Mary Poppins

My sweet Ashley has NO intention of sleeping tonight. This child is absolutely exhausted! As I type she is happily sitting behind me with her "carpet" bag. She reminds me of Mary Poppins. Have you ever seen the movie? The part where Mary opens up her bag and begins to pull out everything under the sun? I fully expect to see Ashley pull out an umbrella at any minute to keep her nice and dry from the SPIT storm she is creating above her head. Honestly, she just loves to spit. Ashley's red diaper bag is full to the brim with every type of toy you could imagine. She doesn't want me to hand her a toy. She wants me to sit the entire bag next to her so that she can reach down inside and pull out prize after prize. So far I have seen her pull out a telephone, a camel, a DVD, a box of Tic Tacs, a baby, a syringe(unused and in the package of course), a book about Jesus, a bunny, a hairbrush, and a skirt. Who packs this bag anyway? This child is so funny. As she finds more and more treasures she growls and spits. She has begun to draw a crowd this evening. I wish she would behave more like a princess, but I am afraid it is going to take more than a crown to teach her what her role is supposed to be. Please, please pray that I will be able to mold this little one's heart into one of a young lady and not a nasty, spitting pirate. My friend Regina is threatening to mail her a patch! I am sure this will not match her crown.

The point of this post is to share with all of you how very good my Ashley Kate is feeling tonight. She is more than ornery and is causing more trouble than you can imagine. She has managed to pull the baby in the mirror off of her crib and onto her head. She got a real close up of that beautiful baby. She has kicked off her bunny slippers and they are now residing on the floor. She is chewing on a Blues Clues DVD and leaving teeth marks on it. She has slammed the lid to her DVD player closed on her fingers tips and is now giving our respiratory therapist a hard time as she attempts to give her some breathing treatments. Poor lady, she has no idea who she is up against. I hope to be able to wrestle this little one at some point in to my arms and cuddle her in our chair. Honestly, I don't know if I have enough energy to win.

If you saw my Ashley you would think to yourself, "Why are they here. This child doesn't look ill." Unfortunately it has been 17 weeks tonight since my Ashley has eaten. She is still on a full diet of TPN and lipids. She has much more to accomplish before being allowed to leave this place and sometimes it seems impossible. I wish I could tell you that I knew what her future held, but all I can tell you is that I know the One who knows what my Ashley's future will be. I trust Him with her and that is all I can do. I am hoping to get her to settle down for awhile and then rock her until she falls asleep. I wonder if she has any NyQuil in her "carpet bag"? Just kidding, Dave! Thanks so much for coming to Ashley's story tonight. We truly appreciate your prayers for our little Mary Poppins. Good night.