Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving! Our's was very nice. As mentioned in the last blog, we had a busy day with lunch being served at Dan's grandma's new house here in Raleigh and dinner being hosted at our house for my family. We certainly have much to be thankful for this year.
On Sunday at church (in my dad's service), we had a chance to stand up and share things for which we are thankful. Only a handful of people stood up, and I was one of them. I wanted to let everyone know just how thankful I was for their constant prayers for Ethan (since Dad mentioned him several times in his sermons over the past couple of months) and to God for his faithfulness in answering the prayer requests to help Ethan do so well through his birth, surgery, and recovery. Of course we could go on and on with things for which to be thankful but having our sweet son still with us is at the tip top of our list this year. We praise God for blessing us with such a special child and such great care at UNC through this whole ordeal. We look forward to seeing what God does next as we prepare for the 2nd surgery! To God be all the glory forever and ever - AMEN!
Prayer Requests
- Ethan's had some lack of interest in eating over the past week - only taking 2 oz. instead of 4 oz. at some of his daytime feedings and he's been spitting up more frequently - 4 times today! Pray that he can still gain weight
- heart cath is one week from today - pray Ethan can stay healthy for the procedure
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Baby Dedication
Today was a big day for us. Three times a year, our church has a baby dedication and today was one of those days! For those of you not familiar with dedications, this is NOT a baptism or a christening - no water involved! This is simply a time to public acknowledge to God in front of our church congregation that we are thankful to have our sweet son and we give him back to God as a demonstration of our faith and dependence on God. In my heart, I (Julie) already gave Ethan back to God back in mid-March, the day after we found out his gender and his heart defect, but it was nice to be able to publicly announce it by being present on stage in the worship service today. God has given us a special blessing by being able to be parents, and especially to a child with a heart problem. There was no doubt in our mind that we could pass up this opportunity to publicly declare that we would raise Ethan in a godly home and commit to trusting him to the Lord's care (as we already have been doing - especially with the first surgery).
We originally wanted to wait until Ethan was a little older for the dedication, but we didn't want to wait too long so we chose to participate now instead of waiting until the next one (February and June are the other dates). We were afraid that if we waited until the next dedication, Ethan may be back in the hospital for his second stage of surgery and June was definitely too long to wait! Plus, in choosing to dedicate today, 2 of our other close friends dedicated their girls as well so that made it extra special because we got a "souvenir" color version of the black & white bulletin insert that shows pictures of all the babies in the dedication - this will be a special addition to Ethan's baby book if I ever get around to doing one...lol :-)
Ethan looked so cute in his little blue and tan plaid collar shirt and ivory corduroy overalls! We will hopefully get a picture upload soon of him all decked out!
Thanks once again for reading this blog and continuing to keep us 3 in your thoughts and prayers. We praise God for how well Ethan's been sleeping this week in his own crib and for the extra sleep that we've been able to get as a result. At least for the past week, I am glad to report that Ethan's slept no less than 5 1/2 hours at a time, with Friday night being the record of 9 1/2! He's been averaging 7 every night. He's still a sleepaholic and goes back to sleep after most feedings, especially early morning feedings, but it's nice to have a good night sleep once again!
Praises - we got our home scale this week, so we'll continue to go to the pediatrician for weekly weigh-ins for a few more weeks just for comparison of their scale vs. ours (I'll weigh him the same day of the week, within the same hour as his pediatrician visit until the cardiology nurse at UNC tells me that she's ok with our weight checks and we can convert to just using it so we don't have to go out so often with Ethan). Also praise for all the yummy meals people have been bringing us so I can continue to rest and focus on taking care of Ethan and adjusting to motherhood.
Prayer Requests - that Ethan continues to sleep through the night; that my mom continues to recover from her sickness of mono; that we will have wisdom and peace about me and Dan's job situations - whether I should return to work in January for the health benefits since Dan's company doesn't offer as affordable benefits as my company (our church) and what to do about private childcare if I do need to return to work; and that I can continue to decrease my stress load since stress has been aggravating my vertigo since Ethan's birth
We originally wanted to wait until Ethan was a little older for the dedication, but we didn't want to wait too long so we chose to participate now instead of waiting until the next one (February and June are the other dates). We were afraid that if we waited until the next dedication, Ethan may be back in the hospital for his second stage of surgery and June was definitely too long to wait! Plus, in choosing to dedicate today, 2 of our other close friends dedicated their girls as well so that made it extra special because we got a "souvenir" color version of the black & white bulletin insert that shows pictures of all the babies in the dedication - this will be a special addition to Ethan's baby book if I ever get around to doing one...lol :-)
Ethan looked so cute in his little blue and tan plaid collar shirt and ivory corduroy overalls! We will hopefully get a picture upload soon of him all decked out!
