"Blessed are they who mourn

For they shall be comforted." Matthew 5:4

As I have said before--or maybe I haven't--but I know I have thought it about a zillion times since I've been here--our God sees the entire masterpiece complete--from beginning to end. He knows that every little thing that happens in our lives--it is all part of His plan--His plan for good. It is easy to lose sight of this when we are faced with sadness and the loss of a precious innocent child. Chris and Jasmine came to see us in the NICU 2 today--they came to tell us that they said goodbye to Jonathan yesterday afternoon. Our hearts were breaking--they still are--I know Jasmine and Chris are so grateful for everyone's prayers for them and their little boy--I ask you to continue to pray for them as they prepare to return home. Rusty and I are humbled by their strength--they wanted to see Par--I'm glad he was awake for them. Of course I didn't know what to say--no one ever does--and now I don't know what to write. I just wish I could show them a glimpse of why this had to happen--but I don't know that either--I do know that Par will be told about Jonathan--one of his first friends--for 23 days they were right next to each other--both fighting this difficult fight. Rusty and I will make sure that Par knows how strong Jonathan's mom was during this time--how she was an example to me for incredible hope. The story of how they even ended up in Gainesville will not be forgotten.

Father, we praise You for Your glory--we seek You in all things, we seek You in the loss of our friend Jonathan. We ask that You surround Jasmine and Chris with peace and comfort--we ask that they may feel the love of every single person praying for them right now. We know You have been glorified in the life of Jonathan and in the dedication of Jasmine and Chris as loving parents. We thank You for the opportunity to have our paths cross with such special people. We also thank you for Dr. Kays and ask that you will give him an understanding of Your plan for baby Jonathan's life. We praise You for the gifts you have given Dr. Kays and we pray he will seek You in his own times of joy and pain. Amen.

Par has done well today--he focused on eating for most of the day--he has a new bottle that really helps him--and his breastfeeding was great. We continue to wait--and we are trying to wait patiently. We are just grateful we are to this point and we know it only because of our merciful Father. He has been enjoying his new worm--we are told he stares at it a lot--he seems to love the face...we were able to catch him staring at it later in the morning--they were right--he seems very intrigued by something, huh?

Mom helped me give him a bath today--he was a precious little monkey--a little slippery too! Believe it or not, he went through all of his clean clothes in 2 days--little boys sure are messy! Rusty was sweet enough to wash them this afternoon--unfortunately, Par had to go naked until they were cleaned--but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he did his "baby Jesus" imitation--he really wants to be picked as the baby Jesus for the Gainesville Living Nativity--we told him Jesus wasn't ever on oxygen or a feeding tube--he didn't seem to understand--he just kept practicing.







Rusty and I went to see Par this evening--we fed him and put him to sleep. He was pretty hungry--which is good--and now he will sleep soundly (we hope!) We won't need to worry about Par and Ella getting into any trouble anymore--Ella was moved to the other side of the NICU--we are very sad--but from what we understand, it is in Par & Ella's best interest--this way they each get a nurse with fewer babies--which means more attention.

(Rusty is wearing a mask because he feels a little under the weather--just to be on the safe side).

We are pretty tired tonight (what is new?)--we feel drained and we just want to go to sleep--we're ready for a new day. We thank you for your prayers for our son and our friends here in Gainesville.

Much Love,
Liz, Rusty & Par