Camilla Three Years Old

Camilla is about to turn three, yes THREE! We can't believe how fast time has flown and that our baby is almost three.  She is doing great.  Here are a few of her favorite things:

Talking.  All day, sentences, paragraphs, short commentaries!!!!!! Will she have a love of writing like her mama?

Her brother and sister. Hands down....her best buds.

Snuggling on the couch.  EVERYDAY she says at least ten times to both me and her daddy on the phone or in person...   "______wanna snuggle me on the couch?"  She says it with a southern accent (not sure why!!) and a drawn out word "couch" with a bit of a twang. STINKIN' CUTE.  LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

Her dollies.  She is a mini-mama.  She names her dolls, feeds her dolls, wraps up her dolls, and pretends to rock them.  Adorbs.

Awana Cubbies, her Wednesday night fun at church.  Little Miss Independent shassays (how on earth do you spell that??) into the cubby room ready to learn and sing and have treats and she talks about it all week until the next Wednesday.

 WE LOVE THIS LITTLE GIRL!

As far as a health update, her eye appointment a few months ago went GREAT! Her eyes are functioning normally and the thinned optic nerves are not causing any trouble.  Praise!  Her wide open, big, beautiful blue peepers are a constant reminder of God's healing hand.  Thank you for all your prayers.

Now on to the pictures.....

Camilla Update!

Many people ask how Cami is doing now that two years have passed.  We, once again, have to thank our Heavenly Father for his healing within her.  She is a vibrant two year old little girl who has the biggest blue eyes I've ever seen.  As far as developmental updates, Camilla is doing everything she should be and more.  In fact, she absolutely AMAZES me with what she is doing at two years old. 

This past week, I was graciously given the opportunity to share a snippet of her journey on WCSG with on the morning show with John and Amanda.   If you happened to hear Camilla's story on the air, please scroll down to the next post and read  her entire story from the beginning.  God is good-all the time and it is my responsibility to share with others the hope there is in Him.  Everyday miracles are happening all around us, and it is a beautiful reminder of our future hope of eternal life.  

Blog? What blog?

Just kidding, of course. This blog means so much to me. I haven't posted in a long time....but I read this blog and all of the comments. Often. I weep as I hear the longings of my heart, the cries of my soul, and the kindness and encouragement of others. I cling to the verses, to the promises within them, when struggling through another of life's speed bumps and trials. The words ever comfort me.

I read the title, "The Journey of Camilla Joy" and I reflect on how far it has come, and yet how far from over it is. Her life is just unfolding. Camilla is doing wonderfully, she is truly miraculous in that she shows no sign or symptom that the doctors warned about. I know from the depths of my soul that she is a living example of God's miraculous work and that her story can and will be used for His glory.

I sit back and look at my little girl, look at my other children, and know I am changed forever. I know and understand the power of prayer now. I know what a "boiling" prayer means. If you have ever prayed in a hospital for someone in need of a miracle, that is the kind of prayer I am talking about. Whenever life gets tough, I will choose to look up. Knowing fully well that Jesus will always help and guide me even when I think I cannot stand on my own. My Camilla girl, through you, God taught me that. How grateful I am that in my own undeserving flesh, this promise will always stand solid.

Keep looking up, my friends.

8 months old!

Well, my Camilla girl, this summer we have been celebrating! The one year anniversary of our Level 2 Ultrasound has came and passed and WOW, we are AMAZED at YOU! Last summer, we celebrated your little (and big) kicks and prayed without ceasing for healing. This summer, we celebrate every new thing you do and pray with gratefulness and thanksgiving at the literal MIRACLE you are! Over the past year we have felt God's love and grace in everything. He helped us go to sleep and calmed our nerves when we were in need of strength.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

I personally struggled with fear and anxiety and my heavenly Father took it away. Completely. He blessed us with so many supportive friends and family members, and strengthened ties and relationships in our lives. God has also given us the gift of so many new friends literally from around the world, it truly is awesome. Most importantly He has taught us all a lesson in trusting Him.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not upon your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your path.”

My family and marriage is more grounded and stronger because of what we went through this past year. So many, many miracles and blessings have happened along the way (and still ARE) that I cannot even list them. I know this, Camilla Joy, your Mommy cannot wait to share it with you! We are truly humbled and in awe everyday of what Camilla is learning and doing and how blessed we are. She is hitting all her milestones-sitting up, trying to crawl, saying "mama" "dada" and "baba", laughing at mommy's jokes ---I think she actually gets them!:) We are so excited to see all of these firsts!


For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Our Camilla girl, He has great big plans for you.

Camilla is 4 1/2 months old....

