Things Are Great!

Sometimes I just sit and stare at my family, wondering why and how I have become so blessed by God. Ok, so there's the messy house; there are sisterly spats and downright drag-outs; there's the leaky dishwasher; and the mini-van with french fries underneath the seat right next to the few stray skittles that have been there for I-don't-know-how-long . . . But, my oh my, we're alive and we're together.

Josie had strep throat last week, and now Marissa has it. Bailey is doing her absolute BEST to try to not touch them and not get within breathing distance of them. It's only a matter of time before we find out if Bailey's going to get it, but we're going through lots of hand sanitizer. Oh, and Bailey's staying far, far away from the Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal box. Marissa poured a bowl of it yesterday and it accidentally overflowed, sending little cinnamon toast squares flying over the edges of her bowl. (I was watching her out of the corner of my eye from the computer in the living room where Bailey was standing over my shoulder.) Then Marissa just grabbed a handful out of her bowl with her fever-ridden sweaty hand and shoved it back in the box. I just whispered to Bailey, "Ohhhhh. You need to stay far, far away from the Cinnamon Toast Crunch."

Poor Rissy is so, so sweet -- even more than normal -- when she's sick. She was laying on the couch with pink cheeks and red eyes, and I said, "Well, Sweetie, you can thank Josie for this." She gave an itty-bitty laugh and said, "It's ok, Mommy. I don't mind. Now I know how bad she felt." Josie missed 3 days of school and was all worried about catching up on homework. With Bailey working so hard to catch up on an entire semester? I told her I didn't think she had anything to worry about. And she's already all caught up. Rissy doesn't want to miss any school. She's already told me today that she doesn't want me to just let her sleep in the morning. She wants me to wake her up at 7:00 to make SURE she's still sick and has to miss school, because she "might be feeling better".

Then there's Bailey. Ha! (She's standing over my shoulder again . . . she likes to do that, I guess . . . and she said, "Real nice!" Ha!) We've had a good weekend hanging out together. Yesterday we watched Rissy play in her first basketball game (with a bunch of boys!). She made the very first basket! We were so proud of her. It took everything I had not to run out in the middle of the floor and put her on my shoulders and parade her around the gym. I managed to find the strength to hold back. Then Bailey and I went to the Kopper Kettle in Morristown with all my sisters and aunt and cousin and niece and soon-to-be niece-in-law to celebrate my Mom's birthday. That was a fun girly time! And last night, our favorite med student, Matt, invited us to a talent show put on by IU med students to raise money for local clinics for the homeless and poor. During intermission, we ran into one of Bailey's anesthesiologists who took care of her during many of her cardioversions. She was amazed at how well Bailey looked. She just looked at her with her jaw dropping open. She couldn't wait to get back to the hospital and tell everyone how she's doing. She then leaned over in my ear, teary-eyed, and whispered, "You don't know how many times we wondered if we were going to get her off the table. We just prayed that 'it' wouldn't be that day." Boy, that sent a creepy feeling floating around in my stomach.

Wow.

Thank God we're alive and together.

Then this morning, Bailey and I visited my Aunt Donna's church in Greenfield. She invited us to come meet a wonderful group of people who has been praying for Bailey these past several months. What wonderful people. They were so happy to see Bailey, and it was very nice to meet everyone. Thank you, Northside Christian Church, for making us feel so welcomed and for helping us get through such a challenging time in our lives.

I guess I need to get back to my laundry. Oh, yeah, there's that too. But we're alive and we're together.

Have a wonderful week!

Angie