Merry Christmas

Here is what our Christmas card looked like for those who have yet to receive it, or just didn't cause we ran out of cards (sorry):

...the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord...

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

- Luke 2

Dear Family and Friends, Christmas 2008

We want to thank God for all the incredible blessings He has given us, mainly His Son, and you all. If you have received this today, know that we love you very much.

It may be that there are some of you who might not know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord and we want to encourage you to consider what the Bible calls "of first importance". That is, "That Christ died for our sins,... that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day". He promises eternal life and forgiveness of sins to all those who repent of their sins and place their faith in Him. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life"; "God...now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness"; "God demonstrates His own love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us".

Thank you again to all who gave to us and prayed for us through our recent trial.

We love you! Merry Christmas!

The Delgado's

p.s. My favorite Christmas blog post is still Merry Christmas! (The gift of Christian Heritage,...the reason for the season) by my buddy Junior. Check it out.

p.p.s. Kenya got to open one present on Christmas Eve and she picked the Kid Tough Digital Camera that Vanessa and I got her. She is just like her Mom, in that she can take over 140 pictures in just hours! And she is like Destinee and all her girly teenage friends, in that most of the pictures are of herself!

Here is a collage of some of the "better" pics she took of our Christmas Eve:



p.p.p.s. Kenya wants to tell you all Merry Christmas!

Soli Deo Gloria!

jason d. and the rest of the familia!

Favorite Ornament

Every year everyone gets to pick one new ornament for the Christmas Tree. This was the first year Kenya was able to pick out her own ornament. It was so much fun watching her look at all the different ornaments until she finally picked the one she wanted.

We were hoping to find a Buzz Lightyear ornament (because she is in love with Buzz) but it didn't happen, so she chose Big Bird instead:

Jason got a Star Wars ornament, Vanessa got a purple star thingy and Destinee got a dino (and crashed while we were decorating):

When Jason was walking around with Kenya at the store and I was looking for an ornament, I heard Kenya say, "Look! It's Melody and Madison!" I turned around quickly to find Kenya and Jason looking at the ornament bellow. I couldn't believe it Kenya found it all by herself.


I was thinking before we left the house that I really wanted to find an ornament for Melody and Madison and I just knew that it wasn't going to happen. I knew that nothing would be good enough, there was no way I was going to find an ornament with conjoined twins.

Well, I didn't,...but Kenya did! I love this ornament because it has two baby angels joined together holding one heart. How sweet is that! Don't mis-read me here, I know that our babies are in Heaven and are humans, not angels in Heaven. The Bible makes a clear distention between angels and humans. It was just really sweet and reminded me of our girls!

I loved that the babies have their arms around each other.
I know this may not mean a lot to many people but it just blessed me that we were able to find such a perfect ornament for our girls.

Flash Back Friday - Kenya (July 08)

This picture was taken about six months ago.
I thought it was too cute not to share!

School Days

I started doing a little preschool with Kenya and she loves it!
This week we are learning about:

the letter "A"
the number "1"
the color "orange"
and the shape "square".

We also do circle time (I don't have any pictures of that sorry) during circle time we pray, read the Bible and sing a few worship songs. Kenya really loves this part of the day. She gets out her blanket and lays it on the floor, listens to everything I say she even prays. Typically she says,

"Thank you my God, thank you for my food, AMEN!"

It is so cute! She is learning to pray about other thing but it's a start. Then when we are done she folds up her blanket and puts it back where it goes.

This week in circle time we are reading about the birth of Jesus from Luke 2.

Kenya does really good on a schedule, she has lots of free time but she also likes the school time. Her behavior has improved so much since we started doing this last week. I will let you know how it goes. :)

One month ago today...

Here we were one month ago today in the OR waiting
for Melody Joy and Madison Hope to be born.

Dr. Tabor delivering our babies (he is the one on the right)
Dr. Tabor you did a great job and I thank the Lord for you.

Melody Joy and Madison Hope Born on November 11, 2008.
It was indeed A Beautifully Wonderful Perfect Day.

Here we are watching our babies BREATH!

One month ago today we got to welcome our beautiful baby girls into the world and on that same day they were welcomed into Heaven.

One month ago today was one of the hardest and most amazing days of my life.

One month ago today God showed me that He was the same yesterday, today and forever! (Hebrews 13:8)

How many kids do you have?

"How many kids do you have?"

I DREAD this question! I never know how to answer it.

Jason and I were in the mall and one of the sales people and I were talking. She was shocked that I was married, she thought I was 16 (which most people do when they first meet me). Then I told her you should see the looks that I get when I'm pregnant. She looked down at my belly and I quickly said, "Oh, I'm not pregnant." She asked, "Do you have any kids?" I answered, "We have a two year old daughter and we have custody of my sister who is 15." She was just shocked.

Anyway the whole time I was telling her this I wanted to scream, "...and, we also have twin girls, yes conjoined twin baby girls that were alive for 32 weeks inside of my womb, twin girls that lived for less than an hour outside my womb, twin baby girls that I felt move inside of me for 17 weeks, twin girls that amazed me when they both came out breathing, conjoined twin girls and I'm so proud to be their Mom, twin baby girls that I would love to get to go back to that day and hold them just a little bit longer, twin baby girls that are now safe in the arms of God!"

