"looks perfect".

 

These were the words we heard from Charlotte's surgeon at her two week check.  Mr. Jason Miller, plastic surgeon at Children's Hospital gave her head the once over and relieved us with his "perfect" remark.  Now that the skull was "remodeled" to give Charlotte's brain more room to grow, the shaping process should continue naturally as she continues to grow.

Thanks to all of you who have prayed for us and cared about us through this blog.

I thought all you Charlotte-lovers out there might enjoy a couple recent photos...

 New hat. Bring on summer!

"Mommy keeps me in hats when out of the house so I don't scare anybody with my ear to ear scar." 

Note: It is actually hard to notice the scar with this cute face - but the scar looks tamer every day!

bright eyes.

Guess who has her brights eyes back... and chatters up a storm? Answer: Little Bald Pookie AKA Charlotte

 Today Grandma Bunny went with Charlotte and Hannah to UNL for class.   I got to stay at Grandma Jane's house too, just like Charlotte does every Tuesday and Thursday while mommy goes to class.   (This close to her surgery, we thought Charlotte Girl would enjoy a backseat companion for the drive to and from Lincoln.)   Part of their routine includes "nap time on Grandma's lap".

It is hard to photograph Baby Girl's scar in a subtle way.   We thought you might want to see a tiny bit of it (and we tried to make the photo little to ease the hard-to-look-at-a-scar-on-a-baby-factor.)   From the front, it is easy to forget that 6 days ago Charlotte had a very serious Posterior Vault Reconstruction surgery.   One day soon it won't show at all,  but for now little Pookie needs to keep a hat on in public so people don't pass out.   A head shot from the top is pretty scary.  We have the pics tucked away for when we don't even remember what happened... as a reminder of God's faithfulness.

Her hair is already growing back.

Pray continue to pray for perfect healing.

home!

Mother Rabbit says sorry for the delay in posting... but getting some bunny all ready to leave the hospital and  settled back home yesterday was a lot of work, and Grandma Bunny got too tired to put words on a page.  It is also a tremendous challenge to capture a photo where the scary-scar isn't showing too much for a cyberspace photo.  By last night, the swelling on Baby Girl's face was down enough for us to recognize her smile which was very comforting.  Charlotte was definitely HAPPY to be home.  In fact, that was an understatement.  Then she spent the rest of the evening having that much anticipated "poop" that the nurses were looking for... three times.  And we cheered!

easter reflections.

There might be some who felt sad that our family had to spend Easter in Room 509 at Children's Hospital... but I wanted to report that upon reflection, we agreed that this was a rich and very meaningful Easter for us.  It was easy to remember that JESUS DIED AND ROSE AGAIN and that it changes absolutely everything. It was easy to remember that BECAUSE HE LIVES, prayers can be prayed and prayers work.  BECAUSE HE LIVES, all of life has purpose and meaning.

Some Easters in the past I would be frustrated when I fell into bed exhausted at the end of the day because I had not taken time to reflect on the TRUE meaning of the season... yes, I had made homemade rolls and yummy casseroles, arranged colorful Easter baskets and orchestrated a fabulous egg hunt... but the REAL Easter didn't always get pondered.  

Not this year.  The words to the classic old hymn nearly rang in our ears as we felt God's goodness, timing and presence... "I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today... I know that He is living whatever men may say... I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer, and just the time I need Him, He's always near...

HE LIVES, HE LIVES. Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.

HE LIVES, HE LIVES. Salvation to impart.

You ask me how I know He lives?

HE LIVES within my heart.

HE LIVES

There were times I thought this hymn was kind of cheesy.  I don't now.  It is ringing in my soul.

Thanks to Wyn Wiley who sent this photo from Charlotte's six month photo shoot to cheer us on Easter.

reporting for duty.

On Easter night, Grandma Bunny got a real treat.  I got "cuddle and me-me" duty at the hospital...and I loved every minute of it.  Yes, I slept next to Charlotte in the baby crib bed.  My job was to put her me-me (pacifier) back in if it blooped out - and to provide a soft touch and soft voice when she got scared or fussy.  Then, when a real I-am-hungry-and-want-only-what-my-mom-can-give situation occurred, I woke Hannah and she nursed her.  I guess Hannah felt that Charlotte would be comfortable with me, which enabled her to REALLY SLEEP on the sofa in the room.  She didn't even hear any of the nurses or doctors come in throughout the night and early morning. The true blessing was that she got some really good sleep, since the night before she was awake most of the night.

HOW TO KNOW PRAYER IS REAL:  When a 50-something grandma actually wanted to sleep in a hospital bed (and a baby version at that) and that it actually felt comfortable and that there wasn't another place in the whole world that she wanted to be.  I even slept well.  It was surreal and amazing to me.  I thought to myself "this is what feeling the prayers of the saints is like"...

Hannah work up feeling refreshed and even said something like "I have never slept so hard in my life" and "I feel like I could run a marathon".  Grandma Bunny woke up refreshed and feeling like she just experienced something very, very special.  Baby Girl woke up feeling better and the swelling went down a little bit around her eyes.

When the girls were little, every night we prayed with them in bed and the prayer always included having "angels encamped around them while they slept".  That is what happened.