As you may know, Hope Elizabeth was born last night. She arrived at 10:33pm, weighing in at 7 lbs, 2 oz.
Here are a few photos of of our newborn, Hope! The first two are from last night. The third was taken this morning.
“We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” (The Book of Romans, Chapter 5)
A snowflake is one of God’s most fragile creations, but look what they can do when they stick together! ~Author Unknown
This morning, it started snowing. We are supposed to get 3-6 inches. I love snow. It covers up ugly brown grass. It makes everything lovely.
We get just enough snow in the Mid-Atlantic to be enjoyable and not a pain. We don’t own snow blowers and we wait until the first big snow to run out and buy snow pants and gloves. And yes, Northerners laugh at us when school is out for 3 days after a snowstorm because the sidewalks haven’t been cleared yet. 
I’m glad God makes snow. On a lazy day like today, it’s nice to look out the window and see beauty accumulating.
Dave has wholeheartedly taken on his role as dad to his girls. He has embraced the pink and purple sparkly things, multitudes of dolls and dramatic re-enactments of the Sound of Music. He has even been known to stop at Target and come home with new Polly Pockets. Yesterday, Dave bought an outfit for Lauren from The Children’s Place. The gray top has silver and gold sparkly beads and the skirt is an array of satin, velvet, sequins, and ribbons. A certain six year old skipped off to school today, very proud of her new outfit! And best of all, Dave paid $7.98 for this beautiful ensemble!
Dave tried to take a picture of Lauren in her new outfit but she has caught on to our sly ways and ran away. She has figured out that pictures end up on the blog and videos on youtube and she wants none of that! So, here’s a picture of the outfit! Cute, huh?
When I was a kid, my dad always picked great outfits. I was always amazed that he could find pants and shirts that fit me when I had trouble finding outfits that fit myself! (Dad, I do not recommend clothes shopping for me these days…I am bordering on beached whale!)
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Carmen update: Carmen is doing remarkably well at the moment. She has been off oxygen for a couple of weeks and seems very comfortable. No fevers either. Dave said that God must know that we can only handle so much at a time!
Hope and me: Amazingly, I am 38 weeks and 4 days pregnant! We never thought baby Hope would stay put this long. The tentative plan is that I will be induced week after next if she isn’t born by then. New York Grandma is quite certain that Hope will be born this weekend since it is a full moon. Fine with me! I am very, very ready to be DONE!
Elise, a six year old with Tay Sachs, is not doing well right now. Her dad posted this on her caringbridge site today:
I hate to write this, but we need to. Elise is doing really bad now. Her O2 sats are not coming up, and she is severely anemic. We can’t do much else for her now except keep her comfortable and prepare for the end. I wish we didn’t have to let her go, but it has to happen, I guess. We’ll let you know what happens as time progresses. She’s on oxygen and just had some morphine to help calm her. —John
Elise’s 7th birthday is a week from Friday. Please pray for Elise and her family. I am praying that Elise will pull through this and her family will be able to joyfully celebrate her 7th birthday. And I’m praying that Elise will be comfortable and that her family will feel God’s love, comfort and peace.
Update Tuesday night from Elise’s parents:
With an aching heart…Elise officially earned her angel wings at 7:07 p.m. She was being held by John and I as she took her last breath, surrounded by her loving family and friends. Rest in peace Sweet Angel.
Today my friend, Karen, hosted a baby shower for me. Because I haven’t been feeling well, Karen brought everything to our house: the decorations, cake, cookies, sandwiches, salad, drinks, etc.
Thanks Karen. Thanks to my lovely friends who came to celebrate Hope.
After so many weeks of trying to keep this baby from being born too early, Hope now seems perfectly content to stay put. I, on the other hand, am rather anxious for her to be born!
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