"Theres no place like home"

After being away from it for 9 months I can assure that there has never been a truer statement. I have missed home so much. Tonight we will travel into town to our little yellow house. The little yellow house that God has allowed us to make our home.

I will be the first to say that I have an incredible set of in-laws. We are so grateful they have allowed us to stay in their home. We have laughed here. We have cried here. We have relaxed here. We have prayed here. We have raised our children here over the last 9 weeks. The kids are sad to be leaving. They think our timing really stinks. School is out. The pool is ready. The fish are biting down at the pond. The lazy days of summer are here and Blake and Allie's favorite place to hang out during the summer is grandma and graypa's house. To tell you the truth I think that grandma is sad too. She had enjoyed our chaos, our noise, and our mess. All of those things mean that Ash is here for her to cuddle and love on everyday. When the other is gone so is our Ashley. What a blessing grandma and graypa have been. I love to come into the room and find them laying on the floor next to Ashley's pallet. Every evening they play with her and encourage her to learn new things. It is really fun watching them be grandparents to her. Our children are really blessed. Grandma tried to convince us to leave Ash here with her tonight, but were not having any of that. She is on her way to her house, to her nursery, to her crib. I can't believe it!

Ash crashed today. She had been awake since Thursday evening with NO sleep. About 3:30 this morning she drifted off to sleep and hasn't been awake for more than 2 or 3 minutes at a time all day. Her physical therapist came out to see her progress today and I'm not sure Ash even opened her eyes. She groaned and grunted a little, but I think she was convincing herself that Ms. Sue was just a bad dream. We are waiting for morning labs to check on her liver enzymes. I am almost positive that her WBC have dropped today. She went from an abnormal high, to a low, to a nothing. She is tired, and weak, and drained. It will take a couple of days for her to bounce back. She continues to smile her sweet smile at us all, but she just doesn't have the energy to play today.

Tonight I will linger extra long as I tuck the children into bed. Their rooms are all ready. Their beds are all clean. I know they will sleep well surrounded by all that makes our house their home. I can't wait to lay next to them on their beds and see which windows of their hearts they open for us tonight. I can't wait to kiss those precious foreheads and smell the sweetness of their heads. I can't wait to rock our baby in her nursery tonight and to sing to her as she sleeps. I can't wait to lay down next to Dave in our bed and hold his hand as we visit about our day. God has blessed us so very much and my heart overflows with gratitude. Life is precious, it is sweet, it is good, and it is blessed.

I will visit with you all in the morning. Take care my friends and may you be surrounded by your own sweet gifts tonight. Thank you for loving our baby and for praying for her today. Good night and God bless you. Trish