Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Welcome to our World


(Ashley Hope and mommy)


"How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways. When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, you will be happy and it will be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house, your children like olive plants around your table. Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. The Lord bless you from Zion, and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. Indeed, may you see your children's children. Peace be upon you." Psalm 128

Today was a good day for the Wisen family (Moellers, too!). Today, Dave and I were blessed to be able to see our children's children. That is truly a good day.

Norah Grace (4 lbs 4 oz) and Ashley Hope (4 lbs 11 oz) arrived at 4:54 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. respectively, a few weeks earlier than hoped but a bit larger in size than expected. They are breathing on their own, their oxygen level has been reduced to normal and they pinked up beautifully. Norah has a bit of a temper - she fussed and squirmed when I visited her. She sneezed, blew bubbles and cried a bit, and I think she is not used to having so much space all to herself!

Ashley, on the other hand, was peaceful and sleeping - the past few days wore her out. Both girls have beautiful heads and long fingers, Norah definitely has the Moeller toe (ask Mary about that) and the jury is still out on Ashley because her feet weren't as visible. The girls look a lot alike - I think they look like Calvin when he was a newborn - they have his nose and his mouth, his soft, pink skin. All in all, their numbers are good and strong, they have all their fingers and toes, including fingernails, they are in a great care facility and they have precious parents who have prayed for them and prepared for this day for a long time.


(Norah Grace)

I love this picture because you can see her face so clearly. As of now, there are tubes for oxygen (though no extra oxygen is needed at the moment) and eventually they will both most likely get feeding tubes for a week or so. But this picture shows Norah's precious features - Ashley, though a bit bigger, seems to have a smaller head - but having studied the pictures for a while, I am struggling to tell them apart...uh, oh!


(Norah Grace)

This is how I left both girls tonight. Both had their own nurse and were being watched with the greatest of care. It was still hard to leave. I touched Norah's hand and her little fingers wrapped around mine with great strength - she's a fighter. She'll be fine. Ashley was sleeping so soundly, I didn't want to bother her, so I just stared in awe. Precious gifts. I actually am a bit speechless.

Thank you, Father, for allowing David and I to see our children's children. Please, Father, draw these girls into a relationship with You at a young age - may they walk with You and have no memories of life without You. Bless their parents with wisdom and patience, thank You for extended family who knows You and will love these girls with Your love, and thank You for a church family who loves these girls nearly as much as their family does. Give us grandparents the opportunity to be Your arms and to speak Your words to these precious lambs, keep them safe and may they grow in Your grace until they see You face to face.

Welcome, Norah and Ashley, to our world...

18 comments:

  1. I got to see them tonight too!!! I'm a proud uncle and look even more forward to my little baby girl growing up with these awesome cousins! I just hope my wife's labor goes as smoothly as Mary's in a few months ;-)

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  2. Congratulations! What a blessed event!
    PS - I just finished reading your book Overcomer. I thought it was wonderful, not only because it was a book that grabbed me and didn't want to be put down, but also for the truths it shared. I have passed it on, and have several people waiting for it.

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  3. You made me cry....precious sweet babies..such a gift!! And a beautiful prayer..amen and amen. So happy for you all...can't wait to meet them!

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  4. Thank you for sharing these moments with us! Such a double blessing from the Lord for all of you!

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  5. Kristen,
    You and Dave will now see your kids parent. It is bizarre and wonderful. I am so glad they are here safely and healthy. Marinela and I were talking about them this morning on FB. Blessings and congratulations to all of you!
    Francine

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  6. These pictures make me want to cry tears of joy! I can only imagine how emotional you were...what a blessing for all of you! What an awesome gift from the Lord! Congratulations!

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  7. Congratulations Kristen! I became a grandma last week! Isn't it amazing?

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  8. Oh My!!!! Congratulations! So happy for you...precious pictures! What a special, blessed day!

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  9. Thank you, dear friends, for rejoicing with me! Thank you, Francine, for loving on Marinela and thank you, Mari, for your compliments on the book. Dave (my husband) really liked Overcomer better than The Appearing - not sure why, but it's his favorite! And Chris, I can't wait to have your little girl here, too! What fun...

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  10. Okay, I'm totally bawling :o) What a beautiful prayer and such lovely little people. Congratulations! Your little grandbabies are so incredibly precious and again I'm just in awe of God's goodness. How blessed we are to live in this time and place so that we can rejoice as we are. I can't wait to meet these little miracles!

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  11. What more can I say except wow, wow, wow congratulations! They look absolutely adorable and sweet. I can't wait to meet them!! Congrats Grandma Wisen.

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  12. CONGRATULATIONS!!!! They are SO beautiful!! I'm SO super happy for you all!! Miss and love you!!

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  13. So so so so precious!! I am all teary now! Congratulations you guys!

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  14. I am in tears reading this entry. Congratulations! Oh that the Lord would let me live to see my Grandchildren!!! I pray that God would continue to give us strength to raise our children to be little warriors for Christ. Rejoicing in the birth of these two to godly parents and godly grandparents! Can't wait to watch them grow! Look out world! :-) I love you!!!!!

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  15. Thanks for the beautiful blog post and all the sweet comments. We are truly living in the blessing and provision of God and loving every second.

    Mommy and Babies are healthy and well, and trust me they are even more precious in person!!

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  16. So beautiful in double vision!!! God has rained down on your family with such wonderful gifts of life. I'm sure you and Dave and the parents are feeling numb with joy.. Congratulations in double!!!!

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