In the meantime, please, take some time tomorrow to spend time with your family and friends. If you're headed to church, consider what we're all witnessing with Tricia and Gwyneth as you worship God in community with others.
Many have emailed me, and I have responded to every email I have received from those of you wishing to send a more personal note. If you sent me an email, and did not receive a response, it's either lost in cyberspace, or check your junk mail. :)
I'll leave you with a few pictures from the day and a little tour of the space in which I'm living my life between my two sleeping beauties.
Practice
Discovering Her Ear
Perhaps Two of My Favorite Pics So Far - Her Great Grandmother
Nate
49 comments:
She is beautiful and so, so precious! I will pray that you actually do get some rest tomorrow.
With prayer and love,
Leslie
Hey, Thank You so much for giving us a glimpse!...
Keeping your two girls in my prayers!
Rest up!
-Karen
Oh she is SO sweet! We are praying so hard for both your girls and praying that tomorrow is a blessed day for you all. Thanks for the tour!
Hey Nate, I was reading Psalm 112 this morning and it made me think of you and your family. A couple verses that popped out for me were: "Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man." and "He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD." We are continuing to pray for you!
Sleep tight hun. Praying for your rest and family. We'll be celebrating my middle child's birthday while mourning the fact one of our crew is not here in body to celebrate. Please also keep my family in your thoughts
Praying for your beautiful family and forwarding your link to all the prayer warriors I know! Can't wait to hear more good news from you on Monday!
Amazing--I clicked on the picture a few posts ago and those tiny fingers! So sweet!
I am praying for you all.
:)
Kat
Those pictures are so awesome...
Thanks also for the tour. Thank you so much for caring about all of us who are caring for all of you. Isn't it great how God made it that way. We will continue praying for all those you come in contact with. It is so awesome to be a part of this "big thing" God is doing. I know you probably already do this, but tell Tricia we all love her and are cheering our hearts out for her, and for the most important player on the field... the Great Healer..the one who actually created life...
Thinking of you and your family. You are so blessed!
~~Laura
tlyons@netvigator.com
praying for your lovely family. it's daytime here in hong kong so we are standing in the gap while you and your lovely ladies get some rest.
nehemiah knew the importance of work vs protection. when workers were vulnerable to opposing forces he stationed warriors near the workers who were exposed to the enemy and said,
"Don't be afraid or them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."
in ephesians 6 we are reminded that PRAYER is very much part of the armour of God. while tricia and gwyneth are working and healing, we are standing nearby fighting and praying.
i have shown my children gwyneth's picture, and sela said, "she looks like us!" - and have prayed for her. and we will continue to.
charles and tess
Hi Nathan, I have left a few comments.....thanks for sharing your "walk path." I have shared with you that my family went through this in 2004. You look like you are hanging in there quite well. Make sure you are taking good care of Nate, too. At one point in 2004, I was in OB ICU at IU Hospital, my son was in ICU at Riley Hospital for Children, and my husband was in the ER getting morphine for kidney stones!! So, I feel your pain. My husband Mike trekked back and forth between the two hospitals via underground tunnels they have.
I wanted to share the words from a book my husband says sums up how he felt about us in very easy "kid" language. To me, it also reminds me how God loves us. Maybe you could read it to Gwyneth, daddy!
This book is called "I Love You So..." and it was written by Marianne Richmond.
Our little guy goes into his bedroom and brings it to me to read at least once or twice a week. (He's 3 now)
Here it goes...
"I love you."
"How much?"
"SO much."
"How much is 'so'?"
"WAY, WAY MORE than you know..."
I love you as BRILLIANT
as each sparkling star,
and as WAY OUT as space,
I love you THAT far.
I love you as GIGANTIC
as a great lion's roar,
and as DEEP as the ocean,
I love you MUCH more.
"That IS a lot," you say,
"but HOW did it start?
WHERE did love come from
to be in your heart?"
YOU put it there, really,
when you and I met.
And I knew for certain
WITHOUT you I'd fret.
From MY HEAD to my TOES
I was feeling inside
a devotion for you
SO DEEP and SO WIDE.
And now it's ENORMOUS
and wonderfully real
and hard to describe
HOW MUCH I feel!
I love you as AWESOME
as a thundery sky,
and as SOARING as mountains,
I love you THAT high.
"Do you love me EVERY day?"
you ask with doubting awe,
"or does love go UP 'N DOWN
like a teetering see-saw?"
I love you as STEADY
as the earth rounds the sun,
though SOME days of life
are the FARTHEST from fun.
"Like when you feel MAD?"
you ask with distress,
" 'cause I've BROKEN the rules
or made a BIG mess?
Or, when I'm UNKIND,
and your feelings are BLUE,
do you love me ALTHOUGH
I do what I do?"
