Update 2

The encephalocele has been removed and they are closing now! Vitals signs have been good. We should get to see her in about 45 min -1 hr!! We are so thankful! Thank you for your prayers :) we will talk with the neurosurgeons after and post another update.

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Surgery

They got started with Graces surgery at 1015! Everything is going good. Thank you for your prayers! We will post updates.

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Update

We received Grace's MRI results tonight.  Amazingly, and because of the God we serve, Grace's prognosis is much better than expected!  The encephalocele (I hope I don't ever have to see that word again!!!) contains mostly CSF and only a very small portion of brain tissue (part of her cerebellum).  The rest of her brain looked mostly normal...remember, she has been diagnosed with agenesis of the corpus callosum (this cannot be corrected).  Grace will have surgery to remove the encephalocele tomorrow at 9:00 am.  SO, the neurosurgeons are hopeful and optimistic that Grace will have quality of life and her functioning could be up to normal.  She may still have developmental delays, but we trust that we are able of taking care of her!

Prayer requests:
-pray for Grace tonight, as she will have to have an IV placed and be on IV fluids and antibiotics, as she can have nothing by mouth after midnight
-pray for Grace's surgeons tomorrow as they operate
-pray that there will be no complications
-pray for peace for us as we wait on Grace's surgery to be finished
-pray that Grace will get to come home as soon as possible

We love her forever.  Chad and I could have never imagined the love we would have for her.  We are spending our last night in the hospital with her as a family of three!

We are requesting no visitors tomorrow as we wait.  We will have our immediate families and a few close friends only with us tomorrow.  We will update as soon as possible.

Thank you for your prayers!  We are amazed at our miracle baby!

Our precious miracle :)

Day 3

We are celebrating Grace's 3rd day birthday today!  Grace is doing so much better than expected, and is a true miracle!  We are so thankful.  She is very feisty, and we love her personality!  She has dark hair, and lots of it.  Her eyes are dark blue, and she looks around a lot.  Her fingers and toes are long and skinny.  She loves to have her hands by her face.  She makes the sweetest sounds unless she is mad!  It takes a while for her to get happy again once she is mad.  Everyone comments on her pretty color. 

Grace eats 55ml by mouth/NG tube every 3 hours, and is very content after she eats.  We have to change her diapers after we feed her because she gets so mad during diaper changes.  She doesn't like clothes very much either.  She is scheduled to have an MRI today, and we will go from there with her plan of care.

We are very much in love with our sweet girl!  Thank you so much for your prayers.

Grace Elizabeth is here!! 7 lbs 1 oz. She is beautiful. She looks just like her ultrasound pics. Momma is doing great also and enjoying spending time with Grace. Grace is doing good and showing that she is a fighter!
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Waiting

By this time tomorrow, I will know my baby girl Grace!  I still cannot believe it!  Many, many people from all over the world are praying for our family, and we are so thankful.  I just wanted to post our latest pictures of our family :)

Daddy and Momma :)

39 weeks!

 36w4d - getting chubbier and chubbier :)

 37w4d - sweet lips!

 38w4d - one smushed little girl!

Birthday Week

Happy birthday week, my sweet Grace!  Your daddy and I are celebrating you this week as we wait to meet you Friday!  I cannot believe we are so close to getting to meet you and see your sweet face!  We are praying extra for you this week, that God would continue to use your life to give Him glory, and that He would heal you.  We pray that He would guide us as your parents as we make further decisions for you after you are born.  We pray that God would be with your "team" of doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, etc, and that He would be with our family and friends as they can't wait to meet you.  We pray for continued peace throughout the week as we prepare for you.  We pray that we will get to spend the most time with you as we can, as we celebrate your precious life.  Most importantly, we pray for God's will to be done through our family.

I feel so blessed to be your momma.  I feel chosen.  Thank you for changing my life.  I love you to the moon and back!