Glimpses of His Faithfulness

On Wednesday December 24th (Yes, on Christmas Eve) We went in for a fun ultrasound. We got to have a 3D/4D one and they are SO COOL! When we scheduled our original 20 week ultrasound (Before we knew anything) the place we had it done at has a special they offer their clients. If you have your 20 week ultrasound done with them you get to come back at 27/28 weeks for a free 3D/4D ultrasound! We were very excited about this. (If you have never seen one, they are amazing!!!) Anyway, so this appointment was not for any medical purpose and we didn't meet with our doctor, we simply had this done for fun, because we could. When we got there I informed the tech of Israel's current known condition as I didn't want her to be surprised. She was an awesome tech and was so much fun to work with. We had a 30 minute session, and in that 30 minutes GOD truly reviled himself! She started with pictures of his adorable face! And let me tell you... HE IS SO CUTE!!! He has a little button nose and chubby cheeks (Which follows suit for our children when they are babies). He likes his arms tucked close to his face and enjoys being all squished on one side of my womb...even though he could spread out more...he doesn't. He is still breech...head straight up and bottom straight down. We looked at his cute little arms...and we saw something new...little "buds" at the end of his fully developed right arm! Yes...his right arm appeared to be complete (Meaning both upper and lower arm were all there) and there looked to be the beginnings of 3 little buds at the end of his arm! This was very encouraging and exciting for us as this was brand new news!!! His left arm appears to still be the same. She then took a look at his cute little legs. His left leg seems to be the same as before...but as she was looking at his right leg she said this "Did you say he doesn't have ANY feet?" I replied with...well that was the last we were told, but we believe that God can do anything and we are believing Him for Israel's healing. She continued on to show us and tell us about the partial RIGHT FOOT that we could see!!! IT WAS AMAZING! He has a complete right leg and a heal and partial foot! PRAISE GOD is pretty much all we could think!!! It was amazing and we were so thankful for this opportunity to "see" our little baby and get a preview of how stinking cute he is going to be once he is born.

Our next appointment for a "medical" ultrasound and our apt. with the doctor will be on January 6th. We are really looking forward to seeing what that ultrasound shows us and discussing Israel's new developments with the doctor.

Again...THANK YOU all so much for your continued prayers and support. God is so good...and he is so faithful...all the time!

Here are a few pictures of our sweetie.

FAITH

"Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it." (Hebrews 11:1)

We live in such a "Prove it to me" and "Let me see it for myself" world...it often makes me check my faith and see if I am really having true faith in God and the promises He has given to me. I believe in my heart of hearts that God is a Faithful God and will do as he has promised. However...I find myself at times (usually quite unconsciously) saying "Well yeah, I know that is what God says, but what if it doesn't happen?" or "I am sure God will heal Israel because in the Bible it says that God is the same Yesterday, Today and Forever...but if Israel isn't healed then..." so on and so forth. I am getting better at being able to catch myself when I start to go into those thoughts and doubt God's word. God doesn't say "Have Faith...if you can make logic out of the situation" or "Have Faith if you can see proof that I am going to do what I say I will do" Nope, He simply says HAVE FAITH! I decided to do a little research on the word Faith itself...and here is a bit of what I learned.

Faith involves a concept of future events or outcomes.

Faith is essentially an act of trust or reliance on God.

Faith causes questions and seeks answers from God and transforms, it sees the mystery of God and his grace and seeks to know and become obedient to God.

Faith is not static but causes one to learn more of God and grow, faith causes change as it seeks a greater understanding of God.

Faith is a belief and trust in and loyalty to God.

Faith is a firm belief in something for which there is no proof.

Faith is a complete trust.

Faith is something that is believed especially with strong conviction.

Faith is the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures.

Wow! I was blown away at all I found when I typed the word "Faith" into my Google search bar! This information really helped me to understand exactly what it means to have faith...true faith.

One of my latest "Life Verses" that I am holding onto is this:
Jesus answered, "Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, 'Go, fall into the sea.' And if you have no doubts in your mind and believe that what you say will happen, God will do it for you. So I tell you to believe that you have received the things you ask for in prayer, and God will give them to you. (Mark 11:22-24)

This is our new "Life Verse" for Israel too! We serve a God who is Faithful...and if we have Faith in this...He will do as he has promised. What a relief to know that there isn't anything else I have to do, just to have Faith and let God take care of the rest. Thank you God for Your Faithfulness to us!

101!!!

WOW! My counter always shocks me when I look at it...101 Days before my due date! WOW! I knew that date was going to sneak up on me, and it has! 101 days could very literally mean only 71 days! Both Rachel and Jaxon were born 4 weeks early...so I am trying to be prepared in case that happens with Israel. 71 days is hardly more than 2 months! Am I ready??? I'm trying to be! I am a very "Prepared" person when it comes to most things in life. I like to have everything ready and organized way ahead of time. I have some things for Israel...but sheesh...I'm not sure I am ready for a baby in 2 months! Yikes...I better get shopping! There are so many things you need when it comes to a baby. And since I had gotten rid of everything from my babies before, it's like starting all over again! I have purchased most of the big stuff I need thanks to an amazing thing called "CraigsList"...a stroller, car seat, crib, dresser...I even have some clothes and blankets, but that's about all. Ok, guess I better start thinking about all I need and making out a list.

Quick Update

As most of you know we had our doctor appointment yesterday. I have been receiving many e-mails and phone calls wanting to know how it went. I will post a bigger blog with more details at a later date, but just a short update for now.

Our appointment went very well. The ultrasound tech was wonderful once again and we got to watch little Israel for about 45 minutes. He is a very busy boy and wasn't interested in her poking him this time, he kept kicking her when she pushed on him. It was pretty funny to watch. The ultrasound showed he is just the same as before. All limbs and his chin are in the same formation as they were at the previous ultrasound. Everything else looks wonderful. He has a strong heart and his brain and all other organs look great. My placenta is still where it should be and there should be no reason to worry about it.

We met with our new doctor and he is absolutely a God send! We felt so safe and comfortable with him. He was just amazingly supportive and encouraging and gave us a lot of hope. We are so thankful for him! Turns out he has a son who is now 32 years old and was born with almost exactly the same abnormalities that Israel currently has (We did not know this before meeting with him). So not only did he have "Head Knowledge" to share but he also had "Heart Knowledge" too. God obviously orchestrated this whole thing!

We continue to hold fast to the promises of God and lean on Him for our strength and support. He is our Rock and our Safe place. Thank you for all who have been praying and continue to pray for our little Israel and our family too. Our next doctor appointment will be at the beginning of January. Love to all of you.