My Hero...

While reading Philip's last post I reminded myself just how thankful I am for my husband. He is my hero. Before we were together he left behind family and friends to serve his country with pride. He protected my freedom without knowing I would be apart of his life. It is neat that I was able to pray for him while he was gone, not knowing we would end up together! I am honored to know him, let alone be married to him. As Philip wrote in the last post, we do have so much to be thankful for. (Malachi just kicked in agreement.)

One thing I look forward to one day is telling Malachi, (when he is old enough to understand)all about his Daddy and all that he did to protect us. Philip will already be Malachi's hero because he will adore and love him so much, just because he is his Daddy. I can't wait for Malachi to know just how amazing a man his father is, and how blessed we are to have Philip leading our family. I know that there is NO ONE ELSE that I would want to walk through all of this with. Philip has been such a vessel of strength and used as a voice of Truth for me. I am so blessed! Although Christ will always be my first love and hero, I am so glad that He blessed me with a tangible hero! :o)

Love,
April

"Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:12

I love you Malachi...

I was realizing today that I have not written in quite some time, so I am going to attempt to share with you my thoughts today.

I cannot even begin to fathom the immense love that my Lord has for me, for my wife, and for my son. I find that each day that goes by, drawing us closer to when Malachi is born, brings me to a greater understanding of how great my God is and how small I truly am. I wish that I could say I don't understand what the Lord is doing, allowing my little son, my little Malachi, to have this defect, this imperfection... that he has to come into this world with a broken heart and go through surgery when he won't even know what's going on or why he has to be in pain. I wish that I could be oblivious to why innocent little babies have to develop abnormally and face a difficult life due to physical imperfections. I wish I could forget why we exist... why we are born into an imperfect world with all of it's sin and imperfections. I wish that I could live without feeling, without tears, without fear... But I can't! I cannot forget, be oblivious, lack understanding, feeling, tears, or fear... because I wake up each morning... lying in the most comfortable bed... with the sun shining on my face... my beautiful wife lying next to me... and my son kicking inside of her. I am blessed beyond anything I could ever possibly imagine. I know that my life is His... I know that I am here to Glorify my Lord... I know that whatever He allows in my life, it is for good... it is to draw me to Him... to refine me and shape me into a reflection of Him. I know that my little Malachi is "...Fearfully and Wonderfully made..." Because He made him and formed him in April's womb... The Lord formed Malachi's inward parts... and He formed him and has given him to April and I so that we together as a family may have the honor of glorifying our Lord and Savior through anything! I understand this... I am not oblivious to this... I cannot forget it... I cannot live without feeling the weight of becoming a father, and the responsibility that comes with it... I cannot go without shedding tears for the ones I love... and I do fear... I fear that everyday I am given to live, is another day to Praise the Lord. What an incredible honor and responsiblity. I am learning daily that I cannot be a nebbishy man... for if I am going to fulfill my purpose here on this earth... I must take whatever comes my way and turn it into an opportunity to Trust the Lord giving Him all the Glory and Praise. Granted, I fail daily at this, but because I do understand... I continue to take one step at a time.

I cannot possibly express just how much I am looking forward to holding Malachi in my arms, looking into his eyes and telling him over and over and over how immensly I love him... and how much greater the Lord loves him. I am so thankful that he is my son and I am his father and April is his mother and we are a family! God is so good.


"For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Thy works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from Thee, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Thy book they were all written, The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them." Psalm 139:13-16

27 Weeks!

"For this boy I prayed, and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of Him. "So I have also dedicated him to the LORD; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the LORD." 1 Samuel 1:27-28

"For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Psalm 139:13-14a

I have been doing some research on "hypoplastic left heart syndrome." Malachi is labeled as: "hypoplastic left ventricle." He is pretty similar to the cases I have read, but he has a larger aorta(body artery). He won't have to have the first surgery that most children have called, "the Norwood." There are two other surgeries: "the Glenn" and "the Fontan."

