Squawk!

So a lot of people keep asking, "How's Eva??" or "How are you doing??"

The first question is a lot easier to answer than the latter. Eva is doing great. We had a difficult transition from the hospital to home, but once she settled back into a routine she has been nothing but smiles, giggles, and squawks. On Saturday, Eva discovered her voice and has been letting EVERYONE know about it. We get odd looks at the grocery store as Eva squawks and squawks, but happy to have a little talker. The new medicine seems to be doing what it's supposed to do and we only have to give it to her twice a day. This is a huge relief as we can now let her sleep through the night and actually attempt to be sane parents. As for the actual condition ... she still has the problem and the hope is that it will go away in a year. We will just have to wait and see.

As for Corrie and I, it is a little bit of a different story. Yesterday at church we looked at Hannah's prayer. It is a profoundly honest prayer, as Hannah laments to God for losses in her life. Hannah was unable to have children. During the worship gathering, we were invited to honestly acknowledge the pain, losses and lies in our life and encouraged to live in God's truths. As this was happening, people anonymously texted what they were going through and they showed up on the screens in the auditorium. Suddenly, the things that Corrie and I have endured the past month became very small. Abuse. Affairs. Alcoholism. Abandonment. Those were just a few of the things that showed up. The reality is that all of us have pain. All of us have difficulties. All of us suffer, experience sorrow and loss. It's part of the human condition. While I don't want to minimize what our family has experienced over the past month, I have come to realize that as Corrie and I have honestly taken this pain to God, we have found that He is there with us. As we have taken this pain to all of you, we have realized that you are all there with us. We are not alone.

And in the powerful words of Michael Jackson: You are not alone either.

We have found great comfort in this fact.

This week is our first week back to our new normal. Corrie will work a full week. I will work a full week. Our incredible childcare will finally get to work a full week (thanks Emilie and KG!). We are learning how to live and breath all over again.

I gotta go change a diaper.