Grateful

I didn't blog a while back because I went back to the midwest for a week for my SIL's baby shower and some family time.  And then I got back and life was this whirlwind of an organic apple festival (we got over 90lbs of apples), and a baby thing and mom groups and enjoying this crisp weather.  And then tonight happens and I get introspective.

My niece was born tonight.  She's beautiful.  I'm not sure what she weighs or if they've even weighed her because she's spent the whole time in a literal bubble.  She is having trouble taking in oxygen and had to be transferred to a different hospital (away from her mother) because they have a NICU there.  Her mother is resting, recuperating from a c-section.  She had a really tough pregnancy, so I've spent this summer constantly anxious for them.

I've spent the night being anxious and praying.  Praying for my niece, praying for her parents, that they can find a way to calm their hearts, and praying for my family as we struggle with family ties and the complications that can arise.

I've never been through this.  I had a dream pregnancy and a dream delivery and other than a couple hospital stays Nora has been healthy as a horse.  But I know the fear that something worse is coming.  I remember holding a listless Nora and just screaming at G to drive faster because my daughter wouldn't wake up.  It's terrifying and my heart hurts knowing that my brother and sister-in-law are dealing with all that right now. 

So tonight I'm praying and I'm grateful.  Grateful for this life.  Grateful that I have a family who is there taking care of them.  And grateful that my niece is here and makes the cutest damn astronaut I've ever seen!