Special memories!

Last week, while we were in Lancaster for our fellowship's annual conference, we celebrated the anniversaries of two significant events for our family. The first was on April 4th. Nine years ago, Brent took me down to the beach in Ocean City, MD and as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday morning, asked me if I would be his wife! We had known each other for three years, but didn't "date" in the conventional sense of the word. We really were just good friends and only dated after we were engaged.

Anyway, he made me the happiest woman in the world on that day, and we have had the best nine years so far . . . certainly better than I could have imagined then! Here's a picture from that morning (it's not the greatest, but then there weren't too many people walking on the beach at 4:30 in the morning!)

Thank you, Brent, for obeying God . . . for choosing me to walk beside you in the amazing adventure that God has before us! Our latter will be greater than our former -- what's ahead will bless our socks off! And we get to walk it all out together! I thank God for the privilege of being your wife. I love you so very much!

April 5th also has significance to us . . . that's the day that we finally brought our precious "peanut" home from the hospital after 108 days! Lael was a micro-preemie, born seven years ago at 24 weeks gestation, weighing only 1 pound, 3 ounces at birth. We could literally hold her in the palm of our hands when she was born . . . my wedding band fit on her wrist like a bracelet!

God performed miracle after miracle in her tiny body -- holes in her heart closed on their own, bleeding in her brain that went away with no lasting damage, multiple breathing difficulties and collapsed lungs, eye conditions that reversed themselves. One of her doctors said it best when she was discharged: "She isn't going home because of our medical skill; she's going home because of your prayers!"

I can't stop praising God for the blessing of our daughter and for His miraculous power demonstrated in her life! Today she is seven years old and brings so much joy to our lives! Lael, you are a joy and a delight to your daddy and me . . . we thank God for the blessing of YOU!