A Normal Day?

This morning, I woke up and dropped Annabelle off at her little pre-school summer camp.

Brian was off work and we decided to take Jude to his first toddler friendly program at the library.

Jude had a tantrum and lasted only 5 minutes. So we left.

We had some free time so we went to the mall. Got Jude a little cookie and strolled around.

Jude ate his whole cookie and took several gulps of water.

After strolling for awhile, we had an early lunch. Chic-fil-a.

Jude ate 4 chicken nuggets and countless french fries. Dipped in generous amounts of ketchup.

All dipped by Jude himself. Oh, and more water.

Then we picked up Annabelle from camp. And Jude joined his sister in plenty of laughing on the way home.

And now he is taking a long, hearty nap.

Today is June 26, 2013. 
And I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that today felt like a normal day.
With a fussy kiddo who couldn't sit still at the library.
And a meal with my husband and son.
And my son ate and drank food by using his mouth.
And he sat in his car seat and laughed with his big sister.
And he slept in his own bed.


On June 26, 2012 this is what we were doing:

 Riding the elevator down on Jude's discharge date.

Some of our favorite nurses holding up a goodbye sign for Jude.


It sounds strange...but I kinda feel like June 26, 2012 was Jude's 2nd day of birth.

On that day, we really felt like he was ours to keep. Kinda like a "gotcha" day.

We'd loaned him to MUSC for 6.5 months and on that day we were finally bringing him home.

We were thankful, frightened, excited and REJOICING!

I remember how overwhelmed I felt with the blessing of taking our sweet boy home. The Lord was so gracious and never left us during this long, hard journey.

My heart was sad to leave the dear friends (doctors, nurses and CrossBridge friends) we'd made. But I knew they were cheering our boy (and us) on as we packed up Jude's stuff and loaded him into the car. And their prayers followed us.

I get seriously weepy just thinking about that day. Precious Lord, you are so good. Thank you for the moments in life that you give us to remind us of Your glory and Your love for us!

As we rode the elevator down on June 26, 2012 with Jude in my arms, I don't think I could have ever imagined the journey the Lord has planned for us. It has been SO hard some days. But it has been SO amazing on other days. I never thought that we'd have "normal" days like today, June 26, 2013.

Thank you Lord for the year that you've given our family!

Over the Rainbow

As many of you know, July 27th 2004 (Rachael's car accident) and July 27th, 2011 (Jude's CDH diagnosis) were very difficult days for our family. This year, instead of remembering how awful those days were we've decided to celebrate the blessings the Lord has given our family since those days. 

Throughout both journeys we experienced rainbows as reminders of the Lord's presence in our lives during these difficult times. So, we are calling this our Over the Rainbow Celebration to help us remember and celebrate the joy the Lord has given us from his abundant blessings during our "storms".

We will be celebrating all evening, so come anytime! Bring your own picnic dinner to enjoy the evening with your friends, family and all of us. We will have cake and drinks to share with all of you. And we are hoping to have some live music (let us know if you are interested in playing for the group that night). Plus, plenty of fun outdoor activities for everyone.

No gifts please. Instead of gifts we would love to give a large group donation to Cross Bridge Ministries of Mount Pleasant, SC. Cross Bridge is the organization that helped Jude's family during their long stay in Charleston during his hospitalization. (Check out their website: cross-bridge.org).

This event will take place in low-state SC. For privacy and safety reasons, please contact us by email for event location information and to let us know that you plan to attend:
Just.enough.for.the.journey@gmail.com

We are all very excited about sharing this day with all of you! Thank you for being a part of Rachael and Jude's journey. We are so thankful for your prayers, love and support!

When: July 27, 2013 5pm until 8pm