Timothy James
"Precious to God"
I was admitted to the hospital on Dec. 8th because my amniotic sac was leaking and I had begun to dilate. I was ordered to lie flat on my back until the baby came ( I was due April 2nd!). Well, on Dec. 17th my water broke at 7:15pm and Timothy James decided to come early. He was breech and already on his way out, so the doctor did an emergency C-section and at 10:20 pm he was delivered. He went straight to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and has been there ever since. Timothy was only 25 weeks along in his development (a "normal" pregnancy lasts 40 weeks) so he still has a lot of growing to do.
posted by Sheri
Stats at Birth
Date: December 17, 2003Time: 10:20 p.m.
Weight: 1 lb., 10 oz.
Length: 13 3/4 in.
Friday, July 30, 2004
posted by Sheri at 11:29 AM
Many of you have commented to us about our strength through the last 7 months and wondered how we can do what we've been doing. Well, I'd like to share with you a perspective (excerpted from A Touch of His Wisdom by Charles Stanley) which we have embraced and explains exactly what has enabled us to carry on.
Proverbs 16:20 "Whoever, gives heed to God's Word prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord."
Leaning on Jesus
"I observed a man repairing lines on a telephone pole outside my home one day. Despite the height, he worked with apparent ease and dispatch, securely leaning his entire weight on a thick leather safety belt.
That is what trusting the Lord is like. We go about our appointed rounds at work and home, tackling an assortment of tasks. On the surface, it may appear that we work in our own sufficiency; but we realize that our spiritual success depends on leaning our emotional, spiritual, and volitional weight on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of our strength and security. We are dependent on Him. Our times are in His hands.
Trusting in the Lord, leaning on His adequacy, is possible as we anchor our confidence in the promises of God. There are some fearful moments in life, times when we doubt, times of confusion and anxiety. Then, when circumstances are less than favorable, nothing is more comforting or stabilizing than looking to the Scriptures for support and direction. God's Word is sure. It never fails - not one word. It ministers to our deepest needs and speaks to our innermost being. When we place our faith in God's Word, we accept it as His truth, despite our wavering feelings. We simply believe that God means what He says and that He will fulfill all His promises.
We also lean our weight on Christ by affirming the character of God. We can trust in His Word because He is trustworthy. We can count on His help because He is faithful. The attributes of God - such as His holiness, goodness, mercy, justice, and grace - anchor our faith in Him. The better we know Him, the more we trust Him. The more we trust Him, the more we see His hand at work in our midst.
Perhaps one of the most significant ways that we place our full trust in Christ is by praising Him regardless of the circumstances. Praise shouts faith in God. It exalts Him and declares that we will follow Him and look to Him even when the odds appear against us. As we praise God, we magnify the majesty and greatness of our Father. We focus on who God is, and that is a divinely given catalyst for trusting Him still more. Praise drives away fear and builds faith.
The person who trusts in the Lord is blessed. He clings to the promises of God, delights in the character of God, and worships God in darkness or in light. He leans on the everlasting arms that never fail or forsake him."
Jon and I are striving to be people who trust in the Lord like this. He is our source of strength and our times are in His hands.
Proverbs 16:20 "Whoever, gives heed to God's Word prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord."
Leaning on Jesus
"I observed a man repairing lines on a telephone pole outside my home one day. Despite the height, he worked with apparent ease and dispatch, securely leaning his entire weight on a thick leather safety belt.
That is what trusting the Lord is like. We go about our appointed rounds at work and home, tackling an assortment of tasks. On the surface, it may appear that we work in our own sufficiency; but we realize that our spiritual success depends on leaning our emotional, spiritual, and volitional weight on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of our strength and security. We are dependent on Him. Our times are in His hands.