You see we don't have two kids we have four,... so why is it so hard for me to tell people that when they ask?

Destinee age 15 - We love you Dessy Poo!

Kenya 25 months old - Kenya boo's we love you!

Melody Joy - look at those cute lips and that perfect nose. I love you my little M&M!

Madison Hope - you looked just like you sister :) the same cute lips and perfect nose. Look at those adorable fingers so perfect and complete. I love you my sweet baby girl!

So there you have it my name is Vanessa and I'm the proud Mom to four beautiful girls!

A Teenager and a Baby

I haven't talk about the teenager very much on the blog so here it goes.

I just want you all to know that it has been such a joy having my sister Destinee live with us. It has been so neat to watch her grow up over the past few years. She is a joy to be around and lights up whatever room she is in.

She is also a very thoughtful person, in fact she gave us her Christmas list tonight. She typed out a list that included the gift, where we could find it, and how much it cost. HAHAHAHA the thought of it all makes me laugh. Ok, I'm not totally being honest it was a project for school and it really does help. It's not easy knowing what to get a 15 year old. So thank you Destinee for making our life easier!

Destinee we love you very much and are so glad that you are a part of our family!

How God provided for us,... (trying to say thank you)

With all that has gone on during the pregnancy, birth, and burial of our twin daughters I thought I would really have to try hard to do what 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says:

"...give thanks in all circumstances;

for this is the will of God

in Christ Jesus for you."

But this has been a time of much thankfulness,..at many times overwhelming thankfulness at how God has provided for us, comforted us, refined us, encouraged us, humbled us, loved us, ect... especially in these hard times.

I could leave this blog entry at that and just say, "THANK YOU!" to everyone, but I don't want to make it sound simply esoteric and mystical how God has provided all that He has provided for us (though it is no doubt supernatural). I don't want to confuse anyone by simply saying (as we have said much on this blog) that "God is sovereign" and think we expect things to just fall into our laps from God because He is all powerful and good. So let me start by saying God ordains the means as well as the end.

What do I mean by this? One quick example is that God tells us in Matthew 6:25-34 to not be anxious for food, drink, or clothing, cause our Heavenly Father will provide those things to us. So God has ordained that He will provide food, drink, and clothing for us.

He ordains the end. (for more on this read my previous blog entry on God's sovereignty)

He also ordains the means.

But how does He do this specifically? I'll just use food for this example.

In some rare special cases the means was supernatural, like when He just dropped food down with the morning dew for Israel when they were in the wilderness (Numbers 11:9), or when God sent ravens to feed Elijah (1 Kings 17:1-6), ect... But, for the majority of people this is not how God provides.

For the majority of us God has given us the ability to work as a means to provide. He gave us the skill of our hands, he gave us the animals and the vegetation, He created the world and everything in it! He did not just create all this one day to work itself out, but He is intimately involved in His creation. Involved in holding it all together and even involved in the small details like causing the grass to grow:

"You cause the grass to grow for the livestock

and plants for man to cultivate,

that he may bring forth food from the earth"

- Psalm 104:14

"He covers the heavens with clouds;

He prepares rain for the earth;

He makes grass grow on the hills."

- Psalm 147:8

"For by Him [Jesus Christ] all things were created,

in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,

whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—

all things were created through Him and for Him.

And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.".

- Colossians 1:17-18

So I hope that little example helps you see how God ordains the end as well as the means. There is much much more to be said about this (like God also provides the sun, water, ect... things needed for food) but I think that will suffice for my purpose.

See God has promised to comfort His people, and the means that He used was you all! Wow, simply amazing how God uses everyday normal people for His task. So that is why I thank God for you and just want to say to all of you...

Thank you! (Please read specific Thank You's here)

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you, thank you. I thank God for all of you.

I thank God for pastors. Who, just by being faithful to preach the Bible, prepared us for the various kinds of trials that the Bible says we as believers are promised. I thank God that they are not afraid to preach the whole counsel of God, not holding anything back, even when it may not be the most pleasing to hear.

Pastor Jay & Pastor Emilio thank you for truly shepherding my soul. For all your preaching, and all the times you visited us just to pray with us, ask us how we are doing, and fellowship with us, but especially in this time we went through, thank you specifically for your sermons on:

• - 1 Peter 1:6-9 (The reason we are tried and tested,...to produce in us a inexpressible joy filled with glory)
• - John 9:1-12 (Sin, suffering, and the glory of God)

Pastor Bill thank you for shepherding me for 5 years (right after I became a new convert). You taught me so much about the Scriptures, words just can't express how thankful I am to God for you.

So much more could be said for these pastors, but this will have to suffice. I thank God for you men. You are truly gifts from God for His church:

"And He [God] gave... pastors and teachers,
to equip the saints for the work of ministry,
for building up the body of Christ,..."
- Ephesians 4:11-12

I thank God for His church. God's church has been a beautiful representation of God's love and care for us. Many churches came together to pray for us before and after the birth of Melody and Madison. The church is precious,...it is what God shed His blood for (Acts 20:28)

We have been just blown away by every one's love and generosity toward us. I just wanted to list as many things as I can think of that the Lord used yall to bless and encourage us with.


