UPDATE 3/7/08 5:00pm EST – We’re back in our apartment and all is good. We’ll give a full update on the new post tonight.

UPDATE 3/7/08 11:00am EST – We’re not in Kansas Toto, but you’d think we were. Just wanted to let you all know that we’ve taken shelter at Shands (the hospital) to wait out the storm. Just figured we’d be safer here than on the second floor of an apartment. Some of you called to ask if we’re ok. We’re totally fine, just figured we’d play it safe here. Latest radar is here.

Ella had a rough night, even scratched her forehead pretty good grabbing at her cannulas, but finally decided to sleep solid from 5:30am – 6:30am and then until 7:30am. So, those last 2 hours of beauty sleep carried us both through the day.

She had a good day complete with a bath and time playing with Grandma West. One thing that was new today was a belated Christmas gift from Grandma West – – a portable DVD player with Baby Einstein videos. It is great because it plays DVDs as well as CDs and can be strapped to her daytime crib or be placed in the car. Today, we just tried it in her crib and she really enjoyed it. I’m excited to try it in the car. We always have such a tough time getting her settled, so maybe it will provide a nice distraction.

The OT came to see Ella today and gave me a few tips to try and work on to strengthen her feeding. Most had to do with position, like placing a finger under her jaw, to stimulate better sucking. Today, she took around 60ccs via the bottle at various times.

We still have episodes each day (where Ella gets so upset and turns a blue/purple color). The one tonight lasted for a total of an hour. Looking back on this one and others, it almost seems like it is not a sole factor that is causing them. It is like a perfect storm of events, pain, tiredness, etc. and she just can’t handle it anymore. Either way, they are still so tough to endure emotionally. I look forward to the day when she can verbalize what is hurting her. Right now, it is an ongoing mystery.

Tomorrow is my last day of work. I’m glad it is so that I can refocus my attention back to Ella and close that chapter of my life. It has been tough to have an allegiance to both at the same time. There are people that I am really going to miss from work, but hopefully I will be able to maintain relationships with those away from the work environment.

When Ella fell asleep in my arms tonight after her episode, I just stared at her face. I could feel her chest moving up and down, a bit labored for breath. It is such a miracle that she is here with us and that we get to enjoy her.

I still don’t have a sense what the Lord has planned for her life. But He must have something amazing in mind. I reflect back on everything that she has been through in her short time, and all odds were against her. And yet, she is here with us. We’re so thankful.

Psalm 52:9
I will praise you forever for what you have done;
in your name I will hope, for your name is good.

Ella was uncomfortable for most of the night and we were hanging out together. At 12:30am, I gave her some Tylenol because she felt warm. As the night progressed, her fever got worse and she became fussier. Instead of trying to fight against the inevitable, we went out to the living room area at 1:30am. We were up most of the night and into the morning.

At 6am, she had a temperature rectally at 100.9, but this was after I had already been administering Tylenol a couple of times, so she was probably warmer than that initially. Also, she had a melt down requiring a boost in oxygen. After that, I think she was so exhausted from the restless night, that she finally fell asleep at 6:30am and slept for an hour. I slept on the couch near her travel crib and that was the only true stretch of sleep last night. I savored every minute.

Grandma Eusey left today and Grandma West joined us. So fun for Ella to have time with both of her grandmas!

When we went to the doctor, we had to stop by the lab and get blood drawn. Hopefully, we will hear the results in the next day or so. That process is always traumatic for Ella, but she did pretty well. She was upset, but it made it better that they were quick and efficient in drawing her blood.

We weighed in Ella, but unfortunately, she lost weight. She was 11 lbs, 4 ounces. If you think about it, we have had feeding issues for awhile now. I think it is because we have not even been able to get all the 550ccs into her little body each day.

The good news is that we are making progress with her feeds. We have gone through another day where we were able to meet the goal of getting Ella to eat 550ccs. The past 2 days have been successful – – this is the first time since the latter part of January, so we feel it is a great accomplishment. We are hoping that we can meet the goal of getting 550ccs in her each day and that it will help her put on weight for next week’s appointment.

Ella had more granulation tissue around her g-tube, so Dr. Kays had to burn it off. Always fun to watch! I’m hoping that this decreases over time.

