Our New Normal

Can you believe it's been more than a month that Elliot has been home? The NICU has already become a distant memory to us and we couldn't be more thankful for that!

Some of our first moments at home as a family of four :)

The first few weeks home have been amazing. I cannot emphasize enough how good a baby Elliot is. He only cries when he's hungry and sleeps really well at night. I can remember walking around the entire house at 3 a.m. when Adele was a newborn begging God to make her fall asleep, lol. Not the case with our little E. We can just lay him down and he's out!

Adele also adores her little brother and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual. Our biggest problem with her is that she kisses and hugs him too much. We're so thankful that Elliot is already being covered in love by his big sister... something we've dreamed about since we found out we were expecting Baby #2.

Developmentally wise, Elliot is doing great! He is delayed in a few things as to be expected since he was six weeks premature on top of the Down syndrome, but overall he's looking really good our pediatrician says. This morning was actually our first appointment with Early Child Intervention. An occupational therapist came out to assess him and she said he's already doing some encouraging things. She said his muscle tone is good and he's very aware of everything around him. She set some goals for us to work on over the next few months like better head control and bringing his hands to his bottle. We'll meet with them twice a month for the foreseeable future. It was very exciting to meet them and get our little man started on his therapies!

Rachel Robinson, the occupational therapist,
and Maria Hernandez with ECI came out
today to assess Elliot!

Other than that, we meet with the cardiologist on Oct. 6 and we're hoping to get more answers concerning the open heart surgery he will need to have. We ended up switching cardiologists because we weren't crazy about the one Woman's set us up... we've been blessed with meeting another family who loves the Lord and has a precious baby girl with Down syndrome just two months older than Elliot. They are the ones that recommended the new cardiologist we are seeing since their little girl has the same heart defect that E has. We are very hopeful we're going to love this new doctor and finally get the information we need!

I'm also adjusting to life as a stay-at-home mom (something I never thought I'd be). I'm enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. I'm getting to know Adele on such a different level than before and I'm loving it... it makes me regret not staying home sooner! She's such a fun kid and is growing up waaaay too fast. I do really miss my yearbook kids though... like I really miss them. I actually think about them a lot and wonder if they are adjusting to the new adviser well. I pray that the new adviser realizes how amazing those kids are and works hard to tap that potential deep in them. I said to Justin that even though I'm at peace with my decision to stay home, I wonder why God would give me such a seemingly perfect job just to have me walk away from it. Then Justin, always the voice of reason, said to me, "Maybe it wasn't about you. Maybe God wanted you there for those specific students you had. There's no telling what you sparked inside them." So, that's what I'm clinging to... it's all a part of the grander plan!

While we are on the topic of His grander plan... can I just say, "Wow!" I've never felt the presence of God in my life more than I do these days. I've always been a believer, but I cannot explain what Elliot's birth has done to my heart. Elliot has already made me a better person and I have God to thank for that! Justin and I talk about how it feels like we have time to stop and smell the roses. Suddenly it's not all about making sure our kids bring home straight As, having the best lawn in the cul-de-sac or being the first in line for an iPhone 6. Now all I truly want is for my kids to be loved and encouraged. I want them both to fall head over heels in love with Jesus so badly that they want to spread that love to others. I want to look back at the end of my life and know that I made a true difference in their lives. I'm not saying I don't want an iPhone 6 (because I totally do), but that's not what life is about. I mean, everyone knows that... but how often do we truly live that? How often do we truly live out God's desire for our lives? I know that in some ways I do, but then I peruse Pinterest and that need for the perfect house, the perfect outfit and the perfect kids win out.

I pray that God continues to work on my heart so that my priorities stay in line with his plan for my life. I thank God so much for choosing me to be Elliot's mom... I'm already a better person because of him and I know that E's going to do great things. I can't wait to see how God uses him and our family to encourage other in their journey... maybe even YOU (yes, you!)