Home. It’s where the heart is. Our home is where our other girls, Elyssa and Natalie, were waiting for us.
We pulled into the driveway close to 6pm tonight. Elyssa knew we were coming back home today, but she wasn’t sure when we’d get here. She screamed in delight when she saw us. We heard, “Mommy” and “Daddy” first and then Elyssa ran right to Mark. I think it made him feel so great to get her first hug. Elyssa had just seen me the week before so I was hoping she would make a quick dart to him.
Natalie didn’t know what to think about all of the commotion and frankly, it all kinda scared her. After about 30 minutes she was happier and taking to her mom and dad again.
Our parents were here to greet us, also. We could not have been away for so long without their help.
We are, also, so thankful for wonderful family and friends who were willing to help in our absence. We’ve had people cut our grass, cook meals for our girls, babysit our girls, send us cards and money, and many other thoughtful things. God has blessed us abundantly with a huge support system. Thanks to all of you!
PS – I had pictures to upload to the blog today, but we are on dial-up now that we are home and it was taking forever to upload them. I will try again tomorrow!
As I think back on our time here at UAB, I have many emotions. I feel glad to be going home, but at the same time, I feel a little sadness. It’s here that God stretched me beyond words. It’s here that I saw the “family of God” really come to life. It’s here that I saw so many miracles.
I pray that in our going home that God continues to challenge me to be “wide-eyed” in seeing His hand always at work. In the “everyday life” you get so busy that you miss what He’s doing around you. You miss opportunities to minister to others. You miss seeking Him with all your heart. You get distracted from what is really important.
When a trial comes, it seems that you focus all of your attention on God. You know at that point that you need Him more than ever. It’s sad that when things get back to “normal” that we put Him back on the shelf where He was before and go about our business. I pray that I don’t do that.
I think maybe God gave me Victoria to help me always remember Him. She reminds me of His sovereign hand and how He guides all of our steps. She reminds me that He is in control even we feel total chaos all around us. She reminds me of His unconditional love. She will always remind me of Him and this special time.
The hallways of this hospital are interesting. That is one picture in my mind that will never go away. Rather, I don’t want it to go away, so I took a picture. In the hallways of the hospital area that we are in now, there are toy cars, tricycles and things for the kids to play with. In one of my pictures, you can see a little boy riding a tricycle in his hospital gown. In the midst of these kids having difficult and painful times, they are given toys to play with. This helps them to remember who they are even though they are recovering from surgeries and sickness. It helps them to remember that they are just kids.
Do you ever think that our lives are like that? In the midst of our crazy circumstances, God wants to remind us that we are His children. He doesn’t want us to get away from our identity. He doesn’t want us to get so wrapped up in the stress of it all that we forget to be just … His children. So, He gives us grace in the midst of difficult times to laugh and enjoy life even though life seems hard at the time.
As we go home today to Mobile, my prayer is that I never forget these hallways. My prayer is that I remember that little boy playing in the hallway. May I never forget to just be His child.
Dr. Knott-Craig came in to see Victoria today and said that we might possibly get to go home at some point TOMORROW!!! He was going to look over her progress today and let us know in the morning if he thinks she is ready to head home. All of the blood work done today on Victoria looked good. We are only waiting to hear back from the x-ray taken today on her chest. They have been trying to keep a close eye on her lungs since she has had such a problem with them collapsing. We should know more tomorrow about the status of our departure.
Victoria has been such a brave girl. She has endured a bunch for a 10-week-old little baby. She has the sweetest disposition and seems to quickly forgive those who stick and prod her. The unit that Victoria is in now has given her something called Bravery Beads. This necklace of beads has a lot of meaning. Each bead stands for something she has endured while being here at UAB, from flying up here on a plane to everything required for her surgery. One day when she gets older, I can explain to her how brave she was as a little, tiny baby. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy wearing her necklace as a way of bragging on my brave, little Victoria.
PS – The doctor wanted to try Victoria off of oxygen today. So far, things have been going okay. It’s nice to see her face without that tube on it. Hopefully, those little stickies will be removed soon, too.
