mas fotos favoritas

Finally! Snatching a few more moments to post more favorite "fotos" of our Little Man;

Tio Matias

Tia Tini

Tia Shannah (a.k.a. Tata)

Tio Alfonso

Tia Esther

Jona

So much to be thankful for...

The doctors were very open with Jonatán and his family at his appointment on Thursday a week ago. They told Esteban and Esther that, as parents, they would have to decide if they wanted Jona to receive chemo in the future or not. Please pray for wisdom. We continue to ask the Lord for the miracle of complete healing; HE is the Great Physician!

We are praising the Lord once again for His abundant provision for Jona and his family. They are (right now!) on the way to our beloved Uruguay! They plan to be there until December 13, returning to the USA on December 14. The Lord provided abundantly for their tickets and other expenses for the trip!

Please pray for physical strength for all of them as they travel; pray especially for Jona. Pray that they'd be able to get some good sleep on the airplanes. Please pray that precious memories will be made during this special time together with extended family in Uruguay. Jona has not been to Uruguay for about ten years, and this will be the first time ever in Uruguay for his brother Marcos.

On Sunday morning Jona gave a testimony at Iglesia Bautista Calvario in Greer. He spoke in Spanish, but my dynamic translation of some of what he said (with his typical personality and sincerity) includes:

I’m thankful for my parents; they cook lots of good food for me!

I’m thankful for my brother; he makes me laugh when I’m feeling sad.

I'm thankful for my (school) friends; they visit me in the hospital – and bring me treats!

I’m thankful for the cancer; it has drawn me closer to God.

My God is so big; there are no words to describe Him!

Thank-you for praying – for the whole family – and especially for Jona. Our God is big, and we are experiencing His abundant grace!

We continue to have so much to be thankful for!

A “list” of blessings...

According to Elizabeth:

Compare this year’s list to last year’s list of blessings.

We do have so much to be thankful for...

La Chaim! (To Life!)

Life has been full!

Our Little Man is now three and a half weeks old. (Where does time go?!) Daniel James is keeping us busy – eating lots! He has put himself on a (roughly) three- and/or four-hour schedule – although he does at times revert back to a two-hour schedule. Yep! He's our Little Man and has a hearty appetite!

Being big has its advantages. He started flashing great big smiles at us when he turned two weeks old. His whole face lights up – and we can see dimples in his chubby little face. The smiles are especially rewarding (when directed at his Mommy) during our middle-of-the-night episodes!

We're rejoicing in God's gracious goodness to us in once again answering many prayers and granting us the desires of our hearts.

"Who is like the LORD our God, Who is enthroned on high,

Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth?

. . .

He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children.

Praise the LORD!"

(Psalm 113)

fotos favoritas

More favorite family "fotos" include:

the very proud PaPa and Grandma

Aunt Ruth

On our first morning as a family of four at home, Elizabeth wanted to tell Daniel James "the story of Jesus dying on the cross."

There are so many favorites – but so little time...!

a very alert three-day-old Little Man

a very well-loved one-week-old Little Man

Yes! We have been abundantly blessed!

November 14: Update on Jonatán

Just a very quick update:

Jona now has a CaringBridge site where you can subscribe to updates ("journal notifications") via email. You can also leave encouraging messages in his GuestBook.

Please continue to pray!

Welcome, DJM!

Daniel James Matías weighed 9 lbs, 14 oz and was 22 inches long! We promptly changed our nickname for him from Itty Bitty Boy to Little Man!

We're going on two weeks now... Time really does fly when you're having fun AND when you're keeping busier than ever! That's why I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures...

Some of our favorite "brand new" pictures include:

about fifteen minutes old

about one hour old



"Best Big Sister"

Elizabeth had been looking forward to helping me dress him, BUT she wanted my help with putting on his socks – "because they're complicated!"

the boy cousins – on the Garwood side

Jonatán was admitted to the hospital for surgery on the day I was discharged. These are definitely emotion-packed days for our family...

Do pray for us all!