My favorite part of the appointment was watching Dr. Kays trying to get Ella to look and him and flash a smile. She wouldn’t give him one. Also, he asked me, “How many days has it been since you were in the hospital?” I replied, “Oh, I don’t know…” Immediately, he raised his hands and waved them in the air, “Yeeeaaahhhh! We’re making progress!”.

Back in the NICU, whenever we would see Dr. Kays at bedside, we would remind him of how many days it had been since we started the journey, especially as it continued and continued. So when he asked me how many days it had been since we left the hospital and I didn’t know off hand, he counted that as great progress. He reminded me that albeit slow, we have made progress. “I mean, look, we are not in the hospital”. I told him that I appreciated his perspective, for reminding me that we have made great progress.

After the doctor appointment, we were able to see Jordan Brantley. She looks so amazing. When we were weighing in together, she tipped the scales at 17 lbs. She is not on oxygen and looks happy and alert. You would never know that she ever had a rough beginning in the NICU. And it was so great to see Julie and Mary Lou Brantley. They have been a source of support over these months and although the visit was brief, it was so nice to see familiar faces.

Dr. Kays is right…we have made progress. Just scrolling to the top of this blog and looking at Ella’s photo in the upper left hand side is a clear reminder of the progress that we have made over the months.

We’re so thankful that we have the Bun in our lives. We just love her so much and look forward to future days where she will be feel better more of the time than not.

Psalm 69:30

I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.

The Bun has been drooling so much from teething that it actually formed a mustache. I wish it was from the frothy foam of drinking too much formula, but maybe that will come some day.

Ella slept solid for a handful of hours last night, but was on/off from 3am forward. I gave up at 5am and called it a new day. Boy, this has been tough to finish up work with such little sleep. It is a good thing that moving forward, she will be my only focus while we are enduring the sleepless nights.

I think that Ella is fighting allergies or a cold. She seems more snarfy and congested. Throughout the day, she is coughing and retching from her own secretions. Today that simply led to a fussy Bun. It is hard to blame her when she is not feeling well.

The Dr. Brown bottles did work the best for Ella – – that became evident today. She took 120ccs via bottle throughout the day!!! Since the gas was so much less, I was able to bottle feed until Ella was tired (typically 20ccs at a time), then pause and vent via her g-tube. (In prior days, we had to vent simultaneously because there was so much air in her belly). So, we are making progress.

Also regarding bolus feeds, we have worked our way back up to 70ccs each feed, for 5 feeds per day. It worked yesterday and today. Starting today, I took the entire amount of 70ccs and bottle fed until she was worn out. Then, vented her g-tube and gave her the rest via g-tube.

We are hoping that Ella can stick with this schedule. She maintained 70ccs per feed for so long in the NICU, but then had such a problem since the last week of January. At this point, I am not sure we ever found a clear answer, but at least we are going the right direction.

When we go to see Dr. Kays tomorrow, we are looking forward to seeing the Brantleys. The last time they were in Gainesville on November 6, 2007, we had lunch with them. Jordan, their baby girl, was one of Ella’s roommates that was born 1 week after Ella on August 1, 2007. It will be exciting to see how big Jordan has become and for them to see Ella. It will be the first time that they will have seen Ella outside the hospital.

One highlight today was taking a bath. Although we take them frequently, Ella decided that she was going to have fun today. Plus afterwards, I left her in her robe and she had a great time just hanging out with me and playing with her toys.

Today was the last day that Grandma Eusey could visit this trip. She will be heading back to San Diego tomorrow morning. But tomorrow night, we have Grandma West coming. Once again, good to have the Grandmas visiting the Bun and help out while I am concluding work. We need to pray for safety in travel for both Grandmas, since Florida is supposed to get heavy storms tomorrow.

This picture below is just so sweet. She feel asleep in Grandma’s arms with no concerns…just relaxed. I think I am already learning lessons from my little girl.

Nope, I’m not talking about ice cream. Last night was rough for Ella…and Mom. We got very little sleep.

Unfortunately, the lack of beauty sleep led to a cranky Bun throughout the day. She sounds congested again, so she may have caught another cold.

