It's Official!!!

As of this afternoon, Eliana Joy Thiry is officially OURS!

What a journey this has been! God has shown himself to us in such a clear, unmistakable way through the journey of adopting Eliana. We stand in awe of the grace of adoption, and are humbled by the reminder that God adopts us as children and makes us heirs together with Christ-- even when we were so undeserving!

Thank you all for your many prayers! Even today we had a few moments when our heart stopped, but in the end, the birth parents went to court and relinquished their rights.

His Adopted,

Nathan, Julie, Elijah, Levi, & ELIANA

More of the Kids...

We are adjusting to having three kids in the house. The boys are absolutely enamored with their sister. It's been so fun watching them love her! Please keep praying for the finalization of the adoption. The papers have been filed, and the birth parents are scheduled to go to court this Monday to sign off their rights to us. Please pray that everything goes as planned. As of Monday, Eliana should officially be a Thiry!

Brothers....

We're Home!!!

At long last, we are HOME! It was a great joy getting to know the staff, nurses, and other NICU parents at Oakwood, and many of them became dear to us as they walked this journey with us, but I must say, it is wonderful to have our little girl home! She has amazed us with how well she's eaten today. It's like she was just waiting to show off her skills once she was discharged!

Our hearts continue to be amazed at this incredible gift we've been given. I even marvel that she was conceived the same month I started praying for a daughter. God is a big God!

Enough talking... here are some pictures and videos. We are very, very blessed.

Update

Sorry for the slowness of our updates. We are still in the hospital with Eliana, and the internet access has been difficult. We aren't sure when we'll be able to take Eliana home. She's doing great, but she's been slow to develop her suck reflex, so they have had to give her what she won't drink in a feeding tube. Then they realized her digestive system hasn't been wanting to process the full amount they're giving her, so now she's on half IV to keep her hydrated, and we bottle feed the rest. The good news is, last night and this morning, she's begun sucking much better. But, now her body temperature is a bit low.... SOOOOOO, we just need everything to stabilize a bit, then she can go home. It could be in two days or in two weeks. Pray that God would help her little body to mature quickly!

On the positive side, we had a very encouraging interaction with her birth parents yesterday, and they seem confident in this decision, and we are feeling more confident that she is our daughter!

Thank you for your prayers!

Introducing...

Eliana Joy Thiry
Born at 11:09 am after 2 pushes
5lb 8oz and 19"

She's in the NICU for observation and to receive antibiotics since her water was broken for several days prior to birth. She's also struggling to suck right now, so they did put a feeding tube in her nose to help give her whatever she doesn't drink. It looks like we'll be in here until at least Thursday or Friday- It all depends on if she decides to start drinking from her bottle.

We are amazed at the gift we've been given, but we remember that nothing is official until the birth parents appear at their court hearing to officially surrender their rights. That will be in one to two weeks. In the mean time, they left the hospital abruptly four hours after birth, so we remain hopeful, but are realizing they are very emotional and could still change their minds. Pray for us, that we would love Eliana for every day that God has her in our care, whether it's one more day, or a life time.

She already has daddy wrapped around her finger!

Pray for us as we make decisions about the boys and struggle being apart from them. If this NICU stay ends up being for a week or two, we have to figure out where to stay and how to best take care of them.

Maybe today?

Tomorrow's the Day!

Ok, I know everyone is probably sick of these "she's almost here" posts. But, she really is almost here! They are inducing labor tomorrow morning (around 7am est). So, Lord wiling, she'll make her debut sometime tomorrow afternoon. We are excited, and exhausted emotionally. Somehow we think it's a good idea to take Elijah with us tomorrow to the hospital to await his sister. He's SOOO excited. In fact, today when we picked him up from the babysitter, the first thing he said to us was, "You got baby sister??" Please pray that he's cooperative tomorrow and a blessing of a waiting-buddy for Nathan. (I actually get to be in the room for delivery!) We have no idea what'll happen once she's out... but we're trusting God to work out the details.

Keep checking back, and hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to post good news and some pictures!

Induction is set for Sunday! So, we'll head back home tomorrow to have a day with the boys, then come back here for the delivery. Keep praying for a healthy baby!

Thank you for your prayers! We are here in Detroit now, and have been in to visit T & A. While they think that the baby will be here in the next two days, the nursing staff thinks that they can hold her off for another week. Obviously, another week in the oven would be best for the baby, but it could also be better to have her just come out, and get this process moving. Thankfully, it's God's decision to make. Pray for wisdom for us as to how long to stay here and wait. Tonight I'm going to get some one on one time with A and Nathan will get some one on one time with T. Pray for wise words and that we'd be able to show them the love of Christ.

BABY ON THE WAY!

I just wanted to ask you to pray! Last night we got a call from "T", the birth father of the baby we hope to adopt. The birth mother, "A", is in labor! Her water ruptured last night. This has totally caught us by surprise. She is only 33 1/2 weeks pregnant, so there is much need to pray that the baby's lungs are ready. The hospital is hoping to hold off her arrival until Saturday in the hopes of giving her more time to respond to the steroids and have mature(er) lungs. But, they don't know for sure they'll be able to stop her from coming before then. So, Sandy H. has our boys right now, and we're going to head over to the Dearborn (near Detroit) this morning to be with the birth parents, as we know baby girl's arrival is eminent.

-Please PRAY for a healthy baby.
-Please PRAY that her need to stay in the NICU would be very limited, especially since we live
on the opposite side of the state.
-Please PRAY for Nathan and I as we make decisions.
-Please PRAY for opportunities to share and model Christ to T&A!
-Please PRAY for our boys during this confusing time.

I'll keep you posted as I can!