The Goodwins

Justice’s first day started for his mom and dad at 5:30 AM.

Bonnie discovered, after turning on the light in the bathroom and a lot of blood was being lost by her.  She yelled for me and from the light I could see a blood trail to the bathroom discovering my wife covered in blood.

I can’t begin to share the thoughts that ran through my mind discovering my wife covered in bright red blood.  The fear that was felt was quickly overcome by the realization on how much I truly love and need my wife.  She is truly my soul-mate and helpmate.  I can’t share the level of prayer that emanated from my soul at that time asking God to take all of us into his hands.  It’s was a real epiphany to me what blood can do to one’s heart and soul.  But I’ll step out of my pulpit and move on to Justice’s day.

After I attempted to calm Bonnie down, she began cleaning up a bit and I called the hospital to see if we need to call an ambulance or simply drive in.  After I told them that my wife was losing a lot of blood they said that was normal and just to come in immediately.  I’m guessing they we’re thinking I was overreacting at the sight of blood and overestimating.  But I wasn’t.

We got Bonnie to the Hospital a bit before 6 AM and the nurses got her up to the delivery area while I pack muled the bags and got a very sleepy Ella into a stroller, got the car parked and got up to Bonnie’s room shortly after they got Bonnie changed into the hospital gown and cleaned up a bit.

Ella was great and sat quietly watching VeggieTales’ “Jonah” a couple times.

Her bleeding began to slow, but she was only at 2-3 centimeters, essentially where she was the day before.  The doctor was concerned that she felt the placenta at the cervix and an ultrasound was ordered.  After the tech battled with the uncooperative Microsoft operating system on the ultrasound equipment, it was seen that the placenta had not moved and was not near the cervix.  This was at nearly 9:00.

Thinking that meant things were calming down and the bleeding was stopping and that Bonnie would simply have to wait a long time until the cervix opened (despite the frequent and intense contractions) I took Ella for a walk to calm her down a bit until her babysitter could get out of her dentist appointment.  Shortly later, I got a call from Bonnie telling me that the radiologist noticed that the placenta was perforating or splitting and the OB/GYN decided that an emergency Cesarean section was needed.  He also wanted to do a general rather than a local and that I wouldn’t be able to be with Bonnie.

Bonnie was prepped and was told by the doctor what was going to happen in the surgery.  But she was ready especially as the bleeding picked back up.  A conservative estimate is that Bonnie lost at least a pint of blood and likely more between 5:30 AM and 9:30 AM.

Bonnie was taken to the ER around 9:30 and at 9:51 Justice Wilson Goodwin made his entrance to the world, weighing 6 lbs, 13 ounces and measuring 20 1/2 inches.  Ella and I were able to see Justice being wheeled out of the ER and followed him to the nursery.   Ella was interested but was more worried that I was going to let her go and give her to either Ms. Barb or Ms. Rhonda who had come over to be with us during Bonnie’s surgery.  I too was thrilled at seeing my handsome young man, but still feared for Bonnie’s health and safety.  Finally, after an very long 30 minutes or so, I was told that Bonnie was fine.  I learned that Bonnie’s placenta was over 20% perforated and that the C-section was very timely.

Bonnie was kept in the recovery room but we were able to have her hear her son cry for the first time over the phone.  He has very strong lungs, long fingers and no “issues” that we will have to deal with immediately, so we were very blessed.

Around 11:30 Bonnie made it out of recovery and was wheeled down to her room where she will be for the next three to four days.  She’s been told no lifting other than Justice for the next two weeks as well as no driving.

However, on the way she stopped at the nursery and was able to hold our son.  Ella also had a chance to kiss both her mom and her brother “Ustice” as she calls him.

Bonnie was able to breast feed and is recovering well.  She will try sitting up and moving her legs tomorrow so please keep us in your prayers.

Ms. Barb stuck around and was able to finally get Ella to fall asleep around 3ish.  Our friends are such a blessing.

Bonnie’s folks made it to St. Joe from Ames, Iowa around 4 PM and were able to hold Justice and make Ella smile as she woke from her nap.

We all left Bonnie around between 5 and 6 so she could get her needed sleep.  We picked up pizza, and the Bonnie’s mom and I got the blood out of the bedroom carpet and off of the bathroom floor, tub, toilet, etc.  They are asleep but I’m still a bit wound up so I made a new photo site for Justice Goodwin, uploaded several photos, but haven’t taken the time to name them all the clever names Bonnie typically gives the photos.

Thank you again for your continued prayers.  They are a real gift to Bonnie and I, just as our kids are.

It is neat that Ella was born on Palm Sunday, the day Jesus entered Jerusalem to be our sacrifice so that we can escape from death, and that Justice was born on the Day of Epiphany, the day the wise man came bearing gifts to Jesus so he and his family could escape from death ordered by King Harod.

For the LORD loves justice And does not forsake His godly ones; They are preserved forever – Psalms 37:28a (NAS)

Merry Christmas to all…

Santa, can we be friends?

