11/3/08 - Night Before Surgery

Grandma stopped in for some love'n

Kayleigh with Brittany (Her favorite stuffed animal isn't so big anymore)

First of all, if you didn't read the other posts, we posted two other times today so you can catch up on those before this one.

Aimee is such a sweetheart for posting such a nice post. I had just got back from dropping our dogs off at my parents house and there was a note on my computer to check the blog. I thought maybe she was going to surprise me and tell me we won the lottery, but I quickly remembered that we don't buy tickets and anyways, seeing her post and speaking such nice things about me delivered more of a heartwarming emotion that any lottery could ever fulfill. I truly have the best wife in the world.

We really enjoyed the time we spent with Kayleigh tonight, even though we were fighting back the nerves, anxiety and craziness of the surgery that is going to take place in the morning. It was so perfect because when you hold that precious little girl in your arms, a feeling of peace overcomes your body and you have no worries in the world as you soak up every second of that moment. Although, my Mom said it so perfect tonight, it is very tough to see Kayleigh so content and peaceful, just knowing she is going to be put through hell again tomorrow and for many days to come while trying to recover. It is almost cruel, but we can only trust in God that He knows exactly what He is doing with our little girl. People see us day in and day out and wonder how we can handle this situation with such strength and grace. Well, first of all we hide it very well and second of all, God is the reason. We have complete trust in Him that whatever happens, Kayleigh will be a perfect angel. An angel of ours or an angel of His. Her purpose will be so amazing, that the heavens will sing with a standing ovation whenever it is her time. We can only be selfish and pray that her purpose is not yet complete and we get to enjoy her for many many years to come. We seldom forget that our purpose, in our very short time here on earth, is to prepare for eternity in heaven.

Tonight was a well needed bonding night with Kayleigh. Aimee and I were able to both feed her at two separate cares and Kayleigh was just so peaceful and relaxed the whole entire time. Almost too relaxed- HA! There is never a dull moment where a "Freeman" won't make light of a scary/crazy situation to relieve all the tension in the room. Check this out...

The mood was almost perfect, like a well scripted scene from a movie. The lights were dim throughout the NICU, but a spot light seemed to shine down on Kayleigh as we had just finished giving Kayleigh her first bath. As she was laying under her warmer, Aimee was massaging Kayleigh and putting her in a deep trance of relaxation. You can see Kayleigh fighting back sleep as she didn't want to miss a second of Mommy's presence. Kayleigh would lay motionless, she would stop sucking on her paci and her eyes would slowly close. Then quickly, her eyes would open up and her paci would start bouncing back and forth again. This continued several times until all of a sudden, Kayleigh started to concentrate, as if she was trying to figure something out for the very first time. While that blank stare is frozen on her face, her paci falls out of her mouth and as Aimee went to put it back in, Kayleigh explodes!!! I am talking a raunchy, stinky blowout that everyone in the NICU could hear. And, you know what the funny part is? I caught it on film. Enjoy....

Never forget that no matter how rough or tough a situation is, a smile or a laugh can go a long way and make you feel SO much better. Thank you Kayleigh for making us laugh while we are so very scared. We hope you recover quick so you can make us laugh for a very long time. We love you so much beautiful!

God Bless,

Mommy and Daddy :)