Trusting in the Lord, leaning on His adequacy, is possible as we anchor our confidence in the promises of God. There are some fearful moments in life, times when we doubt, times of confusion and anxiety. Then, when circumstances are less than favorable, nothing is more comforting or stabilizing than looking to the Scriptures for support and direction. God's Word is sure. It never fails - not one word. It ministers to our deepest needs and speaks to our innermost being. When we place our faith in God's Word, we accept it as His truth, despite our wavering feelings. We simply believe that God means what He says and that He will fulfill all His promises.
We also lean our weight on Christ by affirming the character of God. We can trust in His Word because He is trustworthy. We can count on His help because He is faithful. The attributes of God - such as His holiness, goodness, mercy, justice, and grace - anchor our faith in Him. The better we know Him, the more we trust Him. The more we trust Him, the more we see His hand at work in our midst.
Perhaps one of the most significant ways that we place our full trust in Christ is by praising Him regardless of the circumstances. Praise shouts faith in God. It exalts Him and declares that we will follow Him and look to Him even when the odds appear against us. As we praise God, we magnify the majesty and greatness of our Father. We focus on who God is, and that is a divinely given catalyst for trusting Him still more. Praise drives away fear and builds faith.
The person who trusts in the Lord is blessed. He clings to the promises of God, delights in the character of God, and worships God in darkness or in light. He leans on the everlasting arms that never fail or forsake him."
Jon and I are striving to be people who trust in the Lord like this. He is our source of strength and our times are in His hands.
posted by Sheri at 11:00 AM
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Nehemiah 8:10 " . . . the joy of the LORD is your strength."
We have definitely been experiencing the joy of our Lord as we enjoy the gift of our son. We have to take strength in that joy at times when we are weary (which is a lot of the time :)
Actual Age: 7 months
Adjusted Age: 3 months
Our outing to Children's Hospital in LA went off without a hitch, although it was 5 hours long from start to finish! Thanks for all your prayers! Timothy really seems to enjoy his outings as evidenced by his heightened alertness and contentment. The eye doctor said that his right eye looks good, but he has some concerns about the left eye still (this has always been the worse of the 2). There is still some retinal detachment which can lead to vision problems and/or blindness. He wants to monitor the condition of the eye closely so we will be making the trip to LA again in 3 weeks.
Timothy is settling in at home. He is still deciding when he wants to be awake and when he wants to sleep. His patterns are still very unpredictable, except we are beginning to see that he is a morning person. After his 5 am feeding he's ready to start the day!
Praise - Besides doctor's appts., we have had some fairly uneventful days (ie. no emergency situations)
- we have 3 wonderful nurses who help us care for Timothy throughout the week
- God has provided so that Jon was able to spend this first week at home with us
Prayer - healing of the retinal detachment in his left eye
- that his vision would be spared
- good weight gain
We have definitely been experiencing the joy of our Lord as we enjoy the gift of our son. We have to take strength in that joy at times when we are weary (which is a lot of the time :)
Actual Age: 7 months
Adjusted Age: 3 months
Our outing to Children's Hospital in LA went off without a hitch, although it was 5 hours long from start to finish! Thanks for all your prayers! Timothy really seems to enjoy his outings as evidenced by his heightened alertness and contentment. The eye doctor said that his right eye looks good, but he has some concerns about the left eye still (this has always been the worse of the 2). There is still some retinal detachment which can lead to vision problems and/or blindness. He wants to monitor the condition of the eye closely so we will be making the trip to LA again in 3 weeks.
Timothy is settling in at home. He is still deciding when he wants to be awake and when he wants to sleep. His patterns are still very unpredictable, except we are beginning to see that he is a morning person. After his 5 am feeding he's ready to start the day!
Praise - Besides doctor's appts., we have had some fairly uneventful days (ie. no emergency situations)
- we have 3 wonderful nurses who help us care for Timothy throughout the week
- God has provided so that Jon was able to spend this first week at home with us
Prayer - healing of the retinal detachment in his left eye
- that his vision would be spared
- good weight gain
posted by Sheri at 6:06 PM
posted by Sheri at 5:32 PM
posted by Sheri at 5:31 PM
posted by Sheri at 5:28 PM
posted by Sheri at 5:24 PM
posted by Sheri at 5:22 PM
Monday, July 26, 2004
Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me (Jesus), all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."
