11/04/09

Eight days old.

Psalm 34 states:
1 I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
2 I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are helpless take heart.
3 Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
let us exalt his name together.

4 I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
6 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
he saved me from all my troubles.
7 For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
he surrounds and defends all who fear him.

8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
9 Fear the Lord, you his godly people,
for those who fear him will have all they need.
10 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,
but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.

One way in which Mr. Malachi's situation has been used in a significant way is in the area of prayer. There are SO MANY people who are praying for his health and recovery and for our (mine and John's) renewed strength on a daily basis. There are people we know and people we don't know praying. 50-year-olds are praying and 5-year-olds are praying. Churches across the country and families around the globe are praying. It truly is amazing to see what can happen when God's people pray, and I'm ready to be amazed! I know some of you have personally expressed to me how God has been working in your prayer life and I pray that He continues to work in you to develop the godly discipline of "praying without ceasing." Because of this testimony, I too have been convicted about my prayer life. I realized today that I have been leaning on the prayers of those around me instead of diligently and fervently praying with a thankful heart myself to the God who saves and who is control of all these events currently taking place in our lives.

Not much has changed for Baby Chi and for his situation. They have increased his feedings to 30 ml every three hours, so that's exciting. That boy needs to gain some weight! We learned today that he will undergo an esophagram on Friday and during this exam, he will have his chest tube removed. Also, his heart surgery (Norwood Stage I operation) is set to take place next Thursday (11/12) with a pre-op echo to proceed the operation. This is a very extensive and complex procedure, so it will be an all-day event. Right now, those are the main things we have awaiting us in the next couple of weeks.

Also, I would like for you to know that for the most part these updates are a joint effort between myself and John--even if I tend to write as if it were solely coming from me. Keep praying to the Creator and Sustainer of all things! It means more than you know to our family of FOUR!

Here are some pics from today:

This is me reading through Chi's chart and transcribed reports. I am usually the one typing up the report, so it was very weird to kind of read them about your child. I did, however, have to point out a few typos and formatting inconsistencies within the reports to John. Oh, and notice the sweet facemask. I developed a cold sore today, so I get the pleasure of wearing this around the NICU until it goes away. I can't imagine how I could be so stressed that I would have gotten a cold sore!

This is how Baby Chi spends most of his day. The blanket is supposed to help him from using his hands to yank on the red OG tube sticking out of his mouth. However, he is like his big sister and LOVES to sleep with his hands up by his face. He tried SO HARD to get that thumb in his mouth. He finally did and sucked on it for a second or two before he realized he couldn't breathe that way and had to take it out.

And, finally, the super sweet Jordan Nike booties that Uncle Jonathan (or Unka Bud as Emma so lovingly refers to him) got for him. They took the IVs that he had in each foot out, so we were able to put these to good use. Unfortunately, this kid has crazy long, skinny feet and they will need to be stretched to fit in the upcoming weeks ;)

Thanks for keeping up with us! We truly appreciate your care and support. Thank you!