Ella did take lots of little naps today in between trying to work on her feeding. She took around 90ccs total out of the bottle. She has such a desire to feed via the bottle and is doing really well getting the hang of it. If it weren’t for all the air she swallows and the grief it causes her each time, I think she would be further along. Even though we vent her g-tube at the same time, it does not eliminate the episodes of pain that she has to endure.

When we get a chance to go to the pediatrician next month, we are going to ask about other foods we can introduce for Ella. We have to be careful because of her fluid issues, but it just seems that the oral stimulation from her taste buds is so enjoyable to her. Maybe foods with more texture could also provide more calories and not cause the gas pains.

We were supposed to have an appointment today with the OT to work on feeding issues, but the therapist was ill. But we did discuss the strategies of what we have been doing. For example, I asked about other types of bottles. He told us that the one we are using is one he normally recommends and he doesn’t want us changing it on Ella while she is making forward progress. We are hoping that we can get some more hands on training next week.

I’m excited that it is the weekend. This means that I might be able to get more sleep!

We pray that Ella’s weekend will prove to be restful, that she will gain strength and that her health will improve. We’re so blessed to have our little Bun.

Psalm 119:148
My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
that I may meditate on your promises.

The Bun had a great night of sleep last night. She slept from 8pm until 4:30am (8.5 hours) before she stirred. So although the schedule isn’t great for me (she has feeds starting at 10:30pm and meds due at midnight), I can’t blame the Bun when she is willing to sleep 8+hours at a time.

This morning was a bit rough…

…but the afternoon was better.

Although we still encountered the same general feeding issues today (coughing and retching), the biggest milestone today was that she took 70ccs from the bottle in only 2 sessions. I can’t tell you how impressed we are at her progress. I am sure that she will hit plateaus along the way, but I can’t believe that she is even interested in feeding orally. The last feeding session today truly went off without a hitch – – she didn’t cough or retch once and then just fell asleep. It was just perfect and gives me so much hope that someday she will be able to do it all orally.

For some reason, Ella was more sleepy today than normal. She took a 4 hour nap. This is about the same time last week that this happened. As some of you suggested, maybe they are just growth spurts that require the extra beauty sleep.

Grandma Eusey has been having a good time with Bun too. More than that, we have really appreciated the help with preparing meals, cooking and cleaning. It is nice to have family support!

We did not have a chance to try a walk today because it was very cold. I’m hoping the weather improves so that we can try again soon.

And with each passing day, we love the Bun even more. We keep reminding ourselves that He has a plan and that we need to trust Him that all the details will fall into place, according to His will.

Psalm 31:19
How great is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you,
which you bestow in the sight of men
on those who take refuge in you.

Ella had a great night of sleep, but for some reason, was fussy most of the morning. Then she realized that it was almost time to go see Dr. Kays, so she opted to behave for a bit (she always puts on her best for him).

Our appointment time was good. We went ahead and changed out Ella’s g-tube for a smaller one. Actually, Josh went ahead and changed out the tube, with the nurse practitioner supervising. Yikes – – that is not something for me, so I am glad that Josh doesn’t mind doing it!

The Mic-Key g-tube has a balloon inside that is inflated which keeps it in place. Before, it was inflated with 5ccs, so today we decided to inflate it to only 3ccs.

If you remember, the radiology test recently showed that the balloon part of the g-tube might have been occluding the antrum (lower portion of the stomach closest to the pylorus). Since her feeding issues seem volume related, we are hoping that the smaller tube along with the smaller balloon will give more room in her belly and will therefore have a positive effect for her feeding issues. Only time will tell.

Also, the nurse practitioner had to burn off the granulation tissue. Thankfully, this is not painful for Ella. I think it is more painful to watch!

We are scheduled to see Dr. Kays next week. If the feeding issues do not improve, we are considering an increase in her current medication, Reglan. Reglan increases muscle contractions in upper digestive tract. This speeds up the rate at which the stomach empties into the intestines. Based on her weight, she could take more of it.

The focus is on the feeding issues so much not only because of the inconvenience and discomfort to Ella, but also because she weighed in at the same weight, yet 2 weeks has passed. It is common for CDH babies to have a tough time with weight gain, so I should expect this challenge.

When I thought about it today, it makes sense because Ella is supposed to take 550ccs each day and we have had a tough time meeting that requirement lately with all her feeding issues. Also, she is only on 24 calorie food so the density might need to be increased. But right now, we are trying to identify what is causing discomfort and retching before we look to change the food in any way.

