In the novel, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, the opening line goes like this: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
That opening sentence always reminds me of two years ago today. We had planned that wonderful day for nine months. Thinking about, praying about, getting all things ready for the event of our lifetime......the birth of our first grandchild!
So, finally, on January 16, 2009,7:03 in the evening, after many months of great anticipation, our Harper Brown Stamps made her debut! We were beyond-words-thrilled! I know every new grandparent must feel the same but I never had the words to describe my joy!
But then the terrible unbelievable news was delivered.......She had a difficult start and the NICU pediatrician told us that she may not live through the night!
I will never forget that moment or the doctor's words. The whole world stopped revolving in my mind at that moment.
Decisions were quickly made and before we hardly had the chance to lay our eyes on our sweet new baby, Harper was put on a helicopter and whisked away for a NICU in a neighboring state! (Which turned out to be just the place God has picked out for her to save her life)
By the time the family all gathered at the NICU, God had already shown Himself to be the loving Father and trustworthy Savior that He is!
As the hours turned into days then weeks, we were concerned but NEVER doubtful that God had Harper in his loving hands. He poured out His love to our family in ways I will never understand and certainly will never forget!
I could write a novel on the people, the miracles and the love that got us through "the worst of times."
But, today, we celebrate "THE BEST OF TIMES"........Harper Brown Stamps is TWO!!!!
This is the pictorial account of Harper's 2nd Birthday and just hope you feel the joy as we did!
Two Happy Grandma Judys
Harper's Pap-pa and Poppa are really her favorites!
This was funny: As soon as she took this big pink bow off a package she tried to put it in her hair!!
She know the "big bows" always go in her hair!!!
These are just a few other couples with their children that I made that Kelly didn't get on her blog! If we missed anyone....we are so sorry!
The party is over!!
James 1:2 and 12
V. 2 Consider it pure JOY, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
V. 12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
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24 comments:
What a fun birthday party Harper had
I SO love the picture of Harper and her grandparents
Happy Birthday to your beautiful Granddaughter
Happy #2 to your Harper Brown! Gosh I remember praying and praying for her. I did a blog post asking others to pray and I remember getting up every morning to check on her updates. God revealed himself to more people than we will probably ever know. That Harper is a miracle and I know you are so very proud of her.
My Dear "Love Being a Nonny",
It was you and thousands of others just like you that we owe so much gratitude to for praying for Harper. We wish we could have sent a thousand "Thank You" notes for you'll never know how much it meant to us!
And still does!
Bless you all!
Harper's Nonny
Happy birthday to precious Harper!!!!!!! What a blessing she is!!!
Happy birthday to Harper!
What a special day for the whole family
I can't look at those pictures of her in the NICU without crying. I remember getting on my computer in the middle of the night...just waiting for an update on that sweet baby. She is a true miracle!!
I love reading your blog because you and Poppa remind me so much of myself and my husband as grandparents. My name is also Judy, by the way, and one of my granddaughters is also named Harper! I started following Kelly's blog (I also have a daughter named Kelly) right when Harper was born and have followed ever since--what a true miracle!!
I also wanted to tell you that Kelly can say that Harper looks just like Scott, but I have ALWAYS thought that when she flashes that huge grin she looks JUST like her Nonny!!!!
Happy Birthday to sweet Harper! What a beautiful way to describe the first days/weeks of her precious life!
God has great things in store for her:)
Hollis will be here before you know it....I am guessing you cannot wait:)
Hi Judy, I wanted to say I totally understand your post about the worst of times and the best of times.
Having lost two infant grandsons and a 6 yr. old granddaughter....plus some miscarried little ones we didn't get to meet on earth, we know how much it hurts to go through those stressful times.
We are thankful for each of them, and how they changed our lives forever. To God be the glory.
We also thank Him for our 11 living Grandkids...they are all very special, and loved so much.
(Ages 20 yrs. down to 3 years.)
God is so good through it all! We love Him and give Him praise.
I am so glad that you have Harper, and that she is now 2 yr. old. She is so beautiful! I enjoy reading about her here and on Kelly's blog.
