom to these three amazing kids and wife to Howard.

We are all still just as infatuated with Hope as we were three weeks ago! We just can't get enough, but we have finally gotten out and about a bit, a little shopping, graduation parties, and church. Hope is meeting lots of great people and melting hearts everywhere she goes. She loves to eat. She is a great nurser and still is having a little trouble with spitting up but for now we are not worried as she is gaining weight beautifully and a happy baby. She has become so much more alert. The boys just love when she is awake. Benjamin especially cannot get enough of her, he always want to be by her and he continually shouts "she is so cute and tiny". He is such a helper. He loves to help with her bath and with washing her hair.

Luke loves to hold her and sing lullabies that he makes up himself ( I need to write some of these down) He sits next to her in the car and helps her find her pacifier and sings to her as car rides seem to stress her out. She loves napping with daddy and I think he loves it too! I happen to adore our late night chats. She loves to be read to. It doesn't really matter what you read, she just likes to hear familiar voices. She is still wearing newborn clothes and we have started cloth diapering! I must admit though I am a bit nervous after an incident we had yesterday where after removing a dirty diaper (at a picnic) and reaching for the new one, I was shall we say shot with a rather disgusting substance from about a foot away! I thought with a girl, MY wardrobe would be safe during diaper changes...WRONG!

She is becoming a better sleeper but much prefers to be held which I cannot say we mind. On the health front...she has not developed any new blisters and the ones she got in the hospital are healing nicely. Bandage changes are only taking five or ten minutes now which is much easier on all of us. We are praying that she continues to do as well. We still have no answers as far as the biopsy goes, but honestly I really feel God telling us that we need to look to Him for answers. No matter what the biopsy results say, she is here, she is doing well and she is thriving and we are just praising God for that. Not one of us knows what tomorrow brings but we are SOOO thankful for today! We are also so thankful for the prayers each of you have prayed on our behalf. We know that God hears, and we know that He has a good plan for our sweet Hope. Our hope is in Him and Him alone.

Happy 3 week Birthday Hope! We are so very thankful for you! (pictures to come)