HOPE'S STORY, PART 11: "IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE"

The closing entries from my mom's journal:

October 26, 2011:  Hope's cold is gone, if it was a cold.  She was peaceful most of the day today.

October 27, 2011:  Another rough night for Hope last night.  She was breathing with difficulty most of the night.  When Hannah and I arrived in the morning she was still laboring to breathe.  At times her tongue would pull and her jaw would drop down to pull in air.  Caeli commented that she looks more blue today.  They are keeping eye drops in her eyes to keep them hydrated.

HOPE'S STORY, PART 1: "HOPE FROM HEAVEN"

There are days that shake and shatter everything familiar and planned and routine.

Last Monday, we were going through the regular adjustments of first-time soon-to-be parents. It sounded something like this:

"TYLER! HELP ME WITH MY SOCKS! MY FEET ARE TOO FAR AWAY!"

and

"CAELI! WE WILL NOT BUY ANY MORE FACELESS WILLOW TREE FIGURINES...WE NEED TO SAVE FOR A BABY!"

Despite our pre-baby anxieties, we couldn't wait to welcome a little stranger into our family. I had read a quote on a favorite blog that said it best:

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bank balance smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for."

We tried to make a bet about the gender (If Tyler lost, he was going to have to start road cycling with STRETCHY PANTS, and if I lost, I would have to drive a mini-van someday). Only the bet didn't work cause both of us thought it was going to be a boy.

Tyler's family history didn't include a recipe for girls.