Bloom Where You Are Planted

Whatever it is we do in life, whatever path we choose, we have endless opportunity to do good. No matter how big or small our talents, we can use them to help others. I'm not sure we realize the impact we can have on those around us...until we are the recipient of such blessings.

We have been the beneficiaries of such love and generosity and it has changed me as a person.

I barely laid eyes on Eli and Landon the first hours of their lives. Immediately after their birth, they were whisked away to the NICU. On the way from recovery to my hospital room, the nurses wheeled me through the NICU, but I couldn't move from laying down and the boys were under oxygen hoods, making it hard to see them anyway. So I was taken to my room to rest with the promise that I could come back later if I felt up to it.
If I felt up to it? Are you kidding? Could anything keep me away from those precious babies?

I don't remember much of anything from the rest of that day, but I DO remember Amy.

Amy was a nurse who worked nights in the NICU. She was different from a lot of our other nurses. She was energetic, upbeat, and always smiling. She was extremely helpful, understanding, and patient with me as I asked 7,859 questions each and every time I saw her. She encouraged us to do "kangaroo care" and me to nurse. She gave us as much help and guidance as we needed as we tried to learn how to best care for those tiny bodies, but she also gave us a lot of independence and liberties. She not only took care of Eli and Landon, but she took care of me as well as I was recovering.

Amy was with Eli and Landon their first night and she was with them every other night she worked for the month of October. I got the best rest on the nights I knew Amy was with the boys. She really cared about them and it showed. And for an exhausted, stressed, hormonal, recovering from surgery, worried mom...that was a huge blessing.


It would have been easy for Amy to show up and just do her job, but she never did that. She did so much more. She made blankets for the boys, bought them preemie outfits to wear, took pictures of them during the night and had them developed for me. Even after we were home, she called to check on us, continued to answer questions for me, had us over for lunch when we had doctor appointments in Lubbock since we couldn't go into restaurants, and even went to appointments with me to help.

Amy came to visit us a couple of months ago and had this plate made for the boys. It has their hand and foot prints in the middle. It is such a special gift!


I say all of this to say...no matter our job or talent or place in life...we too can make the choice to be a servant to others. Thank you, Amy. You have been a blessing to us and have taught me an important lesson.

Amy is about to embark on a new adventure in life and we wish her all the best! I have no doubt that she will continue to be a blessing to all those that know her.


We happen to have the same clothes now that we had when the boys were in the hospital, so just for reference...here's how much we've grown.


And here are a few recent pictures

Landon

Eli

Eli & Landon