I haven’t blogged in a few days, it’s been busy here, so now I’m grabbing a few minutes to catch up.
So yesterday – Sunday – we dedicated Ava at church and it was so wonderful to be there with her and share a bit of our story. And we felt really blessed to see all our family and friends who made a special trip to come and support us and we just want to say thank-you again to everyone who came… it meant so much. And to our church family who hasn’t stopped praying, we are so glad you finally got to see our little Birdy and we so appreciate all your prayers and support as well.
And then Saturday, Ava was 5 months old, amazing! And as of today she weights 12 lbs 8 ounces! She’s growing slowly but surely. And thanks to the fact that I’ve cut all dairy from my diet because of Ava’s cow’s milk protein intolerance, she hardly has any reflux these days. And even though we would have liked to see Ava get her Glenn surgery this month, I know it’s all in God’s timing and maybe the longer it takes to get her cath the better the pressures in her lungs will be.
Friday unfortunately, I had the wind taken out of my sails – sort of speak – when I found out that two of the children that had been on 4D – the Cardiac floor at Sick Kids – the same time as us had passed away. Their families had also been at the Ronald MacDonald house with us and it’s really tough any time a cardiac child dies. I think what struck me the hardest is that I watched one of the moms just giving her all trying to help her 2 year old daughter get well, only to have it not be enough in the end. And that’s a lesson I need to learn, that with Ava – or any of my children for that matter – no matter how hard I work, my best efforts aren’t going to keep anyone here that God has called home. He already has a plan for each of my kid’s lives just like Psalm 139 says in verse 15 & 16
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
So I’m not being morbid, I just have to trust God and take each day with Ava and each of my children as a gift… even on the days when they don’t feel like gifts. 
And then Thursday we saw Ava’s paediatrician who is just a lovely person and she was really happy with Ava and her progress, hurrah! Now she did warn me not to take Ava to malls or anywhere else teaming with infection (hospitals? haha) but when I told her I was taking Ava to church on Sunday she said it would be OK. And we kept Ava out-of-the-way on Sunday and people were careful not to touch her and hopefully that was enough to keep her from catching anything.
So I feel all caught up now… with my blog at least. Even though it feels like I’ll never be caught up on sleep, housework or laundry, at least I can feel caught up in something!
