What a difference four years can make

Yesterday was Alex's birthday. He would have been four years old, had life been different. Our lives are so different now, more so than I ever thought possible. We didn't have much time to even reflect on life since having him, but as I watched the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, I remembered watching and Olympic game of soccer in the hospital. And then I remembered the strange medications they gave me to help me sleep, which made me dream of kangaroos playing soccer and honeycomb cereal. But I digress...

Most people know that after we had Alex, we attended a grief counseling group run through Florida Hospital called HEAL. It's an amazing support, and we were so blessed to meet so many wonderful people through the group. In particular, we still stay in close touch with the Brantley's and the Dullmeyer's. I wish I could find the one picture we all have of just the three couples just for comparison, but I don't. So you'll have to imagine us, three couples, brought together by the mutual losses of our children, Alex, EJ, and Julie, learning how to live again, how to be happy and how to go on. We spent a lot of time that first year with them, and we grew into great friends. Ones that some people look a lifetime to find.

And now our lives have gone from three couples mourning the loss of our children, to three couples with six children! Life is surely different. And one of the things that is so neat about our little group is that from the oldest-Josiah, to the youngest-Adelyne, there's only 20 months difference. Our group managed to give birth and/or adopt 6 children in just over a year's time. Crazy! You can't see it in this picture, but Laurie and Ed have baby number 7 on the way.

(L - R) Dan, Nicholas, Shannon & Matthew MacDonald, Scooter, Adelyne, Cathy & Colton Brantley and Jesse, Ed, Laurie, (baby) & Josiah Dullmeyer