Thanks once again for reading this blog and continuing to keep us 3 in your thoughts and prayers. We praise God for how well Ethan's been sleeping this week in his own crib and for the extra sleep that we've been able to get as a result. At least for the past week, I am glad to report that Ethan's slept no less than 5 1/2 hours at a time, with Friday night being the record of 9 1/2! He's been averaging 7 every night. He's still a sleepaholic and goes back to sleep after most feedings, especially early morning feedings, but it's nice to have a good night sleep once again!
Praises - we got our home scale this week, so we'll continue to go to the pediatrician for weekly weigh-ins for a few more weeks just for comparison of their scale vs. ours (I'll weigh him the same day of the week, within the same hour as his pediatrician visit until the cardiology nurse at UNC tells me that she's ok with our weight checks and we can convert to just using it so we don't have to go out so often with Ethan). Also praise for all the yummy meals people have been bringing us so I can continue to rest and focus on taking care of Ethan and adjusting to motherhood.
Prayer Requests - that Ethan continues to sleep through the night; that my mom continues to recover from her sickness of mono; that we will have wisdom and peace about me and Dan's job situations - whether I should return to work in January for the health benefits since Dan's company doesn't offer as affordable benefits as my company (our church) and what to do about private childcare if I do need to return to work; and that I can continue to decrease my stress load since stress has been aggravating my vertigo since Ethan's birth
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Sunday sermon reflection
We are so blessed to have our sweet little boy and that God has continued to keep him growing strong and healthy. Pastor Chuck talked this morning about prayers - how sometimes they are answered in our timing and the way we want and other times, God chooses not to answer our prayers or at least not the way we think would be best. He specifically addressed the issue of sickness and death. He said that God can and does heal people from sickness, sometimes the healing is on this side of heaven, and other times it's after we are in heaven. He encouraged everyone that is facing a sickness or a terminal illness to pray and continue praying for complete healing and to even call upon the elders to pray over us as we are battling illnesses.
We did call upon the elders of our church to pray over little Ethan back in March, the week we first learned of his diagnosis and then again the first week of August, our last week at church before Ethan's due date. Obviously, God chose not to completely heal Ethan's heart prior to birth and we still don't know what God's reason is for that. Sometimes God works supernaturally to heal, and sometimes he uses medical teams and medicines to do that work of "healing" or management of the illness. We praise God that Ethan's had such a great medical team to treat his condition and that the treatment has gone as well as can be expected and that there were no additional complications to Ethan's diagnosis.
For those of you reading this that are also battling sickness or know of those who are facing sickness or terminal diseases, please continue to pray for those families and individuals. We'd even like to join you in your prayers. You can post them as a comment on our blog, or send us an email (http://www.ethanmiles.com/ and follow the link to email us). We met several families while living at the Ronald McDonald House that we continue to follow their blogs and pray daily for them and we would feel so honored to be able to add your family to our daily prayer list.
In the 7 months since we firt learned about Ethan's heart defect HLHS (Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome), we've been truly blessed to know several other families who have children with the same heart defect. Not blessed in the sense that we're happy that they have sick kids also, but blessed in the fact that we're not alone and we can talk with other families who know JUST what we're going through. We can lean on each other for support - to laugh, cry, vent and more. Don't get me wrong, we also need and appreciate the support of all our friends and family that have "healthy" kids and who care about us. Some have even been in similar situations with family illness or other birth defects, but there's a special bond when it's the exact same congenital heart defect (CHD). Living with a CHD is not a road I wish upon anyone but it sure is great to have the support of others who have "been there, done that". Two Bible verses that have really ministered to us through our journey to date are these: John 16:33 (this is Jesus speaking) "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." and another verse (whose reference and exact wording escape me at the moment), which basically talks about how the Lord promises to not give us more than we can handle. Every time I start to get overwhelmed, I claim both of these verses and remind myself that we're not alone in this world - God is with us and will help us get through! What a comforting thought!
Well thanks for "listening" to my (Julie) reflection of the day. It was great getting to see so many of our readers at church today and to hear that you're still praying for us. We greatly appreciate the prayers and moral support - keep it up please! It's hard to believe that in just a matter of a few months, we'll be surrendering our sweet son back to the skillful hands of the medical team at UNC for Ethan's 2nd stage of surgery!
We did call upon the elders of our church to pray over little Ethan back in March, the week we first learned of his diagnosis and then again the first week of August, our last week at church before Ethan's due date. Obviously, God chose not to completely heal Ethan's heart prior to birth and we still don't know what God's reason is for that. Sometimes God works supernaturally to heal, and sometimes he uses medical teams and medicines to do that work of "healing" or management of the illness. We praise God that Ethan's had such a great medical team to treat his condition and that the treatment has gone as well as can be expected and that there were no additional complications to Ethan's diagnosis.
