The girls first Christmas

Merry Christmas to all! We hope that everyone had a great Christmas. We had a great Christmas because we spent part of it with our precious little girls. Today was an uneventful day for the girls, which is a good thing.

Rachel was asleep the whole time we were with her. She didn't sleep well last night so today she was playing catch up. Rachel is getting so big compared to where she was. She continues to grow and hopefully her airway will become stronger as she gets bigger. We continually pray that she will not have to have a trach. She definitely is a girl with her own agenda, she wants what she wants and will do whatever she needs to get the attention. We love her very much and are grateful for her feisty personality. Rachel's updated weight is 7 pounds 3oz.

Rachel in her "My First Christmas" outfit from Grandma Claudia



Haley continues get better after her surgeries. Her bowels seem to be working better now. Today she started on my breast milk again for the first time in months and is tolerating it well. She is pooping, which is a great sign that her bowels are working and her abdomen is no longer distended. Dr. Bloss was right about her not having an obstruction. All she needed was time to heal which she is doing well at right now. She is such a tough little girl, she always pulls through these surgeries very well. We continue to pray to the Lord to help Haley's eyes so that she will have some vision to be able to get around and to not live in total darkness. If not we will except the Lord's will and move forward and enjoy every moment with her and Rachel. Haley is such a beautiful little girl as well, we marvel at how strong she has been. Haley's updated weight is 6 pounds 10oz.

Haley in her "My First Christmas" outfit from Grandma Claudia



This Christmas season we are eternally grateful to our Heavenly Father for His matchless love. We are so thankful that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to this earth to atone for all of us. We are in awe of the love our Savior has for us. This Christmas season we give thanks for all of our beautiful children that Heavenly Father has given us stewardship for. Our lives have been so enriched because of each precious child we have. While it has been a difficult year, we are grateful for the opportunity to grow and learn from our struggles and challenges. Our family proclaims to all the world that God does live, that His holy Son even Jesus Christ lives and loves all of us. We know that because of our Heavenly Father and the Savior we can overcome challenges that would seem impossible otherwise. We know that Heavenly Father has been at our side the whole way through our journey this year. We have had many nights when we had felt there is no way we could go on. On those nights I know that we did go on because of a kind and loving Heavenly Father who picked us up and helped us move forward. We are so grateful for the knowledge that families can be together forever. Such knowledge has made it easier for us to bare the loss of each one of our children. We know that only because of the Atonement of our Savior that this is possible. We owe everything to Him and the Savior, we love them and desire to be more like them this Christmas season.