16 Month Update

Sorry for the long delay! We have been enjoying the spring weather.! Addie just loves being outside! She loves the swings and slides at the parks and feeling the wind on her face. We have been going to the zoo often and she loves it! She is still a happy baby, very given to smiles. She has now started to make her preferences known. If one of the boys steals her toys she will let them know she wants it back! It is wonderful to see her understanding and interacting more. She now has a pretty quick army crawl and mixed with her rolling she gets herself wherever she wants to go! We have, since my last update, visited Cincinnati to do a follow up on her arm. It has been 6 months since her surgery and they are pleased with the progress she has made so far. They said we should continue to see progress from the surgery for the next year, but it is obvious that the surgery was successful! We are going to St. Louis to follow-up on the plan for her hip June 5th. She was only 17lbs and 11 oz last month and they want her to be closer to 20lbs for the hip. We are using this time to pray that her hip will go into place on its own! She has gotten much stronger through the use of her stander that holds her upright for 1 hour each day at least. She also hooks up the e-stem machine at the same time for her arm. She  plays with toys in front of her or watches cartoons with her brothers while she does it. She has a set of braces now for her feet that she wears during the day and and separate one for at night. The ones at night continue to have the bar in between to hold her feet out, the day ones come up her calf and hold her feet flat to help her stand without rolling her ankles. Since our hearing test in February the pediatrician referred us to see a Ear, Nose and Throat specialist to discuss the fluid in her ears. We saw him last week. He saw that there was still fluid in her ears and asked us to come back next month to recheck. If the fluid is still present he wants to put tubes in her ears to release the pressure before any lasting damage is done. At this point we are just thankful that there was no hearing loss already and praying that the fluid will leave on its own before May 13th. Addie is also doing very well in her feeding therapy. She has learned to sign a few words like "more" & "eat". We are working on "sleep" "play & "drink." Michael loves to try and teach her ones and even starts making up his own signs to talk to her! She should be able to talk as she continue to open her jaw more and more for food and also just to babble. It is always exciting to see her learn and do new things. I sometimes get saddened by what she can't do especially when we are around babies her age or younger that are doing things that she can't do yet. But then I watch her play and see her lift her arm over her head on the floor, or see her get herself into a sitting position from the floor, or watch her army crawl from one side of the house to the other and I am reminding of all God has done for her already. Yes her life has had its struggle and yes I am exhausted sometimes by the constant effort needing to keep up with the therapy and doctor appointments not to mention the 2 other little ones running around here! Most weeks I feel we have a good balance but there are weeks that it is just hard! And it is okay that it is hard. God hasn't left and He hasn't finished but we are in the waiting. God doesn't promise us that it will be easy He just promises that it will be worth it and He won't leave us. We are called to persevere through our trials and stand firm on Him! We have to fight the good fight of faith and faith is hard because its very essence is of that which cannot be seen. Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Our eyes deceive us so quickly and so easily from what God is trying to speak to our hearts. He is coming again!

 Hebrews 10 36-39 "You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. ³⁷ For “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.”³⁸ And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” ³⁹ But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. I am fighting daily to be one who does not shrink back because of the circumstances we may face here, but to relay  totally and completely upon the truth of God's word because Luke 1:37 " For no word from God will ever fail.” I am always amazed at how much writing these posts help me. It is a fight to persevere and hold on and sometimes I forget just how big God is, but when I sit down to compile my thoughts for you He always leads me right back to the Scriptures I need to remind me so that I can share with you. He is so good!