"There's Something special about her...."

We were taking a walk when our sweet neighbor came out with a little dress she had picked up for Lylah.  She was so excited when she saw it and couldn't resist.  Lylah apparently loved it too as she grabbed it and hugged it sending out a huge smile for her "thank you".  I don't know what spurs on certain conversations, but she ended up talking about her first daughter whom she lost at birth.  I had known a little about it, but didn't know to the extent of what she had to endure.  Oh how agonizing to have carried this precious life all the way to the end and then she died 2 days before her due date.  The umbilical cord had wrapped and hung her.  Through tears and smiles she continued on to share why that day was also so very important to her.  You see, the day before (Saturday) she was having a garage sale and while working she felt a very severe surge of the baby straightening herself inside.  After that moment, she noticed she didn't feel movement.   Sunday came and church.  She noticed throughout the day there was no movement.  Her mom had offered to take her to the hospital.  She declined because she felt deeply that she wanted to be baptized.  So she went to the evening service and was baptized.  Immediately following the service, she went to the hospital where she received the news that indeed her baby had passed away.  More tears followed by a huge smile...she knew that God had indeed been with her and that her baby was taken straight to heaven.  She was very encouraged to know that her baby never had to see one day of this ugly world and never had to endure one day of heartache.  So there on the street we cried and shared in the beauty of God's peace he gives us in our time of trial. 
Lylah had sat very quietly in her stroller this entire time and we just happened to look over to her.  Can you imagine what we saw?  Lylah too had a tear slowly trickling down her cheek.    Oh my...a wave of emotion swept over us all as somehow our precious Lylah seemed to know the hearts and feelings of what was going on.  She wasn't crying though...she had a beautiful, peaceful smile that seemed to speak indeed God is good!  Our sweet neighbor bent down and embraced little Lylah letting out a stream of tears, while Lylah patiently let her and never pulled away.  After hugging Lylah intently, she then hugged me and thanked God for Lylah and how precious she is.  She affirmed over and over her love for Lylah and how God created her beautifully and there is indeed something special about her.....

Oh precious sisters....are we feeling the hearts of those around us?  Do we mourn with those who mourn and celebrate in moments of victory?  I thank the Lord for the lessons I am learning from the heart of Lylah!

I waited 22 months for this!!!!

For those of you on this same journey, you understand the hidden emotions of delay. Sure, we can be strong at times and even speak boldly that our precious ones will reach these landmarks in their own time. But if we were to be honest, there are things that we long for and hope for to ensure to us that our child is indeed progressing. And so I waited...and waited...and waited...I watched her progress slowly in different areas, but I still never heard the spoken word. Oh yes, she definately has a vibrant sign vocabulary now at 20 words and I know what she wants and I know she knows who we are. So after 22 months of waiting the only word she could audibly say was "ya" for yes. Occasionally she blurts out "at" for cat. But this time was different.

During her therapy session she was walking about the house showing her therapist how she has been able to walk the length of the house. Ms. Faith then said, "Where's Lylah? Does Lylah want to come to mamma?" As clear as lightning in a storm, Lylah respond with a resounding "mamma, mamma, mamma, mamma"...all the way to my arms! Oh how much can a heart melt? Oh how tight can arms hug? It was truly the most deepest of emotion that overwhelmed my spirit. Time froze and I pondered these things in my heart.

That was last week. I haven't heard it since. But sometimes God brings so much hope to a soul that you can't help but embrace each day with new faith and new hope in God's compassionate mercies that are new every morning.

When was the last time that your heavenly Father heard "ABBA, ABBA, ABBA.....?" Oh, that I remember to call him and run to his open arms!

So the blog was here all along...

Wow! So much time has passed by since I've last blogged. In fact, I thought I had deleted my blog. You see, we have been so blessed by Lylah's excellent health and progress that I made the assumption that I shouldn't blog her journey because there were no "challenges" and "difficulties" that made her story more inspiring. God showed me differently....Every story God writes is inspiring. Everyday is an opportunity for God to write the most amazing chapter of mercy and favor...we must never forget these days for there will be plenty days of trials and we will need to draw strength from remembering where God has brought us from and where he is taking us.

