More about Sophie... and a FAVOR to ask!

More about Sophie...
Well, I have told many of you about how Aiden got here and what medical issues he had at birth and you have all read the blog entry about when and where he was born, etc... What I want to talk about tonight is Sophie. Tonight is a good opportunity for me to share with you a little bit about her, and maybe it will help pass the time as we wait for the results... Waiting takes forEVER when you know it could be bad news...

So, here we go... Sophie Meghan Brewer was born on March 1st, 2002 at 4:13pm. She was born four weeks early and though she did have to have oxygen at birth, she was the most angelic thing I had ever seen. The first child you have somehow brings you a little closer to God, I think...

Sophie weighed 5lbs 9.9ounces and was 19in. long. Healthy for only 36 weeks!

I was so relieved to finally hold her. I had seen her once before this in the NICU, where she had to have oxygen for six hours, but this was the first time I got to hold my precious Sophie.

Sophie went home with us after two days in the hospital. My ex husband and I lived in Spring Branch at the time. We had a few happy times in there, and Sophie thrived. Not long after her birth, her stepbrother, William came to live with us. He was so good with Sophie, and was such a little charmer. After he moved in with us, we moved to Sugar Land just after Sophie's birthday.

William (age 12) with little sister, Sophie. He's 21 in a few months. Hard to fathom...

She has the brightest eyes of any child I had ever seen, and in my eyes, she was just perfect! Her childhood was filled with much joy until her father and I seperated in 2004, and divorced in 2005, but she was sheilded from most of the bad parts, and what she did witness, she was too young to remember, thank God. Divorce is never good, and it was one of the darkest times of my life. I know that my ex and I both tried to make sure she was well cared for and loved in spite of the fact that he and I weren't going to stay married. It was a sad time, but we made it through... and in hind sight, I think it was all for the best. Sophie and I now make a great team!

Sophie at about 10 months old... Valentine's Day 2003.

Looking SO grown up at only ONE!

This picture was taken when Sophie was about 19 months old, on our back yard swing.

This was at Sophie's second birthday party. I still can't get over how blonde her hair was!

 As we prepare to celebrate Aiden's second birthday in a few months, I can't get over how similar they look. I mean, they are related after all. I also don't think I will ever understand why this illness had to strike such an innocent little angel such as Sophie. She is precious and kind hearted. I know everyone says that about their kids, but people make it a point to tell me what a well behaved little girl she is and how nice she is, even to the kids who are mean to her. In Kindergarten, her teacher was so proud of how she always nurtured and was kind toward the special needs kids in her class. They would come in for socialization intermittently throughout the day, and she said that Sophie would go over to them and talk to them, like nothing was wrong with them at all. She said that Sophie made sure to never stare at them awkwardly, but rather encourage the other kids to be nice to the special needs kiddos as well. I was truly humbled when she told me this... my heart overflowed.

South Padre Island when she was three...

I never thought that one day, we could be looking forward at our lives wondering whether she might be one of those kids. And, realizing that she could be, appreciating the kids and their parents all the more. We have been so blessed up til now, and I know we will continue to be. Her life has been so rich with blessings, I know that God will use this disease to make her stronger, and as one of my colleagues said, this could change the whole direction her life could take, possibly for the better! I think she may be right. Sophie and I have often talked about her faith and what she thinks about God. I don't think she realized that she actually does pray to him until the other day when she looked down at the floor and I asked her what she was doing. She said she was just asking God, "Why?", and I said, "did he answer?" and then almost choked on my words because I thought I might have said the wrong thing. Her answer was what surprised me. She said, "No, but I feel a little better just cuz I asked."

Isn't that what we should all do? Just ask Him. You never know what He might say. He may not answer right away, but sometimes crying out to Him is just the right medicine.

So... Now for the favor...
Many of you have asked me what you can do to help Sophie. Rare disease day is Monday February 28, 2011. The Today show will be featuring many kids and adults who have and are sufferring (some of whom are with God) from LCH, HCH and other Histocytic disorders... They are going to have a huge world-wide balloon release that day along with this event. I think that what would help Sophie, is for you to go get a balloon and write her name on it and take a photo of yourself and send it to her (sophie.brew@ yahoo. COM). Then release the balloon and send up a healing prayer in her name that day. You never know, you might "feel better just cuz you asked." And, if you can't do the whole balloon thing, I think it would be amazing if you just prayed for her, and then drop her a note to let her know. Her birthday is March 1st. I know it would really cheer her up. Our whole family only wants one thing for her birthday, and you guessed it, it's for total healing!

Thank you so much for reading...
Goodnight friends, J