Clara

We have lived next door to our friends, the Handshoes, for over 5 years now.  They were some of our very first friends in Indiana.  Jenny and I were very excited to find out we were pregnant together, and even more excited when we found out we were both having baby girls.  Clara was born 5 weeks after Madeline.  They go to the same babysitter, play in the church nursery, and hang out because that's what neighbors do.  Maddie really likes Clara's Elmo couch as seen here.

This summer we were devastated when we found out that Clara had a cancerous brain tumor.  Devastated really doesn't begin to cover it.  Picture me, person who never cries, completely sobbing in the middle of a hospital lobby.  And at work.  And in the car.  And climbing into Madeline's crib every night for weeks just so I could hold her a little longer.  I just couldn't quite get my head wrapped around the idea that this sweet, little girl that I've babysat for and is so much like my daughter, had a brain tumor.  It hit a little too close to home.  Of the things that have literally brought me to my knees in prayer, this is at the top of the list.     

One of the scariest nights of my life was the night I sat at Riley Children's hospital, hanging out with the Handshoes and trying to be of some service.  Every hour the nurse came out with an update.  Hours and hours of surgery.  But the awesome thing was to see how much peace we all had knowing that God was in control of the situation.  Had we not been there under those circumstances, it would have been a pretty good night hanging out with friends. 

Fortunately the surgery went amazing, as have the treatments in the months that followed.  We are all so thankful that Clara and the whole Handshoe family have pulled through this like troopers.  It is incredible to watch the church pull together like the family it's meant to be and to support one another.  Thank you for all our friends in Ohio who prayed for what was happening.  Our prayers have been answered in so many ways. 

Tomorrow we're going to the End of Radiation Celebration!

We're going to celebrate this amazing little girl and thank the God of peace, hope, and unfathomable love.