Little miracles

We just cannot stop singing God's praise for the miracle He worked in our little guy's bodies today.  We were bracing for them needing the PDA surgery, but praying that they would not.  We were not expecting both Max and Wes' valves to be closed after round one of the medicine!!  What an amazing tribute to the our Father's ability to do so much more than we could ever ask or imagine.  Thank-you to everyone who prayed with us that these valves would close...our prayers were answered!!

Max decided to follow in his brother's footsteps today and try breathing on his own.  I was sitting next to his bed reading a book when the alarms went off.  That is not uncommon, but this one was a little different sounding.  I realized quickly that something might be awry, so I decided to clear out and let the nurses do their thing.  He had indeed "extubated" himself, the opposite of "intubating."  The nurses gave him an opportunity to breathe by himself, but decided that he did need the help of the ventilator.  So he had to be intubated again, which is typically done by a doctor as it is a very precise procedure.  After the procedure, they take an x-ray of his chest to make sure it is placed properly.  In no time, Max was sawing logs like nothing had happened.  Wes had a relatively uneventful day, but they did decide to exchange the IV in his belly button (umbilical cord) for what they call a "pick line".  This pick line is an IV in the arm that threads all the way up the vein almost to the heart.  His nurse Cathy (one of our favorites) gave him a stern talk that he just needs to relax and let the doctor do what he needs to do.  He listened to her and just looked at her while holding his arm nice and straight and still for the doctor.  Kate and I are still a little uneasy about being too close for these procedures, so we kind of hung out by Max until they were done.  He handled it like a champ and an x-ray confirmed that the line is located exactly where it needs to be.

Without a doubt the biggest highlight of the day was that Max peed all over his blanket while the nurse was changing his diaper.  That in and of itself is hilarious to me, but the really cool part is that I got to hold him while they pulled the blanket out and put in a new one.  I have so been looking forward to this...I finally got to hold one of my baby boys!!  Below are some pictures of the event.

I could not figure out how to get the following picture to rotate, but I think you can still get the picture.
My first reaction was sheer elation.  He is just so delicate, yet fully formed.  For a little guy that spent only 63% of the gestation time carefully planned by God in his mother's womb, I am just blown away.  My second reaction was...he doesn't weigh too much!!  I do not fancy myself any sort of body builder, but I am pretty sure I could do infinity bicep curls with Max!!

Kate and I are just continually blown away by the wonderment of God's creation.  One post on this blog a few day ago said it so well.  The same God that created all of the billions of stars in the sky that are so big and so complex, created Max and Wes, who are so tiny.  And the really amazing part is that He cares so much more about Max, Wes, you and I.  

My Dad was commenting the other night about how the valve related to the PDA condition the boys had is such a great argument against evolution.  If you have a few minutes, check out the following link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_ductus_arteriosus

The following link is a great video by Louis Giglio about Laminin that my Dad and uncle sent to me.  Take a few minutes to watch it if you have the time, it really spoke to me and I hope it does the same to you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e4zgJXPpI4&feature=PlayList&p=1682F036E02EEA47&index=0&playnext=