Angels Among Us

There really aren't words to use that can describe the feelings of honor and humility I have as I post these pictures and think about the blessing of holding these beautiful babies in our arms.  Jeff and Carly have been dear friends of ours since undergrad at BYU.  Jeff and Kent served their missions in Guatemala together and stayed in contact when they got home.  Our lives have paralleled each other more than we would ever have thought they would.  We were fun friends as young childless couples at BYU and then we both started having children and moved on to dental school. We went to Florida and they went to North Carolina.  After dental school we moved up to Sunnyside and they went on to Orthodontic specialty at University of Washington in Seattle. Whenever they drove from Seattle to Utah they would stop in and let the kids play for awhile and then get back in the car on their way.  Months before I got pregnant with my third child, Cannon, they got pregnant with their third child, Samantha.  We both gave birth to beautiful special babies and since have learned many things about ourselves such as; what it means to be told your worst nightmare is now your reality, how to function in life with close to no sleep, feeding tubes, oxygen machines, hospital visits, endless appointments at Seattle Children's hospital and even a trip to the NIH.  Above all we have learned the miraculous blessing of having an angel in our home.  We have witnessed the beauty of our older children looking beyond the physical limitations and seeing the significants of a little smile or the lifting of their arms.  Kent and I were so happy when we heard they were coming through for a visit, since it has been over two years since we saw them last. Samantha has a rare condition call Joubert's Syndrome. Not only that but it is coupled with another extremely rare disease.  There are only 3 other cases like Samantha. She is writing her own history and let me tell you- she is amazing!!!