Go on out & get your free Slurpee, cuz it’s 7-Eleven, baby!  And while you’re drinking it, wish a happy birthday to my big four-year-old, Brooke!  Four years ago today, at 12:34 pm she rushed in to our lives & hearts & changed us forever.

When you get married you wonder how you’ll ever be able to love that person enough.  Then when you have a child, you have the same fears again.  And as you add more children, you’re given the grace & love you need to pour in to each person God blesses your family with.   We couldn’t have loved Emma more, and then we were blessed with Brooke as well.

She’s our miracle, our fighter, our feisty princess.  She has the most unique voice, imagination, expressions, wardrobe.  She’s been a blessing we never expected & would never change.

Thanks for being you Brookie!  Love Daddy, Mommy, Emma, and Ruby-doobie-do

If you follow me on Facebook – me, not my fan page – you will occasionally see me change my profile picture in memory of children who have lost their battle with CDH – congenital diaphragmatic hernia.  I changed my picture recently in memory of Oz – a little guy who survived about 9 hours after being born with CDH.  Why?  I do it because my daughter, Brooke, was born with this birth defect.  We almost lost her.  But by the grace of God we have been blessed to know her & love her for over three years now. And to raise awareness about this devastating defect fellow photographers & CDH moms across the world are holding photo sessions for children born with CDH, families affected by CDH, and parents who are expecting CDH babies.  The way we do that is with angel wings.

So, in memory of Oz, I decided to take Brooke out this evening for some updated angel photos.  Oz’s parents – you are in our thoughts as you lay your little one to rest tomorrow.  We can’t even begin to imagine the pain of losing him, but hope you can hold on to the joy of knowing him for such a short time.

Want to learn more?  Visit Save the Cherubs or CDH Support.

Our littlest girl turned two over the weekend!  Brooke is officially a toddler as of 12:34pm on July 11th – free Slurpee day.  Thank you to all the family & friends who made it out to celebrate with us on Saturday.  We had a great time and Brooke really enjoyed all the things that you blessed her with.  She (and Emma) made Josh open them all after she got up from her nap later that afternoon.

And as happens every year around this time, Brooke has some doctor visits.  We’ll get her official “stats” in August on her 2-year check-up (I know, August!  Her doctor is that booked up!).  This week we’ll be getting her yearly chest x-ray, and next week we’ll be visiting one of her surgeons in Baltimore to read the results of that x-ray.  We’re praying that he’ll continue to once again see the glory of God through Brooke’s x-ray, lung growth, and recovery from her congenital diaphragmatic hernia repair.  I’ll keep you updated.

In the mean time, here are some quick photos I snapped of Brooke while my kind neighbor & friend, Laura, was keeping Emma entertained – thanks Laura!  I got a few smiles after some bribes with candy.  Happy Birthday Brookie!

Many of you may have read about my sister, Maggie, in a previous post.  Well, she finally had her baby, Leah Beth, yesterday at 11:16am.  We are glad she’s finally arrived, but she isn’t completely healthy just yet.  Leah was born quite quickly and has some fluid in her lungs that she needs to get rid of in order to breathe completely on her own.  She is currently in the NICU at John’s Hopkins in Baltimore, and is being given oxygen to help her breathe.  This situation is completely dejavu for me and my family because about 16 months ago we were in almost the exact same situation with our youngest daughter, Brooke.  She was born with a birth defect called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia and was in the NICU for one month and then in another hospital to learn to feed for an additional month.  At the time of her hospitalization I wondered what God had to teach me through all of this.  He taught me a lot, but now, especially that my baby sister is going through a similar situation, I’m glad I am able to offer her support in this unsettling time.  So, if you’ve been trying to get a hold of me, or waiting for me to return your e-mails, I have been slightly preoccupied with my newest niece.  Enjoy a few pictures of Leah…


If you are interested, you can keep up on updates about Leah on my family blog by clicking here.