Sophie Kate’s Journal

We had another appt. today (wed. jan 9) with Sophie Kate’s occupational therapist.  It just keeps getting better and better.  Sophie’s eyesight has been in question for some time.  We knew that she could see light and dark because her eyes would respond and she would squint.  Now we haven’t had a official confirmation from an eye doctor, but today her therapist was working with her trying to get her to follow a toy that was placed in front of her and then moved from side to side and she did it!  Praise God there is something there for her besides just a response to light and dark, something where she could at least see the form of another object or possibly even the colors.  She also grabbed for it and pulled it into her body which is a great and encouraging response.  Sophie was then placed on her tummy and was able to raise her head and looked at toys from that position.  She has great control of her head and strong neck control.  Her therapist said several times that she never thought Sophie would have been doing these things right now if at all.  I said that these were all miracles of God.  We are witnessing a living breathing miracle of God.  He was with us in that place of darkness where everything had been taken away from us, where there was no hope but the hope we had in Him.  He has brought us out of that place of crushing blackness by His love, His comfort, His grace and His mercy and along the way has displayed His power and His might.  The Holy Sprit of God is alive in us and His presence can be felt in us and in our home. The Holy Spirit is alive and active and at work right before our eyes.  He is in control!

Please pray for Sophie and for us as we work at home on all of these areas to stimulate her development.  Please pray that she continues taking all of her formula from a bottle, she is doing great with this.  Please pray for continued head and brain growth.  Please pray that God will use this and we know that He will to touch the lives and hearts of those who don’t know Him, to bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  We give Him all the praise, honor and glory for who He is and for all that He has done!  “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.”  Psalm 126:3

Sophie was 2 months old on Jan. 3, but today(tues. jan 8) was actually the day of her checkup.  She is 8 pounds 5 ounces and is 21 inches long, so she has now reached what her big brother Cooper was when he was born.  Her doctor was thrilled with her progress, she has actually gained a little more than an ounce a day since he saw her last at the beginning of Dec at her 1 month checkup.  She is now getting those big chubby cheeks and double chins (sorry Sophie but you are) that are so cute on babies.  We are starting to get involved with the Early Intervention program of Alabama, they really seem like a great group of people and I think Sophie is going to benefit greatly from their services.  God has placed such great people around us for encouragement and support.  The saying “it takes a village to raise a child” has taken on a whole new meaning to me.  Wow, it is so true.  What a blessing you all are to us!    

The good news and good reports just keep coming in, I can hardly keep everyone and everything updated.  Sophie’s nurse came out today and her weight is up to 7 pounds 15 1/2 ounces up from 7 pounds 8 ounces last Friday.  She is also taking 3 ounces of formula consistently now with every feeding and sometimes even a little bit more.  The big news of the day though is her continued head growth (which we were told by her doctors would not happen) it is up to 34 1/2 cm up from 34 cm last Friday.  What a miracle this is!  I just look at her and can hardly take in all the miracles of God that make up her life.  We have been told by many that she should not even be here with us. It is amazing and humbling and overwhelming to visibly and physically see the power and might of our God.  He is an awesome, benevolent, and loving God and we praise Him and thank Him for the blessings and miracles He is pouring out on our family.

We had a very good visit today with Sophie’s Occupational Therapist.  Sophie’s therapist was extremely pleased with her progress over the past 2 weeks.  Her flexibility was very good and she was calm and relaxed during the whole visit.  I was very encouraged by this visit.  Sophie’s OT pointed out several things that she observed that were encouraging developments:  Sophie is beginning to move her legs independently of each other instead of both of them moving at the same time in the same direction, she is already doing this with her arms, she is also much more flexible and relaxed in her joints, especially in her hands they are open and relaxed and not drawn up into fists, her OT was also ecstatic over her head grow, that I had reported in the last post, this is just huge.  The power of prayer, it is so very active and alive!  We are seeing the proof and the power of that every day!  Praise God! 

A sincere “thank you” for all your prayers, please continue in your prayers for our baby girl.  We are seeing results every day and every week.  We praise God for each and every one of these blessings.  What an encouraging and uplifting day this was, it was so refreshing and it renewed in us the importance of what we are doing at home with her.  God is growing our baby girl strong and we Thank Him for what He is doing in our family. 

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.