Goodnight Moon

Its coming back! After two long months it has finally started to show itself again. I am so excited! Ashley Kate had a wonderful day. She laughed. She clapped. She played. She smiled and her eyes twinkled. You could see the silliness and the orneriness in her eyes. Her personality is returning and it blesses my heart so much.

I just love her so, so much. It has been such a long time since I have seen her feeling good. Good enough to love life again. What a blessing today was. She made me laugh out loud as we played and rocked and cuddled. We read Goodnight Moon over and over again. Each time she listened intently. I'm not sure why she loves this book so much, but it is definitely her all time favorite. She grunts and reaches for it each and every time we sit down to read.

She talked to Blake and Allie on the phone tonight. She smiled ear to ear as she listened intently to what they had to say. She loves to push the buttons on the phone as she talks and she accidentally put Blake on the speaker phone. The words I heard brought a smile to my heart.
"Good night room. Good night cow jumping over the moon. Good night light and the red balloon. Good night clocks and good night socks. Good night Ash, bubba loves you." Oh, I love these children!

Things look good for Ash this week except for her high stool output. We desperately need it to slow down. As long as she stools out to this extent she will have to keep her central line for replacement IV fluids. As long as she has the central line the team is hesitant to allow her to go home. We have a clinic appointment Thursday at 2:20. I am hoping to get permission to go home for a few days. Unfortunately Ashley is stooling more than ever. I think it is a side effect of her new immunosuppresant. I will be running replacement fluids until around 4am this morning. She did not require any for the first 12 hour period today and I was feeling encouraged that perhaps today would be the day her body would adjust. Not so. Tonight she is requiring 150ccs of fluid.

I guess I am hoping that the twinkle in her eye remains. I want them to see how good she is feeling and for them to feel confident in allowing us to leave for a while. Blake and his friends are praying for us to come this weekend. He told me they are praying for it everyday and I can hear the importance of this in his voice. He wants Ash home. He continues to tell me that it doesn't matter to him if she never talks or walks or does all the normal stuff. He just wants me to bring her home so she can grow up. He really, really loves this baby and is really, really missing her. I am praying that we can get home for at least a few days for Blake and Allie's sake. They need this visit to happen.

Thanks so much for praying for Ash today. She continues to get better and better and I know it is because so many are continuing to pray for her. Someday soon I hope to be thanking you for praying us home. Goodnight my friends. Trish