We are definitely clinging to this promise. After just 5 short days at home we are exhausted! What a comfort to know that we can bring our tired bodies and spirits to Jesus and He will give us rest!
Actual Age: 7 months
Adjusted Age: 3 months
Weight: 7 lbs 11 oz. (as you can see, he's lost a little weight due to stress and transitioning to home.)
Well, today was Timothy's first doctor's appointment at Loma Linda. He was a real trooper! He loved the car ride and everything. It was a total of 4 hours from the time we left home, to the time we arrived back home and he did extremely well. This was just the beginning of numerous get -acquainted appointments with specialists who will be caring for him. We have 2-3 doctor's appointments almost every week between now and the end of August and even 1 scheduled in September already. We go back to Children's Hospital in LA on Wednesday for a follow-up on his eye surgeries. Please pray for us as this is going to be a particularly trying time since it will be so long because of the distance.
Because of Timothy's special health risks (particularly the trach), we qualify for home health care 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. This has been a tremendous blessing because someone has to be in the room with Timothy at all times. We have a nurse who comes from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm and a different nurse who comes from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am! (Although mommy has been up with the night nurse until about 2 every morning, helping Timothy through little adjustments that need to be made.
Well, once again, I am extremely exhausted so I'm off to bed as soon as the night nurse arrives.
Praise - Timothy is home and transitioning as to be expected
- we have home nurses coming in to help us each day
- daddy is able to be home this week to help Timothy, mommy and the nurses get settled
Prayer - Timothy has been requiring more oxygen since his appointment this morning. Please pray that his lungs would work efficiently and that Timothy would be ablle to get some good rest
-good weight gain
- healing of his brain issues which could result in varying degrees of cerebral palsy
-strength and rest for mommy & daddy
We are definitely clinging to this promise. After just 5 short days at home we are exhausted! What a comfort to know that we can bring our tired bodies and spirits to Jesus and He will give us rest!
Actual Age: 7 months
Adjusted Age: 3 months
Weight: 7 lbs 11 oz. (as you can see, he's lost a little weight due to stress and transitioning to home.)
Well, today was Timothy's first doctor's appointment at Loma Linda. He was a real trooper! He loved the car ride and everything. It was a total of 4 hours from the time we left home, to the time we arrived back home and he did extremely well. This was just the beginning of numerous get -acquainted appointments with specialists who will be caring for him. We have 2-3 doctor's appointments almost every week between now and the end of August and even 1 scheduled in September already. We go back to Children's Hospital in LA on Wednesday for a follow-up on his eye surgeries. Please pray for us as this is going to be a particularly trying time since it will be so long because of the distance.
Because of Timothy's special health risks (particularly the trach), we qualify for home health care 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. This has been a tremendous blessing because someone has to be in the room with Timothy at all times. We have a nurse who comes from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm and a different nurse who comes from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am! (Although mommy has been up with the night nurse until about 2 every morning, helping Timothy through little adjustments that need to be made.
Well, once again, I am extremely exhausted so I'm off to bed as soon as the night nurse arrives.
Praise - Timothy is home and transitioning as to be expected
- we have home nurses coming in to help us each day
- daddy is able to be home this week to help Timothy, mommy and the nurses get settled
Prayer - Timothy has been requiring more oxygen since his appointment this morning. Please pray that his lungs would work efficiently and that Timothy would be ablle to get some good rest
-good weight gain
- healing of his brain issues which could result in varying degrees of cerebral palsy
-strength and rest for mommy & daddy
posted by Sheri at 10:25 PM
posted by Sheri at 10:24 PM
posted by Sheri at 10:21 PM
