Daily Hope: Christmas Eve

Hope: Day 17

Hope: Day 17

Hope: Day 17

Today Aunt Em arrived to spend Christmas with Hope!! Christmas Eve turned out to be one of Hope's best days yet!!! She was sooo active and happy today. She has continued to be weened off the dopamine, going from 17.5 down to 5. And her oxygen levels have been great! She continues to be repositioned throughout the day and her favorite position seems to be on her tummy. Hope loves snuggling up on her tummy. It's also a little easier for her to breath and keep her oxygen levels up on her tummy, which is why everyone was so excited when her oxygen levels were going off the charts, while she was on her back!!

Hope did so good today. She opened her eyes and was looking around a little bit. Aunt Em told her some stories, but it's Dad's job to tell her the Christmas story, so tomorrow, Hope will find out about another little baby who came into the world to save us all. Similar to that birth, Hope has done her part to make our world a better place. Seeing Hope and being with her is amazing. She is so incredible. You can see her working so hard and doing such a good job.

Seeing Hope really puts things into perspective. I've always known the Christmas Story and that Christmas isn't about Santa (sorry for those of you who I just disappointed) but it is about Jesus coming into the world to save us. This Christmas I haven't been feeling very Christmassy. It is my first Christmas away from Grandma and Aunt Dawn, and I haven't been too excited about that, and I didn't even put up my own Christmas tree or set up any decorations (which is the opposite of everything I look forward to). Mom & Dad have been with Hope for the past two weeks, so they weren't exactly wrapping my presents. It may sound corny, and cheesy, but even though I know when I wake up tomorrow morning (in the hotel room that my parents have overtaken as their home) there won't be any presents and there definitely isn't a tree, but it isn't about that. It's about Hope. The hope that Hope has brought to us all. Santa delivered our gift a few weeks early and there is nothing in the world that could ever convince me to change that.

Again, I cannot stress enough just how touched and amazed we are with the outpouring of prayer, thoughts, kind words, etc that have come our way. Tonight, a very good friend of mine sent me a message, part of which I will leave you with on tonight, Christmas Eve:

The prophet Isaiah foretold that "a little child shall lead them." Our children, be it a son, daughter, niece, or nephew, will lead us in the way of love because they are being led by the One who came as a child to show us the way, the truth, and the life. No wonder this baby is called Hope! She IS hope-- she is made in the image of God and has been sent to unite family members, to prompt prayer, and to center all of us on what is truly important in life.