I was tinkering around with the YouVersion Bible app on my phone and rediscovered the Notes feature. It was seemingly new to me, but apparently I had already used it before. There were two notes saved. One was a prayer I had typed out on the night before we received the amnio results:

“After a peaceful, restful day we retire to bed. We’ve lifted our heavy hearts up to you, Oh Lord, and we thank you for the lightened load. We pray over tomorrow’s amnio results, dear Lord. Let those come back to us clean and clear, showing the beautiful results of a mentally and physically healthy baby. We trust in you, Lord, we praise you, and will give you all the glory no matter what the results are. In your name I pray.”

No matter what the results are… No matter what the results are. Nora is a perfect example of God’s infinite wisdom. We did not get the results that WE wanted that next day, but clearly God knew what He was doing. I will never forget that crushing pain, the all encompassing fear that manifested itself into every part of my being. And now here we are only eight months later. This is NOTHING that I imagined it to be. How on earth could I have been afraid of this?

We had a nice relaxing Saturday today. Gavin and William went to the Reds game, and Greta was invited to sleep over. My Mom (Nana) came over to hang out with Nora and I, but of course Nora slept for most of Nana’s visit!

This evening Nora and I met up with Gavin and William at Gavin’s baseball game! It was exciting to get out and do something “normal”! We brought lots and lots of blankets for the Little Miss as it was only about 55°! She kept nice and warm snuggled up close to her Mommy!

My brudder didn't hit a home run for me!!!!!

I’m most familiar with the NIV (New International Version) of the Bible, but my previously mentioned Bible app offers other versions. One of my favorite translations is the Message because it is very different than what I am used to and also very modern. I like how the Message words this passage, especially the last part.

This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him! (Romans 8:17 MSG)

Now compare with the NIV version of same verses:

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
(Romans 8:14-17 NIV)

The mornings are getting chilly, but it’s still tolerable enough that Nora and I can accompany Gavin and Greta up to the bus stop. We just have to make sure the Little Miss is appropriately bundled. This morning she was so “shnoogy” and warm that she fell asleep. I wheeled the stroller back in to the house and intended to let her sleep some more. We weren’t back home for long when I heard little stirrings. Upon further investigation I discovered someone had awoken.

She smiled at me when I removed the blanket from her head!

She’s just such a sweet baby, such an absolute joy. There is no sweeter sound than her vociferous squeals and gurgles that emanate throughout the  whole house. I love when I can hear her from all the way upstairs. It’s an instant smile inducer!

Baby + Baffs = Seeps

Please pray that Nora will continue to eat well. She has been doing AWESOME these past 3 days! And that she will be protected from any illnesses that she may accidentally be exposed to. We can’t possibly thank you enough for keeping us in your prayers!

The Lord  watches over you—
the Lord  is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night. The Lord  will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life; the Lord  will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
(Psalm 121:5-8 NIV)

Nora and I made it to Bible study this morning! She was such a good girl and was so happy to see all of her “aunts” and “grandmas”. I was so preoccupied trying to make sure she was happy that I completely forgot to take a picture! I’ll try to remember next week.

Once we were back home we had just enough time for lunch and a milkies before we had to venture out again to go meet William to sign a bunch of papers for something. Nora doesn’t like it when the car stops, so we were thinking about investing in one of these:

All this activity makes for one tired girl, and one tired Mommy!

On another note and all politics aside, my dear friend Margaret asked that I mention this article on the blog this evening. I agree that it is definitely worth sharing!

ONE MINUTE EACH NIGHT

During WWII, there was an advisor to Churchill, who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every night at a prescribed hour for one minute, to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace. This had an amazing effect, as bombing stopped.

There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America.

The United States of America, and our citizens, need prayer more than ever! If you would like to participate, each evening at 9:00 P.M.. Eastern Time (8 PM Central, 7 PM Mountain, 6 PM Pacific), stop whatever you’re doing, and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, for our upcoming election, for our troops, for our citizens, for peace in the world, and for our continuing to enjoy all the blessings of freedom, especially religious freedom, here at home.

If you know anyone who would like to participate, please pass this along.

Someone said if people really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have.

Please pass this on to anyone who you think will want to join us.