Thank you to the blogging world you have all been so encouraging and have even used your blogs as a way to ask for more people to pray for us. Thank you all for the comments you left on our blog I wish I had time to respond to them all but please know that we do read them and the Lord has used them to encourage us. Thank you all for spreading the word about Melody and Madison.

I was reading back to our post after we found out that the girls were conjoined. I was reading our prayer request list and it was just so amazing how God answered our prayers. Lets reread them together.

The immediate prayer requests

1) God would be glorified through all of this no matter what the outcome is
God was glorified and is still being glorified through Melody and Madison's lives!

2) That God would heal the babies heart and that it would be strong enough to work for both of these babies
Their heart was strong enough to support them both during my pregnancy and even for an hour after they were born. This was one of the most amazing ways that God answered our prayers.

3) That their chest cavity would be fully developed and that their lungs would be fully developed and that our babies would be able to breath
The doctors had previously told us they didn't think one of the babies would have lungs, and they were surprised both babies were growing pretty much at the same rate. Our sweet babies we able to breath not for very long but they were born alive. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Check out this video to see them breath.

4) That I would not go into pre-term labor
I did end up delivering the girls at 32 weeks but I was far enough along that they were born ALIVE!

5) Wisdom for the doctors during my pregnancy and the birth of our babies
All the doctors did such a good job taking care of me and our girls! Dr. Tabor you were amazing and I thank God for you!

6) Wisdom for us, because of some hard ethical decision we may have to make in the future concerning the twins
The Lord worked it out so perfectly, really the only decision we had to make was to chose not to murder our children by aborting them. The Lord worked out everything else!

7) We would be bold witness' for Christ during this time!
I feel like I (Vanessa) failed miserably on this one. There are so many times I could have said more. I know a lot of times we did talk about the Lord's goodness and faithfulness but I could have said so much more. If you don't not know the Lord or are doubting your salvation please read this. There is nothing more important than where you will spend eternity.

Thank you also to our friends and family who prayed for us and spread the word for others to pray. All the visits, hugs, tears, words of encouragement, cooking for us, cleaning our house, watching Kenya, running away together (you know who you are), ect,... can never be repaid. We thank God for you all!


Thank you so much to everyone who brought us food. What a huge blessing it was to be on bed rest and know that my family was still getting fed a super yummy warm meal.


Thank you so much for all the cards and emails we have spent countless hours reading all of them and being encouraged by all the Scripture in them.


Thank you all so much for all of the beautiful flowers our house was full of life and it smelled really good too!


Thank you to everyone who took the time to watch Kenya what a huge blessing it was to know that she was safe while I was resting, in the hospital, or going on a quick date with my amazing hubby.


Thank you to everyone that took Destinee to school and picked her up! We have been very blessed by you all!


Thank you to everyone at Destinee's school all the teachers, staff, and parents have been such an encouragement to us and have really worked with Destinee to help her stay on top of her grades after missing a week of school. We truly appreciate all of you!


Thank you Margaret Lake! I don't think we will ever find the words to truly thank you for everything you did for us. Taking pictures at the hospital, taking pictures at the funeral, and even driving us to the grave side and back to the church. You went above and beyond anything we could have hoped for. Thank you so much, we love you.


Thank you Ann Crowell, Keri Duckett, and all the staff at Gentle Beginnings Birth Center. Even though we were not able to use Ann to deliver our baby at home as planned they were all there to support us through out our entire pregnancy. If I ever had a question Ann was there to answer it (and let me tell you all I had a lot of questions!) She also was so sweet, she let me come in and she would measure my belly, find out where the babies heads were at and we would also listen to the heartbeat. I loved it because it was such a personal touch. At the specialist office all they did was sonograms which of course I loved because I got to see my babies all the time. But it was just nice to have someone get their hands on my belly :) They also prayed over my belly which was always such a blessing. So a big huge thank you to Ann, Keri and all the staff I love you all very much! Oh Ann and Keri also came to the hospital with a beautiful basket full of flowers and goodies to help my body recover. Thank you guys!


Thank you also to all the people who came up to the hospital to visit us. There was several times we were not up for visitors but when we were yall were there and we love it. Thank yall for the flowers, gifts, cards and yummy food you brought us.


Thank you to all the staff at the hospital, you guys were so loving toward us and took such good care of us! All off our nurses were amazing!