For those of you reading this that are also battling sickness or know of those who are facing sickness or terminal diseases, please continue to pray for those families and individuals. We'd even like to join you in your prayers. You can post them as a comment on our blog, or send us an email (http://www.ethanmiles.com/ and follow the link to email us). We met several families while living at the Ronald McDonald House that we continue to follow their blogs and pray daily for them and we would feel so honored to be able to add your family to our daily prayer list.
In the 7 months since we firt learned about Ethan's heart defect HLHS (Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome), we've been truly blessed to know several other families who have children with the same heart defect. Not blessed in the sense that we're happy that they have sick kids also, but blessed in the fact that we're not alone and we can talk with other families who know JUST what we're going through. We can lean on each other for support - to laugh, cry, vent and more. Don't get me wrong, we also need and appreciate the support of all our friends and family that have "healthy" kids and who care about us. Some have even been in similar situations with family illness or other birth defects, but there's a special bond when it's the exact same congenital heart defect (CHD). Living with a CHD is not a road I wish upon anyone but it sure is great to have the support of others who have "been there, done that". Two Bible verses that have really ministered to us through our journey to date are these: John 16:33 (this is Jesus speaking) "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." and another verse (whose reference and exact wording escape me at the moment), which basically talks about how the Lord promises to not give us more than we can handle. Every time I start to get overwhelmed, I claim both of these verses and remind myself that we're not alone in this world - God is with us and will help us get through! What a comforting thought!
Well thanks for "listening" to my (Julie) reflection of the day. It was great getting to see so many of our readers at church today and to hear that you're still praying for us. We greatly appreciate the prayers and moral support - keep it up please! It's hard to believe that in just a matter of a few months, we'll be surrendering our sweet son back to the skillful hands of the medical team at UNC for Ethan's 2nd stage of surgery!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
First Church Service
Well today we braved taking Ethan out in public by going to church today! Doctors orders are to only take him out in public when absolutely necessary (to avoid overexposure to germs) and it was absolutely necessary for us spiritually, mentally, and physically to be back at our own church. It was great to get to hear a biblically sound sermon (unlike the one we heard our last week we were in Chapel Hill) and enjoy some contemporary worship and have some great fellowship time with our friends and even meet some new faces of people who said they've been praying for us. For those of you reading this blog that don't know us, my (Julie) dad is one of the pastors at our church of nearly 2,000 members and he does an excellent job at preaching! He has managed to even slip Ethan into his sermon illustrations a few times so many people have been able to find out about our main website: http://www.ethanmiles.com/ and be able to stay updated through this blog to know how to keep praying for our sweet son.
Please continue to pray that Ethan continues to do well, and wisdom for us about his preventative care. Right now we're trying to sort out what to do about his weekly weight checks that his cardiologist and surgeon are requiring. For these first few weeks that we've been home, we've had a home nurse that has come to weigh him and check his blood pressure and pulse ox, but our insurance year starts over tomorrow (Oct. 1st) and that means we have to start all over with our deductible (we had obviously already met our deductible and maximum out of pocket expenses just with the surgery so the nurse was paid 100% by our insurance!).
The home nurse is great because we don't have to go to the pediatrician each week, and risk being exposed to any of the sick kids. The pediatrician doesn't charge us (or our insurance) anything for just doing a weekly weight check, but the home nurse will charge our insurance for each visit - which will end up costing us more until our deductible is met (the new plan that starts Oct. 1 is a high deductible plan). So you see, we need guidance and wisdom to decide if the extra cost for a home nurse is worth it so Ethan won't be exposed to sick kids at the doctor's office, even though we have been approved to go first thing in the morning, during the first 30 minutes the office is open, before any patients are scheduled.
Please continue to pray that Ethan continues to do well, and wisdom for us about his preventative care. Right now we're trying to sort out what to do about his weekly weight checks that his cardiologist and surgeon are requiring. For these first few weeks that we've been home, we've had a home nurse that has come to weigh him and check his blood pressure and pulse ox, but our insurance year starts over tomorrow (Oct. 1st) and that means we have to start all over with our deductible (we had obviously already met our deductible and maximum out of pocket expenses just with the surgery so the nurse was paid 100% by our insurance!).
The home nurse is great because we don't have to go to the pediatrician each week, and risk being exposed to any of the sick kids. The pediatrician doesn't charge us (or our insurance) anything for just doing a weekly weight check, but the home nurse will charge our insurance for each visit - which will end up costing us more until our deductible is met (the new plan that starts Oct. 1 is a high deductible plan). So you see, we need guidance and wisdom to decide if the extra cost for a home nurse is worth it so Ethan won't be exposed to sick kids at the doctor's office, even though we have been approved to go first thing in the morning, during the first 30 minutes the office is open, before any patients are scheduled.
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