So where is Lylah now? She is 22 months old. She smiles more than any child I've ever seen. And oh...I love her smile. Her smile is so huge that her eyes squinch up to little lines. Her personality is very passionate:) (I don't know where she gets that!) She lives with much gusto and determination. Her favorite thing to do is pull books from the basket and babble over the pictures. Well, it's not really a babble, it's more like "eeee" or "aaaa". So yes, we're still waiting for words. It seems strange to go this long without hearing "mamma" or dadda"... but she says it in her own way. She greets us with bigger hugs and bigger smiles of confirmation than any other baby yet. She's also doing quite nicely on her sign language having over 10 words under her belt and stumbling over another five. Speaking of stumbling, she's not that as much now as she is trying to walk. She now walks across the room and squeals with delight when she's greeted at the end of her long trek by huge applause and hugs! She started steps at about 18 months and in four months time she is transitioning her modes of movement from crawling to walking. You should see her crawl...it's so funny and yet she can outcrawl any critter any day! Sh'es on one knee, and her lift leg doesn't touch the ground at all..it's her foot that moves her. So she goes knee, foot, knee, foot...it's a real hoot!

Since I have fallen so far behind in keeping you updated on her progress, I'll be backtracking the next few entries to cover areas that other families may be experiencing as their special child reaches these stages. I'll let you know how Lylah worked through them and how we were feeling during these times. Be sure to tell your friends and family to stop by for some inspiration!

2 months old

I can't believe how fast time has flown! My bundle is getting so plump and beautiful. In her second month of life, she has learned to breastfeed exclusively and does so like she's never had a problem before! She also sleeps thru most of the night going anywhere from 5-7 hour stretches. We've been blessed with her smiles and just 2 days ago we heard her begin to coo!!!!! So every now and then I get a melt my heart "oooo" from her and her round face and round lips just melt my insides!!! Through her therapy we are still working on her neck muscles and we can sometimes feel her using her muscles to hold her head. I will try to get her 2 month picture available so you can see just how cute she is getting!

SMILES FROM HEAVEN!!!!!

I am filled with joy unspeakable this morning. Tuesday August 18th, 2009, Lylah burst out with smiles sent from heaven! It wasn't just one, not two, but smile after smile after smile brought in the music of glee to fill our home with the reminder of the things that matter! I had just read somewhere that we should take hold to treasure the small things for we know not what small things shall be the big things in life. Another way of saying it is stop to smell the rose along the way and you know not what field of flowers will await to delight your senses. What makes this first smile so monumental for us?...Lylah is 11 weeks old tommorrow. And we are just now experiencing this wonderful gift. We were told that the older she gets, the more we'll see her delays but we will rejoice more when she reaches them. I just couldn't imagine how much a smile could matter. I thank my God in Heaven for his abundant creativity. I thank him for my precious gift Lylah in whom I've learned so much of myself and am just getting to taste and see of the Lord's incredible goodness. I'm not deserving of His gift to me and yet I feel so honored to be the one to get to embrace this precious child and I'm filled with pride that I got to receive her smiles from heaven!!!!!!!

One Month...

Our precious one is now one month old! So much has happened this last month, but I especially want to share the victories! She had her heart echo done and they only found a pinhole size hole in her heart. We haven't met with the doctor yet concerning this, but we believe that means just a watchful eye and no surgery nor medications. The other victory comes with her ability to begin nursing!!! She has the strength now to latch on for an average of two minutes. We are so proud of her progress and hope to soon be nursing full-time. She has gained weight to about a 7.9 pounds and has grown 1 1/2 inches. I'll post a more recent picture when I can.

gift packages

I love a beautifully wrapped package. One can browse the aisles selecting various colors, stickers, twirls and stuffings to make the perfect presentation. I am in awe at the gift packages God brings into our lives. His creative presentations keep us on our toes, and we can never know what to expect. Our huge suprise of Lylah has brought with her many small gift packages too! This past weekend we were blessed immensly by the company of another like-minded family whose daughter of 3 years has Downs Syndrome. Of course, there were eight other children who delighted us as well. It was one of those experiences that was so refreshing, I just keep replaying the conversations and admonitions given to us. This family truly has walked in the presence of God and one can feel His presence within their home. Not only did we talk for hours, there were games, great outdoor fun and incredible food. The evening came to such a peaceful closure as children shared songs on instruments and scriptures they had memorized. Most amazing was watching their daughters quote the entire book of James! The mother reminded me of another very dear friend of mine in Florida...very gentle but honest in her leading. We went away inspired once again to become very consistent with our children, promtly training and always loving. The daughters sent us away with wonderful handiworks they had made for the baby....blankets, booties, burp rags and doilies. Oh to be such a refreshment to others is my dream for my family!!!! In what ways have you refreshed someone today?