The Hand of God in the Life of a Child - Part 1

This is the very first ever taken of my grandaughter Olivia. Isn't she cute? :) Olivia was born 3 months premature. These are the events that led to her birth and how God arranged all of the circumstances and cared for her all the way.

Before my daughter knew that she was pregnant, she was in a car accident. She was broad-sided by someone making a left-hand turn as she was driving through the intersection. The car was totaled but Nikki seemed to be ok. She didn't go to the hospital at the time of the accident but did go to the doctor shortly after that just to get checked out. Before her appointment, she discovered she was pregnant so no x-rays were taken and the visit didn't show any external injuries.

After finding out she was pregnant, she made an appointment with an OB/Gyn but could only get an appointment with the nurse practitioner until she was 3 months pregnant. It seemed this doctor was just too busy to keep up with her patients. Nikki kept her appointment with the nurse practitioner but no exam was done. Shortly after her first visist she started bleeding so she called to make an appointment with the doctor and to get an exam. The doctor's office still wouldn't give her an appointment with the doctor for at least two months. They told her she could only see the nurse practitioner so again she saw the nurse practitioner and was not examined, but she was sent for an ultrasound.

The ultrasound didn't show anything wrong so the nurse practitioner said nothing was wrong and told Nikki that it was normal to have bleeding when your pregnant and it wasn't necessary to have an exam. The office still wouldn't give her an appointment for an exam with the doctor for two more months. Nikki worked waiting tables and wasn't sure if she should continue working or what she should do so she asked the nurse practitioner who told her she could do whatever she wanted to do.

That weekend she began bleeding again and I took her to the ER. The doctor at the ER, who was affiliated with the doctor's group where Nikki had been, told us that it was normal to have bleeding when you're pregnant. At that point I had had enough and made it very clear to him that it might be common for some bleeding to occur but it was in no way normal. Then I asked him if it was his daughter or his wife, would he want them to be examined. He paused for a moment, knowing that he had said the wrong thing, and then sheepishly answered yes he would want them examined.

We left the ER without any explanation, satisfactory concern, or instructions for care. So I immediately found another doctor. I called and explained the situation and they scheduled an appointment with the doctor for an exam that Monday. Interestingly, the first doctor who had never seen Nikki, sent her a letter stating that she would no longer be her physician and was not liable for anything that may go wrong in her pregnancy.

The new doctor did an ultrasound in his office and didn't find anything unusual but wanted to monitor her so he scheduled weekly visits with ultrasound for some time and took her off work.

The bleeding stopped and all seemed to be well with Olivia's growth and condition so he put Nikki on regular prenatal visits but continued with the ultrasounds to keep an eye on things. As Olivia grew he noticed that Nikki's uterus was heart shaped and smaller than normal. It didn't seem to be a problem but unusual and he wanted to monitor that as well to be sure it didn't present a problem later on.

In a later visit as the uterus expanded to hold Olivia, the doctor noticed in one of the ultrasounds that a portion of the placenta had pulled away from the wall. We didn't know for sure but suspect that may have been what caused the bleeding in the beginning of her pregnancy.

God knew everything that had happened from the beginning and was also monitoring Olivia's progress. Come back tomorrow when I post the rest of this story to see His hand in Olivia's untimely birth. Did I say untimely? God's timing is always perfect.




Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind ~ Luke 10:27

Getting Creative

Meet Emily, aka Little Em, aka Emily Energy. Isn't she just a little cutie!? Emily loves to paint. Whenever she comes over, as soon as she walks in the door, the first words out of her mouth are "Can I paint?" She even asked as soon as she woke up one morning when she spent the night. My lovely little artist. I try to encourage artistic and creative abilities in my little grandaughters. I was not encouraged in this area when I was growing up. Actually, one time when I made a foil crown for a family member, I was told "She won't want that." As harsh as that sounds, the person who said it had NO intention of being hurtful at all. I've even come to realize that she was speaking from her own deep insecurities. In any case, it most definitely left me believing that I had no creative abilities what-so-ever. I hope to instill in these little ones the confidence to see themselves as God sees them, and to recognize, develop, and use the skills and talents that He gives them.

I painted the little heart on her face. God has shown me that He has given me a little bit of creativity too and has been helping me to cultivate that gift and enjoy it. I have enjoyed dabbling in jewelry making, both silver-smithing and costume, mosaics of all sorts, copper/tin embossing, wood carving, sketching, and a wide variety of crafting projects. My latest is one of my favorites. If you can't tell from my blog, I enjoy working with graphics. I had the pleasure of creating the new logo for the company where I am working. It has been a lot of fun for me as I love the challange of trying to custom create something for other people. Especially when they are pleased with the end result, and in this case, they were very pleased. :-)

God tells us in His Word, "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. .... Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." (Deuteronomy 6 & 8). I love decorating my home with scripture and things that will make Jesus visibly the focal point of life. I want to be the influence this scripture is commanding. Such home decor is not always easy to find and is often quite expensive. That has led me to start creating scripture home decor by framing scripture using my own graphics and embellishing the frames. I had the pleasure of creating several for my dear friend Rhonda to give as Chrstmas gifts this last Christmas. I was very pleased to hear that they were very well received, and to know that little seeds are being planted because of it. Here are a few that I have made. Click on the image for a closeup.

Mother's Womb - This is the first baby picture of my first grandaughter Olivia. I keep this one in my bedroom. I love that Olivia and the other two are able to see that a baby is real even in the womb. Olivia was about 2 months living in this picture. She was born 3.5 months premature and she is grateful to God for her life. I know that this picture with the scripture is instilling in these girls that God is the giver of life.



The Value of the Father's Child - This one sits on my night-stand to remind me of the value God places on me. I textured and embellished the frame then painted it in a soft buttercream. The little bird in the image is one of my first detailed graphics.



The Vine & Branches was a gift for my neighbor as she has a Tuscany style kitchen.



Many people enjoy being creative in some manner. This is one way that God has made us "In His Image." Artists often sign their work, this too comes from God. His signature is everywhere in creation. Sometimes we see it clearly and sometimes we must look for it. Nothing that any human being ever has or ever will create, has or will even come close to the indescribable and amazing creations that God has designed with a Word or a Breath. Here are two must see video clips that I found tonight focusing on His design of the human body, and His majestic universe. He placed His signature boldly in both of these creations. Watch both and you will see what I mean.

This one I wasn't able to embed it so here is a link where you can watch it. Indescribable God


This one is the Laminin video clip with Louie Giglio.