• -Dr. Tabor thank you so much for all that you did for us. You are an amazing doctor and I thank God for you. You helped us through one of the hardest things we have ever gone through. I'm so thankful that you were our doctor!
• - Ashley we will always remember you
• - Mary you helped put all my fears at ease before the csection
• - Violet I think that is you name, you included Destinee in everything you did with Melody and Madison after they were born (giving them a bath, doing their hand and foot prints, getting them dressed) Thank you so much you were the perfect nurse to have take care of us after they were born
• - Senija you my friend, made me walk for the first time (the day after the csection) and made me go to the bathroom (too much information I know), took my staples out (again too much information I know sorry about that) you were a great nurse and a great friend!
• - And then there was the curly brown haired nurse and I think your hair was in a pony tail you were our nurse on Friday, November 14th. Friday was a very hard day for me it was the day Margaret got the slide show up of all the pictures from the hospital. After I watched it I couldn't hold it together. This was also the day that Jason, his brother and Dad went to make funeral arrangements. Needless to say it was a very hard day. My pillow fell off the bed and I started crying because I was mad that i couldn't pick it up by myself. I was crying over everything and no one was there but my sweet nurse. She just put her hand on my leg and stayed with me while I cried. Thank you for being there with me that day I needed you and you took very good care of me!
• - If any of our nurses or anyone that took care of us are reading this I would love to keep in contact with you. Please email me vkdelgado@hotmail.com. Really anyone that wants to can email me I love hearing from yall!
• - Thank you also to the guy who pushed my wheel chair out of the hospital, you were very funny and I really enjoyed our conversation.
  

Thank you to everyone from our church who took time to pray, call us, come by yall were used by God to comfort us.


Thank you to everyone who took the time to get everything ready for the funeral, setting tables, making food, running the sound. There was so much that went on I don't even know about half of it. Thank you all for everything you did.


And my last big, huge, ginormous THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone that supported us financially. We are BLOWN away by how the Lord used you all to support us thank you all very much! You don't even have a clue how helpful all the funds are.


I know this was a long post but I hope it blessed you all to see how the church from all over the world came together as one to support us during this very hard time in our lives. We love you all very much even the people we have never met!

Thank you all! We truly thank God for providing you all to help us.

Love you all & Soli Deo Gloria!

Jason & Vanessa Delgado

Favorite billboard

My very favorite billboard just happens to be an advertisement for the hospital that we delivered at.
It says, "My baby inhaled. I exhaled."


We passed this billboard every time we went to see any of our three doctors. We were going at least once a week toward the end of my pregnancy. Every time I read it it made me cry, for 13 weeks I wondered if I would ever get to see my babies inhale. And only to the glory of God, I got to see my babies inhale,...and I indeed at that very moment exhaled.

Watch Melody Joy (the baby on the left) as she opens her mouth and takes a breath.
God is amazing!

p.s. This 14 second clip is the only video we have of them, we spent the rest of the time in the O.R. holding them and seeing them through tear stained eyes (our photographer was not allowed in the O.R. and once we could hold them a nurse took pictures with our camera for us)

My Hubby

Hello everyone, sorry it has been so long since my last post I just haven't been in the blogging mood. I'm not really in the mood to blog right now either but I will do it because I love you all. Not that my blogging is some great service to the world but you know what I mean.

I just wanted to tell you all about my amazing husband and how he won my heart. This is a long story but its cute and worth sticking around for.

Ok, so Jason and I met at church. He was sitting alone in the back of the church and I went up to him and asked if he would like to go to our youth group sometime. He said "No, I would rather be taught the Word." From all the experiences Jason had with church youth groups they just played around and never got into the Bible. Anyway, I didn't really give it much thought and just moved on.

After a few months Jason and I became friends. There was a group of about 10 of us that hung out all the time. We went to movies together, the park, Wal-Mart, T-Peeing (you know who you are and we still love you all very much)! Anyway, Jason and I were always just friends until.... He decided to ask me out on a date! He invited me to go to Red Lobster with him and another couple, I said, "Of course." Then it was almost time to leave and I got scared so I called him to cancel. I did this to him a total of three times, maybe four I'm not sure. Poor guy he was so sweet about it he just backed off and we were just friends.

I was doing a Bible study with a friend from church and noticed a Mothers Day gift that her husband and kids made for her. It had a few pictures on it and there was a verse from Proverbs 31. I think it said "your children shall rise up and call you blessed." I thought and prayed to myself, "Lord, it would be so cool to marry someone like that someone who would take the time to make a gift like that for me. " And that was it, I didn't really think about it much after that.

A few months later Jason gave me a Christmas gift and told me not to open it until I got home. So I waited until I got to my uncles house (it wasn't too far from my house :) ) and I opened it. Jason drew me a picture and on the back it had Proverbs 31:10 "Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies." I started to cry and I told my family, "He would make the best husband, I just don't like him." Then I turned it over and he had drawn a picture of a woman looking down and the scripture on the front was Proverbs 31:30 "Charm is deceitful and beauty fades away but a woman who honors God she shall be praised." It was such a beautiful picture, my husband among many other talents is a great artist.


It was such a sweet gift and I loved it! A few weeks after he gave it to me I started to think about what I had prayed before about wanting a husband who would take the time to make a beautiful gift with Scripture on it for me. I started to pray and ask the Lord if it was His will that I married Jason would He please change my heart because I wasn't attracted to him and I didn't like him like that.

We became best friends not long after that and we did everything together. I even helped him move. And it was while helping him move that for the first time I looked at him and thought, "Wow, he is cute!"

With in a few months I was completely attracted to him and really started to like him more than just a friend. So we started dating in May of 2004 then got engaged July of 2004

and were married in March of 2005.