This afternoon when we returned from the doctor, Ella was in a great mood. She was so smiley! It was nice to see. Who knows, maybe the change in g-tube really did make a difference to her. Again, only time will tell.

Tonight there were severe thunderstorms in central Florida and a tornado watch. When we were hanging out, all of a sudden the electricity went out. The drill that Josh went through the first night that Ella was ever home with us (where Josh thought there was an emergency and Ella just needed her diaper changed), paid off. Immediately, Josh jumped up from his chair where he was eating dinner, and ran into the bedroom to grab the portable oxygen tank. He successfully transitioned Ella’s oxygen within a matter of seconds. Thank goodness!

Seeing Ella in such a great mood makes me long for the days when Ella is stronger. When she is feeling good, she is just so happy. We just need to keep holding on to the hope that she will grow and get strong.

One last thing to share: God provided a tremendous blessing while we were exiting the office of Dr. Kays. Another CDH patient was there for her check-up. She is 9 years old and she looked great with her ponytail and big smile. We spoke with the family briefly and it was so great to see this girl grown up. You could barely notice the scars across her neck from ECMO.

Also, it was neat to experience a 9 year old CDH survivor that was looking at Ella with eyes of compassion and sympathy. It was as if there was an instant connection since they had both survived the same birth defect and had matching scars on their necks.

Immediately, Josh got teary-eyed. We looked at each other and knew that it was a specific arrangement by Him to be blessed.

Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Ella had a great night of sleep last night, thus Mom had a great night of sleep. She slept solid until 5am, I changed her diaper and repositioned her and she went back to sleep until 6:30am. That was fantastic for her!

Today was a tough day for me personally. For the past 6 weeks, I was using my remaining maternity leave to be with Ella. This morning, I gave my 2 week notice.

For some, it might seem like a dream come true. However, I have never pictured myself being a stay-at-home Mom.

The last several weeks we have prayed about the right decision. Finances are tough being out in Gainesville to begin with much less having me not provide income.

But the prayers kept confirming that regardless of my own self desires, the right decision was to quit my job and stay home with Ella for a season. We feel that she needs this in order to thrive.

I have been at my job for 6.5 years and it is a great job, thus it was tough for me to quit.

Grandma Eusey was around to help out with Ella, so I could properly give notice. It helped that Ella was full of smiles. It was just fun to be around her. As I was working, I could see them in the background having a good time.

This is why it was so strange when things turned this afternoon. Ella’s endurance started to get low. Everything seemed like it was tough for her, so almost anything made her fussy.

We tried oral feeding again. Several times, she was not interested. But throughout the day, she took 40ccs again. It just seemed like it was a lot more work and more sessions to get the 40ccs. That’s okay, it is still great progress for her.

In the afternoon, we tried another walk. It was okay initially and then she started to cough. Once she was not able to catch her breath, she became frustrated and inconsolable. After having her turn a lovely blue/purple shade, we turned right back around and headed for the apartment. We hope to try again soon.

By the evening, she was overtired and was not consolable. Josh was working with headphones on in the other room and had to pause several times, just to check and make sure everything was okay. She was so upset and was crying so loud, the oxygen sat at double the normal amount for most of the afternoon and evening (1 liter).

Today was a day of highs and lows emotionally. It would warm my heart when she was smiling and having such a good time. Yet, quitting my job and dealing with her numerous meltdowns was tough.

As I end the day, I am reminded that although things look seemingly impossible and sometimes bleak from my perspective, my job is to trust and obey God who ordains everything.

Thank you for the continued prayer support for all three of us.

Psalm 37:5
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him.

Wow, can you believe that the Bun is 7 months old today? It is hard for me.

First, it seems strange because she has only been home with us a total of 17 days. Second, she is just so petite for her age. She is still wearing size “3 month” or “3-6 month” for her daily fashion statement. Finally, this is the Bun we are talking about…the one that has been through so much. Sometimes I just sit in awe. Only time will truly reveal all that God has planned.

Today was so much better for Ella. It started off last night when she slept a solid 6 hours without stirring. She has only done that a few times before when she was feeling better. Then, today she was up most of the day versus earlier this week when she was sleeping 4-5 hours in the middle of the day.

