Survival.....

I survived, a beautiful and horribly painful

labor and delivery of our sweet Ædith Catlin.

She was born August 15th at 11:46pm.

Matthew survived a deep bite in his

arm! :)

I survived, the wave of fear that came over

me, when they heard a murmur and rushed

her to the nursery for testing,

just 14 hours after birth.

I survived, with friends by my side,

as the doctor told me something was

wrong, that she needed a better hospital,

and right away!

Matthew survived, when he arrived

to the hospital to spend the night with me

and our Ædith, and was met with a

trembling wife, stifling tears,

and fumbling with words to try to explain.

Matthew survived, as a pediatrician took

us into a room, another delivery room,

to explain to the proud Daddy what was

"wrong" with his little princess.

We survived, as we stared at her gray body,

blue hands and feet, and blue around her lips,

waiting for the helicopter to come.

We survived, as they loaded our daughter,

less than 24 hours old, into a helicopter,

and left for Greenville, to the NICU.

We survived, stopping at home,

walking through the door with no baby

to introduce to her "home", scrambling

to pack our bags.  We knew, too well,

not to grab just one outfit.

We survived, the longest drive of our lives,

late at night, knowing she made it safe,

but not knowing what was ahead.

I survived, the longest walk of my life,

from the parking lot to the NICU, just

24 hours after giving birth.  The fear of

blood clots out of my mind, as I rushed

down the dark, vacant halls with
a worried Daddy at my side!

We survived, the news from the doctor,

a pediatric cardiologist rushed in to

do an echo in the middle of the night.

And we couldn't believe it.....

Ædith had survived!

So far, she had survived a valve in

her heart that wasn't opening!

We all survived the 3.5 hour surgery

that fixed her valve a few days later.

Our children survived, thanks to

the love and blessings of our dear

friends here.... true servants of the Lord!

We survived 9 days in the NICU!

We survived hurricane Irene,

snuggled up in a hotel room

2.5 hours away.

Our home survived.... and we're convinced,

because of a a thousand angels covering

every shingle!  Our tiny tree out front even survived!

And now we are thriving, now we are

praising, a God who knew it all was

headed our way.  A God who chose us,

chose our friends, chose the surgeon,

chose the nurses, and chose our daughter.

He even chose her name, appropriately meaning

"Prosperous in War"!

God's tiny princess warrior! He has plans for her!

Plans to "prosper" her!

Jeremiah 29:11

We hold on to this verse!

Pictures to come, soon.

We are trying to find our new "normal"!