Holly and Aren Vreugdenhil are thankful for God's love towards them and their miracle baby, Elliott.

Elliott, the fifth child born to the Vreugdenhil family, was born at 33 weeks with some major health complications.

At two weeks old, doctors found a heart defect and the Vreugdenhils were sent off to Edmonton for surgery.

"That was a bit nervewracking," says Holly. 

"Took her a bit to recover from that. We thought, 'She was fixed. We'll be going home soon.'" Unfortunately, that was not the case. Holly and Elliott spent 105 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Holly says, "She took a long time to recover from surgery and she had other heart defects." 

Months later, Elliott had more surgeries and was put on oxygen full-time. At 15 months old, her parents describe her as being gray, sickly,  and tired.

This April, Elliott had two open-heart surgeries within a week.

After so many surgeries and such long stays in the hospital with their daughter, Aren and Holly could have made the choice to lose hope, but Holly says, "God was with us everywhere we went."

In a place that may seem hopeless like the NICU, Holly says they were given so many chances to share their faith in God with parents who were dealing with similar, heart-wrenching situations.

Now the Vreugdenhils say, since Elliott's surgeries in April, "We have a daughter we have not had before because she is now pink and full of life - and energy, and attitude also."

Amidst the joy of having a whole and healthy daughter, coming back home to Carman wasn't as easy as they hoped. "Her siblings didn't know who she was," Holly says.

"It was really difficult for me. This isn't something that is talked about a lot coming from the NICU, as a mom. But you go from a very sterile, organized world of the hospital to home with children, and meals, and pets, and weather. It was actually a very hard adjustment coming home, now, having to be a full-time mom again and recovering from the trauma from staying in the NICU so long with her."

The Vreugdenhils' advice to parents who may have to deal with a similar situation? Holly says you should not be afraid to reach out. "It can be a really lonely place if you let it be. But if you reach out, there are so many people willing and able to help and to sit with you.

"And when you come home, reach out as well."

The Vreugdenhils say they were incredibly blessed by their church community in Carman - having over 100 meals brought to their home for example.

In hindsight, Holly and Aren are able to see God's goodness in their journey with Elliott and lessons that He has taught them.

Holly says, "For me, as a mom, it was to learn to have complete trust and faith in God. As a stay at home mom with five kids, my life is controlled, schedule, and organized to-the-T. I was put into a situation by God, where I had no control. My job as a mother changed completely from housework, homework, and dishes to sitting beside this tiny human and praying that she keeps breathing.

"I also learned that God loves her more than I do. That was so comforting. I look at her and think how much we love her as parents and then think that God loves us and her more than this. So I thought that was a beautiful lesson during this journey fo trust and just how the love that God has for us surpasses our understanding."