You Are My Hope

I opened up to my next inspirational coloring page this morning and it made me smile. Butterflies have always been a special sign to me since my brother passed away. It seemed when I would have down times in the summer, a butterfly would fly near me and at that moment I knew God and Josh were right beside me. So when I looked at the beautiful butterfly it reminded me that like a butterfly opens its wings to fly and spread beauty, God has his arms open to me with his glorious unending love.

This morning, Easton's sitter Kristina messaged me to let me know that she would taking Easton to the museum with his buddies. Lisa, another great teacher friend of mine, met up with them to bring her daughter Gracie to join them. Easton loved spending time with Gracie at the sitter's, so I knew he would be excited! She sent photos of his time there and said he had a blast! I just want to thank you Kristina for volunteering to watch Easton when needed. It truly means so much to us to not only have been blessed with a loving and caring babysitter, but with such an inspirational person in my life who teaches my son so much, not only educational wise, but also about Jesus. You are a gift to us!

Prior to lunch, I had my heart and contraction monitor on. Within the hour, Asher's heart rate dropped to a low level for a moment, and my heart began to worry. The nurse came in and said that we would keep it on another hour and see if it happens again. Halfway through, it happened again. This time I tried to control my worry and remember that God is my rock.. all will be fine. At that moment my phone beeped with a message from one of my best friends. It wasn't just any message, it was a very special one. Her daughter Lisa woke up and wanted to pray for Asher. So Alison recorded her and she was singing a prayer for Asher and us. It melted my heart and was the cutest thing. I never told Alison, but I know God worked through her and Lisa at that moment, because as his heart dipped low I played the song, and it jumped right back up. Asher loved it and I believe he was dancing to it 😊. When a child prays, it is so powerful and I know it is listened by God that many more times. So thank you Lisa for the beautiful prayer and Alison for sharing it with me at the right moment! God works in miraculous ways! If you click link below picture of Lisa, you can here her prayer sing for Asher 😊.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4QjliTBmTJbZG5LX0NpQTFkTHc/view?usp=

Due to that drop, the doctor wanted my nurse to keep me on monitor another hour to see if it repeated again, but this time I was to lay on one side. She said what happens sometimes is when lying on back, they can compress cord and cause heart rate to drop. When lying on side, it causes that to happen less. So, I laid on my side, and this time there was no drop. So the rest of the day I tried my best to my on my side. It isn't the most comfortable, but it is all worth it for Asher! I will be monitored again tonight, so I have hope he will be okay. I am blessed that I have great nurses and doctors keeping close watch of him, but I am most blessed to know God is watching over Him!

After I ate a delicious lunch... pot roast, mashed potatoes, baby carrots, and grapes ( and I do have to say their food here is really good.. not the hospital food you think of), a great friend of mine who teaches 1st grade at my school, Carrie, came to visit me. I have to note that it was a God Moment that Carrie and I met. It was through the work of our husbands that led me to my job at Saint Wendel and us meeting and building the amazing friendship we have. Carrie was right beside me the moment I had wetted my pants at lunch when this began. Even prior to this event, throughout the whole year she has been so supportive and would occasionally sneak a treat on my desk just to wish me a great day. If you know Carrie, you know she is an amazing woman with a huge heart. I am so blessed that God led me to her and that I was blessed with the gift of teaching with her. Anyways, she came by and spent the afternoon with me. We talked about how GREAT God is and how strong Asher is. We also talked about things that made us laugh, like our husbands not closing drawers, washing dishes like we would, etc. Her visiting me today brightened my afternoon. I missed our daily talks during the school day, so I thank God we received time together today to catch up and talk about God's amazing works! I can't forget to thank you Carrie for the beautiful praying Willowtree angel, delicious Reese's treat, and the Ninja Turtle car for Easton, which Easton loves!! Thank you for being the wonderful woman you are!

After Carrie left, it was finally time for my ultrasound. I get one each Tuesday and Friday and usually they are in the morning. However, today they were very busy and with my close monitoring earlier in the day, it got pushed back to late afternoon. They also were so busy that they had to push the ultrasound machine into my room. Asher is still breech, but he was wiggling around, which was neat to see! His heart rate measured at around 160, and his largest fluid pocket measured around the same as Tuesday at about 1.2 cm. So I was again grateful to hear that God was right there with Asher. Yes, the fluid us still low, but what a blessing it is that it is staying pretty consistent. Before the ultrasound was over, they faced the screen toward me and it melted my heart. I saw Asher's precious eyes looking at me, like he was saying "Hello Mommy!" The moment I saw him looking at me, my mind reflected back to these past 2 weeks thinking what a true miracle Asher is and how blessed I am to have God in my life right beside me and Asher. Tomorrow we will hit 24 weeks! This means Asher's survival rate increases from 30% to 60%! Each day he is in me is a blessing and a miracle as each day he gets even stronger. I can't be more blessed!

Before I forget, thank you Aunt Jeri and Uncle Farrel for the beautiful card! Little notes of inspiration like that mean so much!

So, thank all of you for the continued hope you give me. Thank you for being like God and spreading your arms out in prayer and love for Asher. Let us continue to unite together with God, Josh, and all the Angels and Saints in this fight for Asher! God is so beautiful and brings me forever hope! He brightens my everyday just like a butterfly does when it flutters by. He is with me always, and my hope comes from Him. I put my complete trust in him. I love you all so much, and God, I love You above all things!