Praise the Lord!

Jordan Joy Gray arrived four weeks early happy and healthy. She was born Saturday, September 30th at 2:14 p.m. weighing in at 5 lbs 9 oz, 18 inches long. God was so gracious and merciful in giving us only a six hour labor with about 15 minutes of pushing. Daddy was in the mountains at a men's retreat but made it just in time for the delivery. Noah was well taken care of by friends and family this weekend and he seems to be adjusting fairly well to the new arrival. He was sick when we got home with a high fever but is doing much better. So far he's been really helpful, handing us his diapers for her and trying to give her a bottle. :)

As for Jordan - We were a little sad to see that her mouth is a bit worse than expected but so glad to see that her extremities are better thanwe thought. It appears all the bones are there in both the hand and the foot. Due to the amniotic bands (strings that formed from the amniotic sac that wrapped around various parts of the body) she has webbing of the fingers and "bubbles" of skin, as well as constriction rings on various limbs, fingers and toes and of course the cleft lip and palate. However, she has ten fingers and what appears to be ten toes. The foot seems to have been "tied" to the lower leg so we're hoping they can release that soon to get the foot moving.

Since the delivery was such a surprise I didn't have my camera charged so all the pictures taken are on other people's cameras. As soon as we get them we'll post more shots and add some clear pictures of her hand and foot. Until then, thank you to everyone who has taken their time and energy to support us since Jordan's arrival. From prayers to meals to preemie baby clothes, diapers and even the giant pink stork in our front yard that announces Jordan's arrival. :) You are all so special to us and have made this such a "joy"ful time. :)

The Gray Family