In It For the Long Haul

Today is this blog's one-month anniversary -- and it has received over 15,000 pageviews in that amount of time! Thank you for loving our daughter so well through your devotion to specific and timely prayer for her (and us). She really is the most popular little girl ... ever.
And it was oh-so-appropriate that today we received this awesome bib in the mail from Josh's great aunt and uncle:

Perfect, eh?

Hopefully a month of updates about our little girl has only left you wanting more, because it looks like we are still in this for the long haul. We had a sit-down meeting with her neonatologist to talk in-depth about her current condition, his plans for the near future, and potential take-home dates.
The good news? Nobody has heard her murmur in the last day or two, meaning that PDA has closed (or is really, really small)! Thank you Lord!
The bad news? She is requiring more oxygen support than she was just a week ago -- which means the doctor is going to do another x-ray (to see if she needs diuretics again) and check her cortisone levels. It would be such a blessing to us and such a testament to the healing power of Christ if her lungs were healed without more medical intervention, so please pray with all the "umph" you can muster. If you like, you can read Luke 18:1-8 for inspiration and start bothering Jesus for Phoenix's health!
The neutral news? Dr. Narayan has left the number of daily PO feedings up to the nurses in charge of her care. This (hopefully) means that, as she continues to succeed at breast/bottle, she will be given more chances per day to eat on her own. We spent most of the day at the hospital, and she did great with two PO feedings in a row. I think the blood transfusion did wonders for her energy reserve, so pray that she maintains the stamina that it takes to learn to earn her meals!
The bummer news? It looks like the "two weeks" goal is a thing of the past. Dr. Narayan is now predicting the middle of August (insert pouty faces here).

Josh and I humbly ask that you would direct some of you prayer efforts our way. In the past 24 hours, both of us have really run the gamut of negative emotions, and have both given in to bitter tears. After our time at the hospital today, neither of us had the emotional energy to do anything but take a nap. As much as we are trying to draw strength from the Lord, our breaking-point seems nearer than ever. Josh said, "You know it's bad when you feel like the #1 thing you're doing is enduring." Both of our hearts break whenever we have to leave her and they ache for her to get better.
Here is how you can pray for the two of us:
- Pray that our spirits would be uplifted, not necessarily because of a change in her condition, but purely through the activity of the Holy Spirit at work in us.
- Pray that we would be endowed with a bounty of endurance and patience. (Can you use the word 'bounty,' when it's not Thanksgiving?)
- Pray that God would lift the burden that Josh feels to provide (emotionally and financially) for Phoenix and me -- he carries the weightiness of those pressures heavily these days. And, since he is a fixer, I know it is killing him that he can't do anything to fix Phoenix's situation. Pray that God would give Josh little ways that he can tangibly help, and also pray that he would trust God for the things he simply cannot fix.
- Pray for our relationship ... our marriage is still so new, and we currently have a very steep learning curve on how to support each other through stress and crisis. And, of course, our coping mechanisms are VERY different, so pray that we are patient and generous with one another.

Thank you all so much for all that you have done for our little family!