Elijah (our little wooden Indian)

On November 26, 2009 (Black Friday), little Elijah Joseph blessed us with his presence. He is our third German born baby. Gabriel and Bella were both born in Germany while we were in the Air Force. They were both born in the military hospital which is not unlike the hospitals there in the States. Elijah however was born in the German hospital. I can’t really say that I enjoyed the experience in the German hospital, but I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as the hospital conditions that some Missionary wives experience in different countries. Elijah was born via C-section (he was my 5th C-section). I only spent one night in the German hospital, and I requested to go home the following morning. The Dr’s were very uneasy about we going home since the normal hospital stay is up to 5 days with a C-section, but after I signed the release papers they allowed me to go home. I was able to rest and recuperate much more quickly at home, even with 5 other kids running around. Kevin and the older kids did a splendid job taking care of me and allowing me to rest!

We had a scare with Elijah shortly after he was born. His newborn screening came back abnormal and he had high levels of tyrosine in his blood. We didn’t know what that meant at first, but after doing some research we discovered that tyrosinemia is a very serious genetic condition that causes life long problems, possible kidney transplant, or even death! Needless to say we were very worried and prayed that he did not have this medical condition. We had to wait a few more days for more blood work to come back. But after much prayer from our family, friends, and supporters, his second batch of blood work came back normal. His tyrosine levels went down and the German Dr said he was very healthy and told us to have a Merry Christmas. We were overjoyed! The Lord is good. We are excited to have little Elijah as part of our family.

I was always fond of the name Elijah, but Kevin wasn’t really keen on the name. He said that it reminded him of the Hank Williams song “Kaw Lijah”. He would then break out in song whenever I mentioned the name. One day, Kevin came home and told me how he was praying and thinking about the “Lord God of Elijah”. He told me that for over a year, he had been praying for the Lord to show Himself with the power He did for Elijah. Remember Elisha said “where is the Lord God of Elijah” before parting the waters (2 Kings 2:14). Kevin said that he knew I had been mentioning the name Elijah for some time, so he finally decided that was the name for our new son. We had decided on the name Joseph on the way to the hospital at 6 am Not only do we love the story of what God did for Joseph in the Bible, but Kevin’s Grandfather was named Joseph. So it was the perfect fit.

Elijah is 4 weeks old today, and nearly everyday Kevin still breaks out singing “Kaw Lijah was a wooden Indian standin’ by the door…..” Poor Elijah