We are Jedidiah.

After hearing about a mother taking cookies up to the PICU where her daughter died, I really wanted to reach out to the staff of Vanderbilt Children’s.  Jim has been working and will continue to work full time (with overtime, thankfully!) through the new year.  So, Monday I set about preparing the goodies and getting myself ready to face Vandy alone.  Tuesday dawned, and I realized that I just couldn’t do it.  I don’t want to walk those halls without Jim by my side.  I had many treasured hours via ultrasound and after birth my boy there.  I just couldn’t go.

Thankfully, Jim understood, and we hope to go sometime after the new year when he has time off again.  I hope the Vandy team knows how much they impact the lives they touch.  What a special group of folks!!!

When I was pregnant with Jedidiah, I craved hamburgers.  This is especially odd since I hate hamburgers.  During our first trimester, Jim got me hamburgers three out of four days.  One of those days, he splurged and got us all burgers and dogs from Five Guys Burgers and Fries.  Oh, man was that delicious!

I hadn’t thought of that day until yesterday when I drove my the Five Guys restaurant.  Five Guys… five guys… Jedidiah was my five (fifth) guy.

A few days earlier a young lady at church who did not know me asked how many children I have.  Because I know that the next question is almost always “How old are they,” I answered, “4.”   ((In certain situations when I think it will be upsetting to the hearer or to me, I do not answer, “5” because if they do ask, “How old are they?” then I don’t have to deal with their emotions or mine if I am not strong enough.))   At the same moment of my answer, another girl answered, “5.” The first girl asked, “How old are they?”  I answered, and then quickly pointed out that Nikita was embarrassed for mentioning my five guys, but that she didn’t need to be.  It warms my heart when I know that others value Jedidiah and his impact just as much as I do, and I hope Nikita knows how much it meant to me to hear her say, “5” without hesitation!

Along the same lines, Jim and I received a card in the mail from the marriage and family pastor at our church.  It wasn’t a typical Christmas card.  He specifically wrote to us about Jedidiah, about this Christmas not being what we had hoped or planned for.  His remembering my sweet boy touches the depth of my soul.

Have a blessed day!