A very thankful Birthday Eve..

I'm so happy to say we made it back home this afternoon!

Clay has done great with feeds into his new GJ tube & seems to be feeling just as fine as frog hair ;)

Me, well, I've just been emotional all evening...

This time last year, I would have never in a million years thought that Clay would spend the first 8 months of his life in the NICU, that he'd go through 8 surgeries, that we'd come home with a trach & a ventilator & a GJ tube...in my hopeful mind, Clay had a 'mild' case of CDH, we were going to be home by Thanksgiving, and after the repair surgery, he'd be a perfectly normal baby.

But knowing now what I didn't know then, I can honestly say that I would not trade a thing.

We've been on all sorts of twists & turns in the first year of this CDH journey...but today, riding home in the back seat next to Clay, embraced by the beautiful colors of autumn, hearing his sleepy breaths echoed by the ventilator, seeing his busy little feet wiggle & roll, feeling complete & safe in Eric's company...today, we were just cruising along...just along for the ride & it's just a feeling I don't ever want to forget.

We came home to a house full of sweet gifts from Clay's birthday bash and I finally got to look through all of the birthday cards from so many of our family & friends. My eyes filled with tears with every sweet note in them. I know Clay is so special to so many, and I just can't express how much that means to me.

Nana & Pappy brought us soup beans & cornbread for supper and helped to get us settled back in, and of course, spoiled a silly little boy rotten. I just don't know what I'd do without them two.

When Clay was ready for bed, I rocked him, and like always, he reached up to rub his little thumb across my eyelashes until he drifted off to sleep. THAT is the absolute sweetest thing ever. THAT is what makes every bit of this past year worth it.


Tomorrow, on Clay's first birthday, take a minute to be thankful for the life & the health you were granted...because those are things that are not guaranteed to us all. I think Clay has shown us that this life is worth living & living well, no matter what ails us! ;)

Thank you all for embracing our family, for supporting us & standing by us through the twists & turns of Clay's first year...and for encouraging me to share our journey.

It's been a good year :)