Rewind to May 1997. Just home from work and ready to take on the weekend, my life was suddenly and forever changed. My sister Sarah sat on the back porch gazing lovingly into a box labeled as fax machine paper — obviously not at fax paper. Sarah had a reputation for bringing home orphaned or needy pets. When I peeked inside I saw a tiny bright yellow beak peeking out from a bundled blue towel. Its eyes weren’t even opened yet. To make a very long and beautiful story short, I took over the care of that helpless naked baby bird with the intention of releasing her once she was able to fly and eat on her own. However, she had a deformity on one of her feet which caused her rear toe to point forward. Her life span out in the wild would potentially be shortened because of this condition. As her feathers gradually appeared we determined that “it” was a “lowly” little house sparrow. A female that I ended up naming Ava.

I was informed that there are no protection ordinances for house sparrows because they are not native to the United States. Legally I could keep her as a pet. She went everywhere with me, especially in her early years when I had to feed her with a syringe every 20 minutes for 16 hours a day. (Fortunately birds sleep at night!)  Working for a small family owned business I was able to bring Ava to work with me every day. I know people thought I was crazy and wondered why the heck I was even bothering. In the beginning I too wondered if my efforts were futile. She was such a fragile little thing! But I persevered and so did she. As she grew older she continued to come to work with me every day. She went on vacations with me as far as 10 hours away by car. The only time she spent in her cage was when she was traveling, at work with me or if I had to step out for awhile. Otherwise she had free reign of my bedroom when I still lived at home, and then free reign of my apartment when I moved out. At night she slept in a little blue fleece tent on a hook next to my bed.

When she was tired, she knew to fly in there and she expected me to be quiet after she had done so. It was always a source of amusement to who ever I was on the phone with when I had to apologize on behalf of my sparrow “yelling” at me in the background. I could go on and on and on about all of Ava’s endearing little quirks, her “nests” that she’d build, her sun “comas”, her bird baths, her “clicking” at us, her bird songs. This bird had so much personality! For nine incredible years Ava lived with me and then “us” after William and I got married in 2001. She was our first “baby” together and he loved her just as much as I did.

As Gavin and Greta were born into our family they thought it was completely normal to have a sparrow flying around their house sharing breakfast with them. She was just another family member. She passed away in early January of 2007 leaving behind a huge impression on our hearts and maybe an invitation for God to recognize that we’d be the perfect family for another special little “bird”.

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. (Luke 12:6 NIV)

Today’s visit to Children’s Hospital had an assortment of highlights and lowlights. We were told that the possibility of Nora’s heart causing her oxygen levels to drop is not likely. It is now being suggested that it is her lungs that are causing the problems. That news has had me in a funk for much of the day, or perhaps the way it was presented to us.

The highlight of our visit were a couple of people who recognized us from our blog. One was a sweet nurse and the other was the sweet mother of an adorable little boy who was boarding the elevator we were on. Our appointment had ended and we were anxious to get back home. I was feeling a little discouraged and sensitive there in the elevator. The elevator stopped on a floor to let some more passengers on. As the doors opened, I was met with the beaming smile of a woman who excitedly exclaimed, “Nora Rose!!” I had never met her before. When she introduced herself I immediately recognized her name as a new friend on Facebook. She had mentioned in her own post  earlier that they too would be there at the hospital. That moment was another God hug. She explained in a message to me later in the day that she too had been feeling a little down. The chance meeting reminded her of God’s presence in our lives and the power of our faith. She worried that maybe she had overstepped her bounds by saying something to us. I assured her that was not at all the case, in fact, far from it!! I love to meet people who are following the blog and I promise we’re very approachable!

If you are familiar with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital you know that it is not a small place! Of all of the departments, hallways, corridors, rooms and elevators – you mean to tell me that our brief but substantial meeting was a coincidence??? We both needed that special moment. God knew that and cares about us so much that he would go out of His way to ensure that our paths crossed. Thank you, God!

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2 NIV)

I made a quick trip to Target this evening for some miscellaneous odds and ends that we needed. My Mom was so kind as to stay with Nora while I went out. The rest of the family were away at various extracurricular activities. While in Target I was recalling back to Day 52, how distraught I had become over the sound of a newborn crying. I was so saddened that day by the possibility of never hearing my own newborn’s cry. But there I was this evening, very familiar with little Nora’s cry, and even shopping for her. My heart was smiling so big!!

SOMETIMES God’s will coincides with our hopes and prayers and we do get the answer(s) we were looking for. Then there are the times when it seems like God has all but abandoned us. We find ourselves in the middle of a living nightmare. I feel so undeservedly blessed to have Nora here with us. To date, God’s will has coincided with what I have asked, begged, pleaded and prayed for (even though I might not have known what the heck I wanted in the beginning). Through this whole experience I have learned two major life changing concepts. The first is that worrying is completely pointless. The second is that God makes beautiful things from dust. As long as we’re here on this earth, God will take each tragedy, each disaster and calamity and turn it into something that will glorify Him! The “tragedy” of Nora’s diagnosis has been transformed into something beyond incredible!! This doesn’t just apply to me. It applies to everyone who believes!

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord  is on me,
because the Lord  has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord ‘s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
(Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV)

This is one of my very favorite songs and goes along with this post’s topic. I had the awesome opportunity to see this band in concert while I was pregnant with Nora!

Today was a day of great adventure! Nora went to “the beach” thanks to a friend of ours who brought “the ocean” (a bag of sand and a bottle of salt water) back from a recent vacation. Decked out in her fancy monkey bikini Nora enjoyed a delicious milkies cocktail on the balmy shoreline. She accidentally lost her bikini bottoms on her way out to catch some waves. Terribly embarrassing, to say the least!!! The ocean was a little chilly for her liking so a soak in her “lukewarm tub” was in order afterward. (Babies don’t care much for hot tubs.)

I’m so thankful for our ability to laugh even throughout some of our darkest days and moments. God gave us the ability to laugh and smile — what a cool gift! There is great truth in the saying about laughter being the best medicine. I love laughing, I love making people laugh and I’m drawn to people with a great sense of humor. That is one of the many things that attracted me to my sweet husband. His sense of humor is top notch! The medicinal properties of laughter are the infrastructure of our relationship with one another and that of our extended families. It’s safe to say that William and I both originated from a long line of silliness. I love to see it shine forth from our children, even tiny little Nora who we’ve embodied with a funny personality all of her own.

For instance, look what she decided to wear to breakfast this morning.

As if we’ve got some kind of contest going!! So, whatever!! *wink* (You can “friend” her in the Praying For Nora Rose group on facebook, she wants me to mention.)

Silliness aside, we are incredibly blessed to have Nora in our family – I can’t say that ENOUGH. I had an amazing phone conversation with a woman whose little girl also has trisomy 18. Her little girl just turned FOUR! It was a pleasure and an honor to talk with her today. I have a renewed hope as it pertains to Nora — that she too will defy everything that has been suggested about children with this condition. Every life is precious, meaningful and worth fighting for, children with extra chromosomes included!!!

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40 NIV)