Update This Afternoon... Four Months Later

So much for the updating when we got home. I guess you could say I got caught up in the life of my family and left Bethany to do the blogging. Not that I couldn't write a book on the last four months' experiences; I just chose to sleep when I got the chance.

Bethany and I were talking last night about the last 5 months. What a crazy world we have been living in. At times it feels like it was just yesterday while others feel like an eternity. This has been the hardest time of my life. And it has been the greatest. I will try my best to recap without writing the book I mentioned.

This journey will begin 19 days before Emma Kate was born.

On August 1st, I was let go from my job. While this didn't come as a complete shock, it felt like awful timing. Two weeks before Emma Kate was due and I was spending my time looking for a job. This was something that Bethany and I decided not to tell anyone about because we wanted the focus to be on Emma Kate. And I felt that surely I would find a job and start when we got back from Atlanta. Haha. I can laugh now because I know the outcome. Not as funny while it was going on.

Then, August 19th comes along and our miracle is born. And Bethany and I become grown-ups. Now, I know that we are both 27 and have been adults for several years and already parents, but August 19th changed us. Life gave grasp to a new meaning. Life is lived in the seconds, not in the years. And we learned to savor the seconds. Every second. Laughing became a true joy. And crying, too. And through all that happened with Emma Kate while in Atlanta, we learned that life is too short to stress over the little things. We learned that laughing is a much better remedy.

We got home in September and our house became a home. Bethany and I became a team. We took turns late at night preparing medicines/feeding tubes/etc. making sure that Emma Kate was taken care of. We took turns getting up early in the morning to watch Little Einsteins/Ni Hao Kai-lan/etc. with Anna Brooke. And we took turns wondering how bills were going to be paid. And God continued to reveal Himself to us every day/every hour/even every second.

Through September, October, November and December we learned the treasures that are Grace, Humility, and Love. We received so many acts of kindness and generosity, that I am humbled to write about it now. So many people reached out a hand and gave us support. Through all of our stresses and struggles, we saw the world as a good place. A place where people actually love and help one another. And even though we prayed every day that things would get better, we rejoiced in the help we were given. And even though things seemed so tough, they were all blessings.

Looking back, it was a blessing for me to be at home with Bethany, Anna Brooke and Emma Kate. I was able to spend time with both of my daughters that too often is taken for granted. I was able to watch my wife be the most incredible mother to my girls. And I was able to learn just a little bit of how to be a good father and husband. I think Bethany and I both grew up more than we know.

All this brings me to today.

Today, as I sit on my lunch break at a job that I could not have hand picked better for myself, I am mentally preparing for another trip to Atlanta. We are heading tonight to the Ronald McDonald House for step 2 in this 3 stage process. Emma Kate will have pre-op tomorrow and her Glenn will be sometime Wednesday. It is amazing that time has flown and crept by all at the same speed. We are scared to death for Emma Kate to have another surgery. But we are very ready to have the Glenn behind her. We are indebted to each of you more than you can imagine for your prayers and support. And I ask again to pray for Emma Kate. Please know that your prayers are being heard. And we are grateful that we receive the reward.