Home Sweet Home!

Alia Lynn Stafford is home! If you have no idea what I mean by that, please see the previous post. Alia was sent home from the hospital this morning and is sleeping contendedly at home (or, at least she was when I last spoke with the contented parents around noon!). The pneuma thorax is much better - if there at all - and her breathing is good enough for doctors to feel completely comfortable for her to be at home. Of course, Brian and Autumn only live 3 miles from the hospital, so that is nice just in case . . .

Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement! Now, please pray with me that Alia will one day put her trust in Jesus as the one who died for her sins and that she will follow Him all the days of her life. I pray this for your children, also! God bless.

My New Granddaughter, Alia Lynn Stafford!

Well, just in case you still check this spot from time to time, let me tell you about my brand new granddaughter, Alia Lynn Stafford, born to Brian and Autumn Stafford on July 19 at 1:46 PM, weighing in at 7 lbs., 9 oz. Alia was clearly in no hurry to get to this troubled world. She came nearly a week after her due date, and only after a long, long labor and delivery. She is a stunning beauty. Really!

Alia came into this troubled world with a few troubles of her own. She was born with a pneuma thorax (collapsed lung) and spent much of her first twenty-four hours under an oxygen bubble (it looked like a space helmet). She is no longer under the oxygen tent, but still not where she needs to be. The problem should resolve itself within this week. There is also an irregular heart beat that shows up every so often. Brian and Autumn are counting their blessings rather than expending energy on anxious thoughts - though at times . . . Please pray that all of this will be behind them soon.

Our prayer for Alia is the same as it is for all of our children/grandchildren/nephews/nieces/cousins, etc.: that she may believe that Jesus died for her sins (of which she must repent) and that she will follow Him all of her days. If you are reading this, thank you for caring so much about our family!

I cannot end without tell you that the family of Cali Moody, the little girl in our church with a brain tumor, received incredible news today. After the most radical radiation imaginable, there are no signs whatsoever of the tumor in her body! PRAISE THE LORD! Is there a chance the tumor will return? Of course, but this is exceedingly good news - a miracle, really! Had there been any signs of the tumor apparent on the scan, it would mean that her days are numbered. Well, we know that all our days are ordered even before one of them comes to pass (Psalm 139), but we long for our precious Cali to be with us for many, many, many blessed years! So, today is a happy day - Alia and Cali - thanks be to God!