She Scoots...and Scores!

In the past five months, Caeli has come a mighty long way from being resuscitated at birth to being completely off oxygen and ready to come home. Chastity and I have experienced nearly every feeling imaginable and we're better for it. While I won't divulge the full realm of expressions (divorce was NOT an option, nor should it ever be), it was a pretty safe bet that anger was one of the emotions. Why us?, we pondered nightly and daily in our prayers and the conversations with a dwindling number of close friends and praying family not limited to our own blood relatives or Mount Zion.

This is why the days have become sweeter.

Today is why we've caught the waves and ridden them from crest to landfall. 

The family that plays together, stays together.

Caeli has been turning her head and rolling over in her crib for some time, but the monumental events are scooting and taking to the bottle with great ease! Today will mark two weeks of the bottle; she no longer is tube-fed. (Sidebar:  She resumed bottle life after last week's surgery.) The way she wipes out formula, I'm afraid she'll eat us out of house and home as she grows up. Today, I'll take it. This means my baby girl is already growing up so fast! Some of her other milestones include smiling; looking around for daddy when she hears my voice; tracking objects with her eyes and gradually decreasing eye crossing; bringing her hands to her mouth; and so many others. 

This is where I want to give a shout-out to the NICU staffs at ACH and UAMS. You don't know how gratifying it is to have you join our lives at the points you did. Beyond Lorrie and Emily as Caeli's primary nurses, thanks to respiratory, physical/occupational/speech/language therapy, all of the various doctors, Dr. Bradford of opthalmology, social services, nutrition and dietary, and even the custodial staff!

Need validation of putting your faith in an omnipotent God? Watch my daughter grow from micro preemie to busting out the seams of her newborn clothes. We're taking pictures in every outfit since many are one (or two)-and-done to show growth. Over the past five months, we've been thrust into a place few parents travel and come out stronger from the journey. Unscathed? Nope. Let our battle wounds and scars provide proof of where the C. Armstrongs have been and serve as reminders to keep our eyes on the prize as well as to enjoy the present moment.

O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy endureth forever. Psalm 136:1