sweet

that's what the past 24 hours have been.
a sweet homecoming.
a sweet time of bonding.
a sweet little miracle joining our family... finally.
before we even left the hospital, there was a sweet surprise.
the day before, one of the nurses told me i needed to go out and buy a special kind of formula that the doctor would most likely be 'prescribing' to add to Kyren's bottles of breastmilk, to help him continue to gain weight. she left the NICU to go check with the doctor on duty, just to confirm that K would be needing it. When she left the room, i silently prayed for God to give the doctor a sudden change of 'heart', that when she asked him, he would just say, "naaah. he doesn't need that." (i really don't like formula!)
On sunday our pastor preached about praying with child-like faith to our Heavenly Father. i figured i would put that into practice and just see what He would do.
When the nurse returned a minute or 2 later and stated that the doctor said K would be going home on the added calories, i wasn't discouraged. i just figured that is what was best for him-- and God knows.
But the next morning, when the new doc on duty discharged our little 6lb 8oz'er, he looked at his chart, looked at us, and said, "Oh and by the way, he's gaining so well, let's just try him on straight breastmilk-- you don't need to add anything to it..."
The nurses, one by one, as they heard the news, marveled and gasped (literally), remarking that they'd never heard of a baby leaving the NICU without formula! EVER.
And just in case we didn't get the picture, this morning, when the visiting nurse came to our house to assess Kyren's progress, she too said, "I don't think I've ever visited a preemie just home from the hospital who wasn't on formula! This child is a miracle baby!"
she even teared up as she read his discharge summary papers, looked at me and said, "He is doing so incredibly well! I see so many babies who just... aren't. God is good. This is amazing..."
i didn't know what to say. i just kinda sat there and smiled, and tried to take in the sweetness of it all. And on top of all that, he was up to 6 lbs 11 oz when she weighed him.
Why, Lord? After all of the precious gifts you've given us-- you just want to keep on blessing us? There is something so very faith-building about answered prayer. even seemingly little prayers. And especially child-like prayers. Nothing fancy, just a heart's desire stated simply. God DOES know. And He delights in his children. EVERY good and perfect gift is from Him (James 1:17).
And speaking of perfect gifts-- one of the sweetest of all has been watching Christian (20 months old today) welcome his baby brother home. he and gramsy made a cake and brought it home for Kooey yesterday afternoon. And ever since, C has not stopped bringing his trucks and toys to K to "see"... it's just about the sweetest thing i've ever witnessed.
See slideshow for details :)
he imitates kyren's noises... says he sounds like a bear. so he walks around growling and snorting and running over to check on him every time he makes a noise from his bassinet. he has to stand on his tip toes to see over the edge of it... and it's a most precious sight to watch him eagerly approach and peer in to catch another glimpse of his future best friend.
my heart is full tonight... there are no words to accurately describe what this feels like.
but i know there are few things in life more sweet.