Jason is the love of my life and I am so blessed to be able to call myself his wife.

Oh and we are coming out in a wedding book soon, it's called Spectacular Weddings of Texas written by Jolie Carpenter with photography from our wedding by Margaret Lake. It has pictures from our wedding and tells the story of how we met and feel in love. Which I just told all of you. Oh great no surprise ending.

Our M&M's were born one week ago today

Our M&M's were born one week ago today.

Exactly one week ago today I was laying on the O.R. table looking at my sweet babies heart beating. Something I didn't know if I would have ever gotten to see. As I lay there holding and watching my babies breathe and watching their heart beating I was so thankful that they were born alive. God had answered one of our greatest prayer requests that if our babies weren't going to make it please let them be born alive. I just held them not knowing how long this moment would last but cherishing every second of it. We could see their heart beating at the top of their chests it was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.

Last night Kenya lay across my lap and fell asleep it was so sweet. I just happen to glance down and I could see her heart beating at the top of her chest. I just watched as her little chest moved up and down with every beat of her heart. I just praised God in that moment. Praise the Lord we have a healthy little girl full of life. When is the last time you held your children and watched them breathe or watched their heart beat?

Is my baby in Heaven?

This was a topic I was going to write about when we first heard we were having twins . I have always held the position that when a baby dies it goes to Heaven, but it wasn't until my Aunt delivered a still born earlier this year that I really dove into the subject to see why I held this position.

There is not one verse that says "Babies go to Heaven" or anything like that, so a look at the entire scope of the Bible is needed to answer the question. Earlier this year (before my wife got pregnant) I became more convinced than ever, that when a baby dies it goes to Heaven. I came to this conclusion from many implicit references in the Bible (again there are no explicit references about this).

I decided to give you the arguments and writings of one who has already written about this (no need re-inventing the wheel, right?). So I recommend the following resources to you from Pastor John MacArthur.

You can listen for free to his sermon series, "What Happens to Babies Who Die?" (which include Jesus Loves The Little Children, and two sermons that get deeper into answering the question that I really really recommend listening to both The Salvation of Babies Who Die, Part 1 & The Salvation of Babies Who Die, Part 2 )

If you are more of the book nerd type then you can get this in book form (called, "Safe in the Arms of God" which I am reading right now). The book starts off:

"What about a two-year-old baby crushed at the bottom of the World Trade Center?"

The question was fired at me by Larry King. I had been invited to participate as a panel member on the Larry King Live television program one Saturday evening. The program was taped in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Even though we had been discussing issues of life and death, grief and hope, as part of this program, Larry's question seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Instant heaven," I immediately replied.

Larry fired back a second question: "He wasn't a sinner?"

I again answered, "Instant heaven."

Larry's compelling questions revealed a nagging, troubling issue in the human heart.

What is the future of a baby crushed by the rubble of the collapsing World Trade Center? What about any baby that dies? What happens to an unborn child, an infant, a child, or even a physically mature but mentally handicapped adult with the mental capacity of a child after he dies? What is the fate of that "little one" as he or she enters eternity? The questions are agonizing ones for many parents, Christians and non-Christians alike.

A number of rather strange and ill-founded answers have been given to these questions in the past. The correct answer, however, begins very simply: "Instant heaven."

In the sound-bite environment of a program such as Larry King Live, I had no opportunity to follow up with an explanation for my statement and, frankly, Larry didn't ask for one. He seemed satisfied with my quick and decisive response and went on to other questions related to the ways in which our nation was grieving and recovering from the aftermath of that terrible day of tragedy.

But I believe you deserve an expanded answer because in all likelihood, you are reading this book after having experienced the loss of a child-or perhaps because you are a person in a position, as I have been too many times as pastor, to counsel or encourage someone who has lost a child. My heart grieves with any parent who loses a child, and that is what motivated me to search Scriptures on this subject so I could reach out and offer biblically founded words of comfort and encouragement...

After examining the Biblical evidence, Vanessa and I have been convinced that when a child dies they go to Heaven. This is consistant with the orthodox Christian view that we are saved by grace but damned by works. If you disagree, don't have a clue, or are not sure why you hold that position I would really recommend the above resources.

Soli Deo Gloria!

jason d.

Thank You

Thank You!



I just wanted to do a really quick post and say thank you! Thank you to every who has been praying for us, and thank you to everyone who has blessed us financially. I haven't worked in about 13 weeks and we knew that we were going to have a lot of medical bills, but just like everything else I had a peace about it and I knew the Lord would take care of us. So I never stressed about money I just trusted God! With all that said thank you for letting the Lord use you in such a huge way to bless us! God has provided for our every need,... Blessed be His name!

Also thank you all for your prayers! I'm feeling really good! The first time they made me walk in the hospital I thought I was going to die,...and I wanted to, it hurt so bad! But by the next day I was able to get around a little easier and then the next day it was a little easier. I'm always a little bit more sore in the mornings but through out the day it gets better. Oh and I can stand up straight! I know that sounds funny but it was really hard to stand up straight in the hospital I thought for sure that I was always going to be a little bent over when I walked, but not any more. Some more exciting news, I slept all night with out waking up for the first time in about 8 months. I woke up feeling refreshed and rested. So thank you, thank you for praying,...the Lord is answering prayers.

