Blessings...

Today would have been baby "Alli" Joy's one-month birthday.


My heart hurts so bad and each day is difficult as we grieve the loss of our baby girl and constantly think of how much different we thought life would be right now... but I have discovered that remembering the many things that we have to be thankful for from the events of February 2nd and 3rd help so much..

So, as I look back at one month ago, here are a few blessings that I wanted to share--reminders of the Lord's never-ending faithfulness to us:

--Our nurses were amazing, especially the nurse that was with us during the delivery. Her name was Pam. We found out that she was a believer.. what a blessing. She cried with us and seemed like a friend even more than a nurse. She was the one that we gave Alethia to when we had to say good-bye.

--My doctor was also a huge blessing. Since I had been going to a large practice of several different doctors, I wasn't sure which one would be on call when I went in. The Lord knew who was the best doctor to be there for our situation, to sympathize with us and share in our grief while also being professional and doing his job so well.

--The whole labor and delivery went so incredibly well. I honestly thought that it would be much more painful (praise God for epidurals!). I only had to push for about 45 minutes and I have recovered pretty quickly and am doing well physically.

-- A couple from our church who went through the same situation about 14 years ago came to visit us while I was in labor and stayed for many hours until after baby Alli was born. They were such a blessing to have with us.

--The nurses let us stay in the labor and delivery room for several hours, instead of having us move into a regular room 2 hours after the delivery, like in most cases.

--After Alethia Joy was born, we were able to dress her, hold her, sing to her, memorize the feeling of her little body in our arms, pray with her, and cuddle her for as long as we wanted. Finally after 6 hours, we knew we finally had to say good-bye. We will never forget those precious hours with our baby girl.

--A professional photographer came and took pictures for us in the middle of the night, at about 3:00 a.m. He does this completely free of charge as a ministry (www.nowIlaymedowntosleep.org) and is also a Christian. We found out later that these photographers don't even usually come to the hospital where we were.. another thing to be thankful for. He did an amazing job and we will cherish those pictures for the rest of our lives.

--From the time when people started to hear about our situation until this very day, we have been surrounded by such amazing love and care. So many of these people helped us with the memorial service and we couldn't have done any of it without them.

--The biggest blessing that comes to my mind right now is just the fact that the memorial service was not just a sad, grieving time, but it was also a celebration of the hope that we have of seeing our baby Alli Joy in Heaven one day. She is safe in the arms of Jesus.

I just don't know how anyone can make it through something like this without the Lord.