Elizabeth Archives - March 2007

Email Update Sent March 1, 2007:
Hi friends and family,

Elizabeth sat up by herself for the first time today! We are praising God for yet another miracle milestone in Elizabeth's life. I think the little dance of joy I did after turning off the camera actually scared her a bit, but it was worth it. It's been a long time coming. Watch this video and rejoice with us! If for some reason you can't open the video, you can email me and I'll fill you in on the reason for our delight....

Love,
Sara (for all three of us)


Sent March 20, 2007:
Hi Everyone,

This will be a quick update since Matt and I are on our way out the door to fly to Germany for his sister's wedding. My mom will be staying with Elizabeth here in our SF apartment. She came over a few days ago and is already a pro at setting up Elizabeth's feeds. No sooner had she taken over responsibility for our little one, than it was "Cookie time with Granna!" This promises to be a delightful week for the two of them.

The quick news on Elizabeth is: She's eating about 1/3 of her calories by mouth....getting stronger and more active every day, she's delighting her therapists with her progress and remains a joy to be around.

Will you please pray for us as we leave her for the very first time? I've never spent a night away from her and my heart is aching already.

Pray:

- That Elizabeth will have NO health complications this week.
- That Granna would have grace for the task of caring for Elizabeth and that her memory would be sharp.
- For safe travel for Matt and I & that we would not meet any unexpected delays or travel complications.
- That Elizabeth would be blissfully unaware of our absence (too much to hope??) and that Matt and I would have grace to enjoy our time away and not be too homesick.

Thanks so much!
Love,
The Harms


Sent March 28, 2007:
Hi friends and family,

Matt and I returned home Monday afternoon to a very content Elizabeth. Our trip was wonderful, the wedding was absolutely perfect in every way....simply stunning, and our travels were safe and uneventful. Elizabeth however, had quite a week. On Friday night she was admitted to UCSF again with a possible UTI and in the end they concluded it was a virus (unfortunately probably picked up while doing her favorite activity....swinging at the park). She was discharged on Sunday afternoon, but in the mean time she and my mom had quite a crazy few days.

The good news is, my mom and Elizabeth handled the hospitalization like pros. Our favorite Dr., Michael, was on service and he was vigilant and attentive. My mom was unable to reach us until we returned from the reception at 4:00am on Sunday (Germany time), which was frustrating, but in the end, meant that Matt and I were able to fully participate and enjoy Julia and Ralf's wedding rather than stressing over if and how we should fly home early...which in the end wouldn't have changed much. This is yet another instance where God chose to provide grace, strength and resource for the crisis rather than allowing us to avoid it. We are so thankful that He carried us through again, and yet still hope the "crisis avoidance" days are on the horizon. :)

Elizabeth is well again and adjusting to having us around and not seeing Granna every morning. We're all happy to be together and thankful for the amazing job my mom did at keeping Elizabeth in her routine and doing so well while we were gone. Thanks for keeping us all in your prayers.

Love to all,
Sara (for the Harms Family)