I love you being NICE,
and when you're CRANKY, too.
I love you without liking
the NAUGHTY things you do.
My 'love you' DOESN'T change
like the temper of the days.
It's a CERTAIN kind of thing
in many DIFFERENT ways.
Hanging out WITH YOU
is where I want to be....
eating ice cream sundaes
or watching the TV.
UNDER your umbrella,
behind you on a bike.
BY you and BESIDE you
is what I REALLY like.
"Do you love just AS MUCH
when I'm FAR away from home?
Is you loving still THE SAME
in distant lands I roam?"
I love you NEAR or FAR.
I love you HIGH or LOW.
My love is there with you
WHEREVER you may go.
"Even when I'm SICK...
and I can't get out of bed?
Do you love me better HEALTHY
than with fever in my head?"
I love you sick or able.
You're ALWAYS you to me,
the ONE I LOVE forevermore.
Undeniably.
I CAN'T IMAGINE life
before YOU came along...
me there singing senseless,
no MEANING to my song.
Call it MEANT TO BE
or simply blessed fate,
you fill my heart WITH LOVE...
and for THAT I celebrate.
"I love you."
"How much?"
"SO much."
"How much is 'so'?"
"WAY, WAY MORE than you know..."
Praying without ceasing!!!
Mike, Missy, and Brendon in Indianapolis
I pray that tomorrow is uneventful for your girls.
We could all use a day of rest and reflection on the miracles we have witnessed this week.
Beautiful photos! So precious.
Thank you for continuing to share with us. Praying for rest for you tomorrow.
:)
Is it odd that I find myself missing "The Hole". There is something very peaceful about being in there.. perhaps it is the company?
Know that you and your girls are in my thoughts and prayers. Your unwavering faith is remarkable. My son was born at 27 weeks and weighed 1 pound 15 ounces and is our little miracle. He is now 3 and doing great! He beat all the statistics and odds they continously quoted to us. It was during those days and nights in the NICU that I drew all my strength from the Lord. He gave me such an unimaginable peace. I will pray for you and your precious wife and baby each day, and that God will give all of you peace, rest, and health. Have a great day of rest!
-Jessica
Those are beautiful pictures, Nathan. Thank you for giving us a look...
Praying for you and your girls tonight and tomorrow, that sweet rest will be had on all parts and God fills you up with strength for the coming week.
-Emily Haager (CA)
Just stopping by for the first time...i was forwarded a link to your site. You are in my prayers, your wife and your little girl! Those pictures with your great grandmother take my breath away and bring tears to my eyes! How sweet they are! I pray that God's comfort is closer than ever at this time. You have a huge role...and were chosen to be right where you are...right now, by God! He is so good!
Prayers from Minnesota.
Just stopping by for the first time...i was forwarded a link to your site. You are in my prayers, your wife and your little girl! Those pictures with your great grandmother take my breath away and bring tears to my eyes! How sweet they are! I pray that God's comfort is closer than ever at this time. You have a huge role...and were chosen to be right where you are...right now, by God! He is so good!
Prayers from Minnesota.
just found you.
i am laura and blog over at adventuresinjuggling.wordpress.com (like you have the time right now!)
your blog touches me for a number fo reasons:
i am a mom of 5
i am the mom of a 6 year old former 24 weeker (he just celebrated his birthday)
i am a nicu nurse and am always touched by dads like you...what lucky girls you have!
i am going to be a grandmother this coming june
my daughter we just discovered is a cf carrier
the baby's daddy(left the picture because "this is so inconvenient" according to him) refuses to be tested)...i try to explain genetics to my daughter who is stressed a bit and that we can and will test her baby when she/he arrives, still the nurse in me sometimes whispers a little too loudly when i am praying for my growing family.
i am bookmarking your blog and look forward to updates.
take care.
ps: check out my son when he was a wee babe in the nicu
http://flickr.com/photos/adventuresinjuggling/sets/72157603328109216/
my advice is take at least one pic a week with something concrete (like a doll) that your child can have always. these days we look at the toy lion on daniel's night stand and just shake our heads in wonderment...was he ever really smaller than that beanie baby? oh yes he was!
i apologize for being so long winded.
Thanks Nate, the pics were great and I really enjoyed the tour of your world for now. I hope you have a very great day with your girls, and can get some rest, maybe alittle football. We will rest but not from prayer. I'm going to a men's prayer time shortly and we'll be praying for Trician, Gwyneth, you, Joe & Kendra and your extended families. Have a good one.
I am so happy that I "found" your site. To tell you how naive I am, I didn't really think people suffered from CF anymore. Thank you for opening my eyes. Your wife and daughter are beautiful. I have forwarded your site onto about 20 people that I know that pray. Please know that the word is getting out in Grand Rapids, Mi about your family and that lots of people are praying. Again thank you for sharing your family and story with the world.
