5 months old today!

My Goodness, how time has flown! I was sitting here thinking about where we were 5 months ago today and my heart is full of thankfulness at the goodness of our Great God! 5 months ago today we began a journey that we had not anticipated...two weeks in the NICU with our newborn son. Those were two of the most physically and spiritually exhausting weeks, but God was our strength and much growth came of those two weeks! I think of the dear lady that received Christ as her Savior as a result of our being in the NICU, of the countless answers to prayer that we saw, of the miracles of Caleb's growth during that time, of the knitting of our hearts to our Savior's in a way we had never experienced before, and of the joy of bringing our sweet little boy home two weeks to the day of his birth! Were there doubts at times? Oh yes, and many many tears, but God's grace and strength were oh so sufficient that all we could say was "it's our great God!" 

Today when I laid Caleb down for his nap, I took a moment to thank the Lord for taking care of him in the womb and for preserving his life through the pregnancy when at times it seemed that life, both his and mine, were in the balance.  I thanked Him for keeping Caleb healthy after his birth so that he was able to deal with all the physical aspects of being in the NICU and for allowing us to be able to have what we needed to keep him healthy with no more hospital stays up to this point.  Preemies (Caleb was born at 36 wks and 3 days) often times end up back in the hospital because they are so susceptible to infection because of their weakened bodies, but not our little man! He's been as healthy as a horse with no infections from all the procedures that had to be done! Praise our Great God!

I have posted pictures below of that day and of Caleb at 5 months...those first pictures were hard to post:-) I still have a hard time going back to that time, but I do because it reminds me of what a mighty God I serve! He is the giver of life, but also the sustainer! 

As the mighty Caleb of old said, "I have wholly followed the Lord my God....therefore, give me this mountain..." and as Hannah prayed and asked for a son to give back to God for His service, so we prayed for a son who would follow God and serve Him with his whole heart and we believe He has something special for him to do one day! May he be a warrior for Christ and may he be a bold giver of the gospel!