So Many Things To Post!!

ave about two weeks of catch up posting to do, including today's birthday photos, which I hope to get to tonight...but I like to do things in order (if you know me, you know that about me :-) In the meantime though, I thought I would put up a few recent videos. I will warn you to turn down your volume (quiet, but not off completely) for the Squealer video.

BTW, if you have any advice for how to stop the squealing, we are eagerly open to suggestions!! Though it may be cute, I'm certain we have had some degree of permanent hearing loss as a result of it!

PS: Saying "No scream please Matthew, makes him laugh
PSS: Ignoring it makes him scream more.
PSSS. Screaming back makes him cry.

The Squealer:



The Kiss:

Prayers Answered

Nathan is back home and doing well. I received this email from Keith earlier today, and he asked that I share it with all who were praying. Thank you all!!

Well after 2 days at the hospital waiting on tests they finally got the EEG done and it showed nothing because he was already on the seizure medication. Thats why they were supposed to do it the day before, but any rate the MRI never happened. We will have to go back for the MRI but they started him on a medication called Keppra which is a pretty good seizure medication. The major side affects would be hyperactivity and behavioral problems such as anger. Ok so they just defined every 3 year old boy with a little brother that I've ever seen. So all in all God is good and my son doesn't have any signs of brain damage. He will be on the medication for 2 years. Thanks everyone for praying and thinking of us it was a real blessing to know that within minutes of making a few calls that the plea was answered by so many of you that i am overwhelmed with gratefulness. As I was driving to the hospital on Monday when we had called 911, Debbie was in the ambulance with Nathan. Once again I felt like God was asking me if I trusted him with Nathans life. The scary part of God is that the answer to prayer isn't always yes and isn't always complete healing. So through tears of anguish I let God have Nathan once again and asked that his will be done. And that all of the decisions would be clear for us at the hospital. Dependence and Faith are not easy especially when it involves your children. But God is good and all answers came without us having to make a decision. The cat scans came back normal as did all the other tests so the MRI is merely a formality for them to make sure that there is nothing that was missed in the Cat scan. Nathan has periodically thrown up in his sleep over the last year and a half. We were concerned that he might have been having partial seizures in his sleep. Debbie had been praying for guidance on this matter at the very time that Nathan had the seizure. Answer to prayer? Like I said before Gods answers aren't always yes and are not always complete healing. They put him on the medication without us having to make the decision Guidance? So I stand by the fact that God is good and faithful and he gets the job done one way or another. Thank you guys so much for praying for us we love all of you.

P.S. Withing five minutes of getting calls from three to four people that started my prayer chains Nathan started getting movement on his left side in the ambulance on the way down to the hospital. Thank you for the prayers I was reading in James 5: 14-15 Ara any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. And their prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make them well. Thanks for the Faith and prayers

Keith Valentine

Prayer for Nathan (my godson)

Please pray for Nathan. He was rushed to Children's Hospital in Detroit this afternoon after he awoke from his nap with no movement in his left side. They took him by ambulance around 1pm today, and the doctors are keeping him overnight for an EEG as he sleeps. They are suspecting that he is having Grand Mal seizures again, which is a huge step in the wrong direction!

Please pray that his shunt does not malfunction and for protection against any form of brain damage from these seizures. We are also praying that this was not a stroke, and that his movement will be fully restored.

Thanks for your prayers. Please ask all that you know to pray as well.

Blessings

I think...Sometimes God gives us circumstances beyond our control, so that we can grow in faith and become stronger...maybe open our eyes a bit. This past weekend, Greg and I walked through one of those faith testing experiences. What we found in the middle of our loss was this amazing peace, the kind of peace that makes no sense in light of everything going on around you!! At first I thought maybe the peace came from going through this kind of loss before, but I'm not so sure that is the truth. I guess what I want to say is that something that has rocked our faith and brought great sadness, anger and confusion in the past, has now brought clarity, peace and a joy for all the blessings we already have in our lives.

I guess it's through the hard times that you are able to see a clear reflection of who you are, and you realize who you have to lean on. We were absolutely overwhelmed by the amount of loving friends and family that came to stand beside us. We are even more overwhelmed by the great thing we (Greg, Michelle, Matthew and Sierra) have as a family. I cherish both Greg and Matthew even more after going through this storm. Even Sierra was there by my side all weekend!! Today I am thanking God for all of you!! Know that you are all so loved, and that it meant so much that when we needed you, you were there.

Ordering Photos this Weekend

Just a reminder...we will be ordering all the photos this weekend. If you have not told us which ones YOU would like, please let me know ASAP. I have added these three to the bunch. You can scroll down to see the rest.

Love,
Michelle

Uncanny Resemblance

Greg and I hear all the time that Matthew looks just like us. We love hearing that. Maybe because it confirms to us that God has a purpose and a plan for all our lives. I think it's a neat bonus to an already perfect adoption. We are really blessed. We LOVE Matthew's birth family, and adore his beautiful birth mom Corina. Matthew is the greatest blessing of our lives, and we really do treasure each and every day we have with him.

Anyhow...Greg and I were going through our photos on his computer and we ran across some of his baby photos. We were shocked at the uncanny resemblance. What do you think?? Think there's any chance that God did not perfectly arrange this adoption? I'd bet my life that he did! Thank you Jesus!!

Prayers and Updates

Okay...I am going to start today with the prayer request because I am feeling exceptionally long winded today and don't want you to lose interest by the end of this posting and miss the urgent plea to please pray for baby Ethan. I do not have many details other than the fact that my cousin Amy's best friend Heather has a 4 year old that is fighting for his life as I type this right now. He was hospitalized this week and diagnosed with an antibiotic resistant staff infection. I do not know much about staff infections, but this doctor felt that it could easily be fatal if they can't get it under control soon. Heather (the mom) does not believe in God and is really having a difficult time holding it all together. My cousin Amy is a believer, but is still very upset and feeling helpless to help her friend. Could you please pray on their behalf?

