joy comes in the morning

the pediatric opthomologist came to the nicu yesterday to do gavin's eye exam. he found that the blood behind his eyes is gone and that, although he still has stage one and stage two ROP, it appears to be beginning to correct itself. PRAISE JESUS! the nurses and doctors are amazed that it is getting better already. they told us to expect it to get worse before it got better. i know with all my heart that God was in the center of this. this was no medical miracle. this was no "lucky situation". this was God. this was His choice and His timing. i want to personally thank each of you who prayed. please recognize that God hears our prayers and He answered them. from this point on, it is very important that the nurses closely monitor gavin's oxygen levels and saturation to ensure that the ROP continues to correct itself. the doctor will see him in another two weeks to check on the status of the ROP and to see if his eyes are vascularized. once they are fully vascularized, the ROP is no longer a concern. i called jeramy immediately after the doctor left and cried tears of joy with him. as you all are well aware, this has been such an emotional journey for us and this really was one of our last hurdles before getting ready to go home (aside from some hernia surgeries prior to discharge). i came home from the hospital in the afternoon and was actually able to get some much needed rest. thank you Lord.

oh, here is a picture of gavin bundled up in his big boy crib...he's 5 pounds, 5 ounces today!

today has been a great day...gavin is 100 days old! my brother-in-law, matt, made him a onesie that said "i'm 100 days old". it looks adorable on him. i will post a picture later tonight! he was being so funny today. when i got there, he was in his crib looking at his mirror. he was totally playing all by himself!!! he was making a bunch of little noises and was wide awake. i was laughing hysterically! i realize what a blessing this little boy is and what a miracle God has given to us. it also shows me how days in the nicu can be so scary one minute and completely joyous the next. i guess i'll just go with it. :-)

"when our days are filled with crying, we can trust that God, in time, will again bring laughter."
~janette oke