We are HOME! Thank you Jesus!🏡🥰🙌🏼🩷

​(The disclaimer I give before every post. This is not a blog that is well polished or edited… We come just as we are ~ messy & sleepy & weak. But we are here sharing our hearts nonetheless. & testifying not to our own strength or power, but to the goodness & might & wonders of God🩷)

WE ARE HOME! Thank you Jesus! 



^cutest welcome home poster my friend Michelle made🥹🫶🏼🩷


Our most frequent question the past few days has been “How has the transition home been?!”


I do not just want to stamp a spiritual happy sticker on this chapter of our lives because it has not been easy by any means… but at the same time, I can honestly say ~ we are truly living the dream🩷 Sometimes reality is even better than your dreams, & this would be one of those times🩷


Faith girlie is growing big & strong, slowly learning to take milk from a bottle, waving & stretching her cutie arms & legs like crazy, & stealing more & more of our hearts every day. Her big brothers are quite literally obsessed with her, & so are we. We wake up every day in awe of the true miracle her little life is, & we can’t stop saying ~ thank you Jesus🥹😭🫶🏼🩷


Now don’t get me wrong ~ NG tube feedings aren’t always glamorous or easy… juggling my postpartum hormones & newborn life exhaustion & Faith’s around the clock physical care can be tiring to say the least… & we joke that we need to hire a secretary to manage all of Faith’s weekly appointments (OT, PT, SLP, nurse visits, pediatrician, cardiology, pulmonology, GI specialists & more docs & appointments still to come)… 


But also ~ watching everyone in our life fall in love with our Faith girl is a true dream come true🩷 Holding her & gazing at her precious face is one of our favorite things in the world. Caring for her is the honor of our lives. & we really do wake up every day, not just feeling peace, but feeling true joy. Life with Faith is joy🩷 


On another note regarding this transition, I was reminded of the image in Exodus 17 when Moses' arms grew tired, & his buddies Aaron & Hur held up his arms for him (whenever Moses' arms were raised, they were winning the battle, & whenever his arms lowered, they started to lose) ~ thanks to the help of Aaron & Hur, the Israelites won the battle against the Amalekites that day (of course really they just won because of God)! 



As I think of Aaron & Hur helping raise up Moses’ arms, it is a good lesson for "holding up arms" for people in our lives when they are weary or burdened… Todd & I have been completely unable to hold up our arms for ourselves, & to say that our people have helped  "hold our arms up" would be an understatement. I can't imagine getting through these past few weeks without our village🩷 I could write a book on the ways we have been loved, but just to give you a small glimpse ~ some of our friends organized & cleaned basically our whole house, people have dropped off meals & picked up our groceries, friends organized & donated to a GoFundMe that we've used for all our hospital expenses & medical purchases, people have come to play with our kids so we can sneak in naps, some of our friends have organized different prayer calls to pray for us in community, people have done our yard work for us, friends have checked in / sent verses / shared worship songs / left prayer voice audios... the list goes on & on & on🩷 We would never be able to say thank you enough for all the ways our people have held up our arms. We are so beyond thankful.


So how is it being home? It’s not always easy. It for sure isn’t glamorous. Faith’s schedule is beyond packed. It takes a lot of trust & surrender & faith to quiet the voices of the doctors that say "Faith's condition is incompatible with life" & listen instead to the voice of God that says Faith's days are perfectly numbered by Him, & we can trust His plans for her life & His heart for her good🩷 But even though the days can be hard & long & overwhelming at times ... we are living the dream with our Faith girlie, nonetheless, & we wouldn't trade any of it for the world🩷


& as I always say ~ because it’s always true ~ we are anchored & encouraged each day by the Good News of the Gospel ~ it’s good news for today & for always ~ the greatest news the world has ever known✝️🩷 Jesus is the One who not only holds our arms up when we are weary, but He held His arms up for us on that Cross ~ to win the battle of all battles against sin & death, to save us & redeem us & give us eternal life in Him✝️🙌🏼🩷


“Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free. For God the Just is satisfied, to look on Him & pardon me”🙌🏼✝️🩷



Keep praying🤲🏼 God is answering🩷


~Julia (& Todd)🩷

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