I know so many continue to pray intently for our little party of five. There's always a hopefulness in each note and text that we are "okay" and finding our way in this our new normal. The holidays were certainly different this year. 

There is grace in that God's timing has allowed us to go headfirst into this season. We enjoyed some quiet Christmas traditions and let others slide. We opened gifts in the basement instead of the living room, ate soup and left the honey ham in the fridge, didn't bother matching pajamas or staging photo ops. Still, it was a time of smiles and laughter and rest.

This week I was able to replace a few rugs around the house. A close-up of the distressed pattern caught me a bit off guard: a hidden smile, a happy coincidence Char and I would frequently point out to the children and they to us.

He was certainly an eternal optimist and natural encourager, traits I'll attempt to adopt this year among other things.

Again, thank you for your prayers and cards and texts and gifts. There really are no words to express my overwhelming gratitude to everyone who has circled around us far and near and lift us in fervent prayer. It has made all the difference.