Sophie Kate’s Journal

Hey everyone, just wanted to let ya’ll know that Sophie’s weight and feedings continue to increase.  She is now up to 7 pounds 8 ounces and is taking almost 3 ounces of formula per feeding.  She also had an increase in her head circumference from 33.5cm to 34cm.  These blessings are all answers to very specific prayers that so many of you have offered up to our Lord for Sophie.  I can’t even express what all of this means to me it is such an encouragement and so uplifting to my soul.  God is so good and so faithful.  All the praise and glory goes to Him for this great great news.  It is only because of Him that any of this is possible.

We enjoyed a great Christmas together, spending it with family.  Sophie was introduced to the chaos and craziness that is a McManic Christmas morning when you have 3 brothers and she survived it.  One of the best gifts this year for me was that we were all together.  I am so thankful that Sophie is home with us now and that we were able to celebrate her first Christmas together as a family and show her all the love we have to give her.

Please continue to pray for her feedings that they will continue to increase as she grows and also that her brain will grow and increase in size.  Pray also for a peace, comfort and relaxation as she develops and begins to take in, absorb and experience her surroundings. Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for our little girl.  What a comfort it is knowing that she is constantly and consistently covered in prayer.  We pray for a joyful and blessed new year for all of you!

Hey everyone, just a quick update.  Sophie is now up to 6 pounds 15 ounces, that is such a blessing we were so thrilled and so was Sophie’s doctor.  We had a very good visit with Sophie’s occupational therapist on Wed.  She is so good with Sophie at increasing her feedings, in doing her stretching exercises, and in showing us what we can do at home with her.  Please continue to pray for her feedings and her weight to increase.  We are seeing such wonderful things happening in these two areas and we give all of the glory and honor to God.  He is our Sustainer!  Pray also for her continued development, specifically brain growth and more flexibility in the muscles and joints of her shoulders, arms, and legs. 

I want to specifically thank the church staff and members of First Baptist Church Trussville for the gift they have given us this Christmas, a special gift of help with the children and help around the house.  The love that they have shown has been overwhelming and has meant so much to us.  We thank God for such a caring and compassionate body of believers that we feel privileged to be a part of. 

We pray for a joyful and blessed Christmas for each one of you as we celebrate together the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.”  Matthew 1:21  
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The Meek Were Kneeling
by Max Lucado
“Blessed are the meek,” Jesus explained. Blessed are the available.

That’s why the announcement went first to the shepherds. They didn’t ask God if he was sure he knew what he was doing. Had the angel gone to the theologians, they would have first consulted their commentaries. Had he gone to the elite, they would have looked around to see if anyone was watching. Had he gone to the successful, they would have first looked at their calendars.

So he went to the shepherds. Men who didn’t have a reputation to protect or an ax to grind or a ladder to climb. Men who didn’t know enough to tell God that angels don’t sing to sheep and that messiahs aren’t found wrapped in rags and sleeping in a feed trough.

A small cathedral outside Bethlehem marks the supposed birthplace of Jesus. Behind a high altar in the church is a cave, a little cavern lit by silver lamps.

You can enter the main edifice and admire the ancient church. You can also enter the quiet cave where a star embedded in the floor recognizes the birth of the King. There is one stipulation, however. You have to stoop. The door is so low you can’t go in standing up.

The same is true of the Christ. You can see the world standing tall, but to witness the Savior, you have to get on your knees.

So …

while the theologians were sleeping

and the elite were dreaming

and the successful were snoring,

the meek were kneeling.

They were kneeling before the One only the meek will see. They were kneeling in front of Jesus.

From The Applause of Heaven
Copyright 1990, Max Lucado

Ya’ll have got to see the newest picture we’ve put into the photo album.  It looks like Sophie has got her little hands folded in prayer.  It’s just the sweetest thing and it got me to thinking as I was watching her there, of all the things we have been told that she may not be able to do or that she will not be able to do, to think, or to feel, we know without a doubt that she has a place within her that only her Savior can fill.  A place where she can be comforted, be at peace, and feel the love of her Maker, Creator God.  “Daughter, your faith has made you well, go in peace and be healed of your affliction” Mark 5:34. 

