Zeke's Salvation Story - A Little Overdue...

Throughout his young life, I had been having a repeated conversations with Zeke about God, sin, salvation, Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, and how one can become a follower of Jesus.  We had many good conversations, if only brief, but he always said “I will accept Jesus later, when I am 5 or 6 or some time later.” 

14 Years Ago Tonight...

...the love of my life:

• who I had just met earlier that evening
• outside the ladies room at a swing dance in Pontiac, Michigan...

...left me on the dance floor when she found out I couldn't swing dance very well...can you believe it???

Anyway, we just got back from a wonderful dinner, some time reflecting, and are realizing just how seminal a day February 13th, 1999 was in both of our lives.  Here we are 14 years later, we have a house full of children, and this woman was just a shadow of who she has become since that time.  I am a BLESSED man!

What a fun, adventurous and exciting 14 years it has been!

A Night Out With Elijah

Just Because He Is Cute...

Here is a picture of the boy who is now over 6 months old.

Back After A Little Break

Well after several recent conversations with people who have wondered where the blog went, I am back. Thanks to those of you who care, read, and even encourage me to get back into posting more regularly. As you all know we had quite a summer with Julie in the hospital and Elijah being born a preemie. After one of my last posts, I just felt a little tired. I am not one of the the super-bloggers who posts every day or every other day, but I sense it is time to get back at it.

 A quick update on the Zilkies...

Elijah recently celebrated 6 months and we are thrilled with the little guy. He smiles all the time. In fact I tell him that he could charge for his smiles as they are mesmerizing, except that he gives them away too freely and thus diminishes the value of them...simple economics with supply and demand. He has yet to grasp that idea fully and just keeps on giving them away.

A New Normal

It is Thanksgiving week and we Zilkies are gearing up for our annual feast.  I provide a juicy and delicious turkey and Julie takes care of the rest.  As Thanksgiving approaches this Thursday, I have been stopping to give thanks for all of the blessings that God has granted to us, most importantly salvation from our sins through His Son Jesus and then our wonderful family and all our children.

An update on Elijah:  Elijah is now 3 1/2 months old since his birth at 32 1/2 weeks on August 2nd and he is doing well.  He has been sick with congestion the past week and we are praying for his healing and recovery from that.  His little lungs struggle to overcome the congestion.  He is still on the small side, but considering the journey he has traveled, there is good reason for this.

Julie has the other children back in their studies here at home and is doing a great job.  One of my favorite parts of the day is asking the children what they have learned from the day.  Caroline, to her credit, is almost halfway through learning how to read.  She is the third Zilkie child to go through the book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons:



There is more good news which I will report later this week.  In the meantime, may you take some time today even and give thanks to our Father and Creator God who has blessed us all with so much in this life.

Homecoming

Good news!  On Thursday evening, August 30th at around 9pm, Julie brought Elijah home from the hospital.  He had been there exactly four weeks since his birth, and Julie had been in and out of there since June 3rd when she was first admitted with premature labor symptoms.  Whew!  What a ride this summer has been.

We are so thankful to have the little guy home and to finally be a family, united and living as one.  The children just LOVE their little brother.  It is such a blessing to see the joy and affection they have for him.  Every one of them, even Selah our baby for 3.5 years, is so excited to have Elijah home and healthy.

Thank you to Mercy Hospital for taking such good care of Julie and Elijah these past 3 months.  They were wonderful this whole journey.

Elijah sleeping in my arms as I carry him around the house last night.

23 Days Old

Good news today.  Elijah finally reached 5 lbs and has achieved all of his benchmarks except for eating enough full feedings from a bottle.  Overall, he has made great progress the past 10 days.  They are talking like he may be able to come home by next weekend.  Come on Buddy!  You can do it!!!

19 Days Old (with more pictures)

Well Elijah has begun gaining a little bit of weight, which we are so very thankful for.  After getting stuck just below his birth weight ( 4 lbs. 3 oz.) for almost two weeks, he has gained 7 ounces over the past 4-5 days.  He is 4 lbs. 10 oz. and hopefully not too far from the big 5 pounds!!!

Also, he had his air tube removed several days ago which was necessary because like many premature babies, he would forget to breathe every now and then.  According to the doctors, there are 300 muscles in the windpipe that need to work and can collapse so a slight push of air into the lungs would help minimize this occurrence. Not necessary anymore however, as he is breathing on his own just fine.

Then last night they removed the incubator and he is now sleeping in a crib.  This is good because it means he is able to regulate his body temperature which is another requirement for him to come home. 

So currently we are just waiting on steady weight gain and his ability to eat from a bottle and/or through nursing.  He still has the feeding tube because he only takes partial bottles and then only part of the time.  He has to learn to drink the whole thing consistently before they will release him.  Moreover, we ask for your prayers as we want and need him to transition from a bottle to nursing which can be difficult for a smaller and weaker baby.  Remember, last Sunday was only 35 weeks were he still in the womb.  We are asking a lot of this little guy (breathing, eating, maintaining temperature, etc.) which he wouldn't normally have to do for three to four more weeks.  

Alright, alright, here is what you have been waiting for...

13 Days Old

Well Elijah continues to live in the NICU at Mercy Hospital.  His growth is slow, but he is no longer connected to an IV.  They removed his oxygen tube for a day but he didn't fare well so they replaced it.  We were able to get a couple pictures without it though which was a blessing.  Please continue to pray for him, his growth, and for the reuniting of our family here as soon as possible.  Also, pray for Julie as she continues shuttling back and forth from the hospital every day and having to leave our boy there in the evening as she comes home.  Not a fun thing to do.

Elijah Pictures - 5 Days Old