I found a very encouraging story about a little boy named, Luke. His mother made a website for him, it is: lukesheart.com

It is amazing to read how the Lord has brought him through all the surgeries and illness he has gone through.

We love you all and thank you for your continued prayer for our little Malachi Philip! :o) According to what I have read online Malachi weighs about two pounds! He is kicking a lot and filling my womb pretty nicely! :o)

Love,
April (for all three)

"He heals the brokenhearted, And binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3

26 Weeks...

"When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?"
"Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?" -Psalm 56:3-4,8b

The past few months have gone by in a blur. The next three are going to as well, I am sure. I was thinking about the road ahead and realized that what we are about to experience is humanly impossible. It makes me afraid and I cry A LOT. Then all of the doctrine and lessons we have learned come to mind: It is not our strength to get us through, only His that will be the strength we need: PERFECT STRENGTH. Philippians 4:13 takes on a whole new meaning when you realize that promise... We can do this, but only through HIS STRENGTH. So I need not be afraid, because He hold us in His hands. (John 10:28)

I was also reminded of another part of scripture I came across when I was going through something several years ago. (Thanks to Lori Cunningham.) It is the second part of Psalm 56:8. The Lord holds our tears in a bottle, and He records them. I asked myself why? Why would He hold onto them? Times of heartache and saddness, but also joy and happiness... why hold them? My opinion is that one day when we get Home to Heaven, He is going to give us the bottle and show us the record, and we will get to annoint our Savior's feet with our tears, just like Mary did. (Luke 7:36-50) I know I will be first in line. I pray that every tear cried would be tears that honored my Savior in this life. When it was hard and the burden was so heavy,I pray, that the tears I cried were in a cry out to Him. For all that He has brought us through so far, and will continue to bring us through, I DESIRE to annoint His feet with my tears to thank Him for being a faithful God who loves and cares for us... Philip, myself, and Malachi.

May our lives bring Him all glory and praise.

Love you all, and thank you again and again for the prayers and support!

Love,
April (for all three)

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." -Matthew 11:28

25 Weeks!

So I can't believe that I am already into my 25th Week of pregnancy. It is so crazy to think that in just about thirteen weeks we will be holding Malachi in our arms. Part of me is so excited, yet part of me gets anxious. I am glad to know that the Lord is holding us all in His hands.

Last week was camp, and I barely made it. By Friday night I had to go home and sleep in my own bed. It was a great week of seeing family and friends though! Plus Monday, July 23rd, morning I awoke to feeling Malachi poke me in the belly! I woke Philip up and was so excited! It was an apparent "poke" and not just a tingle or ping. I am so excited. Now he is moving and I LOVE it! It lets me know he is doing alright in there!

We met with the midwife on Friday, July 20th for just another check up. Monday July 23rd we met again with Dr. Freeman. He said that there was no change, good or bad. He said that Malachi's blood flow through his heart looked good. Just the same old, same old. We really like seeing Dr. Freeman. He always makes us feel hopeful and at ease. I am glad we are seeing him through this. We are seeing the "high risk" doctor, Dr. Giles at Lake Erie Women's Ctr on Thursday, August 2nd. We'll get more of an idea into the plan for delivery, and other details. We will be meeting with the Cardiologist we'll see in Pittsburgh sometime in the next few weeks. Dr. Freeman said he is very good.

A lot ahead, but trusting every step of the way. Love you all and keep up the prayers!

Love,
April
Romans 8:28

22 Weeks...

I am amazed at how the time has flown by. Before we know it our little Malachi will be born. I actually had a dream that he was born last night. He had Philip's eyes. The labor went really easy, only he was born in August! YIKES! I have about four months to go. Then we will begin our new lives with our beautiful baby boy! It is going to be a rough jouney, but we are confident that the Lord will be our strength. The thought of placing Malachi in the Lord's hands, seems easier said than done, but when I finally did, I had an amazing amount of peace wash over me. There is NOTHING Philip or I can do to help him, other than pray. We can ONLY trust that the Lord will take care of him.