We are all family in Christ...and that is such a blessing. When we can pray for each other it helps so much.
I am looking forward to meeting Hollis through the blog world when she is born. My husband and I are praying that the remaining pregnancy and delivery will go along nicely and that Kelly will have an easy time and a healthy baby.
God Bless You All!
Love, Linda @ Truthful Tidbits
Nonny(Mrs Judy) I am so glad I got to meet you in person yesterday! You are just as sweet as I anticipated you would be! I just adore Sweet Kelly and Harper! I was so glad to get to help celebrate the "best of times" with Harper! I know she is the light of you guy's life!
Ok ...I have tears in my eyes which isn't good because I just got contacts today. What a beautiful story and what a beautiful little girl. I just love Harper and I don't even know her IRL. I love Kelly and you.
May God continue to bless you all.
Happy Birthday Harper
Rebekah,
I was so happy to get to meet you and see Miss Cilla in "real life" after reading your blog for quite a while now!
I love especially the reason you named your baby Cilla and knew you were a special young lady from the start!
So glad you and Kelly are friends and Cilla and Harper can grow up together!
Thanks for coming to the party and it was MY pleasure to meet you!
Blessings!
Harper really is a miracle! I am so thankful for the happy, beautiful and healthy girl that she is today!!!!
Happy birthday to Harper! What a true blessing that little girl is! I found Kelly's blog a few days after Harper was born. Another blog asked for prayers for Harper and gave the link to Kelly's blog. I went to and immediately felt burdened to pray for this sweet baby. And it wasn't just a one time thing...I prayed for weeks. Like some of the other comments have mentioned, I would check for updates on her every day! She is true miracle!
What a beautiful post about your beautiful Harper. I can't believe she is two years old! The birthday party looks like so much fun. Thanks for "taking us there" with your pics. I'm glad Kelly had the party at Jump Zone and didn't try to do it all herself. Her special touches made it perfect. Now all the "Bloggy Aunts" are praying for Hollis to make an uneventful, but memorable, entrance to her life. No NICU!.Take care.
Keeping you in my heart in Ga.
Donna
I am still overwhelmed at God's goodness and the way He worked through you all to touch so many of us. What an incredible blessing to know HIM and your family during that trial. I have been forever impacted by it.
You look so pretty in that first photo. :)
Kelly had me crying with her 2 years post. Now I'm Really crying!! Praising God for miracles!!
Wonderful tribute to Miss Harper! I started reading Kelly's blog at the time of Harper's birth and can not believe it has been 2 years already. I have loved watching Harper grow up and can't wait for the arrival of Hollis! You have a beautiful family! Thanks for sharing them with us!
Patty from TX
This was just beautiful. I remember the journey with Harper, and God's faithfulness.
Happy Birthday precious Harper!
What a beautiful miracle that sweetie is! God is so good!
Happy 2nd Birthday, Harper!
What memories this brings back...so thankful for Harper's sweet life and all the amazing work that God has done. She is true miracle and such a blessing to all!
She sure has come a long, long way, Judy! I remember the day she was born so very well...Sharon called to tell me what had happened...and my family and I PRAYED. Isn't God so incredibly GOOD?
I so enjoy both yours and Kelly's posts. I got started following Kelly from another blog, and found you through her. I've been reading since shortly after Harper's birth. I love reading about your (all of you) faith and how you use / live it in your lives every day.
But the part of this particular post (and Kelly's bday post) that I absolutely love the most ... are the two pictures of Harper eating her cupcake. I can only imagine that is the very look, of pure love and satisfaction, that I have on my face every time I eat a dark chocolate candy bar! Priceless!
Harper is adorable, and I am so looking forward to 'meeting' Hollis soon.
The title of this blog made me smile. I have a miracle child too. As hard as some days have been, I would not want God to change any of it. We've seen God do awesome things through our son Brody. What a joy life is when we only depend upon God! My 2 pound little wonder will be turning five years old in a couple of months, and he is doing great. God is so good! Thanks for your encouraging blogs!!!
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