Then ...
And now ...
We celebrated our anniversary on Friday. Mama came into town Thursday night and helped out Friday morning while Briley and I had some doctor's appointments. Mid-day, Brett called and asked if I'd like to go to the GA game on Saturday. A neighbor had a way of getting us two tickets. So, we quickly started making our plans ... booked a hotel in downtown Athens ... asked my sister-n-law about keeping Avery ... We were set! Briley was already going back with Mama on Saturday and staying until we made it down there for Thanksgiving. So, that was that ... Until the tickets ended up falling through, BUT Brett was on it and found more in no time. All was good. Later that evening, we enjoyed a nice dinner while Mama kept the girls. We enjoyed each other's company, laughing, reminiscing, talking about the next 5 years ... getting even more excited about our trip to Athens the following day. Wow, what a fun, spontaneous weekend it was going to be. We're never spontaneous. It's kinda hard to be with children, but that's exactly how we were being. We wrapped up dinner and headed home. As we turned into our neighborhood, I received a text from Mama asking me to call her because Briley had a temp of over 103. Our priorities were quickly put back into place as we realized that our quick lil' trip out of town was ending before it began. Long story short, it, thankfully, wasn't the flu and was only viral.
As bummed as we were about not being able to go, we were more concerned about our little girls. There will be plenty of other chances to be spontaneous, but for now God has called us to be parents to these precious gifts which means many sacrifices, long sleepless nights, concerns, heartaches and feeling, at times, as if you're the only ones sitting at home on a Friday night. Not to mention, tears. Yes, there will be and have been tears. Tears of joy, tears of fear, tears of exhaustion, tears of anger, tears of hurt, tears of relief, tears for no reason and tears of thankfulness. But at the same time it also means knowing how it feels to hold a miracle and feeling love like you never imagined, getting the best and biggest bear hugs and kisses you could ever ask for, knowing how it feels to have a sweet baby fall asleep in your arms or melt your heart as she smiles or coos for the first time. It means hearing a little voice say "I love you" throughout the day or "Be careful" when you're about to leave or busting out with the hokey pokey just when you needed a giggle. I could go on and on and on. Point being, the sweet moments far out way the hard ones. I can't imagine life without Brett, Briley and Avery, nor do I ever want to. I didn't know what God had in store for us 5 years ago when we said "I do," but I have to say His gifts have blessed us, have blessed me, beyond compare.
As bummed as we were about not being able to go, we were more concerned about our little girls. There will be plenty of other chances to be spontaneous, but for now God has called us to be parents to these precious gifts which means many sacrifices, long sleepless nights, concerns, heartaches and feeling, at times, as if you're the only ones sitting at home on a Friday night. Not to mention, tears. Yes, there will be and have been tears. Tears of joy, tears of fear, tears of exhaustion, tears of anger, tears of hurt, tears of relief, tears for no reason and tears of thankfulness. But at the same time it also means knowing how it feels to hold a miracle and feeling love like you never imagined, getting the best and biggest bear hugs and kisses you could ever ask for, knowing how it feels to have a sweet baby fall asleep in your arms or melt your heart as she smiles or coos for the first time. It means hearing a little voice say "I love you" throughout the day or "Be careful" when you're about to leave or busting out with the hokey pokey just when you needed a giggle. I could go on and on and on. Point being, the sweet moments far out way the hard ones. I can't imagine life without Brett, Briley and Avery, nor do I ever want to. I didn't know what God had in store for us 5 years ago when we said "I do," but I have to say His gifts have blessed us, have blessed me, beyond compare.
1 comment:
Wow, great post, Amber. So very true. And it's funny how the "sacrifices" are never what we remember - we remember the 2 a.m. cuddles and the first time our child smiles again after being so sick... It is all such a gift.
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