Zion ~ A Name Revealed....

 

Ken and I are strong believers in the significance of a name!  Each one of our children has lived up to some aspect of either their first or middle names.  Think about people you know...don't you usually have an association with certain names?

So any time we find we are expecting, we begin the process of trying to discover their name...

When we began to reveal what name we would give our newest addition, we were frequently met with comments like, "Hmmm, that's interesting." Or, "Really, where did you come up with that?"

Well, it all began with this post. 

 

If you go back, you will find that this time last year was a very difficult time for our family.  I found myself walking in the deepest valley I had yet known.  Daily I was crying out to God to be my comfort, but in the wilderness, I was not able to see Him. (Mind you, he had not left me, only I was too focused on my own pain to really feel His presence.)  In January, God answered a simple prayer of mine that opened a path to see him.

 

When I originally typed the title to that post, I felt like God impressed upon my heart that we would be having another baby and naming her Jubilee.  Only a month later I found out I was pregnant, but soon lost that baby...(I posted about that here.)

 

Then a few short weeks after that, I was pregnant again.  I was certain we would be expecting a girl and naming her Jubilee.

 

Aaahhh...but God's ways are not always our ways...

 

When our 20 week ultrasound came along, and we had an opportunity to verify the gender of our baby, we discovered that I was actually carrying a boy! Surprise!

 

And so the pursuit for a name ensued!

 

Daily Ken would come home and open the name book and throw some names out at me.  After a few weeks of this, I finally decided that the One who created this little being knew his name and I just needed Him to reveal it to me!

 

God was quick to answer my prayer!

 

That very day, I sat down to do my daily time in God's word, when I unintentionally turned to Isaiah:51...

 

"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: 

 Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn;

 look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. 

When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many. 

 The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. 

 Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing."

 

My heart lept as God's promise of comfort, joy, thanksgiving and the sound of singing jumped off the page at me!

 

I knew his name would be Zion!

 

Now to let Ken know! :)

 

Actually, as the day progressed and I asked the Lord to open Ken's heart to the name, God brought the Days of Elijah song back to me.

 

These are the days of Elijah
Declaring the word of the Lord,
And these are the days of Your servant Moses
Righteousness being restored

These are the days of great trials
Of famine and darkness and sword
Still we are the voice in the desert crying
Prepare ye the way of the Lord!
Behold He comes, riding on the clouds
Shining like the sun at the trumpet's call
Lift your voice, it's the year of Jubilee
Out of Zion's hill, salvation comes!

I knew it wouldn't take much to "convince" him...God would do the work!

 

So, what does Zion mean?

 

It means a sign or omen!

 

Zion is a sign to me that God has not abandoned me!

He will restore my joy with thankfulness and the sound of singing!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Be Refreshed!

 

Processing...

Today's post is really a bit of journaling...

 

Currently, Zion and I are at our local Children's Hospital while he undergoes treatment for an infection in his kidneys and subsequent infection in his blood. 

 

 

Sunday Zion had an especially sleepy day. With having been jaundice from day 2, he has been a bit of a sleepy baby in general, but Sunday was different.  Sunday he didn't seem to want to eat, it was difficult to wake him, and would fall asleep almost the moment he latched on to nurse.

 

Trying not to be a panicky mom, I ignored some of my instincts and kept moving forward in our day.

 

By Sunday night, he was whimpering and grunting with each breath, but still was not running a fever.

 

By 2:00AM was rapidly breathing and felt hot to the touch...upon taking his temperature, it was only registering 99.9...not considered a fever in a newborn.

 

Both Ken and I felt something wasn't right, but considering the time, and the non - specific symptoms, we decided to wait.

 

By morning, he was doing better...

 

I emailed my pediatrician and she called us by phone in the afternoon to go over what we were experiencing.  She advised us to call her no matter what time of night it was if we were to experience anything that we just wanted to run by her.  She also said, "If he does get a fever, take him right in!"

 

So, the day progressed very well!  He was doing better...until bed time.  We were discussing how much better he was doing compared to the night before, and began changing his diaper.  It was at that point that we realized he was feeling a bit warm, and I took his tempurature on a whim. 

 

100.5

Enough to be considered a fever in a newborn!

 

We called our pediatrician and she said, take him in!

 

Because we live so close to our local Children's Hospital and because he had already been seen there for some kidney issues he needed checked after birth, we headed that direction.

 

In the ER, they decided to run a gammot of tests - CBC, Urine Culture, Spinal Tap!

 

Preliminary results showed a UTI and we were told we would be staying 7 days in the hospital.  As the next few hours progressed, we discovered that his blood was also infected...this would mean an increased stay to 14 days starting with the first day that we received a negative blood culture.

 

So, that's where we are!

 

It's difficult...

 

Then you listen in on your roommates diagnosis, and you think, "I can do this!"

 

And God has shown his faithfulness already...through His word and specific answers to my personal prayers, to untold support from friends and family as they lift our family up in prayer, to "the hands of Christ" through friends and family that are delivering meals, offering their support where our other kiddos are concerned, and visiting Zion and I in order to take some of the loneliness away!  And even some exceptional nurses that have taken some personal time just to sit and chat and listen!

 

I'm still planning on those reveals...just now on "hospital time"!

(Today's post has already taken 3.5 hours to type with the different interruptions that occur in a hospital room.)

 

Thank you to all who are lifting us up in prayer...and blessing us with your support!

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Be Refreshed!



A Week of Reveals!!!

Starting with this sweet babe!

 

 

Introducing:

Zion Philip Cook

7lbs. 11ozs. - 22in. long

Born: Nov. 16, 2012

 

 

 

 

It all started with a peaceful, quiet Thursday morning!  I should have known something was up because I suddenly had the urgent "need" to get all of my Christmas shopping ideas organized and on paper.  After sitting down at the kitchen table and writing it all out, I decided I'd better get dressed and get our day rolling!  Only when I stood up, I had a "did I just wet myself" feeling...

 

With no other symptoms of labor, I called my husband Ken to let him know that I thought, possibly  my water broke and then I proceeded to pace back and forth around the house wondering what to do!  His sound mind came through the other end of the phone, "Why don't you call the midwives and see what they have to say." "Hmmm...that's a good idea," I thought.

 

As the day progressed, nothing happened and nothing happened...Ken came home from work and we all waited!  We decided to take a trip to the library just to get out of the house. Still nothing...well, maybe a few contractions, but nothing to write home about!

 

Our midwives checked in with us a few times and around 9:30 we decided we would meet up in an hour and see how I was doing. 

 

I entered the birth center with irregular contractions and just not feeling well. After checking my vitals, they determined that I was most likely dehydrated and started me on EmergenC.  One of the sweet midwives, Jenny, accommodated our joke regarding being in a fancy hotel on vacation by presenting it to me "Hawaiian style":

 

 

After 2 glasses I was feeling better and real labor started moving!

 

 

Ken took this picture as I was working through a contraction...the heart shape with my hands was unintentional!

 

The plan was for a water birth, but after laboring in the tub for a while, my contractions just weren't progressing things along.  Moving from the tub to the bed did the trick, and 3 contractions (about 20mins) later, Zion made his entrance!

 

 

2 hours later we were home and soaking in our new addition!

 

 



 

 

As some of you know, Zion had a bit of a rough start in his first days of life.  More on that later...

 

 

 

Oh, and I'm sure some of you are dying to see a kitchen update...let's just say the view from the couch as I nurse Zion is looking pretty fantastic!


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Thanks for stopping by!  Be refreshed!