A and B and the Battle of Helms Deep

There are so many friends, family and prayer warriors who want to know more about these two. I have dropped the ball considerably in my role as chief of updates. Sometimes the news changes so quickly there isn't time to give it...sometimes I don't want to say it out loud because it hurts more than hearing it.

In no certain order, this is what I have:

M is the most amazing father. He carries his tremendous burden without any complaint. I soak up his smiles and his tears in my heart and don't want to forget the great cloud of divine mercy around him.

S is a natural. Against my urging, she has opted to take tylenol for her pain relief in order to speed up her discharge. She nurses her daughter as if she had been doing it for a hundred years. She looks beautiful. Her heart is across town in the CICU of Children's Hospital, but still entirely able to nurture and enjoy her healthy daughter.

Baby B is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen (sorry kids). She is in perfect health and is performing as newborns do...yawning, cooing, sucking, peeing and pooping. Her uncle Billy was able to give her dad a tutorial on burping and swaddling; an image I won't soon forget. Moments in that hospital room feel like a lifetime of experience that I am begging my memory to hold.

Baby A, my hero; is a champion. He has endured much poking and prodding. I got to rub his precious little head yesterday and I sensed great wisdom in him. Even in sedation, his eyes opened in response to his father's familiar voice. In the waiting room of the CICU, I learned that families travel from all over the world to have Dr. Jonas operate on their children's hearts. Baby A just happens to live in the same city as this renowned surgeon (miracle number 1,001). As it stands now, he is scheduled for his first surgery (the Norwood) on Friday.

Please continue to pray for this precious family and their doctors. Thank you for loving them all and caring so much for people you don't even know. I feel like there is a great army at my back, much like Aragorn in the battle of Helm's Deep. When all was lost, the White Wizard appears (as he promised) with the Rider's of Rohan. They crested the mountain with a power that was no match for the Orks. Forgive the analogy, but it is an image I can't shake when I feel the power of God's Kingdom.

So, off we go to the hospitals...wishing it weren't happening, longing to help and seeing the fruit of your prayers.

Joy to you all.