FIVE!

Five years ago, at 6:27 and 6:28 pm, the two bravest people I know came into the world fighting. Hours, if not minutes, from perishing from the infection that was ravaging him, Asher led the charge and took matters in his own hands, deciding "better out than in".  The start to their life was one giant challenge to overcome but somehow they always managed to. 

Jordan's first sighting of his sons was as they were wheeled past him from the OR to the NICU, not having been allowed at their birth. My first look at them was four hours later when I was wheeled into the NICU on a stretcher, only staring at them for a few brief seconds from the space between my bed and theirs. We wouldn't lay a hand on them for another day or hold them for weeks. While they scarcely resembled babies in any form we knew, we had two sons. 

While the day of their birth will never be remembered as a happy one, today is. These boys give us so much to celebrate. Over the course of the past five years I have felt every emotion possible but most notably awe. How these boys have survived through all they've been through, which such bravery and grace, still astounds me. They are obsessed with super heros but little do they know they are the real heros.

Asher and Nolan you bless us in ways you will never understand. You are a gift. You are happy, charming, brilliant, and a joy to behold. 

Happy birthday to our boys. You are so loved.