I think I felt Malachi move for the first time on Thursday, July 5th. It felt like his little hand was brushing against my tummy on the inside. It was a pretty incredible feeling, but quickly went away once I touched the spot. I sing to Malachi every chance I can, and rub my tummy to let him know that I love him. I long to hold him in my arms and kiss his precious face. I have so many questions and concerns after Malachi is born: How am I going to feed him while he is in the hospital? Will I be healed enough to be by his side? Will my labor go easy on him, not to hurt his heart? How long will we be in Pittsburgh? Questions that will be answered in time, but for now I just pray about them.

We have our next appointment with the midwife next Friday, July 20th. It is our last appointment with them, since now we will have to see the doctors due to Malachi's condition. I will miss them, they are so personable and very kind. We will meet the doctor who will deliver Malachi in Pittsburgh on August 2nd. I am glad to get to see him, I have MANY questions to ask him!

Please keep praying for our beautiful baby. The road ahead of us is going to be bumpy, but the Lord will be our shock absorbers! :o) Thanks to you all for your prayer and support. We look forward to introducing our son to you in about four - five months!

Love,
April

"I can do ALL things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

Malachi Philip Preston...

We're having a boy! It is such exciting news! And we are thrilled! His name is Malachi Philip Preston. It was incredible finally knowing what to call him, but we were shaken with some unexpected news. When we left the doctor's office on Tuesday night, all we knew was that he only has two chambers in his heart. They couldn't say if he was going to live or die. We went to see a Pediatric Cardiologist on Friday named, Dr. Freeman. Thankfully he could offer us some much better news. This is a letter I wrote detailing Malachi's condition after seeing Dr. Freeman:

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust." Psalm 103:1, 14

Dear Friends and Family,

We, first of all, would like to thank each and every one of you for your prayers and encouragement these past few days. We appreciate it far more than you will ever know!

This morning we were unsure of what we were going to hear from the doctor. After a VERY LONG hour and a half ultrasound, the doctor finally told us what he was seeing. Malachi has a single functioning ventricle. He has both arteries coming off of the one ventricle: one going to the lungs, and one going to the body. Dr. Freeman stated that the Aorta is a very large artery, and looks good, the Pulmonary Artery is obstructed, causing it to narrow. He stated that while Malachi is in the womb, the artery would not be a threat if it were to close up. When he is first born he may need to have a tube placed between the Aorta and the Pulmonary Artery to help with sufficient blood flow. His first surgery, or second, depending on if he needs the tube put in, will happen when he is a few months old. They will be diverting the Jugular Vein straight to the lungs, relying on gravity to make it function. The final surgery (we pray) will be around 2 – 3 years of age. It will be to link the veins returning from the rest of the body to the lungs.

Dr. Freeman stated that Malachi could go on to live a fully healthy life. He said that once Malachi is born the surgeon will be able to fully asses his condition and determine the best route. He recommended that we deliver in Pittsburgh, so that Malachi could receive immediate care.

We are completely overwhelmed by the news! It does sadden us to think that our little baby boy will have surgery at such young ages, but we are so thankful that he will live! God has completely spared our son's life. Without HIS strength and love there is NO WAY we could have made it through this. And His same love and strength will be there through the long road ahead.

I was reminded by a very dear friend of mine that the Lord loves Malachi far beyond what we ever could, and He knew in Eternity past what would be best for him. We are still putting Malachi in His hands, and know that the Lord will work all things to His glory. Please continue to pray for Malachi, that he will not face any more complications. We look forward to the day when we can hold him in our arms, the miracle that the Lord has given us!

Please continue to pray for our little baby boy. We'll update with anything new. Thanks again! We love you all!

In His arms,
Philip, April, and Malachi