Light Shines in Darkness

Today was a great day with lots of time with our girl and the rest of our family showing up to meet her. Lucy was full of surprises today as she showed us her beautiful open eyes...saved a messy diaper for daddy...and snuggled into Eleanor and Jack's cuddles.   

In John 1:3, we are told that, "Through him (Christ) all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."  God does not make mistakes.  Lucy is in this situation by God's design and his plan for her life is unfurling before us.  Continuing that passage in verses 4 and 5, " In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."  It feels dark now, tomorrow AM is the surgery, sooner than we expected it, but exactly as God planned it.  We are filled with worry now and are concerned for her health and care in the morning, but have been called to cast all our cares on Christ and lay our worries at the foot of the cross.    "The light shines in the darkness."

We did get some specifics on the surgery...they will be going through the chest and putting a patch the length of the arch on the aorta.  They will be taking her away in the morning around 7:00 and the surgery should be around 8:30 and we will hopefully be able to see her sometime midday (the actual surgery should last 2-2.5 hours.  Pray with us.  

Welcome Lucy

At 9:30 this morning we welcomed Lucy Loraine Goad. She weighed 6lbs. 9oz. The perfect size if you ask me. She let out healthy cries putting us at ease right away. After a quick check I was able to hold her for a little bit while being stitched up. Soon enough they gathered her up and she was taken for her echocardiogram and to get her IV and central umbilical lines in. Josh stayed with Lucy most all of that time. The initial report from the echo and the cardiologists was that they were still seeing the coarctation that was anticipated. Since then, we've talked some more and it sounds like surgery is planned for Friday. It's a little earlier than we expected so we're a bit flustered right now, but looking at the big picture I'm glad to get things moving. My parents will be coming with the other kids tomorrow so they can see her before surgery instead of waiting until the weekend. 

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for all the prayer today! We've appreciated the many calls, emails, texts, and support from so many. The body of Christ has been with us in a way that is faith-affirming and continues to push us to pursue the calling Christ has for us, to be focused on and committed to God's will and to demonstrate the joy we have through his grace on us.

And for the much anticipated pictures :)

my first snuggle

getting all connected

One more night

Just one more night until we get to meet this little girl, this alien like thing (as Josh sometimes calls her) that makes the skin on my belly jump, roll and move like something totally unnatural :)

It's been what seems like a long time coming. Always still a few months, weeks, or days away but now it's here and we are so excited. 

The past few days have been filled with conversations at church, school, work, bible study, chance meetings, etc... Always someone giving us well wishes, written out words from the Lord, and telling us how much we are prayed for this week! We genuinely feel covered in prayer from near and far. We are so richly blessed and I almost feel near overwhelmed. 

I have been studying James this year and I find it no coincidence that my study lands me looking at the latter verses of James 5 over the past week...talking about the perseverance of Job and the prayer of faith. From the beginning of all this last October Josh and I have always stated that this is His story to tell and as a friend recently reminded me, "we don't get to write our story, we just get to come to peace with it."

Here are some words from my study that resonated with me today: 

"Our sufferings etch engraved invitations to intimate places with God. A pair of hands clasped in earnest prayer is the best means we have this side of Heaven to hang onto Jesus for dear life. Fellowshipping with Christ in our suffering guards it from purposelessness...Prayer can prime the well of our souls to a bath of His beautiful presence." Beth Moore

So, as we journey into the unknown of the next few weeks I find myself just resting in the purpose and plan of Jesus.

God knows how everything will turn out. And, for every single person who belongs to Him, it turns out well.

"I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes- I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!" Job 19:25-27

Thank you dear friends for lifting us up and walking through these circumstances with us.

Snow + Boarding

A couple weeks ago we finally had some snow that stuck.  Jack was having so much fun in the backyard sledding while standing and so we said...You're uncle Scot needs to teach you how to snowboard! And so, three days later My brother taught both Jack and Josh how to snowboard on a small little ski hill. The same hill that Josh learned how to ski on over 20 years ago! Scot was a great teacher and they had so much fun. I hope it's something they get to do more of. 

And then I realized we hadn't taken any snow pictures yet this year. It's harder than you think when the lens keeps fogging and the snow flakes are falling on it etc... but I think there are some cute ones. 

I love when you can see the different personality in each one of them