See Jesus

Sometime in May we were heading home from dinner and came to a stop sign. Above is what we saw as we waited to make our right hand turn. Anna shrieked, "see Jesus." It took me a while to understand what she was saying. We aren't 100% sure why our little girl associated the view above with Jesus as our church does not have stained glass windows. However, the only conclusion that we can draw is that the bible we read in nightly, "The Jesus Storybook Bible" has colorful pictures in it much like the stained glass windows above. We rarely traveled this way until this night in May. This summer it became a very familiar site as it was the way we traveled each time we went to the pool. It took Anna no time to realize that each time we headed towards the pool that we would "see Jesus." She would begin to ask us way before approaching the church and then once passing she wanted to know if we would be back. We began to explain to her throughout the summer that Jesus was not just there but everywhere. This is a hard concept to grasp for most people, especially a two year old. However, now as we pass our little one will say, "Jesus heart." It has been a good reminder for us that Jesus is always with us. This has been very evident to both Kevin and myself this past week. We have sensed His presence since this adventure began just over a week ago. It is hard to believe that Aiden Caleb Sasser is not only here but is now a week old.

Thursday evening when we spoke with one of the doctor's about Aiden and our desire to have him home he mentioned that sometimes you just have to let a baby like Aiden sink or swim. He was implying that in order for a baby like Aiden to begin to eat on his own at times the best way is to remove the feeding tube and allow the baby to determine when they eat and how much. Obviously he said you don't let them sink too much but you see what they do on their own. This doctor however was not Aiden's specific doctor. When we arrived Friday AM this doctor actually had done Aiden's review in the morning and had more or less taken over on Aiden's next steps. He shared with me that after reviewing Aiden's charts that he probably would not go ahead with the "sink or swim" at this time because Aiden's feedings had been so irregular and not very good. He reassured us that we were good parents and there wasn't anything more we needed to be doing but in Aiden's time he would begin to eat. However, our little man had other plans and had gotten his hand under the feeding tube earlier in the morning and had taken it out. Thus, the doctor decided since the tube was out that we would go ahead and try. It has been a great 24 hours. Aiden has taken all of his feedings from a bottle. They have been MUCH more spaced out but he is taking a good amount at each feeding and is waking up every 4-5 hours crying for food. This is what we were hoping and praying for. When we went in today the nurse shared with us that if he continues to do well, Aiden will be home with us sometime tomorrow. It was a fun surprise to hear this news today. Kevin just returned from a late night visit with Aiden and as he finished his bottle he ended up spitting up most of it. This was a first but hopefully the rest of his feeds throughout the evening will go well and we will have him home soon enough! We will keep you posted.