our glory is FOUR.

perfectly made.

if you're unfamiliar with our sweet girl's miraculous story - 

you could start here. 

and read some here too. 

she's been through a lot and God has 

gotten much glory from people petitioning 

for her life and her health. 

we want to thank the thousands of people who 

have lifted her up to Him. 

thank you, thank you, thank you. 

Oh my girl. My girl.

This has been a year, huh?

just being your wild and precious self

On your fourth birthday, I can’t think of a better way to start my day than to praise our Father who created you in all of your intricate and beautiful complexities, chose you for our family to love and shepherd and raise, and of course – sustained you miraculously throughout this last year. I’m pretty sure that if I look in your face long enough, my heart just automatically starts to praise Him. Your smile is THAT beautiful, your heart is THAT interesting and lovely, your future is THAT exciting – that my heart just bursts open and upward at the thought of you. He made you powerfully. He made you skillfully. He made you perfectly. He made you lovely.

with your favorites

So I’d love to just pray for you this morning, Lovey – and I will as soon as I put this computer down. I can’t wait to do this day with you. I can’t wait to do this year with you!

The big plans are for Dad to take you to breakfast, then I’m taking you for some special girl time and then tonight, HOT DOGS! (just like you asked for) and cupcakes with some of our friends. I hope it’s a fun and memorable day for you. I hope this year is one of the best of your life.

I love you glory-ory.

Mama. 

Glory baby

There is SO much I want to say but this will suffice:

Our Glory is just perfect. She would have been perfect in our eyes even with a positive diagnosis of Trisomy 18, but we're so glad to know we'll get to take her home from the hospital, run around with her, hold her, and love her for as long as God sees fit.

Thank you all SO much for your prayers and encouragment!
Jessi & Nick

Going Public

The past few days for Nick and I have been extremely beautiful, a little bit painful, and they have certainly revealed the character of our Lord. On Thursday morning, we received the news that our sweet Glory Baby had tested with a high probability of having a chromosomal disorder known as Trisomy 18, or Edward's Syndrome. Trisomy 18 is a fatal genetic disorder - where 50% of the babies die in utero, 10% live for up to 24 hours and just 5% make it to one year. We knew we'd be waiting until this morning to get any kind of news - so we just sort of tucked in, prayed for peace, and waited.

Beginning on Thursday morning - Jesus absolutely poured peace over us. Just two hours after the call - we felt really comforted by Him and absolutely assured that this was not His desire. In a time where I completely expected to feel angry with the Lord or as if He just truly didn't exist - I could not ignore the intense feeling that He was as heart-broken as we were.

It was really helpful to have family here this weekend, to keep us distracted and pray. I was so excited for Sunday because I was getting to share my testimony at Mosaic as part of 'The View', a four-woman panel discussing our current series, Seduced. It was so fun and I pray God was truly glorified through our opinions and stories. All day on Sunday - different women were asking me to pray for them and whether I knew their specific situations or not, I knew to pray for peace. I knew if God could provide His perfect peace for me despite waiting on these results - He could provide peace for anyone.

So... today. We went through a really extensive Level II ultrasound, and the doctor was able to tell us that from what they could see there were no major physical deformities. With Trisomy 18, the baby can either have a huge fatal deformity - such as a hole in the heart, or they can just not be able to function outside of the womb. Since we didn't get any conclusive results from the ultrasound, we had to have some other tests done and we'll get a definite result on Wednesday.

Again, I feel God's perfect peace. Nick and I have had the phrase "drink this cup" on our minds all weekend, and we've even had others who were unaware of our circumstances prophesy that we were needing to do just that. If we find out on Wednesday that our precious lovey is just fine - I can't tell you how much I'll still be praising God for this time to know His heart so much better. On the other hand, if we find out the opposite - we will not stop praising God for His Glory.