Aliyah turns 3!!!

So our little girl turned 3 today! We can't believe it! For the past weeks we have been counting down the days with her to build up the excitement and now here we are, Aliyah Grace Roper, 3 Years Old!
As we think back to three years ago today, it was a completely different situation than today. Some of you may know the story and some of you may not, so we want to briefly share what the LORD did and where He has brought our little girl!

Here is Rebecca's story on Aliyah's birth...
My entire pregnancy was completely normal and she was healthy the whole time. We didn't expect anything out of the ordinary. I went into labor around midnight on October 28, 2006. So we went in and when I got there I was already dilated to a 7! We didn't even call our family until after she was born, everything happened so fast. To our surprise when she was born she was completely gray, not breathing, and barely had a heart beat. They did c.p.r. right away and within minutes had a tube down her throat, got her hooked up to an iv and took her to the NICU. It was a whirlwind of emotions! I was exhausted and barely could comprehend what was going on, just that this was my baby and something was wrong with her. It wasn't until later that night when the Dr. came to the room and sat down and explained she could possibly be there a few weeks, she could have brain damage, etc. They would have to do some tests to know. This is when it all sank in! I was a wreck! I just broke down. This wasn't supposed to happen! I planned on bringing her home to her room and I just couldn't imagine how I could possibly parent a child with severe medical issues. My husband kept reassuring me that she was in God's hands. I was clinging to His Words from psalm 100,"know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture." They said during the last few minutes of delivery, she wasn't getting any blood/oxygen because my placenta had abrupted from the uterus. We praise the Lord for the very quick delivery, so they were able to start working on her! This was on Saturday night; on Sunday our whole church stood up and prayed corporately for her, praying for a miracle at that exact moment (10:30 am). When we went to see her the next morning, the nurses said that she started breathing on her own at 10:30!!!! WOW! God is able to answer prayers! By His grace, she got better and better and by Wednesday we brought her home! Our friend who is a nurse asked what her Apgar scores were and they were 1,1, and 2 and she was just amazed, saying, "wow, she was almost gone." We know that her life is truly a miracle! The Lord is gracious! I look back to this time of testing and thank Him for taking us through it as it drew us closer to Him and showed us His merciful kindness.

And now, we have been extremely blessed by this little girl that is so full of life, joy, happiness, excitement, energy, etc. It is amazing to think that even through her birth, this little girl of ours was already being used to get people to look to Jesus and it is our prayer that the Lord will continue to use her life to cause people to look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith!
WE LOVE YOU ALIYAH! WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR YOU!!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!