Life as Normal

It's crazy to me that we left the hospital only 4 days ago. And I can hardly wrap my mind around the fact that one week ago we were still in PICU. One week ago Aislinn had her internal shunt put it. My semi-functioning-tired brain, attention-craving two year old, needy pets and that stinkin' feeding tube all remember that it's only been a few days. But when I look at that sweet girl; when she smiles, laughs, waves, claps...when she learns new things (like saying "na na" for no no, and covering her eyes to play peek-a-boo)...our hospital stay feels so far in the past. She is amazing. Her ability to bounce back has been phenomenal.

flirting with that cute girl in the mirror at her dr appt

first outing...a trip to costco for a vacuum cleaner and a hot dog lunch

first real bath in a few weeks

It's not all rosy pictures around here though, there are hard moments (and hard nights). We are inexplicably tired (though, not really inexplicable, right?). We are trying to parent our two year old back into the realm of normal two year old behavior, with extra grace, extra love and extreme measures of patience. We are trying to nurture a little girl who, though better, still has a ways to go. We are trying not to worry over every little thing...

Most of all, we are trying to return to life as normal. And today, life was as normal as we're going to get for awhile. We did some yard work, had a water gun fight, barbecued burgers, went on a walk. My dad and Patrick worked on some projects for the basement. It was awesomely normal. :) I was on the verge of tears many times, happy tears. I thank God for each of these moments and the ability to be together again as a family. Aislinn was beyond our grasp, out of our hands for long enough to make us appreciate every little detail with her now. I have always known that our children are truly God's and that he is the one in control of their lives, but oh my goodness, learning how to actually live that out is insanely difficult. Especially in such a dramatic fashion. I am so glad God has placed her back in our arms and we get to all move forward together.

lovey eyes for daddy

Unfortunately Ms. Ais was asleep for our water fight, although I'm not sure she would have been a big fan. She's pretty sensitive these days, understandably. It may have been best though because Ronan was thrilled to have one-on-one time with both of us.He so needed that.

Of course, Ronan wanted to have another water fight when he woke up from his nap. Luckily he was just as happy to squirt my plants for me. :)

It was a good day indeed.