This is going to be a two part post because I know how much most people hate reading posts where you have to scroll and scroll and scroll. . .and I have a lot to say on this subject!
The title of this "series" should really be "Thank you, Sophie and Lindsey and Kevin" but that makes it too long and then the title gets pushed to two lines and that really bothers me. Before you read any further, click HERE to read the full story behind this post. . . just keep reading and reading and crying and reading. Don't forget to read this post from Mother's Day (click HERE), but for sure have your Kleenex box handy. If you're the type of person who is just too busy to read, then I will sum up the story in just a few sentences and then get to the meat of my own post--but you really should take the time to read the blog I'm recommending (and you need to check your personal calendar and make more time in your day--more on that subject at a later date)!
Lindsey and Kevin are pregnant with their first child, Sophie. They found out early in the pregnancy that Sophie has Anencephaly which means that part of her brain and skull is not developing and, apart from a miracle, she will not live very long once she is born. Please read their blog! Along with their friends and family, Lindsey and Kevin have been celebrating Sophie's LIFE each week (each day, really) of the pregnancy. It has been beautiful and exciting and heart warming and heart wrenching to watch. What a witness they have been to me and to so many people! Each week is a theme week and Sophie has been royally spoiled from Princess meals at Disney to a boy band concert to a special father/daughter date and on and on. Really, you should read the blog.
So, all that being said, Sophie (through her amazing parents) has been a huge example to me of enjoying and even celebrating each and every day. We aren't promised tomorrow. None of us are. Some of us, like Hays's dear friend, Chase, are given a timeline on our lives due to cancer. Some of us, like my father, are given a timeline and that timeline keeps stretching beyond what doctors thought (in 2000 my dad was given 3 years to live). Some of us, like sweet Maria (the daughter of one of my dear friends), are given no known timeline and are taken from us without warning. Some of us, like my amazingly wonderful Gran'ma, are given nearly 100 years. No day is promised and we don't know if we will have tomorrow.
So often, we live as if we have forever. We worry about tomorrow and we complain about today. We take each other for granted and we leave the house or go to sleep mad or frustrated. The Dennis family (Kevin and Lindsey and Sophie) are not making those mistakes. Each day for them is a miracle and she isn't even born yet. I love that! They are celebrating their beautiful baby girl every single day. Morning sickness. Why gripe? Fat ankles. Who cares? Stretch marks. Thank you for this baby growing inside of me! Sophie's life has been a celebration and as a result has been life changing for strangers all over the world! I talked to a friend of mine yesterday from Saudi and she was talking to me about what an inspiration Sophie's story has been for her (in Saudi Arabia). Wow! Sophie's uncle is one of our dearest friends and I was telling him this morning that there are going to be lines of people in Heaven one day thanking Sophie (and her parents) for the impact she had on their lives. Sophie isn't even born and she is changing people's lives!
Anyway. . .I'm kind of going in circles and making no sense in Part I, but I am just so moved and blown away by the Dennis family. They have taught me more throughout this pregnancy about life and parenting and being a human than anyone has ever taught me. Please go read their story. More of my thoughts about Carpe Diem tomorrow!
The title of this "series" should really be "Thank you, Sophie and Lindsey and Kevin" but that makes it too long and then the title gets pushed to two lines and that really bothers me. Before you read any further, click HERE to read the full story behind this post. . . just keep reading and reading and crying and reading. Don't forget to read this post from Mother's Day (click HERE), but for sure have your Kleenex box handy. If you're the type of person who is just too busy to read, then I will sum up the story in just a few sentences and then get to the meat of my own post--but you really should take the time to read the blog I'm recommending (and you need to check your personal calendar and make more time in your day--more on that subject at a later date)!
Lindsey and Kevin are pregnant with their first child, Sophie. They found out early in the pregnancy that Sophie has Anencephaly which means that part of her brain and skull is not developing and, apart from a miracle, she will not live very long once she is born. Please read their blog! Along with their friends and family, Lindsey and Kevin have been celebrating Sophie's LIFE each week (each day, really) of the pregnancy. It has been beautiful and exciting and heart warming and heart wrenching to watch. What a witness they have been to me and to so many people! Each week is a theme week and Sophie has been royally spoiled from Princess meals at Disney to a boy band concert to a special father/daughter date and on and on. Really, you should read the blog.
So, all that being said, Sophie (through her amazing parents) has been a huge example to me of enjoying and even celebrating each and every day. We aren't promised tomorrow. None of us are. Some of us, like Hays's dear friend, Chase, are given a timeline on our lives due to cancer. Some of us, like my father, are given a timeline and that timeline keeps stretching beyond what doctors thought (in 2000 my dad was given 3 years to live). Some of us, like sweet Maria (the daughter of one of my dear friends), are given no known timeline and are taken from us without warning. Some of us, like my amazingly wonderful Gran'ma, are given nearly 100 years. No day is promised and we don't know if we will have tomorrow.
So often, we live as if we have forever. We worry about tomorrow and we complain about today. We take each other for granted and we leave the house or go to sleep mad or frustrated. The Dennis family (Kevin and Lindsey and Sophie) are not making those mistakes. Each day for them is a miracle and she isn't even born yet. I love that! They are celebrating their beautiful baby girl every single day. Morning sickness. Why gripe? Fat ankles. Who cares? Stretch marks. Thank you for this baby growing inside of me! Sophie's life has been a celebration and as a result has been life changing for strangers all over the world! I talked to a friend of mine yesterday from Saudi and she was talking to me about what an inspiration Sophie's story has been for her (in Saudi Arabia). Wow! Sophie's uncle is one of our dearest friends and I was telling him this morning that there are going to be lines of people in Heaven one day thanking Sophie (and her parents) for the impact she had on their lives. Sophie isn't even born and she is changing people's lives!
Anyway. . .I'm kind of going in circles and making no sense in Part I, but I am just so moved and blown away by the Dennis family. They have taught me more throughout this pregnancy about life and parenting and being a human than anyone has ever taught me. Please go read their story. More of my thoughts about Carpe Diem tomorrow!
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