Ellie talks to her mommy too

I think there is a rumor going around that Ellie likes Adam better than me. Okay, I probably started that rumor ;) But I thought I better post some proof that Ellie talks to me too :)

Hannah

This morning I am reflecting on Hannah's funeral and how beautiful it was. It truly celebrated the victory that we have in Christ.

I have been meaning to offer DVDs to those who were not able to make it to the funeral. So please, contact me if you would like me to send you a DVD of the funeral service and a program. I hope it will be a blessing to you as it was to us.

Death is dead
Love has won
Christ has conquered

And we shall reign with Him
For He lives
Christ is risen from the dead

Family Photos

Last weekend we got together with my side of the family to shoot some long-awaited family photos.



Vedrafamily



Osterink Family: my parents; my brother Jeff and his wife Jen with children Gwen, Moses, Reed, Grace; My sister Julie; and our family: Adam and Emily, Noah, Seth, and Ellie.



Grandkids

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

My first post of 2010! :)

We have been enjoying an extended Christmas break here at Vedrafamily. Adam gets off of work from Christmas to New Years, so there has been a lot of sleeping in, relaxing, movie watching, crossword puzzle doing, game playing, and family times.

We have had a good holiday week. Everyone has been relatively healthy and we were able to travel to Naperville to spend time with Adam's family. We all received exciting gifts that we have been playing with a lot. My favorite is a little video camcorder that is about the size of an Ipod, called a Flip. I have been making up for lost time taking videos of everyone this week. That means I will be posting a lot more video on the blog too :)

This time of year is often a difficult time, a time of reflection. I have spent a good deal of time missing Hannah and reflecting on the events of the past year, but I am also choosing to focus a lot of my energy on the blessings I do have, seen in the pictures below.

This year we are especially thankful for the baby that was given to us in Jesus Christ. We could focus on the hardships of the last years, the hopes that have been broken, the dreams vanished. But instead we must focus on all the promises that are yes and amen in Christ. What an amazing gift we have been given.

Here's to another year; we do not know what will come, but we do know that God will be faithful.

Just a typical day...

Bathroom Project

We are pleased to announce that the bathroom project is completed! It looks absolutely fantastic and we are so happy with the results. We are so thankful to all the help we got from our generous church and family! We have already given Ellie a few showers and it is so much easier to do in the new shower. Thank you so much to everyone that helped us!

Here are some before shots:







DURING:



AFTER:







You can view the whole project album here.

Daily Life

Things have been going smoothly over here. We have quickly fallen into our old routines of a family of five. It feels good to be back to normal, but then I wonder if that is somehow dishonoring Hannah's memory. It is hard to balance the remembering with the moving forward. Yesterday Hannah would have been 4 months old. It pains me to think about what could have been, if she had been born healthy.

Ellie is struggling with a fever today. It started yesterday, and she spent most of the day sleeping and breathing hard. The fever lightened up in the evening but is back at about half-strength today. So far I am pleased with how she is handling it, but I miss her alert eyes and smiles.

Some big news around here is that we have been approved for 180 hours of respite care per year (comes out to about 15 per month). We have been very blessed to have a friend and nurse from the NICU agree to fill those hours for us. So, we plan to go to a wedding this month, just me and Adam! It has been 2 years since we have been alone, just the two of us (unless you count my c-section where my mom had Ellie in the waiting room)! We are looking forward to some opportunities to do some activities alone.

I have also trained a friend from church who is a pediatrician to stay with Ellie occasionally while I run errands or do fun things with the boys. She came for the first time last week and what a blessing that was for me to go shopping by myself! Thanks Jamie!

Another big thing we have been working on is a bathroom remodel. Our loving and supportive church and family have been helping us install a handicapped shower so that we will be able to bathe Ellie more easily in the years to come. It has been a long and exciting project that is supposed to be done at the end of this week. I look forward to sharing it with you via pictures or a tour when it is finished.

So that's what is going on around here. We have been doing really well considering. We praise God for Ellie's health and stability. We praise him for his sustaining grace as we continue to grieve. We thank you all so much for the prayers, cards, and many blessings you have showered on us. I feel so unworthy to have your love and support!