Just after 11:00 a.m. I took the girls to the Cowan Retirement Center to visit my mom and the residents and visitors there. The girls loved the break from home and all the attention, of course. Marcie is such a little charmer!! Gracie is more sober and more focused on things than Marcie is.
This afternoon my dad and I took David and Will on some errands. Poor Seth was the only one home all day, but he doesn't seem to mind. He's so good-natured, seemingly more so since he got rid of all the oxygen apparatus. Thank God, that is still going really well! He has just become more and more one of the pack, rolling around on the floor, sitting and playing with toys, submitting to being climbed on, grabbing and touching and talking to the others, and always ready with a chuckle and smile for us. He is SO precious! When I think back to how we nearly lost him, humanly speaking, I can't thank the Lord enough for sparing this precious little guy. Our circle would have such a huge Seth-sized hole in it. He's even more adorable and delightful than I realized way back then. I never would have thought that 10 months from his birthdate he would be completely off of oxygen. I have never seen the power of prayer more vividly and powerfully displayed in my life. Thank you to all the hundreds or even thousands of you who have prayed for him and for us! We can tell God's hand has been on us this whole time, especially on Seth.
One of our NICU nurses, Frances, visited yesterday. It was such a treat to have her here and "show off" the babies and their skills. She remembers such funny things about them from the NICU, like what a sloppy eater Will is, Marcie's demands for attention and her birth mark, and the "Miss Grace" song another nurse taught us to sing to Gracie. There were blessings during that very hard time, and the nurses and other staff were very much among them!
One really exciting development today was Seth voluntarily putting what he KNEW was food into his mouth and eating it, not once but two or three times! It was a Gerber arrowroot cracker, and he chewed/sucked and swallowed - and gagged, but hey, it's a great start! And even after gagging the first time he apparently liked the taste enough to try again. :)
Here are a few pics of the kids: Seth in his bath after his breakfast this morning (the speech therapist wants him to experiment with his food, so he was COVERED in baby cereal and fruit!), David butting into Seth's occupational therapy session yesterday, the boys in matching outfits from Donna, and Will and Grace laughing at each other out on the porch with David in the background.
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| Gracie makes this funny face and breathes heavily and rapidly through her teeth just because she can. Isaac used to do the same thing. :) |
Carrie
What a beautiful family you have! So glad to hear Seth is doing so well. Thanks for sharing this blog; I enjoy all the pictures and the stories.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you,
Carolyn
It looks like Will has a lot more hair than any of the others, or at least it is much darker and therefore more visible in the pictures. Praise God for cheerful children!
ReplyDeleteLove the pic of Seth. Praising God for His great mercies on Seth's behalf and for the well-being of all these cuties, and for Isaac as well. NKL
ReplyDeleteCarrie, I could just squeeze each one of the babies. They are soooooooooo cute. I, too, rejoice with you for the many miracles that God has worked in each of their lives and all of your family. I am in Florida and was at First Baptist Orlando this morning. While I was sitting in the lobby waiting for someone, some nursery workers rolled one of those multi-baby wagons past me. I immediately thought of you and your beautiful children. May God continue to bless each of you.
ReplyDeleteLove ya,
Gail
Oh, that picture of Seth in the 'bath' made me tear up with tears of joy to see how well he is doing! Praising the Lord for how well they are all doing! I very much enjoy your blog entries as I pray for your family.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how you find the time to blog, but enjoy it so much. Continual prayers from Fort Myers, FL. You are indeed blessed.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your sweet comments! Yes, Will is the darkest and the hairiest. Poor David is very nearly bald. Seth actually has quite a bit of hair, it's just so blond, and the girls have very light, fine hair too.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how they all have their own look. They are so sweet! I tend to fall into the rut of thinking they should all look alike since they were born at the same time. We have been praying for your family. What an adventure you are on! I have 5 children, but they are all spaced out over 12 years, and it is very busy around here. I'm married to an MK and we both desire to be out on the mission field. You are an inspiration to us and I am praying for God's timing in your return to PNG. Be blessed today with an extra heaping of patience and joy. :-)
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