Dear Family and Friends,

I believe earlier I talked about our little miracle in progress. There have been times when I had wondered if I was just wishing, although now I really believe we are seeing a slow miracle. It would be so much easier if we saw it immediately, but I guess we need to be patient (that's the hard part for me).

In the last month I have asked you to pray for her feeding problems and muscle tone, more specifically holding her head up. Well, here is a good Praise God, he has answered our prayers. She is holding her head up beautifully. She still has reflux but it not vomiting as before, she seems to be trying to control it. She is even trying to push up more often on her legs, and she is almost rolling on to her stomach. She has surprised us a few times rolling on to her tummy, but it isn't really consistent yet. Once on her tummy, she is doing great at lifting her head. I know she is going to be a bit behind in development so we just take one day at a time.

I also asked you to pray for Stephen. I noticed a change in his demeanor just that same day and it has continued.. Your prayers are giving him strength.

Here is another Praise God! Natalia seems to be able to hear since she has had the tubes put in her ears. She is happier when not feeling discomfort and she is responding beautifully. She loves to hear praise and gets excited with us as we watch her tackle little tasks. We play a game with her where she has to push up on her thighs to stand. I make a big deal when she rises on her own. She even gives a burst of giggle knowing she has done well!! It's very heartwarming.

With all of the good news, we are still dealing with her having more discomfort eating/processing her formula than any of us would care to tolerate. I believe we may be doing more tests this week to try and figure out what may be still causing her abdominal pain. Along with those tests, she will be having an EEG soon, (for her seizures) as well as a current hearing test post surgery. They will need to sedate her so please keep her in your prayers. Unfortunately they won't be able to do these test at the same time so they will be separate sedations.

I did want to share with you a few stories....
The day before the surgery, as I drove the kids to school, everyone expressed how much we did not want to change Natalia. We all loved her the way she was. I explained to the children how important it would be for her development and that this needed to be done.
On the morning of the surgery, Natalia was an absolute Angel. She was not able to drink from 3am on and I was a bit concerned she would be difficult. She didn't complain at all. She was so peaceful!! It was very obvious to me, your prayers were calming her mood. Around 4am I laid with her on the floor as she was awake. I found myself tearing up and the tears just seemed to flow. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. Then I realized, God gave us this totally imperfect outwardly child yet inwardly she was a beautiful angel. We were now going to change the way God gave her to us. As much as her cleft lip shocked us at her birth, we had all have grown to love her look. She looked so beautiful that morning. She never cried at all through the drive or pre-op procedures. The power of prayer on this baby so amazes me!!!! Thank you all again. :)

When we came to see her after surgery, I was happy but not really expecting what we saw. Her nose of course was swollen, but she was breathing through her nose. Dr. Reinisch took the time to give her a mini facial, and cleaned up her baby blackhead acne. He so believes these babies should have dignity.
Once home with Natalia, we were not prepared for all of the changes that would come from her surgery. I felt like we were starting all over again. (It has been an exhausting few weeks.) She was in a lot of pain and her feedings were becoming a problem again. I am happy to say. All that seems to be in the past. She is smiling again and giggling between feedings and her painful moments. She still has some problems, but overall she is still thriving. Thank God, again.

Today a few Doctors will be discussing which procedures we are going to take to find out why Natalia has been having these continuing abdominal pains after feedings, (lately she has also been having blood in her stools.) Please help me pray the the Doctors will be guided by Gods healing hand and wisdom and that together they can tackle this ongoing problem.

God Bless You All,