What a WONDERFUL Day!

Today we turned the corner!!!

It was a WONDERFUL Day!

HG's belly is doing very well! I will not share the details. LOL!

Do not worry, Greg would not let me take pictures!

However, we did call grandparents and friends to share the GREAT NEWS!!!

Thank you for all of the prayers!

God is answering them!!!

I must explain the above picture.

Last week I asked HG what she wanted to do once she was discharged from the hospital. She said, "I wanna go to Lucky's and push a cart by myself."

(Lucky's is a grocery store. They have small buggies that HG loves to push around.)

So, today we took her to Lucky's to push a buggie.

She was in HEAVEN!

I am grateful that it doesn't take much to make my baby happy!

She loved bumping into Daddy's cart!

My Wonderful Wife

I know that we always post updates on Hannah Grace

on this blog.This post is not about HG. I want to take this opportunity to let

all of you that read this know how wonderful of a wife and mommy

that Stephanie is. I couldn't ask for a better wife. First of all, she loves the Lord

so much. She is such a wonderfual Christian lady and I know that many people respect her b/c of her faith. I know that I do. She supports me and my ministry to the fullest. Second, she truly loves me. That is saying alot!! Sometimes I am sure that I'm not that easy to love.

But she continues to show me her love unconditionally. I know that

God gave her to me and truly blessed me when He did! Third, she is the BEST Mommy

in the world!!! If you don't believe me, just ask HG. She will tell you. She loves HG

to the fullest. She hurts when HG hurts. That means so much to me. We stand strong

together as parents and love our girl very much. I don't worry about her messing it up.

It's me that I worry about (lol). I could write so much more about Stephanie, but you do not have enought time to read everything good that I have to say about my wife.

I know that God has a perfect plan and it is obvious

to me that His plan was being carried out when He placed Stephanie in my

life. I just pray that I can be that husband that I need to be to her. Sometimes, I don't show her enough. Sometimes, I am not what I need to be to her. But I do ALWAYS know one thing...

I love her very much and I am very blessed to have her in my life.

Thank you Stephanie for always being everything to me.

I Love You Oh So Very Much!!!!!!!!

Love,

GREG

Home SWEET Home!!!!!!!

We are HOME!!!!!

HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!

This morning one of the doctors came in and said HG could eat solid foods!

HG ate until we MADE her stop.

She tolerated the solid food well, so now we are home!!!!

Please continue to pray for HG's belly to heal without any complications.

I appreciate all of your encouragement and prayers!!

*******

Zephaniah 3 : 17

"The LORD your God is with you,

He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing."

WHEW!

WHEW!!!!!

We have survived 5 days in the hospital!

I know that our survival is due to an AWESOME GOD and lots of PRAYER!

I cannot tell you how much your prayers, comments, cards, and phone calls encourage us!

I also appreciate the scriptures that y'all have posted for us.

It really is funny to see the posted scriptures coinciding with my devotions.

In fact the verses y'all sent me were the very ones in my devotion!

(Yes, God knows that reading it once doesn't always work for me! LOL!)

*******

We have some encouraging news!

The surgeon just came by and said the tube in HG's stomach will most likely come out TOMORROW!!!! WOOOO HOOOO!

If she pulls it out (wink wink) we get to leave it out.

No, I am not encouraging my child to do this. Just sharing what the doctor said.

Once the tube is out, she can start drinking fluids! HALLELUJAH!!!

HG has had a few meltdowns, but my goodness she deserves to pitch a fit!

I asked Greg how we would act if we were in HG's shoes.

We both agreed that she is MUCH stronger than us!

Today has been a good day for us.

HG has walked around a good bit today.

(That was a BIG deal!)

This afternoon we were sitting in the bed coloring.

She has not been talking much since surgery.

I told her, "Baby, I am sorry you are in the hospital. I am sorry you have pain. I wish this wasn't happening to you."

She said, "Mommy, it is OK."

I just kissed her precious head.

I am blessed beyond words!

*******

Philippians 4 : 4 -7

"Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard you hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Update on our Baby

I just wanted to thank everyone for their sweet comments and prayers!

Y'all have been very encouraging to our family.

HG is doing well. Surgery went well.

We found out about another one of HG's "unique qualities."

No worries, though! Everything is alright...just another surprise!

Please continue to pray for our Baby! We are praying that her intestines "wake up" soon, so we can go home.

