Baby Dedication and Day 13

We had Parke dedicated on Sunday, and it was a wonderful morning. We did this with Landry and Collier when they were 2 and 4 months old, and it was so special to be able to dedicate Parke the same way. Our pastor read Jeremiah 29: 11-13 that I have shared with you. I love how clear it is that GOD is the one who makes our plans, not us. His plans for us are good and complete...without us doing a thing. All we have to do is trust him, and he will make our paths clear. I am resting, resting, resting, in these verses. We had lots of family there, and it was just a special time. 

We've had a lot of visitors this week, and Parke is enjoying being snuggled and loved on by so many! He is still doing great, and we are continuing to see no changes...except for him growing and changing!

Here he is with his best buddies...

Small, Medium, and Large!

12 days, 11 weeks (Isaac), and 6 months (Harris)

Those sweet lips are just so kissable. :)

Landry would hold Parke 24/7 if I let her. She is such a sweet sister! The only problem is that she tries to feed him...food! I had to explain that he can't have fruit snacks or crackers until she can see teeth in his mouth. :)

And one of the sweetest parts of the day. Falling asleep with sweet Parke right in the middle of us. He is such a sweaty cuddle bug, and I love spending those evening hours with him when everything else is quiet. 

So, tomorrow  is the 2 week mark. I have had many of you ask, what's next? Well, the answer is that we really don't know. We take him to the pediatrician tomorrow and will do a weight check and have his heart listened to. Our pediatrician for Parke is a man that we trust and admire as a doctor and father. He is a believer in Christ, and I believe we will walk this path with close guidance and direction from him. We may have a follow up visit at Children's Hospital, we may have another echo performed to check things out...I just don't know. A friend texted me and basically put into words exactly what Micah and I are struggling with at this point..."Barring any miracle, his situation is the same, and your desire to keep him from suffering is the same." Well said, sweet friend. :) Just because Parke has outlived the doctors' life expectancy doesn't mean that surgery will be an option. The success rates are still as low as they were when we got the information initially, the hospital stays are still months and months, and the quality of life is still not ideal for any child. There is just a lot more emotion involved with precious Parke being in our arms now. 

So, we will continue to take things day by day. I am so thankful for this time with Parke as a "healthy" baby. We never dreamed that we would bring him home and live a normal life. We thought he would be hooked up to every machine imaginable just to keep him comfortable while he passed. Each day is a blessing, and I plan to keep soaking up his sweet goodness as long as the Lord wills.