God is so Good!! 11 Months

 We have had a fun month with Addie! She is continuing to make more sounds and using them to express her desires. Although at this point there is a lot of Da-da and no Ma-ma sounds (I am working on that!) We also celebrated her 1st birthday a little early but it was a great day! She loved playing in her cake although she did not really eat it. She made such a big mess she needed a shower afterward which just meant she got to try one of her new outfits on right away! She is starting to fill out in the past few weeks and loves to try new foods. She loves things that have a lot of flavor. One of the latest things we tried was juice from my grapefruit thinking she would make a silly face but she loved it and wanted more! We are continuing to work on her arm and for the next 3 months we have increased her to 2 sessions of Occupational therapy and 1 session of physical therapy a week. They like to increase the OT for 3 months following surgery. We had OT today and I realized again how much God is working even in the little things. Angie her therapist was teaching me how to tape Addie's wrist and also we were working on using E-stem. The taping helps pull her wrist into the correct position which increases her ability to grasp. We have tried the taping a few times and have been very pleased with the results. Now that I know how to apply it we will be able to keep Addie's wrist taped consistently. The E-stem is for the muscle up by her shoulder where she had surgery. The E-stem is a machine that hooks up to 2 electrodes and sends electric currents to her muscle to help it contract. When we started today Angie warned me that Addie may only be able to have the current level to where she could feel it but not enough to actually make her muscle contract. She also warned that while our goal is 30 minutes a day Addie would probably only make it 5 or 10 minutes for the first few days. Well, once again I saw how God answered my prayer for her to have the personality to be able to handle the trials she would be faced with! Addie was able to handle the E-stem for 15 minutes and we were able to set the current high enough to make her muscle contract without it bothering her! Angie was amazed at how well she handled it. It is always neat to see God answer your direct prayers the way you desire, but today I also experienced Him working in a way that I never thought to pray. When we started talking about taping Addie's wrist and then E-stem I was excited about trying anything that may help or just speed up her healing. I had no idea that I would be required to do it! I didn't even think to pray that I would catch on quickly or be able to understand what my role was, but today as Angie was walking me through it all everything went smoothly. All of the understanding seemed to come very easily to me and I know that as I prayed for Addie to have the right personality and spirit to go through what she needed God is also doing that for me. Angie was able to leave the E-stem machine with me today. She had anticipated it taking a few more weeks of practice. Addie handled it so well and God gave me such an easy understanding of it we are able to start doing daily E-stem now instead of waiting! I love it when the Bible becomes alive in my life!  Matthew 6:8b "for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."  I never even thought to pray that I would understand my part but God knew! He opened up my mind to be able to understand and comprehend what I needed to at the time that I needed to! I never want to be so busy looking for the big ways of God's presence in my life that I miss the day-to-day ways He is already there and working! He has been so good to us and I just can't help but thank Him. His love is so precious and so caring! Psalms 63:3 "Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you." We have been blessed by seeing God's hand at work in miraculous ways, in medical/science ways (doctors), and most precious to me in His sustaining ways in our lives. He has carried us through all of this with such a precious peace. My older brother shared this verse with us right after we found out some of the issues Addie was going to have Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Jesus has been this to us the past 11 months in a way I had never experienced before. With Addie we have faced issues I had never heard of or thought about before her, but with Him carrying us we have been able to go through them. We get tired, we get busy, we get worn out but it has been easy! We have had joy because it has been Him. Our souls have had peace, a steady peace, throughout each up and each down with her. That peace, which passes understanding, can only come from God. I can hardly explain how amazing it has been to live these Bible promises! I know what we should have been feeling and then I know what we actually felt and it does not match up. I know it is not me it is all Him! We are awaiting the miraculous while living in the normal and that makes us see so much more of what God is doing because we are looking for Him! God's goodness and glory is all around the more I look for it the more I see! He is the King of Glory and Creator of all! 

                                                                      Psalms 24

¹ The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it;
² for he founded it on the seas
    and established it on the waters.

³ Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?
⁴ The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not trust in an idol
    or swear by a false god.

⁵ They will receive blessing from the Lord
    and vindication from God their Savior.
⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek your face, God of Jacob.

⁷ Lift up your heads, you gates;
    be lifted up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
⁸ Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord strong and mighty,
    the Lord mighty in battle.
⁹ Lift up your heads, you gates;
    lift them up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰ Who is he, this King of glory?
    The Lord Almighty—
    he is the King of glory.