Today was Melody and Madison's funeral, it was hard but so amazing at the same time. Melody and Madison's lives were celebrated and God was glorified! Margaret was there taking pictures,...so after I get them I will post them with all the details of the day.

We love you all and are thankful for the place that God has brought us to.

Love,
Vanessa

Madison and Melody Funeral Arrangements

We invite you to
attend the funeral
in loving memory of

Melody Joy & Madison Hope Delgado

Monday, November 17, 2008
Memorial service @ Heritage Church of Christ in Keller @ 10AM
Graveside Service immediately following @ Bourland Cemetery
Fellowship and food immediately following @ Church of Christ in Keller

Hospital Update & Photos from Margaret

Margaret just sent us a preview of some of the photos she took,...they are outstanding (you will have to go to her blog to see the video cause we still can't post pics and video to here for some reason):

http://mlakephotography.blogspot.com/2008/11/we-remember-madison-melody-delgado-nov.html

We are still at the hospital and should be out tomorrow morning.
We are planning the memorial service and will post details when we have them (as of now the service and burial will be this Monday if everything goes to plan)

This has truly been a time of bittersweet providence.

Soli Deo Gloria!

jason d.

Melody Joy and Madison Hope - Pics & Video

Our laptop is having some issues, and for some reason we can't post anymore pics or video on our blog, but we posted them on our Picasa page:

View Album

Click on view album ^ and it will take you to our Picasa page you will be able to watch the video on there.
The link above will take you to some of the pics we got,...we saw one picture from our photographer and it was really really good, so we are looking forward to see the rest of the pics from Margaret Lake

Soli Deo Gloria!

jason d.

A glorious, painful, wonderful day

I just wanted to start out be saying thank you all so much for all the kind words yall left on our comments, the scriptures and prayers were such a huge blessing. We know that God is being glorified through this and we are blown away by His sustaining grace during this time.

I wanted to share with everyone the events leading up to Melody and Madison's birth and all the events the day of their birth.

It all started on November 9th I was having contractions all day about 10 an hour which normally would be alarming but was normal for me because of all the extra amniotic fluid. My doctor told me to expect contractions like that but if they got painful to come in.

So onto Sunday night I had contractions all night strong ones that woke me up. This has never happened before so I started getting a little concerned. I decided that I would see what happened on Monday the 10th and wouldn't you know I have some pretty strong contractions that day as well. I didn't want to go to the hospital because I thought they we still just Braxton Hicks contractions. So I decided to go to bed and if they kept me up all night again then we would come to the hospital to be monitored. Do you notice a pattern here I think I'm a doctor : ) So Monday night I had contractions all night again they got so bad I finally just got up at 4am and took a shower and a bath trying to relax. Well it worked and my contractions had slowed down a ton. I had already said I would go to the hospital if they kept me up all night but now they were few and far between. At this point Tuesday November 11th I decided to quit playing doctor and see what my doctor wanted me to do. So I called and of course he wanted me to go to the hospital to be monitored. I felt so stupid for going because my contractions were not that bad anymore. My sweet husband reminded me that I call the doctor and they wanted me to come in I should not feel stupid about that.

When we got to the hospital much to our surprise the same nurse was working that took care of us two weeks ago when we came. I think her name is Ashley I will find out and tell you for sure later. She is the sweetest person and I was so thankful that she would be taking care of me.

She got me all hooked up to the monitors and I was still having consistent contractions every other one was stronger. So she checked me at about 1:00 pm and I was dilated to a 3 and 50% ephased. I couldn't believe it i was devastated. We were only 32 weeks along and I really wanted to make it to 36 weeks. She waited about an hour and checked me again I was dilated to a four. At that point my doctor called me and we talked for a few minutes about what the plan would be and he told me that we would be delivering that day. I lost it over the phone I couldn't even get words out of my mouth. I love my doctor he was so sweet he just kept saying I'm so sorry about this.

I asked Ashely (the nurse) why wouldn't they try to stop my labor. She said if I wasn't in active labor that there were some things they could do to stop it but since I was in active labor there was nothing they could do. My body just thought it was time to deliver. I'm glad she explained that to me.

So next about 3:00 pm they moved me up to labor and delivery and checked me again I was now at a 5 and 70% present ephased. I will have you all know I did not have any pain meds until we got into the OR. I was so excited that I was able to labor with no pain meds. If you remember we started off the pregnancy using a midwife and wanting a home birth. So that was a huge blessing from God that I got to labor and feel the contractions. My water wasn't broken so they weren't too painful but still I'm sure you all get the point. Oh and if your looking for a good midwife in the DFW area check out Ann's website she is such a sweet person and has been delivering babies for a long time. http://gentlebeginningsbc.com/about/faqs.htm

Our family and a few close friend started showing up around 4pm they helped time to pass by pretty quickly. The Photographer that we used at our wedding came to take pictures for us. It was so amazing because Jason and I could just be in the moment and not have to worry about missing anything. Margaret (our photographer) got to the hospital and stayed with us until around 10 so that she could also get pictures of Jason parents with the babies, they got into town around 9pm. She did this all for free and every time I would tell her thank you she would say don't think me I'm just serving the Lord. Margaret thank you so much for everything I know that you were serving the Lord by taking those pictures but you will never know how much that meant to us! We love you and truly appreciate it! Here is her website http://mlakephotography.com/ if anyone needs a GREAT photographer. She is working on the picutes now but I can't wait to get them and put some on the blog.

