Today is Saturday, and we are at the Children's Hospital in Seattle, room 4013, and getting settled in to the hospital where we will likely be for several weeks.

Yesterday was a surreal whirlwind. We went from having a healthy but underweight baby to having a baby with a congenital heart defect in a very short time. Then we went from Fairbanks, to Anchorage, and to Seattle in less than 24 hours.

Today has been a much better day. Stephanie flew from Fairbanks to Seattle this morning and actually arrived before Brian and Sarah, who flew on a medivac from Anchorage. It is so good for us to be together again. It is hard to face this kind of situation alone, even for a day or two. Now we are together and more prepared to face whatever lies ahead. We have each other for comfort and support.

We met with one cardiologist today. He said while it may feel like an urgent situation after yesterday, it's actually not. The defect would certainly be fatal without surgery, but it does not have to be done today. It will most likely be done early this week, but we don't know when. The cardiac team will meet on Tuesday to discuss her surgery (after the long weekend) and we'll know what the procedure will involve. For now, Sarah is stable, and being monitored carefully. She is being fed continuously through an NG tube, and has been taken off the oxygen. Not having the oxygen tube has made her much more comfortable.. 

We have had tremendous support from so many of you. 

Jan arrived last night at 2AM and is now with Jacob, Toby, and Jamiee. Since we don’t know for sure how long this adventure will last, we are grateful that she has a flexible schedule. THANK YOU JAN!! We are often amazed at how she has just fit right into the family in a way that feels like she's always been here.

Dallas friends, Barry and Kim, have put us in contact with some friends of theirs who live here in Seattle. These friends have already reached out to us with kind and sincere offers for whatever help we might need. We appreciate it all.

Stephanie’s sisters have started making plans to come up. They're willing to go to Fairbanks to help Jan with the boys or to come here and support us. We’re not sure where they're needed the most right now, but we appreciate the offer. Each of our parents have also offered to come when and where they are needed, but we're still trying to figure out what kind of help we need.

We're also incredibly thankful for First Presbyterian of Fairbanks. We actually just attended the membership class last Sunday, so we're especially surprised and thankful for their support. In addition to the many prayers, they provided my (Stephanie’s) ticket to travel here to Seattle, meals for the family in Fairbanks while we are gone right now, and I was wonderfully surprised at the airport by a former member meeting me to take me to the hospital. It's hard to be on the receiving end of so much generosity, and they are really going above and beyond the call of welcoming new members. Thank you First Prez!                    

I (Stephanie) also received a surprise call from my dear, dear friend Rachel. She bought a ticket this morning for Seattle and called to say that she was on her way. I am so thankful for that and can't wait to see he

We wish we had something other than thank you to say in response to all of the calls, emails, and offers for help we have received. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. We are also so blessed to have the love of Christ. This is a REALLY hard experience - something that I think parents never really think could happen to them. It's comforting to know that God has been so consistent in his love and his provision for us.

We will continue to send out updates as things change and Brian is also posting to the website, so feel free to go there for more stories and photos. He got a few yesterday of the jet taking them to Anchorage!

Much love to you all.

Brian, Stephanie and Sarah