Josh took care of her most of the day while I ran errands with Grandma Eusey. While Ella enjoyed her time with Daddy, we stocked up on food and goodies for the next 10 days since we will be spending most of our time in the apartment.

Today, Ella took another 40ccs via bottle (20ccs one time, 10ccs two other times). That is so amazing!!! Even though she coughs and retches sometimes, it is reassuring to see her come back to the bottle within a few minutes and desire to eat more. We just hope that we can continue each day and slowly have her take more and more.

We are excited to see Dr. Kays on Tuesday. We are curious to see if her blood lab work has continued to improve (we found out that her BUN on 2/12/08 was 19. Ideally, we want to see 20 or higher). Also, we need some maintenance on the g-tube – – some granulation tissue has surfaced again and needs to be burned off.

It was a gorgeous Florida day, so we went for another 15 minute walk around the community. Only towards the very end of the walk, she decided to become fussy. Although in her defense, she got the hiccups and wanted to be held. I think I would want to be held too.

It was so nice to see Ella smile and feel like herself today. It was just the refreshment we needed after a string of rough days in a row.

Thank you for the prayer support. We thank Him for our journey, the good days and the tough days. We know He has a plan and look forward to seeing Him reveal His glory day by day.

Psalm 8
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.

From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.

You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:

all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Today was a better day for the Bun, although it started out rough.

She woke up several times during the night but at 5am, she decided that she would not go back to sleep. I asked Josh if he would be willing to get up with her initially and I would relieve him in a couple of hours. I was so exhausted.

At 9:15am, I finally woke up. Yeah, that was a little bit more than 2 hours. Anyway, I came out of the room to check on Josh and the Bun and noted that Ella’s fussiness had continued. Poor Josh looked so worn out. She has had a fever the past couple of mornings and has been fussy and inconsolable.

About 10:30am, Nurse Michelle decided to stop by and visit. She was magical for Ella. Here she had been fussy since she woke up at 5am, but decided to behave for her visitor. Then out of nowhere, Michelle offered to watch her if we wanted to run any errands. Josh barely let Michelle finish her sentence and said “Yes!”. So, we went for a drive to Toys-R-Us to buy some stuff for Ella. That was the first time that we both left the house and left Ella in the care of someone. It was so nice just to get a break and some fresh air for that hour.

When we went to Toys-R-Us, we bought Ella a Vicks Warm Vaporizer. At this point, she has been so congested that we feel desperate to try something. We are hopeful that it will work.

Another thing we wanted to try is taking her on a walk again, except this time, I wanted Josh’s help. So when the time was right, we took her for a short 10 minute walk. This time, she did fine. I was so excited because I want to go on walks with her. A good reminder for me…try changes slow and steady for Ella.

Just to help with the stroller rides and car rides, we pulled up her car seat into the living room where she has a view of the TV. As much as we can, we are going to set her in it so that she can get used to it more and more.

Once we came back from the walk, I told Josh that I wanted to try feeding her orally again. Even though the OT wanted me to wait for the next appointment and a special bottle, I felt like we should just try. Even just dipping the bottle nipple and letting her get used to it in her mouth.

Although it took a very long time and there was coughing and retching spells a few times, we had 3 separate feeding sessions throughout today. The first time, she took 20ccs. The second and third times, she took 10ccs each. So, a total of 40ccs!!! That is a huge first step to feeding orally, so we are very excited.

When Ella is in a good mood over the next several days, we will continue to try it. The only adverse side effect is that she did get a lot of air in her belly, so we had to vent her quite a bit to alleviate the symptoms.

We did notice that when we did not feed her (like the extended time that Michelle was visiting), she was in a great mood. If we did not have to feed her, she would be feeling marvelous. But feeding her when she is awake, whether via bolus or the food pump, causes some type of discomfort for her and puts her in a bad mood. So we are still not sure what to think about the feeding issue, but hope to gain wisdom in the coming days.

Grandma Eusey made it to Florida this evening. But since she arrived, the Bun has been asleep. She is asleep as I am typing this post. I just can’t help but watch her sleep with her little chest moving up and down and reflect on the miracle of our baby girl. I can’t believe it.