And...I am way behind in blogging. Life has been crazy with me returning to work. With working comes some level of stress, plus add in graduate classes, nursing, pumping, and just being emotional about being away from home so much, all of this equals = busy and tired! I know, I know, no excuse! I have been wanting to update for such a long while now, and at the same time I have wanted to reflect on Camilla's journey so far. So many people ask me if I wish we were never given Camilla's diagnosis, if I wish the call would never have come. All that worry...and she is just fine. It sounds strange, I know, but no. I do not wish things different. And, while our outcome is so wonderful, I know I would still sit here blogging to the same conclusion had it been a difficult one. I know this, because I would have strength from my Heavenly Father. The same strength that carried me through 5 months of pregnancy. The same strength that is carrying many people I know. I cannot list the blessings that have come throughout this journey so far, but I will give it a try. So many supportive calls, words, emails, messages, gifts, visits, PRAYERS, new friends, stronger family relationships, a stronger marriage, a wonderful community of friends and children who are going through or went through the same things, opportunities to teach my children how to pray, appreciation and love for my children through a new "lens", a stronger walk with God, stronger faith, less worry, more ability to "hand things over" to God. a closer bond with our church family, being a witness of MIRACLES...the list goes on and on with blessings! Camilla's birth and place in our lives has touched us so deeply. I put a montage together (below) to share it with all of you. You will want to close the pink music player at the bottom of the blog first. Thank you for your many, many prayers on our behalf. We love you all!

Camilla's Journey at OneTrueMedia.com

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It's Been a While....6 WEEKS!

Yes, I can hardly believe 6 weeks ago Camilla Joy was born! How fast these past 6 weeks went compared to the 6 weeks prior to her arrival! I can hardly believe it has been that long since I posted last; now Christmas has come and gone already. We have been busy adjusting to life on little sleep and how to juggle attention between three blessings instead of just two. I am loving every second!

Many of you who follow have been wondering and asking how Camilla is doing. She is doing so good so far and showing no signs of anything at all being wrong. While we were in the hospital they did an ultrasound and a MRI of her brain. The ventricles were the same as our appointment in September and this was very good news! No blockage or progressing hydrocephalus...and no surgery! Praise God! The MRI did show that she was missing her septum pellucidum, though, has a thinned corpus callosum, and it showed mildly thinned optical nerves. The septum pellucidum is a small membrane inside of her brain that, because it was missing, was likely the cause of her ventricle enlargement throughout the pregnancy. The pediatrician spoke to us about this and said that this may or may not ever mean a visual impairment for our sweet little girl. When he evaluated her on the last day in the hospital I made sure to ask whether he thought she could see as of then and he said she was doing everything with her eyes she should at two days old and that YES he believed she was seeing things! So, very thankfully we headed home later that day and settled into our new routine with baby Cami!

In the weeks that followed, she had a few appointments, one being a pediatric opthamology appointment. The nurse dilated her eyes and flashed a light all around inside. She (the nurse) seemed frustrated; so I started to get nervous as I observed her. I asked her what she was looking for or wanting Camilla's eyes to do, and she simply said, "A blink would be nice." From there we had to go to another waiting room and wait for the doctor to call us back to further examine her eyes. All the while, here I was clutching Camilla and all of my bags to my body, and shaking with fear. How fast fear can grip you; I HATE that! I have posted before right here about fear and how I struggle and defeat it. Fear is not from the Lord; and I know that. By the time I was called in the examination room, I was sweating to death and getting even more nervous. Thoughts were running wild in my head that she was blind and she would never see us, never see God's beautiful, colorful creation.....STOP! I stopped my thoughts, glanced at my face in the mirror behind the examination chair and realized that I was letting Satan fill me with fear. It was SO apparent on my face in that crystal clear mirror on the wall. I quickly ran my thoughts back to this post here specifically the end, and realized it didn't matter anyway. Here I am holding my beautiful, precious daughter; feeling her breath on my cheek in this room and nothing else really mattered in that moment.
She is here.
She is thriving and she is right here.
I prayed over her in that dark little room, praying for her to someday fight her own fears with the truth of her Savior. What a priviledge to have this little girl in my arms and to pray for her while looking into her eyes. I should tell you, too, that the opthomalogist wasn't worried at all about the blinking thing. She said, in fact, her optic nerves are only "mildly" thinned. Praise God again!

With the help of Him, I am not worried! I am just NOT going to worry myself sick over potential problems that may or may not EVER affect things Camilla can do. If I did that, I would be giving in to the Enemy and he would be all too pleased about it. Not to mention, I would be missing all the wonderful, exciting things Camilla CAN do; which right now are everything she should to be on target for her age! So, I think I'll put the pen down for now, or rather-give my fingertips a break, to go and enjoy some 6 week old smirks, coos, and snuggles. Oh, and to breathe in the scent only a newborn has to offer!

We thank each and every one of you for your continued prayers. Thank you doesn't seem even enough; we are so grateful for every minute you have spent praying on our behalf, you are AMAZING! May God pour his blessings upon all of you!