Special Day

Jeffrey was baptized in the Presbyterian church but grew up Methodist where infant baptism/christening is the norm. Therefore, Caroline's baptism has been very important to him since she was born. I grew up Southern Baptist and we got "dunked" following a profession of faith at an older age. So, infant baptism was not something I had put a whole lot of thought into until recently (the past 20 or so months). Don't worry- I won't go into a great theological discussion here.

Caroline was baptized in the church we have recently joined, Lawndale Presbyterian, and it was such a special, sweet time. We feel so blessed to have found this church and for Caroline to have the opportunity to grow in her faith in such a place.
Wonderful cake by Kelli Phipps!

Caroline with GiGi & Sassy (she hadn't seen GiGi for a few days, can you tell?)
Papaw and JoJo (Jeffrey's grandparents came to Tupelo for the baptism. We had the best time and loved having them here!!


Caroline with all the men - my dad (Papa), Jeffrey, Pop (Jeff's dad), and Papaw

Caroline Update (19 months in a few paragraphs)

Caroline is 21 months old now. And our little Caroline is a fighter. She has defied the odds that swirled in our heads for months after we heard them and read them on paper - 85-95% chance of severe mental retardation; "will be great if he/she SITS UP BY 3 YEARS OLD;" probability of death. She is alive and well! She has not had a seizure since November 2009, and she is meeting developmental milestones at a great pace. Her fine motor skills and social skills are pretty much on target. Her verbal skills are a little behind, but we are trying to get her ruled into speech therapy. Her greatest challenge is that she does not walk independently at this point...but she is getting closer everyday! She is cruising on furniture and is poised for takeoff!

Now, we do not know what the future holds for her as far as learning challenges, etc., but who does know what the future holds? The Lord has a special plan for His child, and His grace and mercy have been plentiful in ways that we could not have dreamed possible. We were blessed early with two therapists who work weekly with Caroline. Neither usually have openings for new patients, but just the time we needed them, they both had an opening! Isn't that amazing? Both "our" OT and PT are the most patient and loving people I have ever met. Caroline goes through periods of time where she is resistant to therapy, but they work with her through it without one iota of frustration. And many times, Camille or Misty have probably wanted to bill me for a counseling session. They have seen me at some of my most vulnerable times throughout this process. I really think they love her and care for Caroline (they must to deal with me, some of you might be thinking:)!) - see, when I say we are blessed, I do not mean it lightly.

Most importantly, Caroline is happy! She loves to laugh and has the cutest laugh I've ever heard. I am loving watching her explore and learn..and even test her boundaries.

Guess What? I have a blog!

Sometimes I have conversations with myself (usually just in my head and not out loud) and wonder if other people are anywhere near as scatterbrained as I am. I don't even know if scatterbrained is the right word, but whatever the label is, "it" is embarrassing.

Today someone (Aletha Mims, hopefully you won't mind me saying) reminded me that I have a blog. That's right. I had totally forgotten that I had ever started this thing back in 2009. In fact, it had so totally slipped my mind that I was even contemplating starting a (new) blog. All I can say is WOW...and be glad that I do have a blog that I can just pick right back up with.

So much has changed since my last post in August 2009. Caroline was 2 months old and our world had not yet been turned on its head with the diagnosis of Infantile Spasms and the subsequent hospital stay, doctors visits, tests, terrible statistics, prognoses, injections, pills, and month after month of physical and occupational therapy. Oh, I don't like to remember the months where we existed on autopilot and our strength was GONE. The Lord's strength was, indeed, made perfect in our weakness, for there is no other way to explain how someone like me got through such an exacting, gut-wrenching, soul-stripping period of time.

More about how Caroline is doing now (GREAT!) in another post...