Monday, September 7, 2009

reading and rocking

Here's a photo of Jonah the other night. He looked up at us when I got the camera, but before that, he had been sitting in the Bumbo actually looking at and touching the book. It was adorable. Jonah loves to be read to already. Matt and I put him to bed together and while one rocks him and gives him a bottle, the other reads. We've already read the whole Jesus Storybook Bible (which is AMAZING, by the way... go buy it. Seriously, go get it right now. You will not regret it), and we are now reading the Narnia series. We're almost done with The Magician's Nephew, and Matt and I are enjoying it even more than Jonah is.


Jonah was pretty fussy this morning, so we were all kind of passing him around, but he was pretty content for about ten minutes rocking out on the back deck with Grandaddy.


And I liked this one, because you can see how long (tall?) Jonah is getting. The nutritionist is surprised every time she comes at how long he's gotten. I was 22 inches when I was born, and Matt is tall now, so he may have some height in his future. I don't realize how big he's getting until I see someone else holding him. I'm so thankful, but it makes me sad at the same time. Six months already... I can't believe it.



And these pictures reminded me of this one
taken in the hospital when Jonah was only about 2 weeks old.

Crazy to go back and read that post now and to see how far we've come. Jonah was in terrible shape, in excruciating pain, Matt was sick, and I was falling apart. God has brought us so far. Jonah is doing so well. We've all three stayed healthy and germ-free, and God gives us strength to do all we have to do every day. I didn't know if we would make it.
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Thanks for the reminders about free Chick-fil-A with your team shirt. I'm not sure if we'll make it or not, but y'all go have a chicken sandwich for me. And don't forget your Chick-fil-A sauce!
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My heart is hurting today for Sam (nine days post transplant) as she is deep in the woods. She is struggling with severe swelling which is causing huge blood blisters all over her body. Her mom says she's never seen it so bad. She jumps in pain (even from a deep sleep) at the slightest touch... even just a tissue falling on her arm. Will you please pray for her?
Here is her mom's prayer request for today (but I would encourage you to go read the last couple updates yourselves... they need and are completely relying on prayer right now):
"Please continue to pray for her white cells and/or ANC (Absolute Neutrophil Counts) to start coming in. That should be any day. As soon as those counts start coming in, all this bad stuff will start fading."
They are holding on to God with every breath and are confident that He will see them through. Sam's mom says that they keep whispering to her to keep fighting, and she nods her head "yes!". What a brave, sweet girl.
Hold on, Sam! We're all praying for you. Be strong.

10 comments:

Heather said...

He is getting so big! His face is looking so clear...I know that brings you great joy! What a big boy sitting in his bumbo and reading a book : )

Anonymous said...

Patrice, you weren't kidding about Jonah getting so tall/long! What a big boy he is becoming! Not to mention, more and more handsome every day. I finally broke down and stopped calling him beautiful since he is getting so big and all. Sigh...

I also want to say I think it's a wonderful gift you are giving him by reading to Jonah while he is still so little. Love of reading is a gift that cannot be taken away and will only enrich his life in way's we don't even imagine. I couldn't wait to read The Chronicle's of Narnia to my boys. Of course the only way I could get my oldest to be interested with a book without pictures now is by him seeing the movie and all of the sword fights. :)

Anonymous said...

And one more thing. Thank you for bringing other families effected with EB to the spotlight on your blog. Although my family has never been impacted by EB, I feel there is never such a thing as too much prayer and my heart goes out to each of these children and their family. My prayers will continue to be with them just as they are with Jonah and his parents.

melanie said...

Yep, Jonah's round face and head comes straight from his Grandaddy Gerry. You can call me as a witness. Love to all!
Au-Me

Mrs. O said...

He is getting big. Thank God for 6 months!! His hands look pretty good; how are they holding up without being wrapped?

Megan said...

Jonah's little face looks great in that photo with his Grandpa. He is so long! I'm so glad to see how far he's come in six months. Prayers for Jonah and the other little EB families!

Anonymous said...

One little baby step led to more little baby steps which led you all the way to six months! Wow! Has it been that long! HE LOOKS SO GOOD! What great pictures. Patrice, I say again, thank you for sharing. So glad that things are on an upswing today. Good to "see" you smile! Hugs for Jonah, too! Jennifer in Southeast, NC

Anonymous said...

I was just standing outside under the stars and was moved to pray for baby Jonah. My own son is 4 months old, and I just feel a special connection with you all. I agree, his face just looks particularly beautiful right now! The expressions in his pictures remind me so much of my son! He is also blonde with blue eyes, and I swear that they have the same look in their eyes :) I pray that God will heal Jonah completely - that his skin becomes strong and that he does not need the transplant. But if he does, he will have hundreds of pray warriors praying for his complete healing. Thank you for posting about Sam. I have been checking in every day on her since you posted. I prayed for a LONG time tonight, just really begging God for her pain to be diminished. Even as I type, my fussy baby stopped crying in my lap and is staring at the computer screen. I know my family is just praying and waiting for Sam to turn a corner and be on the road to total healing.
I just want you guys to know that although you feel alone sometimes, there are so many people across the globe who check in on you daily, and who pray every single day for you, Matt, and your precious baby Jonah.
Love,
Ashley in Phoenix

Laura A said...

Wow! He is getting LONG! It's amazing how quickly you forget how tiny they were - no matter how much you tell yourself you'll never forget.

I'm reading the Chronicles to our kids too (well, the oldest 3 are the ones who really listen) - we're up to The Last Battle. It's my personal favorite, but am a little anxious to see how they respond to the end of the book (I won't spoil it for you just in case you haven't read it before!) It will make for some interesting conversation, I'm sure!

Am glad you all had a good day - am continuing to pray for all three of you!

Love from TX!
Laura

PS - we did our CFA run today - it was a total zoo, but definitely worth it. Their sandwiches taste even better when they're free! :)

Wanda Wilkinson said...

Patrice,

May I tell you how much I love Jonah..everyday I come to your website to just to get my Jonah fix & to see how you are doing.

Seems like all of you had a great weekend..

Reading to babies is so very important, we started reading to ours when the only way they could sit up & see the book was for us to hold them propped up against our bodies. both of them today (25 & 23 still love to read).

Jonah has grown so much & gets more handsome everyday...

Thanks for sharing about the other EB kids, I include them in my prayers also..

Prayers & love