Dedication

Deut 6:4-9 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Today was an excellent day at worship. We formally dedicated Haddie to being a part of the church and to raise her to know the Lord. The church dedicated themselves to help us...and several other families at the church did the same. It's amazing to have a great church family to encourage and challenge us. 

Haddie has been doing great lately. She continues to gain weight and get chubbier. She's taking 160mls  every 4-5 hours. We met with Help Me Grow this week and they seemed to be happy with her development. She can lift her head better and tracks a lot better with her eyes. 

One thing they said last time we met seems to make sense to me. Obviously Haddie has some challenges due to her brain. Yet as I've said before, no one can really predict what she will be able to do and what she won't. She is currently 8 months old. However she was born 3 months early so they say her "adjusted age" is 5 months old. That's where most people track her development. But the last time we met one of the therapist said there is research out there suggesting that they should also not count months that the child was in the NICU or in the hospital. She said that during those months the baby was trying to just survive, not develop. So with that in mind, and if that research is true, Haddie's adjusted age would be 2 months old....since we have only really been home since November. 

We are blessed just to have Haddie here and we do not take that for granted. God can do what he wants with her. But we do try to track how she is developing and we try to challenge her. So if that research is right and Haddie is closer to a 2 month old than a 5 month old...I'd say that's about right and she's on par. 

She truly is beautiful and we love seeing her learn and grow. We meet with a dietitian on Friday to make sure we are feeding her the right amount and the right way. Then we go back to Akron on the 7th for another EEG to see where we are with he seizures. She hasn't had a seizure or any signs of the "west syndrome" that we mentioned before...so we pray that the results are better. 

Hope you all are having a great week. Thanks for your continued prayers.