3.5 million

I am pretty sure I have said this before, but it is so nice at this point in our lives to be so close to family. I love that my parent's house is not even a 10 minute drive. My brother, sister-in-law & precious nieces are not much further. And my sister, well if she would stay in the country, she would be equally as close. It's great. Madelyn and I had fun hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's house last night and today. She was a little show off. Eating and sleeping on a great little schedule. Then smiling and playing while she was awake. While I was busy wrapping Christmas presents (their tree is pretty much full underneath already which is a far cry from the mad dash of wrapping we normally do the night before!!) Madelyn was busy napping...I normally let her take a little nap like this once (rarely twice) a day if I am going to be close by. They positioned her prone in the NICU and she sleeps really well this way.

After lots of fun smiling at Grandpa's Donald Duck impersonations, cuddling with Grandma and putting up their Christmas tree, Madelyn and I headed to the house to wait for Luke to get home...

She is an amazing car rider. 99.9 % of all car rides she has taken this far she falls asleep within 23 seconds of hitting the road. Not tonight. She was wide eyed and playful. About a mile from my parent's house I heard her making this really strange noise. It almost sounded like she was gargling. I kept waiting for her to stop. She didn't. So I panicked for a second and pulled over thinking she was choking. Nope. She was playing. Kicking her feet, grinning big and making lots of noise. I was not able to get it on video considering we were in a car wash parking lot in the dark, but here are a couple of videos from the last couple of days...




Right now my sister is on a plane somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. She boarded around 8pm (4am Monday morning in Cairo) tonight and will arrive just after 2pm tomorrow. Her longest connection is 12 hours! It will be Monday, November 23 for over 32 hours for her! How fun is that? Well, I think she might not agree that it is "fun" considering those extra hours are spent on a plane, but hey, I have never had a 32 hour day before. Have you?

Madelyn's Great Grandma is flying in tomorrow afternoon too! Although she is coming in from OKC, she and my sister will be arriving 3 gates apart! Talk about perfect for pick up! I cannot wait to see them both!

Lately my heart has been doing this dance of sorts. It is so full. Full of joy as I get to stay at home with my little miracle. Full of gratitude that she is here with us. Full of love for family and friends. Full of the good stuff. Then I have these moments where it feels so heavy. Burdened. Burdened for the mom's that don't get to bring their babies home. Burdened for the families that go through trying times without a hope in something greater. Burdened for the 3.5 million kids under 5 that die from diarrhea and pneumonia globally each year. Die from diarrhea? (Click here to read the story) "Pneumonia is the biggest killer of children under 5, claiming more then 2 million lives annually or about 20 percent of all child deaths." Madelyn had pneumonia. My heart is doing this dance. The dance between this new fullness that is so wonderful I can hardly describe it and this heavy burden that I cannot seem to escape. I don't think God wants me to "escape" it. I think it's a call to action. But what am I supposed to do? 3.5 million kids. How can I make a difference? I know that my heart is doing this dance for a reason. I know that God is using what we have experienced to open my eyes. To shape us into who He wants us to be. My heart is full, yet burdened.