Happy Birthday, Audrey

My precious miracle turned 2 today! Although on occassion I will look at her in awe and remember how tiny and fragile she once was, I become even more reminiscent on her birthday. Two years ago she weighed 2 pounds, 7 oz. Even though she was 3 months early, I could hear her tiny cries after she was born. God heard the prayers of many and remained faithful. She was known in the NICU as the "easy baby". Even though she was born dangereously premature, she had very few problems, was on a ventilator for less than 24 hours, & breathing completely on her own after a few short weeks. Typically a baby born 12 weeks early has to remain in the NICU for 12 weeks, but Audrey had different plans. She wanted to spend her first Christmas at home and left the NICU on December 23rd after only 7 1/2 weeks.

Nov. 1, 2005

(Audrey's first birthday)

Today Audrey has grown up to be an independent little girl who loves to play. She is very busy! We were told that she would most likely be behind in her development; especially speech. We have not seen this. I think it has been to her advantage to have a big sister to keep up with. She can hold her own and has a rather large vocabulary. Her latest phrase is "what are you doing"? Steven had the day off so we went to the Children's Museum and had a birthday lunch at Culver's. She scarfed down her favorite food, hot dogs, and had ice cream for dessert. We are looking forward to Sunday when we have her big birthday party with her friends at the park.

Even though it is 2 years later, I still remember all of you who prayed reguarly for the health of Audrey and I am so thankful to you. Even though it was a confusing and sometimes scary time in my life, I am thankful for the experience. Not everyone gets to witness a miracle such as this in their lifetime.