We pray for a restful night for Ella and that she would continue to gain strength. Thank you for the continued prayer support – – it means more than you will ever know.

Last night, Ella did not have a restful night of sleep. Every 15-30 minutes she was crying between 12am and 5:30am. Finally at 5:30am, I gave up and called it a new day.

Ella continues to be lethargic and not much like herself. Her teeth continue to plague her at all hours. It is tough because the teeth do not even appear to be breaking the surface of the gums which means that this stage could last awhile.

Today, she had her first appointment with the occupational therapist. Unfortunately, she was tired and cranky so we did not make much progress. The main focus of the therapy is to get her to make progress on oral feeds.

I did learn some tips/techniques from the OT and discussed the upcoming week. I tried to advocate that Ella needs more than 1 session per week, especially at the beginning. Although I can learn from the OT and implement throughout the week, it is tough to grasp the best practices from the OT if Ella is fussy and not in a great mood. So most of the request for frequency is to make sure that the OT can catch Ella when she is in a good place, so we can optimize the time.

Our homework for this upcoming week is to dip the binky in formula as much as possible to get her used to the taste. When we tried this today, she liked it. The OT talked about bringing a small bottle with a slow flow nipple to the next session so we can slowly introduce oral feeds. When we see Dr. Kays on Tuesday, we will verify with him how much breast milk can be used for the oral feeding (since we received a donation from Par’s mom recently!). Since Ella is so marginal, we feel the need to ask him and devise a plan with his input.

This evening, Josh and I got the sense that we should lead the forward progress when it comes to Ella’s oral feeding. So we started by dipping the regular bottle nipple in the formula and letting her get used to the bottle. She mostly moved it around in her mouth. A few times, she did suck and swallow the formula which was great. She probably took a total of 2ccs over 30 minutes, which is a minor amount, but significant for her. Along with her success, she did retch a couple of times which was tough to experience. We hope to try this each day when she is in a good mood and see if we can make further progress.

Unfortunately, there are no services that come to the home and focus on the physical therapy, but it is something that Ella needs. She definitely has catch-up to do when it comes to her physical skills (this is reasonable considering that she was in the hospital for 6.5 months, mostly laying in bed). We plan to contact the OT therapist from the NICU and ask for her recommendations. Although we will have to get in the car and go for treatment, we know it is a really important component for Ella’s recovery.

Feeling the love today for Josh was getting together with Matt for lunch (friend from NICU 2). Him and his wife Abby have been amazing prayer warriors for us. Also, when we were readmitted to the hospital after the initial NICU experience, they delivered presents for Ella, baked goodies and a pillow for me (they knew that the pillows at the hospital are not great!). All in all, we feel so blessed to have met them in the NICU 2.

Feeling the love today for me was all about Nurse Marla coming over. This afternoon, she came over and played with Ella. It is fun to watch them together because they both love each other so much – – she is definitely Aunt Marla to the Bun.

While Josh was working, Marla watched Ella and gave me the permission to take a nap or get out of the house for a bit. Although sleep deprived, I opted for the freedom and fresh air. I took a 1.5 hour break by grabbing a coffee and getting a manicure & pedicure. It was so nice to escape!

Along with the babysitting, Marla brought over dinner for us – enchiladas and spanish rice as well as muffins for breakfast. We had the dinner tonight and it was very good. There is enough for leftovers tomorrow too! She went through her movie library and loaned us some movies to watch. Finally, she brought Ella lots of presents which was so sweet (everything from bunny ears for Easter, a flower headband, a new onesie, some books, interactive musical piano toy, etc.). Honestly, I was overwhelmed by her generosity. I tried to express my gratitude but I am not sure if she realizes just how much that meant to both me and Josh. She is going to come and see Ella this upcoming week too – – we’re so excited.

For Ella, feeling the love was visiting with Aunt Marla plus getting an email greeting from Par. Click here to listen. It is hilarious!

So although Ella did not have a great day, we were feeling the love. The support of those close-by along with all the posts and prayer coverage by many made such a difference to us.

Thankfully, Grandma Eusey is planning to visit tomorrow evening and will be around for 10 days. It will be great to have family support to further help us during this tough time with Ella.

Once again, thanks for all the support and prayers.

1 John 4:12
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.