Happy 1 week Joy!

There are so many blessings connected with Joy that it is hard to list all of them. It is amazing how our Heavenly Father knows us all individually and almost "caters" our trials to us. Even though the doctors said that Jaxon and Joys birth defects were not even related and that we just "drew lucky" To me having the experiences with Jaxon has made our time with Joy a lot easier I guess you could say. I had already been through an experience where we were told our baby was going to die. But I know that the differences between them were done on purpose by a loving Heavenly Father. We did not know about Jaxons birth defect during pregnancy and we did with Joy. One of the biggest blessings in my life was that I was able to prepare my self and my family for five months. I knew that every day she spent with us was a blessing and that I could not take it for granted. I was able learn how to do things for her and it was a really special experience. I had never pieced a quilt, sewed a dress or crocheted anything more difficult than a dishrag ( that was never even :-) ) Justin had done some woodwork but he knows that he did not build her casket on his own. We had some amazing family help but know that there was someone else helping us. I would have never had the opportunity to do those things for someone so special if I wouldn't have had the time to prepare for her. What a loving Father in Heaven to bless us with such am incredible gift! I will not lie, it has been the hardest part of our journey to have our sweet Joy progressing in her stage of life. To have something so special so close to my heart for almost a year and having to let go is painful and my heart just hurts. We mourn for her but we do not mourn without faith that we will see her again. I am excited to recap and show pictures of everything coming together the week of her birth, and of course her wonderful entrance into the world. Right now we are still mostly in survival mode and haven't quite figured out how we are possibly going to download all of the sd cards to our computer. So grateful for modern technology, everyone who was constantly taking pictures of her, and a terabyte external hard drive ;-) We were able to get a few pictures from our NILMDTS photographer, Amber and they turned out so beautifully! I cannot wait to see the rest. This picture is my favorite one of her. This is how I remember her, with a little smile on her face. Oh how I LOVE my baby girl!!