I am tempted to mentally rewind and fully document each story of the last 6 months since Sam was born: the trials, joys, trips, holidays, milestones and everything else... however, I will certainly burnout before reaching the present, so I will start there. The present. Or recent present.
A couple of weeks ago, Grandpa Norris (Steve's grandfather) went into the hospital unexpectedly. He is 81, in relatively good health and smarter than most people he interacts with. Seriously, the man is sharp as a knife. So sharp, he still consults for NASA. Boom. His complete diagnosis is still unclear; however, he has an inoperable tumor causing problems with his liver. And now, his kidneys are on strike refusing to function properly. There are other issues, but that is the short of it in layman's terms. Pray for him. He's been receiving excellent medical care from a hospital in Los Angeles not too far from where he lives. Also, Steve's aunt who is a doctor in Chicago flew out to monitor his care, offer her expertise and more importantly, her support and love. We are thankful for her. She's been the family MVP for lots of reasons namely communicating with the doctors then to the rest of the family keeping us all posted on Grandpa's condition. Rachel, you rock! At her recommendation, Steve booked flights to California for our family of three to visit Grandpa and encourage Grandma. For the sake of love, we went.
Before leaving, I solicited my mom friends for advice on flying with an infant. I received a lot of good tips and will share more on that in a later post. Sam was amazing, less cranky than myself most of the time. She made herself comfortable on our laps as if she was in first class.
Sound asleep
View of LA from our hotel room
Fortunately, we got to introduce Grandpa to Sam, his 5th great granddaughter, for the first time before he moved to the ICU where babies are not allowed. Although he was low on energy and not nearly as sharp-minded as usual, he was delighted to have Sam (and us) there. They shared a moment and even a kiss on the cheek. We stayed in LA for a few days and spent most of our time at the hospital checking in on Grandpa and hanging out with Grandma, Uncle Mark, Uncle Matt, and Aunt Rachel. Although we do not know when, how, or if Grandpa's health will improve, we have hope, and I, for one, am encouraged. I'm encouraged by how the Norris family has rallied, by the amount of prayer being offered on behalf of Grandpa and Grandma, by the chaplain who visited Grandpa while we were there (he told me that Sam was a ray of light), by the medical staff... so attentive and caring, by Grandma's faith in the thick of this trial. She & I had a sweet conversation in the waiting room during which we both proclaimed and clung to the truth of God's love for us in all circumstances. The scripture passage that came to mind was Romans 8:32, "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" This points us to the truth and promise that because God made the greatest sacrifice in giving up his Son for us, we can trust him through everything. He's given us what we need most of all, the forgiveness of sins, through Jesus Christ. In Christ, we have all we need to face the brokenness of this world in all its forms, big and small. Thanks be to God. Now, we continue to wait and trust that the Lord knows what he's doing.
Our trip was certainly a whirlwind, and I am left utterly exhausted and lost in time. What time is it now? But it was worth it especially for moments like these...
Also, totally random, our hotel was right next
to where the Grammys took place on Sunday night. The lobby was all a buzz as we
were leaving. We snapped a quick photo on the red carpet before heading back
east. Aren't we so stylish?
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