============

Nora’s sweet little face is a testament to the power of prayer!! I’ve set an alarm on my phone for 9pm to remind me to pray for our country.

How easy it is to take all our freedoms, (not just religious freedoms) for granted. Freedom is all I’ve ever known, but it is something I enjoy because countless men and women fought for it. They even lost their lives for it. When I think of it in that way — of course I can take one minute out of my night to pray for our county and our leaders WHETHER I AGREE WITH THEM OR NOT!

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
(1 Timothy 2:1-2 NIV)

Wha? Oh! Good morning!

Time to start my day!

“These people. They think they can just leave me to look around in the living room while they’re all in the kitchen eating breakfast and getting ready. Today I’d finally had enough and made some demands about some things. I like to be a part of what’s going too, dang it! I got to sit in the kitchen with my brudder and sister. That made me happy!

After we drove them to school I had me a baff.

And then some nice people were there to visit with me when I got out.

And then I go seepy.

I had a record day of eating today! I’m getting so big and strong and I’m sweeter than ever!

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
(1 John 4:12 NIV)

Oh, hi! It's me and I'm five months old today!

This is my sister Gugga. I love her!

And this is my brudder, Gaggin. I love him too.

I see them off on the bus in the morning and then I miss them all day!

To pass the time I like to snack on my fingers...

And I love to take baffs too!

But I guess you already knew that about me!

The baffs make me seepy. Night night!

Take delight in the Lord ,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
(Psalm 37:4 NIV)

MRS. Aunt Em with a couple o’ nieces

Our families convened once again for an outdoor brunch this morning on yet another beautiful day! Have an awesome honeymoon, Em & Josh! We miss you already!

Nora was such a good girl in the car on the way there and back!  William and Gavin left to go to the Bengal’s game after brunch, so it was me and my little girls!

Once back home, Little Miss put an order in for some milkies and took an almost 4 hour nap! I was running around the house in a frenzy trying to make some kind of sense out of the disaster we had generated over the weekend.

Before long, the boys were back home.

Fortune!

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
(Matthew 19:26 NIV)

Congratulations, Emmy & Josh!!

A beautiful picture-perfect day that won’t soon be forgotten — the day my baby sister became a wife and the day I gained yet another magnificent brother-in-law. You are both truly a match made in heaven!

The famous people behind the tinted glass

Gavin practicing his right to bear rings

When I dip you dip we dip.

Sisters 3 with Dad

Cuz it cuts like a knife...

Greta caught the bouquet and Gavin caught the garter!

These kids are WIPED OUT! (Gracie spent the night!)

And they lived happily ever after!

Meanwhile, back at home there was a sweet, precious, good little girl who was very, very missed by her Mommy! But rest assured, she was in the hands of a true life Wonder Woman. Who in the world runs over 26 miles that morning and then excitedly volunteers to come and stay with the Little Miss??? Kate R., you are A.MAZ.ING. Seriously. Thank you for the pictures throughout the evening of my sweet little munch!

So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.
(Matthew 19:6 NIV)

This is a baby girl who had sad belly pains from 3 am on into much of the morning. There we were in the tub at 5 am trying to offer her some relief. She slept for about an hour after that, but was back at it from 6 – 10. I had lots to get together for my sister Emily’s wedding tomorrow, and the rehearsal dinner this evening. I am so thankful for the help today and then this evening. Nora got great reports from everyone who took shifts watching her. Such a relief!!

While the morning started off bad, my moods was brightened immensely when I received another dream report from a blog follower (see comment from Brittany on yesterday’s post.) This is a person I have never met, who has never been in my house. Yet her dream made reference to a ceiling fan in my bedroom. This seemingly silly or insignificant detail sent the largest collection of chills down my spine!! In Brittany’s dream I wanted to get rid of the ceiling fan and replace it with another light fixture. JUST YESTERDAY while I was in the tub with Nora I was looking at the ceiling fan in our adjoining bedroom. We don’t ever really use it, I thought to myself. Why not replace it with a vintage chandelier? And then this topic shows up in her dream??? Way too uncanny to be coincidental. I KNOW that part of her dream took place because I would recognize it as truth. Therefore I must also recognize the images of Nora as a one year old eating solid foods as truth too!! So many people have shared their Nora dreams with me and in their dreams she is always an older baby or child! I absolutely believe in prophetic dreams and have experienced several firsthand. We are all intricately connected to each other on this miniscule little dot in the universe; part of something so vast that it is immeasurable by human standards. A reflection of God and of His love for us, vast and immeasurable – but part of it. That dream not only gave me so much awesome hope, but it once again demonstrated God’s magnificence. That He would choose to speak to me through these dreams. Just WOW.

