*Website Changes*

We're still here... no changes... nothing much new! Just about 3 weeks to go before the big delivery day. We are so eager to meet our sweet girl - excitement, anticipation, anxiety... all in one!

My friend Becky will be updating the blog, CaringBridge site, and facebook when the time comes for us to go to the hospital.

Speaking of CaringBridge, I have set up a new site to use for baby Hannah for the next few months. I wanted something somewhat more private & secure, yet available for those who still want to follow her story.

If you send me an email, I will send you the direct link to her CaringBridge site. Please don't hesitate to email me. My email address is: joseph.erika@verizon.net

Becky will post the very basic details on here (baby's arrival, etc) but limited details of anything else, and no pictures of her will be posted here right away. I will still keep this blog, I just won't be updating it for a few months. Thank you for understanding, and don't hesitate to email me....

Baby Update (and Blogger issues*)

*Please bear with me as I am working on rearranging things on this blog. Blogger has been giving me issues, and sometimes I find time in the day to work on it - but it may take awhile. Thanks for putting up with me. Oh - the picture at the top is a 4D one of Hannah's beautiful face! I cried when I saw it on the big screen as they were working on getting a cute shot of her... I love it! Of course, I can't figure out yet how to reconfigure the picture setting so I can get a collage to fit on this blog layout. Someday...

Speaking of Hannah, we do have some news on her condition. We found out that she has something "mysterious" going on with her 2nd X chromosome. As most of you may know, boys have an X and Y sex chromosomes and girls have two X's. She clearly has two X's, there is no question or concern about her gender, it's just that one of the X's is missing a piece, and has some "unknown piece" added to it. This of course, threw everyone off (the doctors, specialists, lab scientists, etc) because it did not "fit their molds". They aren't able to explain it. All they can say is that it IS the cause of all of her numerous issues right now, though (enlarged ventricles in the brain, heart defect, cyst on bellybutton/cord area, 2 vessel cord, etc).

So what we know is that she has some sort of X chromosome abnormality. We just don't know what it is. According to the geneticists, her numerous conditions don't match up to any of the common, well known syndromes. This came as quite a shock to us, but we have had some time to process it. We have come to realize fully that we may never know exactly what is going on with our precious girl, and we are 100% ok with that. It took some time to get there, though. In a way, I am somewhat grateful for this "mystery syndrome" because it keeps confusing our doctors, and most importantly it creates a huge open opportunity for God to show His all-knowing, all-loving power in this situation. It is also a wonderful opportunity for an amazing miracle by our Mighty God! We remain eternally hopeful for baby Hannah's life... we love her JUST as she is, and we're looking forward to meeting her very soon.

Just a side note of 'praise' here: we met Hannah's neurologist, Dr. B. He was SUCH A RELIEF... compared to all of the other doctors and specialists that she has. He's like an old Grandpa... very sweet man, explained everything SO clearly to us, and spent ample time making sure we were comfortable with the information and understood it clearly. Plus - most importantly, he is a Christian...very encouraging! He also offered a wonderful program for Hannah to be involved in after she's born, that will last throughout her childhood as long as she needs it - it helps monitor her brain development and helps with any delays or brain issues she may have. Such a comfort to know that! God keeps providing for all of us, above and beyond what we could even think... we are so grateful.

We will be meeting with the NICU doctors next week, as Hannah will be spending some time there after she is born. I'll update you then, unless something comes up before. Thank you all so much for your emails, FB messages, and comments of support on here - we have been so blessed and surprised at how many people have been reaching out to us. Thank you! Please keep praying for our strength and endurance... we are in the home-stretch, now... and have many many "unknowns" coming up before/after her birth.