A Mush-Pot Of Things

I have some exciting news to share! I'm pregnant! JUST KIDDING!!! I am crazy, but not that crazy! Actually, my exciting news is that Victoria nursed yesterday afternoon! I had called the lactation consultant to come in and help me just in case Victoria didn't catch on right away. She didn't need any help after all! She latched on and did wonderfully. I was so excited. That is, again, another answered prayer. Before Victoria's surgery, she had such a weak suck. It didn't matter if she was nursing or feeding from a bottle, her suck was weak. I had pretty much given up on nursing pre-surgery and stuck to feeding Victoria with a bottle so she would gain weight. I've been able to tell since her surgery that she is stronger and I thought I'd give nursing a try again. She did such a great job and I praise the Lord for, yet, another blessing.

Yesterday afternoon we were visited by Ronnie Nelson. This is the father of Kris Nelson, who we attend church with at North Mobile. Mr. Ronnie has visited us several times and has been such a huge blessing. At his visit yesterday, he let us borrow his computer camera and headset so we could make some video phone calls via Skype. I was so excited and knew exactly who I wanted to call first. Last night Mark and I used this great technology to call a great friend of mine who lives on the other side of the world. Her name is Donna Havard. It was so wonderful to be able to call her and let her see Victoria. Since she doesn't live here or get to come home often, she was able to get in on a little bit of the hospital action. Mark took a picture of me laughing with Donna. I needed those laughs! Thanks, Mr. Ronnie, for blessing us with your high-tech gear! We wish we would've remembered to take a picture of you for the blog entry today!

Victoria, Mark and I all had a good night last night. Mark actually slept all night on the hard fold-out-chair. He must've been really sleepy because he didn't stir all night. Victoria woke at 4am to feed and then went back to sleep for a few more hours. I slept in the hospital bed with my covers over my head to avoid the constant blow of air in my face from the vent above my head. I actually slept pretty good and just pretended that I was in a tent!

Victoria's last x-ray still shows a small area of collapse in her right lung, but they are watching it closely. We are anxiously awaiting the visit from the doctor today to see how he thinks she is progressing. We will send you an update soon on the report we receive.

We have felt so blessed during our recent adventures with Victoria. She has changed our lives for the better. We cannot imagine life without her and we are so excited for the day that we get to take her home to see her big sisters.