On a lighter note, please pray for my sister Dena who is 12 weeks pregnant and vomiting constantly. Pray for her comfort and safety, and for the complete perfect formation of that precious niece or nephew she holds within her :-) And for my brother Steve as he goes through this pregnancy by her side.

Now...as a testament to the power of prayer and the love of Jesus...I wanted to post the praise updates for all who have joined us in praying for these little ones.

First I would like to thank everyone that is committed to praying for the people that we know and love that are hurting. I have personally seen every one of those prayers answered in huge ways this past year. For starters...Baby Rhyer was released to go home from the hospital after he spend his first 3 months of life there. Courtney and Bill are thrilled to be back under the same roof as their 3 year old daughter, with their son getting better every day. They will need continued prayer for his health to keep improving and for the stroke that he had to not cause any permanent brain damage. For now though we accept this news as a wonderful gift! The family can all be home for a few months before he has to go back in for the next heart surgery.

This year has also been a huge year of prayer and faith for baby Grant. He had a similar surgery to repair his heart as Rhyer's surgery. Their roads to recovery both held different challenges. Grant's greatest difficulty was with his lungs, his digestion (reflux and food aversion) and physical limitations of favoring the left side of his body when he learned to crawl and walk. This week Grant officially graduated from seeing the GI doc and as a result can come off one more medication. Even though Grant is still underweight he is enjoying his bottle (awake!) and is eating better than ever. He has responded very well to the physical therapy and is walking. dancing and jumping around like a normal 14 month old. Finally, the pulmonolgist said Grant's most recent chest x-rays are his best ever. Yeay!! However, the doc still doesn't want Grant to have contact with other kids or be in public places until May. because his airways are still too constricted and the lungs too congested to take any chances. So please continue to ask God for more of the healing work he has started and for Shannon and Jim as the look at the road ahead :-)


We are also rejoicing in the trouble-free birth of baby Brooke Kathryn. After 9 difficult months of pregnancy where my friend Charisse spent each day dangerously sick, she had a relatively easy delivery and is back to herself, with a beautiful daughter to show for all the trouble. We had a photo shoot at our house this past week and Brooke took some beautiful photos. Charisse was just glowing too :-)

Select Your Favorites by February 1st

We are taking picture orders for family and friends. We will place our order on or around February 1, 2008, so that we have them back in time for Matthew's first birthday. You can post on the blog or email me the prints you would like at faith42day@gmail.com. When you make your selection, please indicate the photo number, the size print you would like, and how many. Thanks!

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10 Month Photos

This Friday, Greg and I set up our "photo studio" in our basement to capture Matthew's 10 month photos. We hoped to do this at the 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 month marks...but things don't always go as planned. Anyhow, we caught some great shots, and I realized just how often Matthew tries to put things into his mouth! Here are just a few examples...

Beautiful Snow

My friend Karen stopped by yesterday for a visit, and we took Matthew outside to see all the beautiful snow. He really enjoyed shaking the snow off the branches of our tree in front of our house. She took a few photos with her camera and sent them to me today, so I thought I would post them, since I have not downloaded any of our Christmas photos yet.

Happy New Year!!

Updates and video

Greg caught this fun moment on video yesterday. Notice the new muscle on mom's right arm from carrying around our 22 pounder!!


We have a praise too...our friends (that heard the bad news about their pregnancy) had their ultrasound this afternoon, and the concerns were not validated. As it turns out, their child is developing perfectly...and it's a girl!! They are thrilled, and thank you for their prayers!

Charisse has still not gone into labor. She is now 2 days past her due date. Please continue to pray for her.

No update on Rhyer as of today.

Love,
Matthew and the gang

Prayer requests and updates

Hey there friends...We have some prayer requests for those that are willing to pray with us. First and foremost...our friend Rhyer needs your urgent prayers as he approaches three months old, we ask for him to get healthy and home before they need to go back for his second open heart surgery. The latest is that Rhyer had a scope on Friday where they found something they call an erosion...mostly it's an abrasion on the wall of the colon that probably occurred when he initially had NEC...due to poor blood flow to the bowels. So, the good news is they are 90% sure they have found the source for his bloody stools. But they are still not out of the water, mostly because it will take a very long time for this erosion to heal. In fact, the night after the scope, Rhyer started bleeding very heavily and he needed 2 blood transfusions. Then they needed to do another scope to try to stop the source of bleeding...which ended up being the erosion, and the scope most likely had irritated it. A feeding plan will probably be put into place this week. If he does start bleeding heavily again, they will probably need to do surgery on this spot in his colon. Please pray that this does not need to happen.

Then, we have some friends that just got some hard news about their pregnancy that will require full trust in God and a faith walk that will try and test them. Please pray for their peace, joy and faith that God is in control and can certainly turn around any situation. I know they are a bit down and discouraged, and it's a hard place to be in. They seek answers now, and they may not get them for a while, so please pray with them that their fears turn out to be for nothing. (I've seen doctors be wrong before, after all...they are only human right?)

Also, please pray for our friend Charisse. Her baby is due tomorrow, and she has been sick her entire pregnancy. We are hoping for a fast and problem free delivery with as little pain and trauma as possible. (I've heard of some incredible women that have delivered in under 20 minutes, so I know it's possible!!)

Finally, we have a praise!! Baby Grant just had a lung test and they said his lungs almost look like that of a perfectly healthy normal boy!! Yeah! Thanks for praying. It's cold season, so he will likely have to stay in the house and away from all other kiddos until spring, but his parents finally got some good news! (PS: Grant is the cutie pie in the photo here.)


Thanks for praying for our friends!