We're Off To St. Louis

I have great news--The hole in Lucey's heart has closed! Yesterday, Lucey had an ECHO and and EKG and her heart looks great (Thank you Auntie M. for going with us, for all your prayers and encouragement...yesterday could not have gone any smoother) We are so thankful, God is good and we give Him all the glory. I was praying prayers of praise with my friend, Catherine on the phone yesterday. She said something that really touched my heart....A parallel to being an orphaned child....a hole waiting to be filled...she's home with us, her forever family and her "hole" has been filled...her heart is whole. All the troops here have a heart so huge for Lucey, she gives us so much joy....

So here we are, in 10 min. heading to St. Louis for the first of many surgeries of her facial reconstruction. Just looking at her you would never know the major deformity underneath that bright, beautiful face you see when looking at her. It's truly amazing. She is missing so much of her upper and lower jaw that she will need bone grafting in a few years to create a jaw. She does not qualify for distraction. She does not have a mandibular joint. There is facial tissue missing as well.

Thank you for your prayers today as we travel and tomorrow as she has her surgery. I will try hard to post an update. I have no idea what to expect tomorrow. I have been encouraged by those of you who have shared your stories about your children who have gone through similar medical situations.

Tomorrow Lucey with have her lateral cleft lip repaired and her ear remnant removed. We are going the ear prosthetic route with Lucey. I'll explain more about that in another post.

I know I still have not shared the rest of our St. Louis visit from back in May...My friend's took care of me and I have some great photos I want to share....but the day at the hospital was difficult so I have been dragging my feet on revisiting that place in time.

Also, Christian has strep throat again. This is his third time in 8 weeks. We are concerned about him. He is a trooper. Please pray for his healing.

Thank you again for your prayers....
Much Love,
Beth