Faith and Hope

I am pretty sure we have convinced our Allison that loving her hamster from a far is going to be better for all parties involved(her and the hamster). She is welcome to love her hamster and to visit her hamster, but it will have to live in the pet store. We are not going to be the proud owners of stinky, smelly, rat like pet. No offense to those of you who may own them and love them.

We have decided to allow Allison to have a malteese puppy. She is ecstatic! The only problem is that her puppy does not currently exist. It has yet to be conceived. None the less, she is excited and has placed much "faith" in a dog she met last spring by the name of Hope. Allison fell in love with this puppy last year and announced to us then that if she ever had a dog like Hope that she to would name it Hope. So now our daughter is hoping that the dog Hope will conceive and give birth to her new puppy whom she has already named Hope. In the meantime she is going to busy herself by preparing for her new puppy. Somehow she talked her grandma into taking her shopping for this puppy who is not even here. She came back from their trip with a hot pink hair bow, a hot pink collar with white polka dots, a diamond studded "H" charm to hang off of her new collar, a tag that reads: Hope Adams, with our address on it, a pink leash, a pink bone, and a chewy toy. This morning we talked about all of the clothes and hair bows she could order on line for her new puppy and this child is thrilled(although she made sure I knew how much she still loves that hamster). I realize all of this may sound a little crazy, but in a funny sort of way this story reminds me a little of our wait for our Ashley. The waiting will be difficult, but I know from experience that if she continues to pray, hope, and have faith that if it be inside of the Lord's will for her to have "something to love" that this puppy will be conceived and will be born. In the meantime her daddy will be making weekly trips to the pet shop so that Allison can visit the hamster.

Ash is having a pretty good day. She is not feeling great, but her feedings are going well. I am so happy that she is tolerating them. I was so scared about the possible operation that we were facing. It just didn't sound like a good idea to take such a risk with our little gherkin. God is so faithful! He continues to bless us everyday and we are so grateful for our Ashley's life. Now that she is finally eating I am starting to think that we might actually get to move out of this hospital one day. I guess what I am saying is that the progress she is making is starting to renew my faith and give me hope of making it home to Texas. I am looking forward to that day with a new excitement believing that it may actually happen.

It sounds like the crop a thon was really fun. I wish I could have been there to visit with every one. I am anxiously waiting on the pictures to be sent. Thanks Suzanne for sending them. Thank you to all of the volunteers who made today happen. I really appreciate all the time, the sacrifice, and the work you put into the event for our Ashley. I also want to say Thank you to all who attended and participated. It means so very much to us. Just knowing that you cared enough about our tiny little girl to take part in today's event humbles me. I hope you all have the opportunity to meet her someday, and I pray you will be blessed for attending. I just wanted you to know that you are so appreciated.