Robin
Nate, It was great to here your voice again. We miss you and Tricia and can't wait to see Baby Gwyneth. We are off to church have a blessed day.
Mike Tina and Elizabeth
Gwyneth is going to love all of your documentation when she gets older! Tricia, too! That IS a neat picture of Gwyneth holding her great-grandmother's fingers! It's amazing how TINY her hand is!
Have a nice restful day today. I have family coming over for the afternoon, so I'll be resting too!
Thanks for the video of your "home away from home". It's so much nicer when you can picture things! Debbi a/k/a Aspiemom
Good Sunday morning! Prayers for your girls today.
Going by the 'no news is good news' rule I look forward to NOT reading any updates from you today.
Rest well
Nathan,
You don't know me but I've gotten to know you and your beautiful family through your blogs. I've been reading and lurking while I wait for the "right" moment to post a comment. I feel I've found it. As silly as I'm sure this will sound, you just became much more real to me. In the beginning of your video showing your daily walk between your two loves, you licked your fingers and smoothed out your eyebrows. My husband does that when he wants to cheer me up and everything else has failed. In that moment, you were no longer an abstract man, father, and husband. In that moment, with that move, I can't explain it but I could see my husband in that move and that made you so much more real to me. I'm sure this all makes me sound crazy. I promise I'm not crazy. I'm just a pregnant mother of two, soon to be three, stuck on bed rest. Thank you for sharing your stories. I have been praying for you. I hope you enjoy your day of rest, you deserve it more than anyone else I know.
Much Love & God Bless,
Lizze
Hello Nate, Tricia, and Gwyneth,
It is my daily morning ritual to check on you all now. Normally I dont' get online until devotions and household chores are done, not to mention my two month old Miracle Rose being taken care of--but now you guys are checked first thing for prayer purposes! :-)
I "pirated" a couple pictures. I feel like I should confess. The finger one and the wedding band one. We are posting them on our church bulletin board this morning for even more prayer warriors to be recruited! If this is unnacceptable, please tell me Nate, and I will pull them immediately! You can email me at melissa@truehopecounseling.com.
Much love and prayers to you three!
There is no-one who deserves a rest more than you Nathan & I pray you are able to get that much needed rest today
God Bless
showering you all lovingly with prayers
long lslaand
new york
We are praying for you daily :) I am so thankful that Gwynneth & Tricia are doing well :)
I find myself checking your blog several times a day, hoping for positive updates about Gwyn and Tricia.
Your story hits near to home for me. I'm a brittle asthmatic and have been intubated twice. My husband, like you, wore a path in the hallway outside my room. I often wonder what is worse, to be the patient who is so ill or to be the family member watching and waiting outside.
Take care of you, as much as you can.
~Sasha
Nate-
I am a NICU nurse at another large hospital in NC. I was told about your blog from a friend in FL who has NC ties. Yours is an amazing story, and I find myself checking in on you guys several times a day. I wish the best for you and your girls, and I want to thank you for your openness to share your life with the world. You are giving a very honest portrayal of life in the NICU, and I think that is so important, a lot of people think NICU patients just get rocked and fed, they don't realize how delicate a 25-weeker really is. The awareness you are spreading about prematurity and cystic fibrosis will have a phenomenal impact, I am sure of it!
WoW Thank you for that tour! I love the picture of Gwenyth with her Great grandmother..so sweet. Baby Gewenyth and Tricia are Blog celebrities and have no idea!
hi, i just read about your story after a friend sent me the link to your blog. i am writing you from beer sheva, israel, where tonight the small group of believing university students that i work with will pray for you.
i hope you can be encouraged to know that there literally are people all around the world praying for your family.
we will pray that the LORD will continue to hold you close and that your wife and daughter will survive and flourish and that HE will use this experience to bring you all closer to HIM. what an amazing GOD we serve that HE chooses to use all of us, sick, healthy, weak, wounded, and those of us just a few days old.
be blessed nate.
melissa
Nate,
Your story has touched me and captivated me since I stumbled upon your blog a week ago. I dont know you but I feel a connection to you and your family. I pray for you all the time. Whenever I see new pics of Gwyneth, I lay my hands on my computer screen and pray that God will hold your tiny little girl in his hands and keep her safe! I find myself coming to the computer several times a day just to see if you posted anything new. I made the decision to go back to school not too long ago to be a nurse. Seeing little Gwyneth, really made me want to work in the NICU. She is such a little miracle. I will never forget your story... and I hope to pass it on to other parents in the NICU to give them hope.
Thank you so much for pouring your heart and soul out to complete strangers!!I believe God will reward you for your faithfulness!
