Circle of Life

What a whirlwind week its been.....Tuesday, Nov 24th was quite a day of absolute ups and downs.

It started around 3am when I was up feeding Mark and saw my blackberry flashing. I excitedly opened the email thinking it would be an email from Allison saying that Evan was here! But instead it was from our good friends who were due in late February, saying they had delivered their sweet baby girl, Charlotte, at just 29 weeks. Thankfully, she is doing well but obviously has a long road ahead and expected to be in the NICU until her original due date. If she is anything like her parents, which I am SURE she is, she is a fighter and will make this journey. Prayers are appreciated for Charlotte and her parents!!

Finally around 8, I heard from Al and she and Just had gone back to the hospital around 6am and was about 8cm! Al was awesome and had labored though the night on her own. Evan was definitely coming today!! We were all anxiously awaiting to hear the good news of his arrival, hopefully for momma...sooner than later! ;-)

And then another text around 11am....to let me know that my sweet cousin Courtney, who has been battling Cystic Fibrosis her whole life, grew her wings at 10:54 and joined our Heavenly Father as well as her own father and so many more loved ones who have gone before us. For anyone who has read her blog about Court's journey, it was very bittersweet. Sad for those of us left behind to go on without her, but oh so happy to know that Courtney is FINALLY pain free and dancing in the streets with our Savior!! The last entry of her crossing over was totally amazing and I KNOW I will see her again!

So what a day it was. Thankfully Charlotte still seems to be doing well. Her folks are anxiously counting down to day 10 of her life when they can hold her some. Evan finally arrived via c-section in the later afternoon on Tuesday after his momma pushed him for THREE hours! I got to see him on Wednesday and he is adorable! Mark was very excited to meet him! And finally, Courtney had her celebration this morning in Dallas. I was so sad to not be there, but due to a very sleepless night with a congested baby and it being at 10am and 4 hours away...I did not make it. My parents did though and I heard it was a lovely celebration of her life as I knew it would!

All of this during Thanksgiving week. I am thankful for Courtney and her beautiful fight and journey home and for her family for so openly sharing it all with us. I am thankful for Charlotte and Evan and am keeping them both in my prayers to grow big and strong. And of course, I am so very very thankful for my own husband and 2 very sweet boys as well as my parents and brother and SIL and all of the other wonderful people who I am blessed to call family...and my friends, who may as well be family!! I love you all the same!

Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving too and enjoyed some of the photos I posted. what could be sweeter than those 2 little boys together! Lovin it! :)