After a longer than expected stay in Nashville, Angeline made her way back home. Not wanting to stay away from the hospital setting for two long, Angeline managed to get not one, but two hernias, needing surgical repair. Her seventh surgery was uneventful and she recovered quickly. Since then, she has kept herself busy by attending Physical Therapy twice a week, Occupational Therapy once a week, participating in mommy-and-me classes, playing with her toys, and doing her best to grab, pull, and remove, Toya's hair.
Angeline was the center of attraction during the holiday season. She got "officially" baptized in December and experienced with great amusement the Christmas season. We took her one night to a local park to see a drive-thru Christmas lights show. As I watched her face, I experienced for the first time the joy a father feels when his child is having the time of her life. She was amazed at the sight of all the Christmas lights, her mouth wide open while her bright eyes reflected the green, red, and golden lights. Angeline is so amazing that I cannot imagine life without her. She is surely a gift from God which I surely don't deserve.
As Angie starts a new year, she finds herself on target on most developmental areas, which is amazing considering she was six weeks premature. She sits on her own without assistance, rolls over, slow crawls backwards, and vocalizes her vowels. She bears weight on both legs and when on her belly tries her best to find a way of sitting back up. Her strength and determination are commendable. She is really teaching us a lot. I cannot describe how proud I feel every time I call her "my daughter."
Angie is getting a well deserve rest from hospitals and surgeries. She still has to face many more challenges in her life, but judging by the way she has handled herself so far, I am sure she will overcome even the most formidable obstacles. We continue praying for God to continue healing her and showing His power though her. We ask all of you to do the same because it is written that if you "ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For whoever asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, the door is opened." (Matthew 7:7:8)