Friday, April 24, 2009

One Big Giraffe!

Welcome to all of you visiting from Lynnette's blog


 
 
I'm honored to be the featured blogger today!
I hope you enjoy your peak inside my world.
____________________________________
 
My sister, Ricky, has been wanting to get Eli this big giraffe for a while now...and two weeks ago she placed the order.  Look what arrived yesterday:



WE LOVE IT!  It's the perfect addition to Eli's giraffe room.
 
So, today is the perfect day to tell the story of giraffes in our life!
 
When I was pregnant, I decorated the nursery with Little Suzy's Zoo.  After finding out it was a boy, I thought, "Hmm....it needs to be a little more 'boyish'....so, I decided to use orange, green, blue and yellow as the accent colors in his room.  I love bright colors and was excited to use this citrus palette!
One of the characters in the set was a Giraffe named Patches.  I thought he was cute, and couldn't think of anyone else who collected giraffes or decorated with giraffes, so that became my focus!
I started collecting everything orange and giraffe I could find.
It was a very fun treasure hunt....and I found way more than I expected.
His nursery was adorable:

THEN ELI WAS BORN.
Life changed forever that night.
Our baby was on a ventilator, we weren't sure if he was going to live.
The Neonatologist that saved Eli's life that night came back to visit us later, and she was wearing a shirt with GIRAFFES on it!  I told her that we collect giraffes for Eli and that it was interesting she had giraffes on her shirt the night she saved him!  She said she went on a trip to Africa and the giraffes were her favorite part!
Kindred spirits, we were!
After two weeks in the NICU here in our community, they decided to LifeFlight him to Seattle Children's Hospital's IICU.  My husband rode on the plane with Eli.  I drove over.
When I got there, I called Lonnie to find out where to go, and
He says, "You want to come in the GIRAFFE entrance - so park in that garage."
I said, "You're kidding?  It's called the giraffe entrance?"
He said, "Yes, that's the main entrance to the hospital."
We thought that was pretty cool!
So, then later that day we went across the street to check into the Ronald McDonald House.
We got room 102, I believe. 
We walked in and put our stuff down, and as I looked around the room, I saw not one, but TWO pictures of GIRAFFES on the walls!
As I shared this story with a christian friend later, she reminded me that it wasn't coincidence!
GOD IS IN THE DETAILS OF OUR LIVES!
If we just look for him, we'll see his love for us everywhere!
Ever since then, giraffes pop up all the time, and give comfort in times of need.
Since the hospital has the Giraffe entrance, Giraffe Gift Shop, and whole Giraffe Wing....
their gift shop carries LOTS of giraffes.  So, that is why whenever Eli has to go to Seattle Children's Hospital for anything we always buy him a giraffe!
It's been a wonderful blessing to us to see God in so many details of Eli's life.
Thanks for reading our story!
It means the world to me for people to "get to know" my son!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Golly darn that sister is trying to still the Bestest Aunt award! hahah WOW, I want one too Ricky, make mine an Elephant! That is so cool, Hope The E-man rides him on many a ride! Uncle Joe will be tickled..I think it might need a saddle tho' hugs Shi~

Unknown said...

What a beautiful story. Love the nursery. You have an adorable son. Just popping over from Lynette's blog. Congratulations on being featured!!

Kristin said...

Hi Amy! I'm visiting from Lynnette's. I LOVED your story! I LOVE when God shows himself in those ways to us. What a precious gift! He's been showing me lots of things like that lately too, since I rededicated my life to Him, and it has been so exciting! It's nice to meet you! I hope you have a great weekend.

Manda said...

Congrats on being featured! I love your giraffe story. What a neat (and unique!) reminder for your family that God is with you!

Kristin said...

Oh Amy. I'm so sorry that you lost your Mom too. It is very hard, but we can't rest in the promise that we will see them again and that they will be waiting for us! If you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm always here. I know how hard it is to be a young mom and not have your own Mom to help and to ask advice, etc. I know it's really hard to not share the joyful times with them too. When my Mom died, I was crushed because I thought no one would ever or could ever love me as much as she did, but then I realized that the Lord loves me even more and He has always been there for me, just like she was. That has brought me a lot of comfort, now that I've finally realized that.

Blessings,
Kristin

vera said...

My daughter Sophia's favorite animal is the giraffe and she is obsessed with them (we've been eyeing that humongous giraffe too) - you'll have to take some pictures of all of Eli's giraffes sometime and I'll "bring her over" to see them on your blog :) You are such a sweet family, I'm really glad Lynnette featured you!

Julie Arduini said...

I'm here from Lynette's and so glad you are the featured blogger today! What a lovely story, you know when things happen like that to me I'll google it to see if there is anything in the background or history of the item/animal that can further encourage me. All last year I kept having cardinal happenings in a frequent, odd way. I learned they are a loyal defender and that really saw me through a hard time.

That is one gorgeous giraffe!

Joyeful said...

Oh, wow. It's wonderful to meet you and Eli! I will be praying for this precious son of yours and for your family as well! I think it is just beautiful that God decided to bless Eli with giraffes--these are definitely his gifts of love to your family!

rick said...

SWEET!

ELI IS SO PRECIOUS AND I LOVE THE GIRAFFE DETAILS IN HIS LIFE! MEANT TO BE!

KISSES FOR A SPECIAL NEPHEW!

OX RICK

Kimberly Pitman said...

I loved your giraffe story. It's true: God IS in the details!

I took my grandchildren to the zoo this week. One of the girls just loves giraffes. I got some nice pictures of them. They are such beautiful, majestic creatures.

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to stop by and say thanks for stopping by my blog! :) Your little boy is adorable!! And that giraffe is very cool--yay for aunts. :)

Morgan

(Oh, and what a cute nursery!!)

Karen said...

Love the Girrafe. What an awesome present.I am visiting from Lynette's Getting to Know You and wanted to say HI.

Blessings,
Karen

Coley said...

I love your giraffe story!!

I stumbled onto your blog from 5 Minutes for Special Needs. My son, Noah, who is 12 has cerebral palsy as well.

Eli is a cutie!!