After 11 long days we are glad to have finally welcomed Daniel home with us. He responded well to the treatment in the hospital and made steady progress during his time in the NICU. Ruth and I were fortunate to be able to visit him a couple of times a day (the hospital is only 10 minutes from our home). Only parents are allowed in the NICU, however, so there have been many others eagerly waiting to see, hold and get to know the little guy. Yasmine has been especially interested in, and perhaps confused about, baby Daniel. For months she was told that her little brother is on the way and then she was told that he arrived. But she wasn’t ready to believe what she couldn't see with her own eyes and touch with her own hands; even the empty tummy didn't convince this Doubting Thomas. (Yasmine would ask, "Where's Baby D?" in a way that mixed curiosity, inquiry and skepticism.) Now Daniel is with us and the pieces of our family- mommy, daddy, sister and brother- are in tact. My parents have arrived in Lebanon since his birth as well, so even all the grandparent components are on hand to help settle the baby (and occupy the no-longer-sole-center-of-attention Yasmine).
We are so thankful for the prayers and concerns that have been
directed our way from near and far. We're blessed to be recipients of such thoughtfulness and believe that it has made a
difference in Daniel’s recovery and our ability to deal with it. No doubt many more challenges await us, but none
will match the blessings we enjoy in being a little family of Hamouds within a big
family of God’s children. Truly, there’s nothing in this world like family, and
there’s nothing stopping us from being in the biggest, best family of them
all.