Here are some pictures from a picture perfect evening. My baby sister Emily is getting married tomorrow. This was the rehearsal:

Beautiful Bride to Be!

Dad and Em

The Flower Gals

The Sisters 3

A Perfect Match!

Thank you, Amanda, Denise, Julie, and Maria (Mitch & Ellie too!) for making this day run so smoothly and for taking such good care of Little Miss while we were away celebrating the sweet impending nuptials!

Thank you, Brittany for sharing your dream with me and for including the part that might have seemed silly! I’m off to have some dreams of my own! Goodnight!

He said, “Listen to my words:
“When there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord , reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams.
(Numbers 12:6 NIV)

Nora’s early morning cardiology appointment went very well!! She weighs NINE pounds now!! She tolerated the echocardiogram and the EKG like a champ–not a whimper out of her!  She was happy and well rested after her night with Miss Paula! She just layed there watching the news, sipping on some morning milkies.

One if the newscasters was named Nora. When ever someone was speaking to her they’d address her by name, “Well, you see, Nora…” Our little Miss was like,”Who, me?”

3 birds in our tree back at home texted to me from my Mom!

There were no new findings in either of the tests. Nora is eating great and gaining weight just as she should. Doc doesn’t want to see her back until November!

TURN THESE LIGHTS BACK OFF!!!!

Bye bye!

With our appointment being so early we got in and got out – home just before 9:30. The only drawback was that we didn’t get to see Miss Linda this time.

The rest of the day was uneventful compared to yesterday. I got everything done that I needed to do and was even given the opportunity to have lunch with the big kids (Thanks for staying with Nora, Kate!!). Because we had to leave so early I didn’t get to see them off in the morning. My Mom stayed the night so she could get them on the bus and be there if Gavin were to wake up feeling crappy. Fortunately he did not. I’m now certain it is allergies.

My sweet big girl:

(my phone battery died before Gavin’s lunch time 😦 )

Nora had a nice long walk with Gavin and I this evening. We walked a couple of miles before William got the call to come pick us up. Nornor got tired of things and started fussing pretty badly. She certainly has a little temper on her!

Meanwhile back at home William caught a glimpse of what at first appeared to be a giant bug flying in our garage. Seconds later he realized it was a hummingbird!

Flash back to a few blocks away – I’m “bounce-walking” with Nora in my arms at about 35 mph. A bulky oxygen tank is clanking against me and Gavin is running behind me with the stroller. I was almost home and wondered where the heck my hubzbind was!

Back in the garage, William has unsuccessfully attempted to vacate the garage of the sweet little hummingbird. It couldn’t figure out how to get out through the wide opened garage doors and insisted on hovering around a lightbulb. William set up a ladder beneath the light and waited for the bird to come back. Ever so carefully, he clasped his hands around the delicate little creature. By this time it was already dark out. Birds do not see well in the dark, we knew, so he had no choice but to put the teeny tiny little bird in a little towel-lined box. Then he and Greta rushed off to rescue the rest of his family who were nearly home at that point. We were rushed the .2 (point two) miles back home where Fuss Cakes was promptly put in the tub.

The little hummingbird is asleep in our bathroom for the night and we will release her in the daylight of the morning. I will definitey following my own advice that I just gave to someone a few days ago with the same dilemma of a trapped hummingbird. I’ll be painting our emergency garage door pulls BLACK. The birds are attracted to anything red, even emergency garage door pulls. They want to fly upward to escape danger and can’t figure out how to leave the way they came in. If there aren’t kindly people around to notice and rescue them, they will die from exhaustion.

Thank you all so very, very, very, very much for all of your prayers. This little miracle baby girl is doing wonderful!!!!

I will proclaim the name of the Lord .
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
(Deuteronomy 32:3 NIV)