Thoughts on an 18 Month Old

Wow. That's all I can say! It has been amazing seeing Clara. Our first encounter happened while she was asleep in the car. Waking up after a plane ride to two faces you haven't seen in weeks must have been interesting to her. It took her a bit to wake up let alone warm up to us. But now she's the same old ball of energy that we know and love!

A few thoughts...everyone says I'm seeing things but she is totally different than when we left for CA! 2.5 weeks is an eternity in toddler life! Her hair is longer, she's popped some new teeth which has pushed her two front teeth together. No more cute baby gap-in-the-teeth! She's a big girl. She talks and laughs WAY more, she eats way more, and last but not least she's gotten a much louder voice! Sorry Heidi but you are getting the blame for that one! I guess chasing three boys around for 2 weeks will cause any girl to learn to be heard! :)

Clara is such a bright light and a much needed distraction for Chris and I. Plus it's good for us to be on her schedule - 1 nap in the afternoon and to bed by 8pm!

About Evelyn today, she opened her eyes for the first time and got a good look at Mommy. I was talking to her and she was trying so hard to open them but they were glued shut. So I all but shouted across the room to her nurse "quick! Can I get some saline and gauze? She's trying to look at me!" I couldn't get them clean enough and she fell back to sleep but as we were literally walking out of the hospital I got a call on my cell phone from her nurse "she's wide awake and her eyes are open!" So I ran back up to the NICU and sure enough she was looking for me. I'll try and post those pics. Of course, I cried. She hadn't seen me ever and I had never seen her eyes - blue (of course). Then later she had what the nurses call "an episode." She was wide awake and freaked out and tried to pull out her IV's and breathing tube. So looks like she'll be sedated more often now. She's really a spitfire when she's awake! I can't wait until she's not hooked up to all of that stuff!

Word on the street is that the surgeons and cardiologists are going to talk about what to do with Evelyn tomorrow during their weekly 7am meeting. We would love for them to come to a consensus so we can go forward. We know whatever they decide won't affect Evelyn's fate as much as it will affect the vehicle that God uses to heal Evelyn. Mostly we would like it to move forward so we aren't just in limbo. At the same time we know God's timing is perfect and we don't want to rush Him. We continue to focus on being thankful for such amazing nurses, doctors, for the Ronald McDonald House, for amazing and supportive family who will travel so far to be with us as well as amazing family and friends who continue to lift up Evelyn before the Lord and contend for her healing. Wow talk about run-on sentence! That one was just for you, Kelsey Zedwick! Sorry my tiredness is really showing right now. :) I'm sure thankful for that 8pm bedtime tonight! And thankful that the joy of the Lord is my strength.

We love you all and will - of course - let you know if/when we hear something tomorrow. Don't be alarmed if we don't post right away though. Remember, things really do move slowly around here so tomorrow may be later this week too. :) Thank you Lord for your perfect timing!

All our love and kisses from Clara,
Steph