5 Months

We have been a family of 5 for 5 months now! It is amazing to see the growth our family has gone through during this time. Some moments have been truly perfect while others have been...well....quite difficult. The Lord has had his hand in every single moment and has carried us to this point. For example, the day we got our official papers to begin our home study was the very same day that our little girl was born. Coincidence....no, that's Jesus. The day we received our referral was my Mammaw Jones' birthday. She passed away a couple of days earlier so a day that we knew would just be tough was made that much sweeter when we saw our baby's face. The Lord's faithfulness is just beautiful like that. Our medical team is just incredible.  I was thrilled to learn that two of our doctors have adopted children, and her main plastic surgeon donates his time to Operation Smile. That's pretty special. The sense of community of people surrounding us that "get" us is indescribable and for that, we are forever grateful. Tomorrow morning at 8:00, we will be checking in to Batson Hospital. Emma will have her hard palate surgery and will spend the majority of the week recovering in the hospital. She will be back in her "no no" arm splints and back on her soft food diet. (She's not going to enjoy the diet part!)  This little girl is so strong and so very brave. She has grown and changed so much over the last 5 months. She is so loving, strong willed, fiesty, and smart.  We are so thankful for her little life and that we get to share it with her!