New Year and New Friends...

This post is in honor of an adorable little guy named "blue bear".  This little blue bear became a dear friend to our little Sophia over the past week.  A hospital is never a welcome place in a two year olds heart, but having a cuddly pal to share the experience with makes things a little easier.  On the Tuesday before New Years, we took Sophia into the ER (due to the fact that she could not stop throwing up and became so dehydrated that she was actually producing blood in her throw up).  It was a scary sight and a scary 12 hours.  We sat for a long long time in the waiting room (from 10:30 pm to 3:00 am to be exact) and waited to be seen by some tired and not so friendly nurses and doctors.  Fortunately, one nurse was nice enough to recognize our little girls sadness and fear, and gave her little blue bear for comfort. We held our baby down while she was given a catheter for a urine sample and stuck with needles for blood samples and IV fluids.  She was SUCH a trooper.  The Lord gave all of us special grace amidst exhaustion and pain.  I laid in the hospital bed with her for nearly 6 hours until her little body was deemed viable enough to return home.  Luckily we had Nana and Papa visiting to care for baby Autumn and provide us with support and REST when we got back.  I know it was just the flu and many parents have gone through far greater trials with their little ones, but for ME it was a trying time.  I become more aware of our weakness and fragility as humans and how strong and mighty of heavenly Father is.  We prayed with Sophia while I held her close and paced the hospital floors.  She has grown to cherish closing her eyes and folding her little hands in reverence to the Lord.  She is such a great blessing (in sickness and health) and I am so proud of her.  Love you little mama.  We are glad your feeling better!

A Glimpse into our Holiday...

So, as we planned to sit and reflect on this past year, to meditate on God's goodness, to enjoy our little bundles of joy and the gracious family visitors from both sides, we were quickly reminded that our plans are not exactly God's :)  We had a very pleasant and eventful Christmas but soon after the glories of December 25th faded we were struck with chaos of epic proportions.  Leaving out the gruesome details, I will simply say that the horrid stomach flu invaded and invaded hard.  We had ten people staying with us through New Year for the celebrations.  To give you an idea of the damages, SEVEN out of TEN of us ended up spending AT LEAST 24 hours making very good friends with the porcelain throwns of my home.  Two emergency room visits (one including my precious Sophia), hours of disinfecting and sanitizing, billions of nasty diapers and a million loads of laundry later, we are just about free and clear.  We are still recovering but I wanted to share a few pictures and brief updates before I forget.  Soooo here are a few posts for you to enjoy.  Merry Christmas and Happy 2009 to everyone we love!

Please pray...

I am writing this post for a few reasons.  Simply because my heart is heavy today and yet it is filled with such joy and gratefulness at the same time.  A family we knew back in MD recently had their precious five week old daughter taken home to heaven.  We weren't super close to this family but I can't stop shedding tears and feeling a pain in my heart when I think of them.  Heather is an incredible woman of God who has been walking through this trial with a grace and strength like none I have ever known.  When I look at my girls lately I am again brought to tears in thankfulness for them simply being.  They are here, they are mine to care for and they bring me great joy.  Please please pray for the Castro family if you have a moment.  Their burdens are the burdens of the body of Christ and we want to join with them in celebrating and grieving their little Alivia Sandra Castro.  May God's faithfulness shine upon your family Heather.  I wish we were closer to help you practically.

I encourage you, if you are walking through a trial of any magnitude right now, to visit the Castro family blog at www.castroclan.blogspot.com It has been such an amazing example to me of God's REAL and EVIDENT love to his children.  

Playground Fun!!

We took the little pumpkin heads to the park the other day.  Sophia had such a grand time!!  It is the park in our neighborhood community and it is the PERFECT toddler size.  She can climb and jump and slide all on her own (which you must know by now, she likes to do things ON HER OWN...haha)  Here are a few cute shots I captured.  I'm sure the grandparents will have fun bringing her here on the holiday break.  Enjoy!!

6 month stats on baby...

Weighing in at a whopping 17.4 lbs (75th percentile) and measuring 25 1/2 inches long (50th percentile) "little" Autumn certainly isn't very little anymore...haha  As she incessantly blew spit bubbles and made raspberry noises during her appointment, the doctor's words were "well she is clearly a very happy, healthy and BIG girl!!" haha  She is definitely much happier and mostly acid reflux free.  She downs about 30 ounces of formula per day (6 ounces more than Sophia ever put away!!) Praise God for my healthy munchkin.  She is joyful, energetic and always smiling.  We are so blessed.  Happy 6 month Birthday Bumpa!!