Driving up to the hospital floods me with emotions. Weird emotions. Good memories, scary memories, sad memories, but mostly overwhelms me with God's goodness. My babies were born TEN WEEKS early. They weren't supposed to outside the womb. The NICU nurses and doctors (and lots of prayer!) saved their lives. I get all teary about it! :)
Back to the party...
The girls got princess wands and were in love. Riley wouldn't put hers down. She also was being sneaky and would tap people with it. She's so funny!
They enjoyed a yummy lunch. Can you see some of the decor in the background? Amazing! I should have taken more! But... you know- had to keep up with the kids running in opposite directions. :)
Sneaky princess tapping people with her star wand. hee hee
Reese and Nurse Judy!
The girls with Nurse Practitioner Terry... They didn't want to pose! :) Maybe they remember she was the one who'd try to get their PICC lines in... :) just kidding.
The girls left with some fun party favors in their treasure boxes. They still wear their necklaces from the party every day. :) They enjoyed watching the fountain and trying to touch the water on our way out!
I know this sounds dramatic (ME dramatic? NEVER! ;) ), but... I remember time and time again walking past this fountain by the front door seeing kids throwing in coins, splashing, and watching with excitement. I remember a physical longing in my heart for the day that MY kids could do that. The day that they'd not only be home with us in our arms, but also the day I'd KNOW they were okay. So seeing my kids perfectly okay, wonderfully healthy, and cute as can be :) playing at THAT fountain that I saw day in and day out for 8 1/2 weeks, I was full of joy. I can never stop thanking the Lord for healing my preemie girls.
Here's our first family picture in the NICU September '08:
(Well HELLO swollen face! ha)
NICU Reunion June '09
(gotta love the picture of a picture ;) )
NICU Reunion June '10
7 comments:
How awesome...the part about the fountain made me tear up. What blessings you have!
That is so neat how the NICU has a reunion each year...our's doesn't. Maybe I need to call and inquire about it (or maybe they just need me to organize it)! R&R sure looked cute as always. And I love the 1st NICU picture (and your face is not swollen...I'll email you a few of mine if you want to see swollen)!
Well your hospital "does it up" a little more than ours does, but either way, it's an amazing experience! Your story about the fountain brought tears to my eyes! Such perfect little miracles ;)
This post made me cry! I'm so thankful that your baby girls are happy and healthy! Love all of the pics. We missed our NICU reunion because I was out of town. :(
Amazing, our God is amazing! The ultimate healer! Our stories are very similiar and it just floods me with emotions and memories to read your posts like this. Sweet miracle babies cute as can be.
What a wonderful tradition!
The hospital where our girls were in the NICU reopened at a new location, with a new name, so the continuity was broken. Also, Jess was released early, a wonderful surprise, but one that left us without the time to take down everyone's information.
There's one nurse in particular I remember fondly, and wish I'd had the chance to tell her how important she was to us.
That's awesome that the NICU does that. I can't imagine how emotional that must be every year.
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