My older sister Brandi wasn't planing on coming into town until Saturday but a close friend of her husband's family had died she she drove into town early to be with his family. Please be praying for his family. God providential hand was at work through this whole day and pregnancy. That was such a huge blessing for both of us that she was able to be here.

Through out the coarse of the day all the doctors came to see us to make sure we were all on the same page as far as the delivery and we were.

I was so scared of having a csection I have thought about it for the last 13 weeks. I kept telling Jason there has got to be some other way we can get them out. Of course there wasn't though.

At about 6pm they took me back to the OR and started prepping me for surgery. The spinal hurt pretty bad but they put this new pain med into my spine and it's lasts for 24 hours. Can you believe that? I didn't feel any pain from the surgery until about 12 hours later and even then I wasn't bad. I didn't get more pain meds until about 10 the next morning. Oh and the best part is that it doesn't go to your head so I was alert the whole time.

So I'm numb at this point they brought Destinee (my 15 year old sister that we have custody of and Jason into the OR. She wants to be a NICU nurse so this was a big deal to her that she got to be in there. She watched to whole thing. I didn't even know that they had started until she told me. Which was good because I was so scared that I was going to feel it but I didn't even know he had started until they were half was done.

She was so cute she was giving us a play by play. She was saying this is the coolest thing ever, oh they are pulling them out, oh they are so cute.

As soon as the babies came out at 6:24pm Jason and Destinee went over to the warmer to see and take pictures of them. I forgot to tell you remember the nurse Ashley that took care of us earlier in the day well she surprised us and was able to be in there for the delivery. It's crazy how fast you can form a bond with someone in such a short amount of time. Thank you Ashley you were a huge blessing. She stayed with me while Jason and Destinee were looking a the babies. I asked the hardest question that I have ever asked in my life "are Melody and Madison alive?" She said "yes and they are moving around." I couldn't believe it they came out alive! The girls lived for about and hour and peacefully God took them home. That was such a huge answer to prayer we wanted to spend time with them while they were alive. They stayed with us the whole time.

Once we got back to our room the nurse brought Kenya in to see them. She was so cute and sweet with the girls. She knew just who they were. She kept saying "Melody and Madison they stuck together." Then she was saying "oh they so cute" and she told them on her own I love you. Right away she started singing the Melody Madison song it goes like this...
Melody Madison clap clap clap
two little babies joined together
Melody Madison clap clap clap
two little babies joined together.

It was so cute!

Jason, Destinee, Kenya and I spent some time with the babies and then we let the family and friends come in a few at a time. I wasn't sure if we were going to let anyone hold them but we did. It helped me a lot to see other people loving on them I know it helped our families to get to say good bye.

The nurse we had after the babies were born was so wonderful you could tell she had dealt with parents losing their child before. She included Destinee in everything. They gave them a bath together, did their feet and hand prints, put on diapers and got them dressed.

After Jason's parents and brother Uncle Toe Toe got to spend some time with them we decided it was time to let Melody and Madison go (meaning leave our room). We asked everyone to step out of the room so it was only Jason, Destinee, Kenya, Melody and Madison. Next was one of the hardest parts of the day we let Kenya hold them and we explained to her that Melody an Madison were not going to be coming home with us, that they went to live with Jesus and this was the last time we were going to see them here on this earth, but when we get to heaven that they would be there worshiping God. What an amazing thing to be in heaven no pain, no sickness, just worshiping God. He is so worthy of our praise! BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD!

After that Destinee and Kenya went back to our house with Rose, Tony and Uncle Toe Toe. They are going to stay with us for a while to help out around the house, and with Kenya.

So next to the second hardest part of the day we paged the nurse and told her we were ready for her to take them. After that both Jason and I lost it. We just held each other and cried our eyes out for a while. Then we were ok God just gave us a peace that passes all understanding. We were both able to fall right to sleep after that.

Although yesterday was one of the saddest days of my life it was also one of the most amazing days of my life. I can't even think of a way to put into words what it felt like to be comforted by the Lord. God is so good and although our babies are no longer with us God answered so many prayers along the way.

