First Few Days at Home

Sunday, October 23 - Tuesday, October 25

Sweet Baby Caroline is adjusting so well to her new home.  We are so overwhelmed by how truly precious she is.  We continue to be in awe of our Father's love.  Thank you so much for your prayers, support, and love. We love y'all.

1 Peter 5:7- Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
 ¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
 ² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
 ³ he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
   for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
   through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will fear no evil,
   for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
   they comfort me.
 ⁵ You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
   forever.

In Christ,
The Anderson Family

Caroline has come home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Our precious princess Caroline has finally come home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We arrived to our house around 10:00 last night. We thank each and every single one of you for your amazing support.  Your fervent prayers and love have truly been incredible.  We continue to be in true awe of the unconditional love and care that the entire staff at the Henry Medical NICU. The departure last night was truly bittersweet.  We made lifelong friendships there that will endure forever as our precious Caroline continues her journey.  In terms of visitors to our house, we look forward to the day that we get to introduce miss Caroline to each and every one of you.  We can’t wait to one day in the near future to personally thank each of you for the amazing role that you played in helping our sweet Caroline arrive home last night.  In regards to house visits, the nurses and doctors have been very firm about visitors. Unfortunately, her little immune system is exceptionally weak. Furthermore, October is the peak of RSV season.  This virus can be deadly to a premature baby.  Additionally, we have now begun flu season. Therefore, the nurses and doctors were very adamant about limiting visitors to our house.  To all of you who know Mary Beth, you know this is extremely difficult for her to tell her friends, who have shown us such unconditional love along this unbelievable journey.  So, in reference to visitors, for medical purposes the nurses and doctors told us that each visitor must be over the age of 12, have had a flu shot, and must not have any possible symptoms like a runny nose or cough.  Also, in regards to visitors, for personal reasons we would like to spend the first two weeks just bonding as a family.  We are very blessed that Phillip has 10 days of FMLA paternity leave and will be out of work through November 3^rd. We want to use this precious time to truly bond as a family with our sweet little princess.  Again, we cannot express enough just how truly in awe we are of the prayers, love, and support of each and every one of you.  We continue to be in awe of our amazing Father.  The details that He put into this journey have truly been unbelievable.  We cannot wait to share with each and every one of you so many amazing stories that can only be explained by God. We continue to cling to the Bible verse of Romans 8:28- “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  This will forever be our Anderson family verse that will be our rock as we continue this amazing journey with our precious little Caroline.  We love each and every one of you from the bottom of our hearts. We will try to update our blog each day with at least a picture or two so that y’all can watch her continue to grow.  Since we will not have visitors for a while, this will be a way for you to have a “virtual” visitation.  Furthermore, we would love to hear from y’all and this blog provides a place for you to post comments.  This will be so wonderful to one day show our sweet Caroline just how truly dedicated each and every one of you has been to her and us as a family.  The main thing that we need at the moment is prayer.  Please pray specifically that God continues to wrap His loving arms around us and keep us dedicated to raising Caroline in a home that is genuinely Christ centered.  Again, we thank y’all from the very bottom of our hearts.

In Christ’s authentic, selfless, and unconditional love,

The Anderson Family

The Anderson Family-September 21, 2011

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

On Monday, our sweet little Caroline turned 3 weeks old!!!!  Each day, we are in awe of the amazing miracles that God is doing for our baby girl. We continue to be so thankful to all of the wonderful doctors, nurses, and staff at the Henry Medical Center NICU.  The care that they give our daughter is truly incredible.  Yesterday was such a great day for our sweet miracle baby.  We have so many praises to thank our healing Father for.  Caroline has gained weight and now weighs 3 pounds and 1 ounce.  This is wonderful news!!!!  Yesterday, the respiratory therapist took Caroline off of her CPAP and she is now just receiving oxygen through a nasal cannula.  This is such a huge step and we are so grateful for this blessing.  We continue to thank everyone so much for your prayers and support.  Y’all are truly amazing.  Below are some encouraging Bible verses that we have been reading over the past week and we would like to share them with you:

Psalm 139:13-16

13.For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14.I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  15.My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16.your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Matthew 6:33

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well

Colossians 3:23-24

23.Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24. since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lords as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

1 Peter 5:6-7

6. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

In Christ’s love,

The Anderson Family :)



 

The Anderson Family--September 12th, 2011--Happy 2 Week Birthday, Caroline!

Monday, September 12, 2011

We are so excited and blessed to have celebrated our sweet baby Caroline’s 2 week birthday today!  We have so many praises to rejoice about.  Caroline’s weight has increased and she now weighs her birth weight of 2.9 pounds.  She has also increased in length and is 15 inches.  We are so happy that our little miracle baby is growing.  She continues to receive amazing love and care from all of her angels at the NICU of the Henry County Medical Center.  We have met so many wonderful nurses, doctors, staff, and parents through this journey.  We continue to ask for prayer about Caroline’s breathing. She continues to have the episodes where her heartbeat decreases and her breathing is irregular.  We pray that this problem will improve as each day progresses.  We thank y’all so much for your dedicated prayer and support for our sweet baby girl. Each and every one of you has played a role in this wonderful miracle.  We would like to share several Bible verses that we have been reading over the past week:

II Corinthians 13:4-

For though He was crucified through weakness, yet He liveth by the power of God.  For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.

Psalm 9:10-

And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for though, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. 

Ephesians 6:10-

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

These are pictures from each day of the past week.  We are truly amazed by the unconditional love that we have for our precious Caroline.  Thank y’all so much for everything!

                                            
    September 7th, 2011

 Mommy's dear friend, Miss Betty
Miss Mandy, Mr. Dave, Matthew, and Ryan gave Caroline the cutest UGA bib, gameday shirt, and pacifier holder.

With daddy's friend, Mr. Corey

September 8th, 2011

September 9th, 2011

With Daddy's friend, Mr. Ken.

 Mommy's dear friend, Miss Elizabeth

Daddy read Caroline the sweet book that Miss Elizabeth gave her.

Miss Elizabeth reading Bible verses to Caroline

September 10, 2011

 With Grandmama and Grandaddy

 With Aunt Jenni and Cousin Tori

 With neighbors Miss Kim and Mr. Paul

With neighbors and friends Maddie and Dillon, and Krista

September 11, 2011

 With Ma and Pa

 With Pa

Mommy reading a Spanish book to Caroline that her dear friend Miss Laura gave her.

 Auntie Em and Mary Beth

Caroline waving hello at her Auntie Em

September 12, 2011

 Caroline's birthday decorations

 With Ma and Auntie Em

With Caroline's loving and dedicated nurse, Kristy. She was with her the first night in the NICU and has been a blessing all throughout our journey in the NICU.