The Big Two

June 8, 2007 was a day I will not soon forget. For on that day I was blessed with a beautiful baby girl named McKaylee. Nothing about her journey through life has been easy. She spent the first six months of her infancy crying relentlessly. I can remember holding her all night long for so many exhausting months, patting her back, just trying to comfort her as she screamed incessantly. She finally started to calm down just a little bit around 6 1/2 months old only to end up falling off the bed a few weeks later and fracturing her skull. I would have never dreamed that such a fall would lead to a much more sinister discovery; hydrocephalus, an inoperable brain tumor and a much needed brain surgery. That horrible fall off of our bed actually saved her life. And then just two days after her first birthday we received the heart breaking news that our precious little girl had a very aggressive form of brain cancer.....we left for St. Jude's four days later.
Sometimes I wonder how it is possible that she has endured so much in such a short period of time. How can it be that she has walked through more life experiences at the tender age of two than I have in my entire lifetime? Although it saddens my heart that she has had to battle through all of this, I have been blessed to be able to travel this road with her. For she has such an awesome amount of courage, resilience, endurance and fight in her. I have been humbled to see her walk through sickness with such an amazing amount of bravery. So yesterday as we celebrated her second birthday, it was really so much more than that to me. For it is by the grace of God that she is still with us today and I consider every moment I have with her a gift, a blessing and a miracle. We celebrated her first birthday with anxiety and a room full of praying people, begging God on her behalf for a miracle. We celebrated her second birthday with joy; joy for the life that she brings to our family and for the miracle that we have standing in our presence. Happy Birthday McKaylee, you are such an incredible blessing in our lives!! We love you!