Reflecting on 2009--February

February was a HUGE month! We were asked to consider adopting one of two girls that needed a family, and we were awaiting an answer. We were surprised when we received a phone call to adopt a little premature boy instead. We needed to act quickly. I asked Makana if she wanted to be a big sister to a baby brother, and she needed clarification that she'd have a brother and NOT a sister. When I mentioned that her best friend Gracie has a baby brother, she was nonchalant about the whole idea and said, "Sure, I can have a brother!"

Stephen was 3 pounds, 15 ounces when we met him on 18 February (a few hours after receiving the initial phone call to consider adopting him). He started on his bottle that day and was working toward eating exclusively from a bottle, gaining weight, and breathing well. Although it sounds simplistic, for a preemie who would have had someone else doing that work for him if he were still in utero, it was a challenge. Thankfully, God's timing is always perfect. My mom was able to keep Makana occupied while I went to the hospital on an average of twice a day to feed Stephen and learn how to care for him when he'd finally join us at home. At that point, the doctors and nurses could not give a definite time frame that Stephen would remain in the NICU, but we looked at that time as a blessing. Makana especially needed that time to get used to being a big sister and look forward to being able to finally seeing her brother in person (and not through the glass of a nurse's office).




At 7 am on 19 February (the morning after we met Stephen), Dave opened an e-mail to discover we would be moving to Alabama in May. Wow! When things change in our family, they come in multiples. (If you remember our story with Makana, she was born on the same day that Dave received orders to come back onto active duty.)

It would have been overwhelming to think about all the changes at once (especially since we hadn't expected to move for another year), but we rested in the knowledge that God is sovereign and completely knows what he is doing--ALWAYS! :)