Lullabyes and Goodnight...

Our sweet Ashley Kate is now sleeping soundly in her crib. How blessed I am as I sit and look at her all safely tucked in under her pink blankets. She is so tiny and fragile, but yet she is now so big and strong. As I walked through the hall of the PICU tonight I realized that even though Ashley looks so much bigger than when we arrived she is the tiniest of all of the patients on this floor. She is now weighing in at around 15 lbs, and she will be 15 months old on the 4th.

Tonight our evening was filled with lullabyes as we took turns rocking Ash to sleep. My mind always drifts to thoughts of our precious donor baby as I rock my little girl. I know I will never cease to think of that little one as I watch mine grow. How I love the one who gave so much to our Ashley. I hope to find the right words to put on paper to send to the family who loved my daughter without even knowing her. I am praying He will help me to write to them. We pray for them each and every day, and I will forever be grateful. Father please allow them to feel Your presence and Your love as they lay their heads down tonight.

As I drove through Omaha today looking for a salon I was amazed by the beauty that I saw all around me. The trees are dressed in beautiful fall colors and the grass is still a picture perfect green. The sky was filled with the most amazing clouds and the breeze was just enough to cause some of the leaves to fall and spin to the ground. It is really beautiful here in Nebraska. The fall is my favorite time of year. I love the sights, the smells, the piles of leaves, and all that is associated with this season. As I drove along the road my heart smiled and then became a little sad as I looked over into the park and watched a family pose in front of the most amazing red bush for their Christmas card photo. How much I miss spending this time of year with my family. Every year since Blake was born we have spent a day playing and frolicking in the leaves. The kids look forward to this day all year. We love to make the biggest piles you have ever seen and run and jump into them all together. We always take the most wonderful photographs for our scrap books and many times we have used these photos for our Christmas cards.

Last year our family Christmas card picture was taken inside Ashley's hospital room in the NICU. It turned out o.k. as far as pictures go, but I loved it probably more than any other we have ever taken because it included our tiny gift from God.(you can see it on the photo page of Ashley's 1st Christmas). I remember talking to our nurses and we were all saying that next year we could take a great photo because our Ashley would be home for Christmas. Oh my did He have something different in store for us. I would have never guessed we would spend her 2nd Christmas in the hospital as well. So I guess that when everyone comes on their next visit I will be trying to orchestrate another family photo in her hospital room. I really don't mind. Just think of the memories that will flood back to us in the future as she grows. I can just hear us laughing and talking about the difficulty of trying to take these photos and not make them appear as though we were really in the hospital. Everyday is a memory in the makeing and these are just that. I have already begun to play Christmas carols in Ashley's room and the nurses think I'm crazy. I'm not crazy. Anyone who knows anything about me or who has ever been to our home in the 1st week of November knows that I believe Christmas is just too wonderful to only celebrate for 1 month. I love it so much that I start to get in the mood by late October. Silly huh! Anyway I have already asked Dave to mail Ash's tree to us so we can start decorating.

I love you guys and I apologize for rambling on and on and on. Today has just been such a blessed day I had so much to share. The Tarheels won both games today and are preparing for a tough day of competition tomorrow. Allie is so excited about her competition I bet she won't be able to sleep tonight. I can't wait for Dave to send me the photos of her in her new uniform. I am going to go tuck myself into my "favorite" recliner next to my Ashley and try to get some sleep. Thank you all for your prayers today. Goodnight