 baby has ever left the Grand Forks hospital!
We have kept Joshua home and on oxygen. He only needs that extra help. His heart is very unique and has many defects. One problem he could have is not getting enough oxygnated blood to his lungs. He also has two hernias which could cause problems in the future as well because right now his heart isn’t strong enough for surgery. At birth, he had open sores on his head. They have and are healing up nicely. But there is some concern that his brain isn’t fully developed.
Despite all that bad sounding stuff…we’ve got our little boy home with us! Praise the Lord! What a blessing it is to get to know him and love him. His life is precious and we’re treasuring every minute of it!
Josh has begun making eye contact with us and turning toward our voices. Even in the hospital he did better with his hearing test when I talked to him and he calmed down quicker when he heard our voices and felt our touch. He gets the hicupps, and yawns, and has the cutest little sneeze! Joshua is very strong for such a little guy. When he’s upset and fussing, he can stand up if we hold him up or push himself away from whatever his feet are against. His neck is getting stronger, too, and he can hold it up some when we hold him up to burp him. His arms are almost too strong – he scares himself when he throws them out!
Bath time isn’t too fun for Josh. He doesn’t like being messed with, but he loves to be held and cuddled! He does enjoy getting his hair shampooed, though. I think the scars on his head itch and it feels good to have his head rubbed!! 
We enjoy life with Josh. I couldn’t imagine having “induced labor” back in week 21 of our pregnancy. Whether he would have lived an hour or a day, or if he lives a year, he’s worth it! What a blessing to get to know our little fighter. Who knows how long we’ll have him, but the pain of saying good-bye will be worth the joy of saying hello and knowing our son. He’s taught us so much about life and love-hope and joy-and trust.
I think the thing I’ve realized the most so far, is that this life is not the main thing. It’s not the “goal”. (See 1 Peter 1:3-9) Heaven is the goal. That’s where it’s at. This life is just what’s going on while we wait to get home. The Bible says that we are “aliens and strangers in the world”(1 Peter 2:11). James says, “What is your life?  Again in the Psalms it says, “Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.” (144:4). So while we wait through this little while, we’ll see what His plan is. How reassuring to know that from the beginning, He has a plan for us here on earth! “All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:16) We trust His plan.
Of course, all the verses we claimed before his birth still hold true. God’s Word never changes – He always remains the same. Who knows what He’ll do? Anything’s possible!!
We know that whatever happens…our home coming is sure. Whether Josh goes first or not, we’ll all be together again – without a doubt!
Trust in God; trust also in Me.
if it were not so, I woudl have told you.
While Joshy was alive, Jill sent out periodic emails to talk about what was going on. If you’d like to read those, we put together on this page all in one spot. Feel free to relive Josh’s life with us.
We know there’s a God in heaven who is loving and who is strong. (Psalm 62:11-12 “You, O God, are strong, and You, O Lord, are loving.”) He has the power to heal.(Psalm 103:3 “[The Lord] forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.”; Exodus 15:26 “For I am the Lord, who heals you.”; James 5:15-16 “And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up… pray for each other so that you may be healed.”) He has a plan in store for all three of us. (Jer. 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”) We can trust in Him to take care of everything in the best way. Whether Joshua lives and his life is a testimony pointing people to the Lord, or if it is up to us alone to be strong in faith-come what may, God will recieve glory. He sustains us with his strength and peace everyday and for that we are thankful. May God show Himself in a powerful way through the life of our little son, Joshua David.
Before all the tests and so forth, to find out about our baby, both Kevin and I were thinking of names. We liked Benjamin James but also wanted to get the name Edward in there. (Kevin’s dad and Jill’s granddad are named Edward, and Jill’s dad and Kevin’s grandpa are named James!) Anyway, on our way to Mpls, MN for another ultrasound, Kevin said he’d been thinking about the name Joshua. The neat thing is that the night before I had a dream about a boy named Joshua! We found out how serious our boy’s condition was and that night looked up Joshua in our Bibles. Kevin knew where it said the meaning of the name in one of his insights, and it meant “The Lord Saves”.
We know that no matter what happens, the Lord will save our Joshua. Whether it’s with long life or eternal life, we know that the Lord is the giver of both. What hope!
David was thought up later, on our part. The Psalms have been so encouraging and King David wrote many of them. We looked up that meaning and it was “Beloved”. That fits our Joshua completely. He is our beloved-forever.
Joshua is active and loves to kick and punch and turn. Every movement is a blessing. We are getting to know him even now and enjoy and love him more everyday.
Jill has remained really healthy throughout the whole pregnancy. Things are moving smoothly, and we praise the Lord for that.
Many people are holding us and Joshua up in prayer. Thank you so much for your support and encouragement. “The prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective.” (James 5:16) Keep praying and we’ll keep you all posted as to what great and mighty things God’s got in store for the Crawford family.
Is any one of you SICK?
in the NAME OF THE LORD.
THE LORD WILL RAISE HIM UP.
and PRAY for each other that you may BE HEALED.
“Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.
and He will deliver us.
HE HEARS US.
this man whom you see and know was made strong.
How should believers cope with suffering?
to keep their minds steady on God, who never loses control over events.
just a quick note back to you! as i write, Joshua is resting in my left arm. he was born on may 3 at 1:43 AM. and wasn’t expected to live more than a few hours…now he’s home and we’re approaching two weeks! God hasn’t heald him from trisomy 13, but he has blessed us with sweet precious time with our boy. the only thing he needs is extra oxygen. he is sweet and comfortable. we praise the Lord for this time and are learning to trust him more every day. God can still do miracles, and we believe that he still can do anything!
joshua has his daddy’s red hair-beautiful! he has a cleft lip and palate, which could make feeding hard…but he’s been doing well feeding with a special bottle. he has gained some weight now and is at a whopping 5 pounds!! he loves to be touched and held (but don’t mess with his hat!! he’s already got an attitude!). we sleep with him between our pillows at night to keep him company all the time. kevin and i are so in love with this child God has given to us. each day is a treasure.
better go-time to get that bottle-and quick, says Josh!
thanks for your prayers!!
Joshua’s doctor (who’s great) said his color looks really good. he’s nice and pink still. and his lungs sound good, and the liver is where it should be. his heart still has the murmur, but continues to beat away. dr. vanlooy said he expects a duct in his heart will close soon – all babies have this duct that closes sometime after birth – but josh needs his more to help supply his lungs with oxygenated blood. we’ll keep that in our prayers and keep our eyes on our little man! he was born with a hernia and developed a second one. they both reduce easily and don’t seem to cause him pain. we don’t need to worry about them now. j