Happily Ever After...

I mentioned in THIS post, how much my little brother means to me. When I was a little girl, I prayed every day for a baby brother FOR THREE YEARS. When he was born, he became my own personal baby doll. I ran through the neighborhood with him in a snugli. I took him on dates with my beau. He was my little shadow. Last week, my brother had a serious fall and was life-flighted to the hospital unresponsive and unable to breathe on his own. He has been on a ventilator and in a coma for 7 long days. I was blessed to have been able to fly to be there with him and his family the day it happened. Let me just say, my sister in law is AMAZING! She has held up with such grace through the darkest days of her life. My little sister and her hubby have housed all of us, fed all of us, and shouldered the lion-share of the load. My son came to the hospital and sat HOURS in the waiting room, so when I came out, he was ready to take me to dinner, or get coffee or be my shoulder to cry on. Today...

When I was a little girl, we lived in CO and drove all the way to VA to surprise my grandparents for Christmas. We stood outside their door, and sang Christmas carols, and I will never forget the looks on their faces when they realized that we had come all that way to make their Christmas special. It is one of those memories that I will never forget. Today was another one of those memory makers. I woke up this morning, February 18, and turned another year older. My sweet hubby and girls had special gifts for me, and we got everyone ready to have brunch at a local restaurant. Justin called, wished me a happy birthday, and told me my present would be arriving via fedex when I got back, and that we'd video chat so he could watch me open it. So fun, right? We got to the restaurant and Ryan and Chelsea were waiting for us. We chatted,and I was oblivious to everything going on around us. Life is good, it's my birthday and I'm pretty darn happy. I hear my sweet hubb...

We aren't big Valentine's people around here. For one thing, it's a totally made up holiday that leaves single folks feeling lonely and married folks feeling like they have to spend gobs of money on chocolate, flowers, and dinners at too crowded restaurants....because it's Valentine's Day. Yeah whatever. I may even be called the Valentine's Day scrooge. I'm good with that. I love it that my Dad said to me today, "With you all it's Valentine's Day everyday." It's true. Some of my very favorite non-Valentine gifts are: ~Weeds picked as flowers by my little boy for his momma. ~ Texts that say, "Love you Mom" for no reason at all. ~Little girls who love to snuggle. ~Flowers....just because. ~Date nights at home. ~Random acts of sweet thoughtfulness. ~Being married to my one true love. ~Watching Celia dance when she sees me. ~Loving being together as a big happy family. My list could go on, and on. ...

Woke up Saturday morning bright and early with 5  of the 7 girls wide awake and giggling away. Did I mention we had a cousin sleep-over? We rushed downstairs for a cup of coffee and a jump-start on the chocolate chip waffles for six, when Daddy went to get the twins going. He calmly said,  "Honey, can you come here a minute?" It was TOO calm. I knew it wasn't a "feed the bed" episode. I rushed up to their room, and he was standing there holding her entire button in his hand. As in, the GAPING HOLE FIRE DRILL was now in progress. When the button comes out, you have ONE HOUR and the hole will close and surgery is the only way to  re-open it. Yeah.  No rush whatsoever. In a surprising dose of GRACE, we were both unusually calm, as I tried to reinsert the button into her tummy. It was obviously painful, and it was equally obvious that it wasn't going in. Phase 2 of operation GAPING HOLE, was to grab all the things they would need for a hosp...

~No coughing children. ~ 26 years married to the most amazing man, and dinner out ALONE to celebrate. ~Roses delivered that say "I love you." ~Swallow study results for Celia that allow her to eat pureed foods once a day. ~Couple date night with awesome friends on Saturday. ~Dating TWO times in one week. Is that even legal?!? ~Babysitters that are like family. Love you Mags! ~ Daughter/Niece slumber party on Friday. ~SEVEN girly girls all together= FUN TIMES! ~Long walks with a polar bear/dog-like thing. ~Redbud trees and daffodils in bloom in February. ~My sweet husband making me dinner, just because. ~Roasted brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar. ~Beth Moore Bible studies ~Downton Abbey. Seriously, if you aren't watching it, you are missing out! ~Pending Disney trips with the REAL princesses. ~The calm in between medical storms. ~The many blessings the Lord has freely given in a crazy hectic life.

In just 24 hours, we have raised $500 toward helping find a cure for mito. FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS!!! My sweet niece and her husband, a new married couple, donated for each one of our girls. Can I tell you HOW THRILLED they were to see that someone gave to each of them to help their sister? And people at Greg's work, who have never met our girl gave generously as well. We are tickled pink. Many, many sweet friends and family have said they will walk with us in Celia's honor. In fact, her big brother up North said he wouldn't miss it for the world. He will take time out of his busy schedule, drive 10 hours, just to be there to walk a mile (or 3) with his sisters. Humbled. Teary. Thankful. Blessed. God constantly reminds us that we are not alone in this. We feel the love. We. Feel. The. Love.

We have a very special opportunity to participate in a fundraising walk to bring awareness and financial support to find a cure for mitochondrial disease. As most of you know, Celia was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease in September, 2011. Mitochondrial disease is a progressive disease with no cure. We feel that Celia's life CAN make a difference, and we are excited to have a way to help her and many other children just like her who are battling for their lives. Would you consider joining Celia's Crew  on April 21.2012 at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta to walk for a cure? We would love as many folks as can join us to walk in honor of our girl. If you can't participate, we would be blessed if you could donate to support this cause that is obviously near and dear to our hearts. And if you aren't able to walk or donate- please, please PRAY. There are so many families just like us, and the road is not easy. Thank you, as always for loving our girl with...