Many Blessings

So my mother and step father were here for two weeks and it was so good to have them.  Sometimes you just need family around and this was one of those times, but it also made my updating more difficult. Also, they brought many gifts for me ( yay for my Medela pump, and sweet things people bought for Karis) Thank you so much if you were one of the many people who gave money towards these things or sent a gift. Your kindness with cards of congratulations and sympathy are cherished.  Well it is amazing to think that in just one day my sweet girl will be one month old. With this my heart also longs to see my sweet boy Judah, who would have been a month old.  I guess this will never go away. I know many of you check here to find how Karis is doing, but I feel the need to say that my heart is still broken everyday at the loss of our son Judah.  I look at Karis everyday and am so thankful for her, but also long that her brother was here with her.

I think we are finding a grove with going to the hospital, but at night I always wish I was there.  I have also been very tired, I think recovering from my 100+ days of bed rest, but trying to push myself little by little.  Plus, there is the pumping schedule, which all seems so unnatural to me with out a baby here, but I know that it is what I have to do to provide what is best for Karis.  Maybe all of these things seem randomly strung together but to be honest I am still in a place where one minute I am laughing at something and the next I am crying.  I assume this is just how it will be for now.  On a side note, I have been thinking how our life has changed in AMAZING and sometimes gut wrenching ways in one short year.  About this time last year, my now sweet husband and I had just had our first "big talk" about our feelings for each other. HA! What a year can bring. I never dreamed "this" would be our life ever much less in one year, but I guess who would.  But I am thankful everyday for such a wonderful man to walk through life with!

So what has been happening with Karis??? Well, we have so many things to praise God for.  She is infection free and has been off of any kind of antibiotics for awhile. Also, I brain bleed has resolved. She is gaining weight and is up to 793 grams which is about 1.7lbs. Also, she is eating 7.5 mil of per feeding.  Also, has had no intestinal issues which can happen with babies so small.  Another praise is she is very strong, when she is not all tucked under tight in her bed and on her stomach, she LOVES to kick her feet and often lifts her body up with her feet.  It is really amazing to see and sometimes scary for me since it seems like she could turn over but is still attached to he vent and such.  I love my little fighter!!!  While she is doing well and her overall condition is stable, there are still many things to pray for. One thing is her PDA which if you remember has to do with a little valve in her heart. It will be open one day and then closing the next.  This is very common that it doesn't completlely resolve and her PDA may continue to go back a forth.  But it is currently affecting her breathing and making it more difficult, also the meds they have her on to correct it give her edema (water weight). So please pray for this to be healed. Also, she had her first blood transfusion yesterday for anemea.  Please pray that she responds well to this treatment and that one time is all she will need to correct the anemea.
Side note- my mother has been very sick since getting back home.  She can't keep anything in her stomach! Please pray for a quick recovery.

Sometimes things are so difficult but we know the Lord is with us!!

^{Psalm 91}

¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

Here are some pictures...

I LOVE my very own Soft Bear. My cousin Sarah used her own money to buy it. I love you Sarah!!

My first story book. Mommy says thank you to ALL the friends who sent books over to read. As a teacher and lover of children's books this makes my heart happy :)

Yes I am that tiny! Someday I will have my own ring and it will only fit my finger.

Mimi and Poppy praying for me. I LOVE and miss you <3 <3 But will come to visit as soon as I can- Love Karis

Mimi and Poppy got to enjoy some Japanese festival.

My first Japanese story-Why Do Elephants have long noses?  It is really by Kipling but in my Japanese story book :) 

Mommy & Daddy at Tanabata- next year we will bring you Karis!

 Blessings to You all!
Clifford & Danielle