Love,
Misti
She is very precious. I am praying for all 3 of you every day and night. I hope you have an amazing day of rest! Hugs to you 3!
Hey,
I heard some (dang I forgot how to write sequek, swequick... so I asked Pascal, who as you well know speaks english as his second language. He thinks and out of his mouth comes, squeak... my son is a star) Ok back to my though...
I heard some squeaky shoes on that video. I'm hoping they were those famous orange Fila numbers...
Peace,
Matt
Thank you for more new pictures! Gwyneth is looking really great! She's so precious. I enjoyed the video. It's nice to be able to see everything since most of us are so far away. :)
Still praying very hard for Tricia, Gwyneth, and for you and some much needed rest.
Love ya lots!
Nate, your little girl just takes my breath away. I do love the great-grandmother photos - how amazing to see 2 perfect hands. How can anyone look at those and not believe in our loving Father? Rest easy and thanks for letting us know about the other families you are meeting on your journey. Gwyneth and Tricia and your new friends are all in my prayers.
Amazing Nate.. you are simply inspiring. I have been praying hard for your girls, for you, both your familys and esp. gwyn's roomies.
You are right, Sunday is a day of rest, and I hope you get some well deserved rest.
Your in my prayers.
Dearest Nathan,
Had a chance to briefly see Grandma and PopPop last night. It was so touching to talk to them and my mom face to face about your beautiful girls. I saw Gwyneth's tiny diaper. I didn't want to stop holding it - as if I was somehow able to touch her. And I can't seem to stop looking at all the pics of Gwyneth - especially the one with her eyes open and the ones with Grandma's hand touching her. Just when I think my heart could burst with all the new emotions God has brought me, it swells a little more with love. I keep thinking of how my 'cup runneth over' with His amazing love. Thank you - you're gonna hear this alot from me - thank you. My prayer life is changing so much. My relationship with God is not only changing, but also with my amazing husband, and the rest of my family. Thank you. God is so awesome! Casey and I continue to pray for the three of you and EVERYONE else affected by/involved in this love story. We will be there soon to visit you guys. Please get some rest and take care of yourself, daddy.
God's love and peace to you today and always,
Your cousin Amy
Thanks for the tour. :-) The picture of Gwyneth and her great grandmother's hand is so beautiful...quite wonderful.
Been praying a lot for you guys.
Angela in central Ohio
Your beautiful Great-grandmother and your beautiful daughter. Wonderful picture. What a blessed man you are! Some people may call your story sad, but I agree with you that it is a story of God's exceedingly abundant love for His children. It is in the hardest times that we see Him more personally. You and your family make this so very clear. Thank you for sharing. May God's mercy and grace continually surround you!
Thank you for sharing and giving us a glimpse of what life is like for you right now! The girls are beautiful and I continue to pray all of you! Love from MN!!
Thank you so much for sharing your heart with all of us. I was drawn to your story on Saturday for the first time. I truly believe that it was the work of our Lord. I must share with you the amazing way that God has once again used you and Tricia and Gwen to minister to others. I teach a young teen Sunday School class at our church, todays lesson was on HOPE. I had studied the lesson throughout this week, and on Saturday I came to read your story. As I learned of you and Tricia's faith, HOPE and trust in God, I had to use your story to tie in with this lesson. We were all so very blessed! I am, and will continue to lift you and your sweet girls in prayer. I will also pray for the lives that you have come in contact with. I know that God will continue to do great things, and HE hears the prayers of His children. May God Bless you with Peace, Hope, and Comfort today and the days ahead.
In Christian Love,
Marge
Nate, the pictures and video are amazing. Love that camera and how it serves as a window into your world. The video particularly gave me the personal touch I've so needed to complete the picture in my head about how life is there. Thanks for taking the time. It was good to see that you're still good looking! Did you hear us praising God this morning? The words have taken on new meaning and our voices were evidence of the passion we feel as a church family. Every song became a prayer. I pray tomorrow will be yet another good day for your "sleeping beauties." Love, Barbara
Thank you so much for the tour. I have walked halls of a NICU for several weeks while my preemie's were growing enough to take them home. Although it's been 8 years now I will never forget the many trips I made down the hallways. It would of been great to meet someone like you during that time. God is still using you in amazing ways to reach people. I hope you got some rest today and looking forward to more updates tomorrow!.
Praying in Florida!,
Melody
Praying for you and for your girls.
The pic with Great Grandma is wonderfully inspiring....and I just love your pug!
What a wonderful father and husband you are. Although our circumstances were a little less "fragile" my husband made the walk for 4 weeks. I am so glad I found your blog. You and your wife and precious baby are amazing. Im def adding you to my favs so people can learn about you.
Shannon and Family
Austin
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