Ain't that a Wonder

Ava, our oldest, just turned five.  Of all three kids, she has been the front runner for every new experience and the guinea pig to all our parenting pursuits.  If she turns out wrong it's simply because we broke her first!  

Although I tend to worry about our children's futures, I have a certain measure of peace about Ava.  God has proven himself so big in her little life already.
 

As a newly wed couple, Josh and I were elated to discover that we were expecting our first baby.  We had known each other for a whopping eight months, been married for three, and obviously ready to tackle parenthood next!  With great excitement we told everbody of our big news and began to prepare for the major event.

Eight weeks into the pregnancy I began to bleed.  We found ourselves in the emergency room with a handful of doctors and nurses giving us sympathetic looks.  With much regret they told us that our baby had "failed to thrive".  There was no heartbeat, it simply had stopped developing.  We were sent home to mourn our loss.

The next day we visited with my OBGYN.  He confirmed our sorrow and asked  how we wished to proceed.  We declined medical intervention and decided to simply let nature take its course.  So again we went home, this time certain that there was no mistake.  Our baby had died. 

The next two weeks were spent sobbing.  Our hearts ached for a person we never even had the pleasure of meeting.   How on earth did we get so attached?  Up until this point our child was just a second line on the pregnancy test, yet we were devastated.   

Later, at a follow up appointment, we were met with more disappointment.  As the ultrasound technician quietly went to work we could see that the baby had not naturally passed.  We fully expected that a D&C would be ordered.  The poor technician didn't even know that we were already aware of our baby's demise.  With his finger extended towards the monitor he pointed at the fetus and softly said, "Here's your baby."  We sighed with heavy hearts, prepared to hear the tragic news once more.  As he expanded the view, he calmly continued.  "And here's it's heartbeat."

Ava is our miracle.  Not only did God grant us grace and give us our child back, he allowed us to witness his greatness.  He gave us a daughter, a child to hold and love.  But more importantly, He gave us yet another reason to praise him.  
      

Psalm 9:1   I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.

It just so happens that Josh completely missed Ava's birth...but that's another story!