COUNTDOWN: Three Days to Go

With three days left blogging on "The Roo Review," Mike and I have to share the THREE most important lessons we've learned about life since Ollie entered our hearts and our home.

LESSON #1
When we found out we were expecting our little Baby Roo, we were just a couple of weeks away from accepting a two-year stint with UbiSoft in Paris, France. Wow, life can be so unpredictable! Thinking back from then to now, nothing has turned out like we thought it would. In fact, right about now is when we would have been returning from our time in France. We didn't live in a little flat in one of the Parisian arrondissements, we didn't have fresh-baked croissants and espresso for breakfast, we didn't hop on a train for a weekend in London or Milan or Geneva. Nope. We didn't do any of that. Instead, we met Ollie! Ephesians 3:20 says, "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." Ollie is a gift from God, and he is so much more than we could have asked for or imagined! What a big splash of sunshine he is! Lesson #1 is: "The mind of God is full of beautiful surprises." (Maybe one day, we will travel to Paris, eat croissants, and ride the trains. And Ollie will be there with us! What could be better than that?)

LESSON #2
If you've spent any time looking at the pictures on this web site, you have fallen in love with Ollie's big, big grin. This boy loves life. He encounters the world with an open, receiving attitude. He gives back to the world a ready smile and an adventurous spirit. So, Lesson #2 is: "Live each day to the fullest. Receive everything you need and give everything you have. And keep smiling."

LESSON #3
When Merrit was born, we were swept up into a whirlwind of complications. Even the most basic acts, like feeding or bathing, were so complicated. Looking back, that was a time of intense growth, of unusual connectedness to God and to family, of dramatic trials and dramatic answers to prayer. By contrast, life with Ollie has been sweetly simple. Uncomplicated. Carefree and joyful. How could we take anything for granted? Holding him right after he was born. Bringing him home after just a few days. Breastfeeding without difficulty. Bathing him without a trach. Feeding him without a g-tube. Putting him down to sleep without any wires or tubes to untangle. Having him all to ourselves (no nurses!). By no means am I saying that one experience was "better" or "worse" than the other. It's apples and oranges. But I will say this: The complications, trials, and rewards of Merrit's first 18 months prepared our hearts perfectly to truly treasure and appreciate the sweet normality and relative simplicity of seeing Ollie through his infancy. Lesson #3 is: "Life is good, all the time."