I thought I would copy and paste our Christmas letter on the blog. I didn't make enough copies of it and we couldn't afford to send a card to everyone we wanted to this year. I also added the pictures from our Christmas card, plus some.
Dear Family and Friends,
This year brought our family many challenges and the greatest joys. Starting at Christmas time last year, we found out that our unborn baby boy was not growing as he should, which sent us on a whirlwind of appointments, testing, and the agony of waiting. We decided to name him Bennett, which means “Little Blessed One” and started sharing his story and praying for him by name. Throughout the rest of the pregnancy we heard words like lethal dwarfism, low amniotic fluid, femur-to-abdomen ratio, inter-uterine growth restriction, frontal bossing, fluid ultrasounds, growth ultrasounds…endless ultrasounds where we waited for measurements and were consistently dismayed. The day of Bennett’s birth we were told that it was very likely that he would enter the world in respiratory distress. There was no room for modesty as my delivery room was full of doctors and nurses- and little did they know what they would witness that day.
God answered our prayers on April 17, 2008. Bennett came into this world breathing on his own, crying, and beautiful. A month later we were told by a doctor who specializes in dwarfism that Bennett is a healthy boy with no signs of a disorder. Bennett is a miracle from God, there is no denying that. He continues to amaze us each day and is a source of joy and hope.
Ethan has grown so much over the course of the last year. He became a little boy where my little baby once stood the day he came to meet his little brother in the hospital. Some of his favorite things to do right now are sing and dance, help in the kitchen, do ANYTHING outside, draw pictures, and play with cars and trucks. He is sweet, sensitive, goofy, and creative. We catch him giving Bennett kisses, patting him on the head, and giving him his toys to slobber on. What a great big brother!
We learned so much this year about love. God showed us love through the constant praying, encouragement and support that our cherished family and friends showed us through Bennett’s pregnancy and beyond. God reminded us of His unfailing love as He taught us to wait and rest in Him. Our faith grew like mountains and He comforted us when our despair seemed to be impossible to survive. We will never stop thanking him for the miracle He did in Bennett. He has great plans for him. He has great plans for each one of us if we trust in Him and let Him work in our lives.
Merry Christmas to each of you. We are so excited to see what 2009 will bring!
With love,
Emily, Adam, Ethan, and Bennett
2008
Dear Family and Friends,
This year brought our family many challenges and the greatest joys. Starting at Christmas time last year, we found out that our unborn baby boy was not growing as he should, which sent us on a whirlwind of appointments, testing, and the agony of waiting. We decided to name him Bennett, which means “Little Blessed One” and started sharing his story and praying for him by name. Throughout the rest of the pregnancy we heard words like lethal dwarfism, low amniotic fluid, femur-to-abdomen ratio, inter-uterine growth restriction, frontal bossing, fluid ultrasounds, growth ultrasounds…endless ultrasounds where we waited for measurements and were consistently dismayed. The day of Bennett’s birth we were told that it was very likely that he would enter the world in respiratory distress. There was no room for modesty as my delivery room was full of doctors and nurses- and little did they know what they would witness that day.
God answered our prayers on April 17, 2008. Bennett came into this world breathing on his own, crying, and beautiful. A month later we were told by a doctor who specializes in dwarfism that Bennett is a healthy boy with no signs of a disorder. Bennett is a miracle from God, there is no denying that. He continues to amaze us each day and is a source of joy and hope.
Ethan has grown so much over the course of the last year. He became a little boy where my little baby once stood the day he came to meet his little brother in the hospital. Some of his favorite things to do right now are sing and dance, help in the kitchen, do ANYTHING outside, draw pictures, and play with cars and trucks. He is sweet, sensitive, goofy, and creative. We catch him giving Bennett kisses, patting him on the head, and giving him his toys to slobber on. What a great big brother!
We learned so much this year about love. God showed us love through the constant praying, encouragement and support that our cherished family and friends showed us through Bennett’s pregnancy and beyond. God reminded us of His unfailing love as He taught us to wait and rest in Him. Our faith grew like mountains and He comforted us when our despair seemed to be impossible to survive. We will never stop thanking him for the miracle He did in Bennett. He has great plans for him. He has great plans for each one of us if we trust in Him and let Him work in our lives.
Merry Christmas to each of you. We are so excited to see what 2009 will bring!
With love,
Emily, Adam, Ethan, and Bennett
2008
1 comment:
I've never said this, but I get so excited to see what Christmas outfit Bennett will be wearing each day! There are so many, and they are all so cute! Must have been Ethan's?? Funny how that worked out! :) I loved Ethan's Santa shirt today too!
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