Beautiful Gabby Sandridge

This is beautiful Gabby Sandridge!  She is the daughter of David and Cassey, which were two of my friends in college.  I also went to church with David and Cassey.  They are two of the coolest people you will ever meet in your life and although I have yet to meet Gabby...I know this kid has to be double awesome because she gets a dose of awesomeness from mommy and daddy!  I can't wait to meet her very soon.  I asked David and Cassey if I could have the honor of having Gabby be one of the faces of this foundation and they said "YES"...this baby girl is in Rhythm too!  Look at her playing that piano already...she can even look at the camera for a photo shoot and play the piano at the same time...she must be a music prodigy...just like her daddy!

This e-mail came to me today from Gabby's mommy so that we can all know her story and get to know Gabby better:

 David and I found out at 16 weeks pregnant that our beautiful baby was going to have some difficulties. We went in for our ultrasound/normal appointment and came out confused. Once the ultrasound tech noticed there was something not right she went to talk to the dr. The dr OVERreacted! She came in the room, hugged me, and it looked like she was going to cry! We were at peace from the moment we found out there was something wrong. I really believe that Gabby was created the way she needed to be. After that appointment we started going to a Paranatologist...the beginning of specialist we never thought we would see. Our first appointment was a little scarry because we didn't know what to expect. After another ultrasound and confirmation that Gabby was not "normal" the dr came in and gave us our options. To keep the baby or not. Our choice was obvious. They weren't exactly sure what was causing her to have problems but knew that she wasn't fitting in the normal spectrum of things. Even if they were sure, we still wouldn't have considered the alternative. Our visits from that point on were pleasant. No other talk of terminating the pregnancy. Only focusing on Gabby. We found out she was a girl and the rest of the pregnancy was great. No problems...

The day Gabby was born was great! A long day for sure but great! She was taken to the NICU where she stayed for 5 days. She was poked, tube fed (for no reason I might add), and warmed for days. Gabby was born with a diagnosis of hydrocephaly (hydrocephalus-fluid on the brain). It is seen in a lot in kids with down syndrome or with other chromosome disorders. We also found out that the corpus collosum wasn't there and her left/right occipital lobe are missing parts. Of course there was that long drawn out conversation about what all this means...it turns out that no one knows! Basically we were told by her Neurologist that they aren't exactly sure what those parts do but he knows that there is a possibility that she could be delayed-developmentally and may have learning disabilities. We were able to go home after 5 days and begin the journey of parenthood. And Gabby began being Gabby...

She has been in and out of doctors offices (Neurologist, Neurosurgeon, Pediatrician, Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Opthamologist) since birth. She has had two surgeries for her shunt placement and replacement. And another visit to fix the leaking from her stitches! After each surgery we can tell that there has been a huge change. She is able to do more, laugh more, etc. She is doing great now. She has come to 'like' her doctors, especially her PT and OT. She just started walking and she can say a few words. We have been lucky b/c we have had a lot of preventive care for her. She really is doing well even though she is technically behind other kids her age. But, she has the best personality and the best attitude. She is always laughing and likes to see who can be the silliest. She's SO funny!  She loves other babies and wants to make everyone smile. 

When I was pregnant, someone gave me a prophetic word about Gabby. They said that Gabby would see through the eyes of the Lord. Now that she is here, I can say that I really believe that. She knows who needs love and gives it. She knows who needs to laugh and gets silly.

I can't wait to meet this precious girl!  I love what her mom says at the end about Gabby..."seeing through God's eyes".  I love that Gabby just knows that..."when people need love, she gives them love" and "when people need to laugh, she makes them laugh".

Are you seeing the pattern here because I sure am...these children are In Rhythm with the heart of God...Gabby has God's eyes to see where He is working and she just goes along side of Him to help people smile, laugh, and bring joy to their lives.  Smiling and laughing is the best medicine!

Let's be like Gabby...the kind of person to love others without hesitation, to make people smile when they are down, to make people laugh when all they feel like doing is to cry.  Let's be like Gabby...to look for the people who need a touch from God and let's carry God's touch to the people who need it the most.  My prayer tonight is that we all become more like Gabby and that we make the effort to see through God's eyes instead of the eyes of the world.

Thank you David and Cassey for your amazing faith in Christ and for raising and loving this beautiful girl and sharing her story to bring strength and lessons to others.