*******

I would like to share a few things with y'all.
The Lord sent a "special encourager" my way during HG's surgery.
A wonderful woman came and sat behind me in the waiting room.
She turned around and just started joking with me.
It was so refreshing and uplifting!!
She started talking about her son who is a 6 year cancer survivor.
He had a malignant brain tumor that was diagnosed when he was 4 years old.
She shared about her "worrying" and how our Father comforted her.
Her son is doing incredibly well! He is on the A-B Honor Roll and has no developmental delays. He is healthy and does not have to return to his neurologist for 2 years!!! Praise the LORD!
As I sat there, I realized that God had sent her to me. We had just received a "new diagnosis" and I was not a happy camper.
God had sent her to encourage me and show me that HE CARES!
He cares about my hurts!
He sent this special woman to remind me of who HE is and what HE can do!
I thanked her for sacrificing her time with her family to be obedient to Christ.
Not only did this special woman encourage me, but she challenged me.
In the midst of her pain, she was sensitive to the Holy Spirit's prompting.
She took time to minister to me.
I pray that my relationship with Christ grows to where NO matter what pain I am experiencing that I am sensitive to the needs of others. Completely submissive to the Lord's guidance.
So now I have another prayer request.
Please remember Jacob and his precious mother.

*******
One last thing!
It is another cute story about HG.
Before her surgery our family gathered to pray in the holding area.
When we finished, HG decided she had something to add.
This was her very LOUD prayer:

"God, I appreciate it!"

Prayer Request

I would like to take a moment and ask for you to pray for my baby.

She is having surgery today.

To be honest, I have been dreading it.

The other night I was talking with God about the surgery.

I told Him, "I trust you with Hannah Grace, but..."

Before I could finish, He spoke to my heart, "Either you do or you don't."
I guess that is the truth of the matter.

Either I trust Him or I don't.

I know my problem is that I have absolutely NO control over this situation.

But the funny thing is that I have NEVER had control.

It is ALL in His hands.

So, I have to let this be. Let her rest in His hands.

And TRUST.

I do ask for prayer for our Bundle of Joy.

Here is the list.

Please pray:

** that the doctors and nurses will have wisdom and discernment. That the Lord will guide their hands during the surgery.

** that there will be no complications.

** for a quick recovery. The doctor has told us to plan for her to be in the hospital for about a week. We are hopeful that it will not be that long!

** the PEACE of God to cover HG and our family.

** for the other children having surgery today.

Thank you in advance for your prayers!

*******

I do have to add a cute story.

Greg had taken HG to bed while I finished packing.

HG asked Greg how her "stomach got all twisted."

Greg -"I don't know. It is just that way."

HG -" Well, maybe there was a door."

Greg - "A door?"

HG - "Yes, maybe a little door. And maybe a mouse went in the door and twisted stuff up."

After laughing, we tried to assure her that there is NO mouse in her belly.

I am grateful for the "mouse theory."

It brought a lot of laughter to our family!

PRAISING GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!

Our family is SHOUTING for JOY right now!!!!

We have had a tough couple of weeks,but our Heavenly Father has just reminded us of HIS awesome GOODNESS and LOVE!!!

Michelle surprised us with an update on our Sarah Hope!

She and Hannah Grace are the same height and weight!

OUR VIRTUAL TWINS!!!!

I am so overwhelmed right now that I am rambling!

But, just try to hang with me! :)

My heart has been so burdened about Sarah Hope being in an orphanage.

HG was in foster care. Her Foster Parents loved her dearly.

I have begged the Lord to raise up a Godly woman to love and comfort Sarah Hope.

I have asked that our Princess would find favor with all the caregivers.

Today, the Lord just gave me a HUGE jewel!

Sarah Hope is now living with a foster family!!!!!!!!!!

My joy is overflowing!!!!!!!!!!!!

Psalms 30 : 11 - 12

"You turned my wailing into dancing;

You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

that my heart may sing to You and not be silent.

O LORD my God, I will give You thanks forever."

I am so grateful!

Pierced Ears!!!!

Yes!

Our Baby has pierced ears!

Greg and I had agreed that we would wait until HG asked to have her ears pierced.

The other day, she found some earrings in her jewelry box. That was it!

She started BEGGING!

One night while we were out and about, Greg asked HG what she wanted to do.

"I want to get my ears pierced!"

Since she picked that over Wal-Mart, we knew she was SERIOUS!

So here are some of the pics from our precious experience!

So Happy!
Looking at everything.

Yes, she is smiling!

NO TEARS!

I had warned her that it would sting a little, but would be over quick.

She NEVER cried!

Her eyes got real big and then she smiled!

We have one TOUGH COOKIE!