Riding the Roller Coaster

As I sit writing this, Willow Grace is deep in a Benadryl induced sleep; White Christmas is playing in the DVD player; and a sweet little Christmas tree my friend, Janet, brought me is twinkling merrily behind me. For me, Christmas runs from the day after Thanksgiving until January 5, and so, even though today is not Christmas Day or even Christmas Eve, we are spending Christmas, at least a part of it, here in the children's hospital. And that, in no way, diminishes my joy in the season. It's neither what I expected it to be nor what I wanted, and I'm not exactly happy to be in this position. But I still have my Christmas joy, my joy in the Lord, and no one and no circumstance can take that away from me.


(Our little tree and a tiny nativity: I thoroughly enjoyed decorating our room today! Thanks so much, Janet!)

I'm sorry that I didn't get around to updating everyone on our day yesterday. It's been eventful and exhausting, and I somehow just couldn't get myself in the "head space" to process, organize, and record my thoughts. It's been a roller coaster. Each day has brought victory: She finally peed yesterday morning and twice since! I've never in my life been so excited too see pee. Even her nurses were out in the hall doing a little dance and saying, "She peed! She peed! She peed!" Everyone is pulling for this little girl, and it's a good sign that she's doing this after less than a week on dialysis. Also, her platelets are up, and her red blood cells are holding steady. However, there have also been hardships: Her tummy has been hurting very badly leaving her writhing on her bed in pain; I can tell you that's really hard on a mommy's heart. Then, last night, we found out that after all the drama we initially had with the feeding tube, they actually put the wrong tube in! They finally removed the wrong tube this morning and are reassessing her situation to see if they need to put the other one in. Talk about an exercise in patience and walking in love! It's only by prayer and God's grace that I have held my tongue and responded peaceably.

We have been overwhelmed also with the outpouring of love for us the last couple days. Mrs. Brewer's third grade class sent little gifts and homemade cards for Willow Grace that warmed our hearts and brought tears to our eyes. Strangers have sent us gifts and food and cards. Friends have brought food and toys and prayed with us around Willow Grace's bed. We've been fed and hugged and encouraged. How can we help but to be filled with hope and faith? God is loving us through His people. Absolutely overwhelming and amazing. Thank you so all so much! Love and blessings to you all!

For those of you who have asked, here are some specifics you can pray for with us:
1. Chris is on weekend dispatch from tonight through Monday morning. Please pray for a LOW volume of calls so that he can get rest and also spend time with us.
2. Please pray that God will take away the pain in Willow Grace's tummy, that He will heal the colitis, rid her of the e. coli, and heal her of the HUS.
3. Chris's grandmother was taken back to the hospital today after finally being released on Monday. She's been in the hospital for most of the last four weeks, and it's been very difficult on the family dealing with two beloved ladies ailing in different hospitals.