Sweet Dreams

The past few weeks have been so busy....good busy, but busy! First of all, Judah is doing amazing...I am blown away at the Lord's faithfulness. That little boy brings a joy to my heart in his special little way... especially if you ask him how much we love him...he opens his arms wide and that famous smile comes across his face. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE HIM!!! The girls turned five and six last week...and we celebrated with a pink princess ball! So it is official...we have a seven, six, five, and four year old....but I would not have it any other way! I think with the celebration of their birthdays, I have just been trying to take them all in. I do not want to miss the sweetness of these days that are passing much too quickly.

I found a cd from years ago...a song that was out when I was pregnant with Noah. This song I kept in my car and sang it to him over and over when he was just a tiny little thing. Wow...how a song can bring back so many memories and emotions.

When Noah was a few weeks old we found out that he had some severe heart problems. At three little weeks he was diagnosed with Wolf Parkinson's White Syndrome (highly elevated heartbeat). He stayed in ICU for a week until his little heart was regulated. Then they moved him to a room...weeks later we could bring our son home again but with some stipulations. We had to carry a stethoscope with us at all times and wear a stop watch. This stop watch would go off every few hours to remind us to give him his medicine...even in the middle of the night. We continued this routine for the first year of his precious life. After he turned one, he had a surgery to try and "shock" his heart...the surgery went wonderfully and we could stop the medicine completely. Years later you would not even know that God gave him a special heart. There are times when he will have an episode...we keep an oximeter (a machine that tells us his heart rate and oxygen levels) with us...and it is usually not a big deal. Most of the time it does not even cross my mind. That first year I prayed and prayed for his little heart...today I rarely do...just when he is playing really hard or on days that he throws up. That is the way his body responds and the quickest way I can tell something might not be right. Well...last Thursday he threw up. Those old fears crept in...the praying for his heart began. And that was the day when I found the CD that I had sang to him so many times years before. We listened to it together. It is funny because back then I had no idea how many times I would actually read Goodnight Moon...not only to Noah...but to three more. Back then I had no idea how many times he would actually pretend to be Peter Pan or Superman. And back then I had no idea how many matchbox cars would be lined up...ramped...or found all over my house. But God knew all of these things. That first year of Noah's life was unbelievably wonderful. And there were days I was terrified his heart was going to go into overdrive. But after awhile...I just had to trust that my Maker had him. I look back over his seven and a half years and I am so grateful that I did not spend every day worrying when the next episode was going to happen.

I think that is what the Lord is trying to teach me. Judah spent so many years without us...but not without Him. It has not even been two months and Judah truly feels like a part of our family. If you are considering adopting...or if you are on the fence wondering about the what ifs...listen to the Lord's prompting. There is no way of knowing what lies ahead and there is no way of knowing what happened in the past...but there are so many children who need someone to take a chance on them. Try as I might, I could not have changed God's plans for Noah's heart. And I cannot erase all that has happened in Judah's life. But, God has created us for each other ...and our little man is in God's hands...along with his brother and sisters.

Sweet dreams to my seven, six, five, and four year olds!

"Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)"

Dragon tales and the "water is wide"
Pirate's sail and lost boys fly
Fish bite moonbeams every night
And I love you

Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Sweet dreams

The rocket racer's all tuckered out
Superman's in pajamas on the couch
Goodnight moon, will find the mouse
And I love you

Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Sweet dreams

God bless mommy and match box cars
God bless dad and thanks for the stars
God hears "Amen," wherever we are
And I love you

Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Godspeed
Godspeed
Sweet dreams