My phone call.

The first phone call I took this morning was from a very special person. I am going to have a wonderful day because of this call. This person has never called me before, but I am so glad she did this morning. It was....... My Gherkin!! I answered the phone and Trish said "Hey, Ashley wants to talk to you" then handed to phone to Ash. It was so wonderful to hear her little voice. She is babbling and grunting, but I know what she was really saying. "Something like, Good morning Dad so nice to talk to you today. I hope the morning has been a good one. I am such a lucky little girl to have a father as strong and handsome as you." OK, maybe not it was probably more like. "Hey what is this pretty thing mom just stuck in my face, I don't know, but I think I should try to eat it or slobber on it or something." Whatever it was she was saying it sounded beautiful to me. It was such a blessing to hear the sounds of a Gherkin after hearing the sounds of a ventilator for so long.

Each year we count down the days to Christmas with a little Christmas tree with number on it. The kids take turns each day lowering the number by one until we finally make it to the 25th. The fun thing for me to watch is that this year we are counting down the days to go to Omaha. It is great to see how excited Blake and Allie are getting as they count down the days to see Mom.

Blake and Allie have both said that what they want for Christmas is for Ashley and Mom to come home. As a father it is so great for me to hear how they would give up all the games and toys and material things just to get their baby sister home. I love those little people.

DAVE