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!
iwillcarryyou 
Nora is getting more and more beautiful with each passing day! God bless you and your family!
I just love the pic of the three of them laying together so sweet 🙂 and of course noras little yawns make my heart melt (like a popsicle on the 4th of july!!!)
Thank you so much for sharing your family and your amazing faith. I feel so connected to you and your experience with Nora. My son was diagnosed with enlarged brain ventricles on a 31 week ultrasound, felt to be a developmental problem. My world crashed down around me. Everything I found on-line was extremely negative. I was devastated, terrified, and angry. Honestly I was angry at myself and God. I felt I had done something wrong and I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. The unknown of the situation was overwhelming. It was the hardest thing I have ever gone through. Through prayer I realized the only way I was going to get through the rest of the pregnancy was to put my faith in God’s hands.
My Henry was born and was beautiful. He gave us a scare with an apnea episode which was probably due to reflux. The brain issue is one that is a watch and see how he develops. So far it has been amazing to see him grow and develop. Now three months old he has been a little slower to meet milestones but he is an amazing little man. Smiling, cooing, kicking. All of these things I took for granted with my 2 older girls. This experience has made me cherish and appreciate my amazingly supportive and loving husband, our beautiful children, and our wonderfully supportive family and friends even more than I could imagine. Also, I have grown immensely in my faith and relationship with God.
I read you blog daily. I pray for you, your family, and Nora often. Children are such an amazing gift from God. We learn so much from them. Being a mother is an amazing gift and both the most challenging and rewarding job. I look at Henry now and cannot believe how scared I was to have him. He is an absolute joy. Nora is really amazing and just beautiful. Your willingness to share her and your faith is truly inspiring. Thank you again and God bless!
I love seeing all the beautiful pictures of your children! Thank you so much for sharing such love with all of us! 🙂
I can’t express to you how grateful I am for your display of faith and for sharing each precious moment with the world. All of your children are beautiful and God is blessing you and everyone around you with such a miracle. I look for your posts every evening and share them with friends and family. Your outright testimony will hopefully inspire others to cherish what God has given them instead of ending the sad news abruptly. I am estatic that Nora has been born, that she has you to love her each and every day. **EACH LIFE HAS A PURPOSE HERE ON EARTH. THANK, FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR JOYOUS MOMENTS. I look forward to reading about them every single day.
You wrote—-” God will take each tragedy, each disaster and calamity and turn it into something that will glorify Him!”
YES!! So true! I have seen this in my own life. I used to ask God–“Why did you do this to me” and I felt abandoned,, Yet, now I see why it was done and how the events still have merit–that my suffering has merit. (I lost my son 18 weeks into the preg, and I have had 6 miscarriages)
I LOVE the pics you put up of Nora and your other children–highlight of my day!
praying for you and your family!
Amen 🙂
BEAUTIFUL!!!
I can see a sweet chubby girl!!. Love that hair and yesterday’s ” beach ” video. Soooo cool!!. Can you show us the outfits you bought for little Miss Nora at Target? .
I love this post. I remember that blog entry so well. I was heartsick for you when I read how hard that trip to Target was for you. I love how much you remind us all that God shows us his presence so clearly all the time. Thanks for reminding us to see this. Good luck at CHMC today! Keep us posted.
