This will be, for reasons that will be obvious in a moment, my last blog about little Anastasha, who touched so very, very many people during her short life. Let me allow her daddy, family physician Craig DeLisi, to explain:

November 4, 2010

It has been nine days since our precious Anastasha was born and went to be with Jesus, and five days since we laid her sweet body in the ground. The days that have followed have been filled with tremendous grief, but also with joy and peace.

Anastasha’s birth was an amazing experience. The Lord answered so many specific prayers regarding the labor and delivery itself:

• to be on Tonya’s birthday,
• that Tonya could deliver naturally,
• that our OB would be in town,
• that she would be 6 cm dilated when we got there,
• that her labor would be her shortest (and it was only 2 hours),
• that her water would stay intact until the end.

All of these were answered perfectly. And the Lord also saw it fit to answer my prayer that Anastasha would be born alive. Amazingly, even though she never took a breath, her heart beat for 50 minutes before her peaceful passing. Tonya, the kids, and I each got to hold her in our arms while she was on this side of heaven. That was a precious gift to us.

Her funeral was also an awesome time for our family. We were able to worship the Lord with family and friends from all over the country. The funeral message delivered by her godfather and our dear friend, Michael Gaertner, felt like it was spoken from the mouth of God to our very ears. We were overwhelmed with the love from our community here, as well as all of those who traveled to be with us.

Parting with Anastasha (both at the hospital and at the graveside) was the hardest thing I think Tonya and I have ever done. We obviously know that it was just her fragile body that we walked away from both times, but it was excrutiating to do so. We grieve, but we do so with hope because of Jesus. Because of Him, we hope in the resurrection, and we know that our princess is in the Presence of the King.

As a family we are doing well, but we are obviously hurting quite deeply. It is a terrible feeling not having a newborn to rock to sleep and to nurse, and to know that we will not get to raise her in our home. I don’t think we’ll ever fully recover from that. The children seem to be doing very well, even the older ones. Tonya, as you would expect, is hurting the most. Please continue to pray for her most of all.

I want to introduce you to a website that some friends have helped me create in honor of Anastasha. It is a blog that contains all of my previous emails and photos. It also contains the slideshow that we showed at the funeral, as well as the funeral sermon (PLEASE download and listen to it – it was incredible). A lot of the website is still under construction, but I’ll update it in the days ahead.

Moving forward I will use this site to enter new pictures as they come, as well as to record future thoughts as we continue our journey with the Lord. The hardest part is behind us now, but we are far from being out of the valley.

Thank each of you for your love and encouragement along the journey. We are grateful for each of your lives and contribution to ours.

May our Lord bless each of you.

Craig, Tonya, Ariana, Charis, Adoniyah, Amalyah, Corban, Caelan, Cale, Caius, and our precious Anastasha

Craig, thanks for taking the time and effort to share your heart and your journey with us. I know how very difficult it is to write during dark hours of deep pain, but pray that our Lord will continue to bear much fruit in and through you as a result.

I love you little brother.

Walt

Here’s the entire series of amazing stories:

• The Story of Anastasha – Part 1 (It will bless you!)
• The Amazing Story of Anastasha – Part 2
• The Amazing Story of Anastasha – Part 3
• The Amazing Story of Anastasha – Part 4
• The Amazing Story of Anastasha – Part 5
• The Amazing Story of Anastasha – Part 6
• The Amazing Story of Anastasha – Part 7
• The Amazing Story of Anastasha – Part 8
• The Amazing Story of Anastasha – Part 9
• The Blessing of Anastasha – Part 10 – Day of Life 200
• The Blessing of Anastasha – Part 11
• The Blessing of Anastasha – Part 12 – Day of Life 214
• The Blessing of Anastasha – Part 13 – Day of Life 221
• The Blessing of Anastasha – Part 14 – Day of Life 228
• The Blessing of Anastasha Kalil – Part 15 – Day of Life 235
• The Blessing of Anastasha Kalil – Part 16 – Day of Life 241
• The Blessing of Anastasha Kalil – Part 17 – Birth Day
• Anastasha is in Heaven – Part 18
• Anastasha’s Birth and Death – Video – Part 19
• Anastasha’s New Blog – Part 20
• Update on Anastasha – Part 21 – 1 month after birth and death
• Update On Anastasha’s Family – Part 22 – 3 months after birth and death