We have had a wonderful and relaxing day!

Our first Christmas at home in MI.

While Kirk and I didn’t feel the real holiday spirit right away (without our family around, with all the daily grind,  doctors appointments and surgeries) we have had a very happy day! Ella enjoyed opening all her presents (I think there are 3 left she must be saving for tomorrow). She’s really got this unwrapping thing figured out, and is all smiles with each new gift!

We ended our family day with a very yummy meal completely prepared by a thoughtful husband (all mine!). I happily cleaned up singing along to Christmas songs and smiling the whole time. Soon we’re (Kirk is) off to give Ella a bath and maybe early bed as she skipped a nap today, and then Kirk and I can relax in front of the fire… sigh.

Last night we had a visit from Santa and his elf (Miss Barb, our friend/teacher/babysitter has a personal connection). Ella was unsure so Santa kept his distance and kept inching closer until they were almost touching – very cute! You can check out all the pictures at

http://ellagoodwin.com/main.php/v/2008+Photos/A+Visit+from+Santa/

(Remember to click on the picture to see bigger images.)

So from a very happy house we send Christmas blessings to all our friends and family – we hope your day was as beautiful as ours!

You may notice the new “logo” in the top right corner of our blog. It will be there for a while, but hopefully not TOO long. Let me tell you about it.

One of the first couples we met when moving to Saint Joseph, MI we met while we were in Iowa and they were in the Ukraine.

Four days before Ella was born, Sergei & Gillian Marchenko delivered their youngest daughter Polly in a hospital in the Ukraine. We both learned at their births that our daughters have Down syndrome. We “met” online through the Michiana Down Syndrome Support group. Having another family who had a new daughter with Down syndrome was such a great blessing to Bonnie and I when we moved, and we are so thankful for their support and friendship, and we discovered after moving that we were attending the same church!

Well, our amazing friends, who are now in Chicago where Sergi pastors a church in the Wrigleyville area, are adopting another little girl with Down syndrome from Eastern Europe. Their newest little angel will be named, upon adoption, Evangeline¹.

Evangeline turned two in October. She is living in an orphanage and we hear she has grown to be a healthy, sweet, social little girl. Her adoptive paternal grandmother recently visited little Evangeline and I hear is enamored with her.

Children with DS in her country typically transition from the orphanage to an institution when they are four years old. Devastatingly, a staggering number of children who are institutionalized in her country do not make it to adulthood².

Sergei and Gillian share that as soon as they saw Evangeline’s sweet face they knew she was meant to be their daughter. Their older daughters Elaina and Zoya are very excited about having another sister to love – even volunteering to do without Christmas presents to help bring Evangeline home to them!

International adoption is a huge financial obligation and the Marchenko’s have recently started a “fund raiser” asking those who can to donate $10 (or more) to Evangeline for Christmas.

I know money is tight and you all don’t know Sergei and Gillian personally, but this small gift will be the world to our friends, their family and little Evangeline. If you would like to help bring Evangeline home to her new family you can donate online here through Reece’s Rainbow. Reece’s Rainbow has received their 501(3)c tax deductible status, so these contributions are deductible³. See their website for more information. Alternatively, you can send a check⁴ to them at:

The Marchenko Family
c/o Reece’s Rainbow
PO Box 2055
Dacula, GA 30019

Whether you can or not donate, please keep this family and future newest member in your prayers! Follow their adoption process at Expecting Evangeline.

God Bless,
Kirk and Bonnie

1. Evangeline is Greek for “Angel” [↩]
2. Yes, I am intentionally being vague on the country to avoid potentially upsetting the country who’s controlling this adoption process [↩]
3. They qualify as a public charity under IRS code 170(b)(a)(A)(vi) [↩]
4. and save the Paypal fees [↩]

Ella got a nice present today from her Nana.  A new dolly that can take a bath with her.  She played and held the dolly, fed her the dolly’s bottle and then went and bathed with her.

We needed to change Ella’s bandages which was coupled with a lot of crying and screaming.  So much so that we had to put the arm restraints and “lock her in” behind the tray on her chair.

Of course this didn’t make her happy but it did allow us to get the bandages and headware on Ella.  After we were done I put a similar hat on her dolly which seemed to make her very happy.  I also topped the hat with one of the plastic tubes we use with Ella which seemed to make her extra happy.

The really good news is that Ella’s tube only has pretty clear “drips” in it which means hopefully our friend from our church can come over and help take the drainage tube out this weekend  After that we won’t have to put on anymore headware or bandages!

Bonnie says Ella had a very good day otherwise!

We’ll keep you updated!

Our hearts have been touched by the thoughtfulness of our friends here in St Joseph; always willing to lend a hand or an ear when we need it! Most recently Ella has been showered by fashionable head wear to carry her through the next few months of expander growth. She wore her first fabulous new look out to run errands with mom today, and got all kinds of compliments and smiles!

We thank God everyday for those who have helped to lift our spirits.