Good news, bullet points and musings

It's only been 3 days since Sarah posted but it has been a looong time since I did one. I've missed you all :) My body seems to be adapting to less sleep at night so I guess that's...good. Life with Brinley is becoming more "routine" and therefore easier to manage to a certain extent. We are feeling more rested in general and that makes our coping mechanisms more durable; when you're exhausted everything just seems so much more overwhelming, right? We continue to be blessed by so many people in so many ways to the point where it is almost too much just to keep up with saying thank you, so if you've done something for us and we haven't told you how grateful we are then please know we are humbled and thankful for you!

Now, I like bullet points. It's how I think. It lets me jump around in short bursts. So that's what you're getting:

• This morning Brinley had x-rays of her head and an ultrasound for a dimple toward the base of her spine. Both came back normal!!! The head will continue to be monitored but the cranial sutures are not fused despite the small soft spot so praise God!
• I like thunderstorms. Today was a good day.
• We had a great assessment team here for determining Brinley's therapies that she will need. Speech, physical and occupational. These will begin very soon.
• Pi is the ratio of a circle's circumference to it's diameter.
• Brinley has started enjoying falling asleep on our chests, face down. It's adorable.
  
• Medically, right now we are entering a mode of just keeping Brin growing and developing. We're able to concentrate more on the true baby development that has taken a back seat up until now. 
• Brin also had x-rays done of her feet and if the structure turns out to be a certain way that would become worse as she grows then they'll have to do something around 6 months, otherwise no surgeries until about 1 year old.
• Coffee >> Tea

We have really been so richly blessed by God through all of this, though at times I'll admit, it can be hard to distinguish the blessing from the sorrow. The more of this time that is behind us the easier it is to see how God has worked through it all and the more it is coming into focus what He means by His command to "be still and know that I am God". He sees Brinley now, in a year, in 5, 10, 30 years and He has a plan for her. We get to be there along the way to see and so do all of you with us. That is awesome to think about. We mourn and are comforted, feel joy and sadness, excitement and exhaustion, are cranky and patient in turn but in all of it, the highs and lows, we know in our deepest being God's unimaginable and unending love for us. I can almost hear Him saying "keep going, you're gonna want to see this next part! It's awesome."

Pray for us, that our hearts would always remain soft and pliable before God. Pray that even in our exhaustion Sarah and I would be able to be patient with one another and with our children. Pray that we will soon get to a point where we have enough in us to more than just survive, to overflow and pour out! To be a source of help instead of a sink.

We made another trach baby doll (with a bonus G-tube of course). The surgery went well.