welcoming Moriah

(as emailed on July 13th)

Dear Family and Friends,

This morning at 8:48 we welcomed Moriah Pearl Winchell into the world and into our family (Moriah, Hebrew for 'chosen by God' and an important mountain in Jewish history, symbolizing God's provision when needed most; Pearl, after my late paternal grandmother). We're happy to report that she is adorable--a long, skinny baby at 20 inches and 6 pounds, 15 ounces. She's got a bit of my strawberry blond hair, and we fell immediately in love with her.

We were very surprised to learn soon after her birth that Moriah is also a baby with Down's Syndrome. We so appreciate your support and prayers during these next days of adjustment to this news; as I write this, Moriah has been moved to a special care nursery for low oxygen levels and is undergoing tests to determine the cause--the doctors suspect a heart defect. Please continue to pray for a healthy baby for Team Winchell!

We'd love to hear from you; as you can imagine, I'm quite tired after the C-birth this morning, but would welcome emails and posts to Facebook especially.

Thanks for your friendship and love. We love you.

Peace,
Melissa for Team Winchell"

summer camp

Jackson and Orilus at Gordon College's La Vida Adventure Camp, Friday, July 3, 2009