Glory be to God alone!
Vanessa Delgado

(blogger wouldn't let upload any pictures I will see of Jason can add some once he wakes up)

Melody Joy & Madison Hope Delgado

...ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?
In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.
Job 12:7-10

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there were none of them.
Psalms 139:13-16

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.
And he said,
"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked shall I return.
The LORD gave,
and the LORD has taken away;
blessed be the name of the LORD."
In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
Job 1:20-22

Melody Joy & Madison Hope Delgado
Born November 11, 2008 at 6:24 PM
7 pounds 9 ounces
16 inches long
Lived for about an hour
Mother is well
Melody Joy & Madison Hope Delgado are now more alive than we are

As he [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
And his disciples asked him,
"Rabbi, who sinned,
this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?"
Jesus answered,
"It was not that this man sinned,
or his parents,
but that the works of God might be displayed in him."
John 9:1-3

p.s. thank you friend and family for sharing our joy and sorrow, and thank you all for sharing this with others (1,2,3,4,5,6)

Melody & Madison Delivering Tonight

Well, this is it. We came to the hospital hoping this was a false alarm, but nay :(

Doctor after doctor has come in and told us what they will be doing (the prep, surgery, anethesia, ect,...) And we are thankful for the team working with us.

We have local close friends and family coming over to visit, my parents from El Paso, my bro (Uncle Toe Toe) from Austin, and our pastors from Sovereign Joy Community Church, so we won't update for a while (or maybe my bro will).

After alot of crying, cause we wanted to make it to 36 weeks to deliver (cause that is when we know they would have lungs, we are 32 weeks), my wife is getting the twins clothes ready and looking forward to seeing them.

I really don't know what to think right now,...lots of mixed emotions. All I know to do is pray and be there for my wife no matter what happens.

Thank you for your prayers, we love you all.

Soli Deo Gloria!

jason d.

p.s. The lady in red is Margaret Lake, she is graciously taking free pictures for us (we used her for our wedding and some family stuff, she is great). This is such a blessing cause this will allow us to spend time with the babies and each other and not have to worry about pictures.

Hospital Update...

The doctor has said that Vanessa will be having the babies tonight.

I will be driving into town tonight. So no updates for the next three hours.

Please pray for Jason and Vanessa.

My heart is heavy. Pray for the extended family as well.

Does anyone want to pray and worship outside of the hospital tonight? Say 9pm? Text me. 817-308-1349.

From my heart, to God, creator, designer, engineer of all below and above.

Antonio.

Hospital Update..

Vanessa is now at 4 cm and the doctor has said that she will be delivering today.

Prayerful. Antonio.

Hospital Update.

Jason and Vanessa are at the hospital right now. She has dilated 3 cm and her cervix is 50% ready to deliver. They are waiting to get back more test from the doctor. I will post more information as it becomes available.

Please do not call them. Please leave the lines open for family. Feel free to text them with encouraging words.

Uncle ToeToe.

Kenya's 1st Haircut

Kenya had a mullet that would put Billy Ray Cyrus' to shame.

So it was time to cut it off.
I was a little worried about how she would do. I really thought she would be screaming and throwing a huge fit but she didn't mind it at all.

I don't think she had any clue that she was getting a hair cut since there was a princess movie on right in front of her and she was pretending to drive a fire truck.

Remember the death stare? Well it's back. This had nothing to do with getting her hair cut though it was what she was watching on t.v. She would be smiling and laughing one minute then she would give this awful look.

The BEST death stare EVER!

p.s. Maybe Kenya's mullet wasn't as bad as Billy Ray Cyrus' mullet:

Update form the Doctor/ 31 Weeks 5 Days

Well, here is my belly at 31 Weeks, 5 Days, 161 pounds and 44 inches.



We went to the doctor today (we will be going once a week from here on out) they did a quick sonogram to measure my amniotic fluid and it turns out it is still very high.

My doctor told me he doesn't think I'm going to make it to 38 weeks, so now we just take it a day at a time and see how long we can keep these babies in there. He is guessing that I will deliver after Thanksgiving.

Of course, the Lord is the only one that knows when M&M will make their entrance into the world. Please be praying that I will not go into preterm labor, we really want to make it to at least 36 weeks (this is when the babies lungs should be developed, if they have lungs).

So there you have it thanks for keeping up with us!

Love,
Vanessa

Guess what this is?

Can you guess what that is?

Did you guess an M&M, or maybe even my belly? Well you were right.
Antonio (Uncle Toe Toe) and our buddy Curt always call the babies M&M so we thought it was only fitting to decorate my belly as an M&M.

Jason did a great job!

Video of Melody and Madison moving at the Hospital

Hello everyone, here is a picture of what our lives looked like from 2:30 until 9:00pm (that's when we moved rooms) . One of the monitors is for the babies heart beat and the other one is to monitor the contractions.

All the nurses that took care of us were so sweet! If yall are reading this thank you so much for everything!




For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written,
every one of them, the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there were none of them.

- Psalm 139: 13-16


Praise the Lord life begins at conception!

Below you can see the babies moving in my womb.
(You can hear their heart beating in the back ground.)

THANK YOU ALL!

We have been so blessed by so many people during this pregnancy, I just wanted to send out a quick blog entry to say THANK YOU!

Thank you for all the emails, cards, flowers, giving Destinee rides, making food, mowing the lawn, taking care of Kenya, keeping us company, and most of all thank you so much for all of your prayers! This has been such a sweet time for us a family and such a sweet time for us with the Lord.

God is good and has used you all to encourage and comfort us during this time!

THANK YOU ALL YOUNG AND OLD FOR ALL THE GREAT REMINDERS!