I have been re-reading through my prayer journal and came across a few scripture verses that I wanted to share.  I wrote these down the morning after Selah was born, before they took her for her first surgery to close her spine. 

We Praise God!  For you, Selah Grace, are fearfully and wonderfully made!  God, Your workmanship is marvelous, how well I know that! (Psalm 139:14)

You go before me and follow me.  You place your hand of blessing on my head (Psalm 139:5)

But as for me, I will sing about Your power.  Each morning I will sing with joy about Your unfailing love.  For You have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.  O my strength, to You I sing praises; for You, O God are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love. (Psalm 59:16-17)

"My first time seeing Selah"

I came across this photo a few days ago and hadn't seen it before.  Carey took this picture in the OR, when they were taking Selah out of the room to go to the NICU.  It captures the first time I got to see Selah.  When Selah was born, I did not get to see her because she was immediately taken by the neonatologist and his staff to cover her spine and evaluate her.  She cried as soon as she came out, and my doctor, who delivered Selah, looked down at me and said, "She's going to be OK."  I began crying tears of joy.  It seemed like quite a while before the neonatologist rolled Selah's isolet by me so that I could get a quick glimpse of her before they took her to the NICU.  It was not until 7PM that night, that I was able to go up to the NICU and see her again.    To me, this picture best exemplifies the statement by Max Lucado in his book, Fearless, where he said, "Keep giving your child to God, and in the right time and the right way, God will give your child back to you."

Audiology update

We took Selah for her follow-up appointment with the audiologist today, after she failed the hearing test in the hospital.  We were there from 8AM-10:30AM, and she slept through the testing just fine.  The audiologist did several tests on both ears, and PRAISE THE LORD, she passed her hearing test in both ears!!!  The best part, though, was when we came home, Sage greated us at the door.  She, of course, was so excited to see her baby sister as always, and went over to her carseat.  Sage was talking to Selah and giving her hugs and kisses, and in response, Selah smiled at Sage!  This was the first smile I have seen from Selah, and it brought tears to my eyes.  Selah then smiled about 3 more times after that.  It's amazing the milestones that most parents may take for granted, are such great miracles from the Lord and such a constant reminder that God is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think and that He is the Great Physician.  It seems like when I am becoming worried or fearful of the future with Selah or wondering why God allowed Selah to be born with spina bifida, He shows me another miracle in Selah's life, as to say to me, "Amy, for I know the plans I have for Selah.  Plans to prosper her and not to harm her.  Plans to give her a hope and a future."
(Jeremiah 29:11)

Urology Update

Today we took Selah to see the Urologist for a follow-up appointment.  He did an ultrasound of her kidneys and bladder and said that "They couldn't get any better than this!"  The kidneys showed no signs of reflux and the bladder looked good too.  He said that at this time, there is no need to be cathing Selah because she is voiding well on her own.  We are so thankful to God for this great news.  It is amazing to think that 6 weeks ago the doctors thought that she couldn't void at all on her own and that we had to cath her 4 times/day, and now today the doctor said that things couldn't be any better and that we don't have to cath her anymore.  We praise God for the healing of her bladder and kidneys. We continue to pray that her kidneys and bladder would continue to work as they should without any reflux or infections, and that she would be able to have bladder control as she gets older.  Thank you all for your prayers for her bladder and kidneys!  God answers prayers, and He is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think!  He is the Great Physician!  All praise to Him!

Family picture at the park.

Sage and her cousin Ella at the park.

6 weeks old!

Selah is 6 weeks old today!  We are continuing our routine of about 2 doctor visits/week.  I am so thankful that All Children's Hospital is only 30 minutes away and not farther!  Selah is still wearing her harness for her hip and was recasted to correct her club foot on the left leg.  The ultrasound of the hip showed that the harness seems to be working!  The orthopedic doctor was also impressed at how her foot looked when he recasted it and said that possibly  this new cast may be the last one she will need!  We also saw the pediatrician for her 1 month well-visit.  She weighed 11lbs 7oz (with her cast on) and was 22" long.  She will go back at 2 months to start getting her vaccines.  We will also see the urologist tomorrow for a follow-up appointment, and monday she will have her hearing retested with the audiologist.  Otherwise, all is going well and nothing really to report, which is a good thing!  GLORY TO GOD!

