And Baby Makes Five!

We are home at last! Our house is full of love, laughter and little feet...finally! Alivia, Avery and Aleah spent the evening getting to know each other with lots of snuggles and kisses. The big sisters love Aleah so much! They were so excited to meet their little sister. Aleah is very content being held by both of her big sisters. Avery's first comment was, "She is so tiny!" and Alivia was full of smiles and wonder. It is finally real. We feel complete and so very grateful for the gift of our family.

For nine days, 11 hours and 1 minute we longed for grace and a full recovery for Aleah. It seems like a year has past and nothing else has mattered. Walking out of the hospital with our little miracle was an incredible feeling. We've prayed, cried and been touched by the outpouring of support from our family and friends.

We have been through a lot of medical scares in our almost 8 years of marriage and nothing comes close to comparing to this experience. It has been humbling and amazing for us to watch the events unfold and be able to look back and realize that, although we don't understand why, we know that this was part of God's plan for us. We have been able to see how He has been preparing us for this battle and how He has carried us through.

As we have mentioned before, the doctors and nursing staff too realize that Aleah's journey was not typical, nor was her quick recovery. One of her nurses told us yesterday that she has never seen a baby as sick as Aleah make such a quick turn around and that it was certainly a testament to the power of prayer. (Did I mention that she has been a nurse practitioner in the NICU for more than 30 years?) Yes, we acknowledge that Aleah received a very high level of wonderful medical care, but medical science can only go so far. We believe faith and trust in the Lord has healed our little girl.

We were also told yesterday that the chances of an infection such as this developing in Aleah's lungs prior to birth were less than 0.1%, meaning that there was a 99.9% chance that this would never happen. Aleah is our miracle. We count ourselves blessed to have seen a glimpse of God's glory through this trial. We know that God has a mighty plan for Aleah's life and we can't wait to see that unfold. To God Be the Glory for Great Things He Hath Done!

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18