Another Addition

This morning our Father in heaven blessed our family with another addition. My brother and his wife welcomed their third child into their arms. Her name is Katelyn Grace and she is the sweetest thing ever. How privileged I was to have the opportunity to pray for my amazing sister in law as she did her part to bring their first baby girl into the world. I laid in bed this morning next to my sweet Ashley Kate and prayed for this tiny life that was about to meet her amazing mommy and daddy and become surrounded by this group of people we are allowed to call our family. I know she will be loved beyond measure with the most unconditional of loves. Congratulations Chuck and Rae we are so happy for you!

As I prayed for my brother and his family this morning I became overwhelmed by the goodness of the Lord. Our family has been given so much. Between my siblings and I (there are 4 of us), we have a total of 13 precious, beautiful, amazing children. In addition to those 13 we have another nephew who is an absolute miracle himself that brings my parents total number of grand babies to 14. God has been so good to us! Can't you just hear the noise and picture the wonderful chaos that surrounds our Christmas'? All of the messes, mistakes, memories, and sounds of "mommy, mom, and momma" are precious to my heart.

Each of our children are created unique and different from each other, but the one thing that makes them so alike is that they, just as we, have been created in His image. I love that! Just knowing that the Father in heaven took the time to hand craft our children and to design them just exactly as He would have them is so amazing to me. They are not perfect, but they are perfectly designed to fulfill the purpose He has in store for each of their lives. What a difference they are going to make in this world!

My Ashley Kate's journey has been such a reminder to my family of the Father's plan for each of our children's lives. She was born so differently from the rest and came to us from years of yearning, searching, and praying. Her struggle and her strength has brought my siblings and I to our knees daily since her birth. It is an amazing feeling to know that my best friends in the world(my brother and my two sisters) and their spouses pray diligently and sincerely for Dave and I as we travel the path of Ashley's story along with her. I know that there has not been one day that they have not prayed for my baby. They have only seen her briefly in almost 2 years, but they love her deeply and they are seeking God's will in her life. I could never thank them enough for the diligence they show in their prayer lives for our family.

Ash had a rough start to her day, but it has ended beautifully. She is now sitting on our bed playing with that silly Easter basket and her plastic eggs that she refuses to allow me to put away. I am quite sure that it will accompany her on Christmas morning to the tree. She loves to bang those eggs together and will gladly pass on all other toys to have that silly basket. She is wearing her Texas Rangers onesie tonight in support of her boys as they face the Detroit Tigers tomorrow. Do you have any idea who plays for the Detroit Tigers? If you don't then you need to log on after midnight tomorrow so I can share with you the biggest, most thrilling, surprise of my son's life. I can't "let the cat out of the bag" just yet because he has NO idea what tomorrow holds for him. I promise you Dave and I will not be sleeping tonight! I so badly want to tell him, but I don't dare ruin the surprise. I can't wait to see the look on his face tomorrow!

Ash gets to spend the day on grandma's lap tomorrow enjoying her rocking chair. I told grandma she has been very clingy today and wants to be held and rocked all day. With a smile on her face she said, "Oh, I don't mind!" and I believe that she truly doesn't. I am praying they have an enjoyable visit while we make the drive over to Dallas to let one of Blake's biggest dreams come true. I wish she could go with us, but she still is not able to be around large groups of people. Ashley's visits from people outside her immediate family are restricted to her doctors, nurses, and therapists only. I think this is one reason she enjoys being outside so much. The whole world opens up to her once we walk out the door. She can safely breathe the outside air and we don't have to be too concerned about germs from others. I do believe that the day is coming very soon where she will be allowed to enter into places where others are too. Just another milestone we have marked and are working to get too.

Thanks so much for your patience in my postings. We do not have our computer hooked back up at the house just yet so I am struggling to slip away in the evenings to the office so that I can visit with you all about our little one. I really hope to get back to a more normal schedule once the house is all put back in order. I look forward to sharing with you each day what God is doing in our Ashley's life. Again I want to say how much I appreciate those of you who continue to come back over and over again. I know that if you are checking on her then you must still be praying for her and I am so grateful to have those prayers. What a part you are playing in her story! Good night and my you feel the blessings He has given fall all around you tonight. I will post when we make it in late tomorrow night. Take care. Trish