Over the weekend, we took advantage of the nice weather and went out for a short boat ride, which was the first time as a family of four.  Sage is taking after her daddy and enjoys fishing, and she caught her first fish, while we were out.  She really liked playing with the shrimp, though, before they were used for bait.  I have also started running again in an attempt to get back in shape, so we also went on our first family run to the park over the weekend.    We also took Selah to the beach for the first time to watch daddy kite-board during all the windy weather from the hurricanes.  Selah is quite a trooper and just sleeps through all of our little adventures.
Pictures soon to follow!

Selah's new "threads"

Sage and Selah

1 month old

Tomorrow, Selah will officially be 1 month old.  It is amazing to think back over the last 5 months and see how far we have come and how God has truly blessed us.  These past two weeks, we have made many visits to different doctors.  First we saw the neurosurgeon who did both of Selah's surgeries.  She said that everything was healing nicely and that the shunt was working well...PRAISE THE LORD!  She did put Selah on Keflex for 10 days as a precaution against the shunt becoming infected.  Selah will go back in 2 months for a rapid MRI and to see the neurosurgeon again, where they will check the growth and development of her brain.  The next day we visited the urologist.  When we left the hospital, Selah was having trouble voiding on her own, so we had been cathing her every 6 hours to make sure her bladder was being emptied.  We had been keeping track of how much urine we got each time, and we saw a huge improvement, where sometimes we wouldn't get any urine.  The urologist said that nerve function to the bladder can improve after healing from the surgeries.  He decided that she only needed to be cathed once a day before bedtime just to make sure her bladder was empty...PRAISE THE LORD!  We also have had Selah's weight checked twice.  She already weighs 10 lbs and is in the 75% for her weight and height...PRAISE THE LORD!  She is nursing wonderfully and is already sleeping for 5 hours at night...PRAISE THE LORD!  This week we saw a pediatric developmentalist and had an evaluation by an occupational therapist.  Selah will be starting OT soon to help her meet all of her developmental milestones like holding her head up, rolling over, sitting, crawling, etc.  Finally, yesterday, we saw the orthopedic doctor.  He thought that possibly her left femur was bowed, but after a quick x-ray, he said that it is, "straight as an arrow"...PRAISE THE LORD!  He also determined that her left hip is displaced and put her in a Wheaton-Pavlik harness that holds her legs in a "frog-like" position to reposition that left hip in the socket.  She has to be in the harness 24/7, except for bathing and changing her clothes, until they determine the hip is in the socket and stable or that the harness is not going to work.  Then, he casted her entire left leg.  He is doing serial castings on her left leg, where we return every week for 4-6 weeks to get a new cast put on in order to correct her club foot.  After the treatment, he did say he may have to surgically cut her Achilles tendon in order to get her foot in the best position for walking.  He did say, however, that Selah has great movement in her hips and knees, and she should be able to walk on her own with leg braces to stabilize her feet...PRAISE THE LORD!

Many of you are asking for specific prayer requests for Selah.  I have already listed the praise reports, so here are the specific prayer requests:
1. We are praying that her shunt would continue to function well and that there would be no infection in the shunt.
2.  We are praying that her brain would develop and grow and that when her MRI is done in 2 months, the doctors would be amazed at how much her brain has developed since removing the fluid.
3.  We are praying that she would pass her hearing test on September 19th and that when we get her vision examined, there would be no problems found with her eyes.
4.  We are praying for continued healing of her bladder and that her renal ultrasound on September 15th would have positive results.  We also pray for no infections as well.
5.  We are praying that Selah would be able to meet all of her developmental milestones and that she would continue eating and growing well.
6.  We are praying that the Pavlick harness would be able to correct her dislocated left hip and that the casting of her left foot would also correct her clubfoot, and we pray that Selah would be able to walk without assistance, as she gets older. 
 7.  Our final and most important prayer request is that Selah would come to a saving knowledge of the Lord at a young age and that she would fulfill His purpose for her life.

We thank you again for your continued prayer and support!  Selah is an absolute miracle and blessing in our life. 

But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation.  My God will hear me.  (Micah 7:7)

Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, Amen.  (Ephesians 3:20-21)