Our nurse came out to weigh Sophie again today and she has once again increased from 6 pounds 1 ounce a week ago to 6 pounds 8 ounces today!  As a friend said, this is the only time in her life that she will allow her weight to be broadcast to the world and that is probably true.  Of course with an increase in weight comes an increase in the amount of formula that she needs to be taking in.  Please continue to pray for her feedings and her weight gain, it is just a day by day ongoing need in her life.  God is so faithful and has provided for all of her needs, all of the glory and honor goes to Him for these amazing miracles in Sophie’s life.  Please continue to pray for complete healing for Sophie, for complete healing of her precious little brain.  We have certainly not given up on that, God knows the deep and desperate desire of this Mama and Daddy’s heart.  Our hope is not in doctor’s and medical tests and results if it was we would have given up a long time ago.  Our hope is in the Lord, our Creator God.

Many, many thanks go out to our family and friends, words cannot do justice to what ya’ll have meant to us.  The outpouring of love, prayer, encouragement and support has been overwhelming.  God is certainly using the body of Christ.  Ya’ll are truly His hands and His feet and are pouring out His love on our family through prayer, meals, childcare, taxis service for my children, grocery shopping, Christmas shopping, a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on.  I thank God daily for all of you, God is using you in a powerful way in our lives, please know how much ya’ll truly mean to us, may God pour out His blessings on you and your family.

More blessings to report!  God is so good and so faithful!!  Last week our prayers were specifically for an increase in feedings and weight gain, well over the weekend Sophie’s feedings have increased drastically, they have actually doubled and she is continuing to take each feeding better and better.  Also her weight has increased from 5 pounds 12 ounces to 6 pounds 1 ounce.  Thank You Jesus, all the glory goes to You!!  You have heard our cries.  It was a good weekend.  God is bringing joy back into my heart and into this family and into this house, a joy that I know comes only from the Father.  Praise You Lord, we are smiling a lot more around here!

Sophie had her first field trip when we went to see her pediatrician on Tuesday morning.  She weighed 5 pounds 13 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.  She hasn’t put on any weight since we left the NICU last Wed., but on the bright side she hasn’t lost any either.  We are going to try some new things with her feedings in order to try and increase what she is taking in.  This still seems to be our biggest obstacle right now: her feedings and her weight gain.  One verse that God has brought to my mind is Lamentations 3:22-24 “The Lord’s lovingkindesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning, great is Thy faithfulness.  The Lord is my portion says my soul.”  He has provided everything we have needed as we have needed it and I know He will continue to do so.  He is so faithful.  Someone told me just this week that medical tests and tests results will change, our circumstances will change, our lives have changed drastically since Nov. 3 and will continue to do so, but the Living Word of our Lord will not change!  He will never provide for us one day but not the next day.  His Word says His grace is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9), it “is” not was, not sometimes, but “is” present tense, which means no matter when we read those words whether is was 100 years ago or today, His grace is sufficient for us.  Thank You Jesus that in this constantly changing and uncertain world, You alone are our certainty and Your Word is our Voice of Truth. 

Happy Birthday Sophie!  Our baby girl is one month old today and all of our praise and thanksgiving goes to our Lord who has seen us through all these trials and who we know will continue to be with us no matter what the future holds.  Her feedings are up and down, but she is continuing to suck and swallow and take what we need for her to take overall.  Please continue to pray for her feedings, I know all of you have been so faithful in your prayers for her and it means so much to us.  Her brothers love having her home and it is go great being all together. We spent a nice weekend together as a family, which was great and much needed for all of us.  Thank ya’ll for all the nice messages on the guestbook, they make me smile.  Love to you all, Chad and Amye