my sister just pointed me to this news story and, through tears, I realized it needed to be shared with you and your loved ones….thanks for touching so many. http://www.wimp.com/hearingaid/
GOOD MORNING. I LOVE THE PICTURE OF GAVIN, GRETA AND NORA. I CAN SEE THE LOVE THE BIG BROTHER, AND THE BIG SISTER HAS FOR THEIR LITTLE SISTER. I CAN TELL BY THE PICTURES YOU POST THE REASON GOD PICKED YOUR FAMILY TO BE NORA’S FAMILY. YOUR FAMILY IS SO FULL OF LOVE THAT IT JUST SHINES EVEN IN PICTURES. I HAVE BECOME TO LOVE YOUR FAMILY SO MUCH THROUGH THE BLOGS. NORA IS LIKE A FLOWER, SHE IS BLOSSOMING INTO A STRONG LITTLE GIRL. SHE IS BEAUTIFUL. THOSE LITTLE CHUBBY CHEEKS, BEAUTIFUL LIPS, VERY BEAUTIFUL EYES AND THE WAY SHE YARNS, SMILES AND IS JUST BEING NORA ROSE HAS WON THE HEARTS OF SO MANY PEOPLE. YES NORA YOU DO HAVE MANY MORE FACEBOOK FRIENDS THAN EVEN THE MOVIE STARS. YOU ARE THE STAR OF FACEBOOK. LOVE ALL THE PICTURES TODAY, AND THANK YOU ALEISA FOR THE VIDEO. FIRST TIME I HAVE HEARD THAT BAND, AND THEY ARE GREAT. THAT SONG IS SO TRUE TO THE WORDS. THANK YOU ALEISA FOR SUCH A BEAUTIFUL BLOG. HAVE A GREAT DAY, I KNOW YOU WILL. CAN’T WAIT TO HEAR THE NEWS OF NORA’S TRIP TO THE DOCTOR TODAY. LOVE AND PRAYERS.
I just love your little Nora! I have checked in on her everyday since she was born! When I see her pictures I just can’t help but think I am looking at an earthly angel and you are so blessed to get to spend everyday loving on her! Thank you so much for so diligently using your story to glorify our Father and draw people closer to Him! It pleases my heart so much to share in your daily joys and victories and to pray and hope for them to continue for a long long time! Such a precious precious gift! Praying for an encouraging doctor’s appointment today.
Love the pic of your beautiful children. I can’t believe how big Gavin is getting. I loved that you said ” worrying is completely pointless” that not only works in what you are going through but just in everyday life….reall mine right now. I start to worry about the dumbest things and then I think of what you are going through and I am smashed back down to reality. I want you to know that we pray for you, your family and Nora nightly. Plus Nora does look smashingly hot in that car seat. 🙂
Every single picture of her makes me laugh out loud with total delight. That big yawn, the little lips in the perfect shape of a Cheerio, the adorable sprout of hair sticking up right on top, the ever bright eyes. I don’t how you can stand all that cuteness! I wouldn’t be able to get anything done but stare at her all the time!!
Blessings,
Judee in Iowa
Your story is so beautiful. I am in love with following your journey and pray that it continues for a long long time 🙂 and I too love the song. I heard it for the first time in one of our church services.
She is too cute! I have been so stressed over Brooke being in the hospital and needed something to make me smile so I came to Nora’s page 🙂 I knew she would make me smile 🙂 I love love love the pictures of her. Her story brings hope to the hopeless 🙂 The amount of people praying for her still makes my heart smile. Thinking about all of the people around the world who don’t know each other coming together in prayer … WOW!
Amen…this child is certainly no tragedy…a gift from God! It’s amazing what a mother can do…someone asked me a week ago “If God had asked you first, would you have said yes?” I had to think long and hard about that one, but ultimately my answer was “yes”. I’m quite certain you’d say the same and that’s why you were hand-selected to mother this beautiful child. What a wonderful mother you are!
Nora is just so precious! I don’t remember how I stumbled on your blog, but I’ve been checking it daily since – I love seeing pictures of that sweet girl every day! Also, the Gungor song you posted is one of my absolute favorite songs – it’s so beautifully written and so true. We saw them when they came to Knoxville last month on their tour, and what an INCREDIBLE concert… that is definitely one of the most musically talented groups I’ve ever heard. I hope you, Nora, and your family have a wonderful holiday weekend!
Looking good! Her clogged tear duct seems to be doing well. My granddaughter had a clogged duct right after she was born. My daughter read somewhere that if you put a few drops of breast milk in the corner of the eye and massaged lightly up the side of the nose toward the inner corner of the eye, that it would help to dissolve/dislodge the blockage. She tried it–and it worked! So, if Nora’s little eye get goopy and clogged again, give that a try. I love to see your older kids interacting with Nora. Thank you for sharing your story with us. Much love to you today.
Such a happy and beautiful family. Loved the song. Gave me happy chills. I think of you guys often and Nora is always at the top of my prayer list. Many hugs and kisses.