Cayman's Social Weekend

Cayman was building her social life over the weekend. It was a fun, active weekend for us. We were able to have a weekend like this because Mike did not work Saturday night. He had to work Wednesday night instead.

Saturday May 17, 2008

Mike's immediate family met at their favorite restaurant for supper. It was fun taking Cayman here for her first time. I remember we were all together at this same restaurant when we told Mike's family that we were pregnant.

After supper we went to the church where Mike's brother and sister-in-law attend. There was a special service featuring the Hughes family. They were on the Extreme Makeover Home Edition show this past February. You can catch the full episode here. This family's story is truly inspiring. Their oldest son, Patrick Henry (now 19 years old) was born with multiple anomalies. He is blind and does not have the ability to extend his arms or legs. But none of this has stopped him from becoming an amazing musician. His words are "God made me blind and unable to walk, big deal...I'm not disabled. I'm very much enabled." He had an interesting perspective on blindness. He sees it as a blessing. His thoughts were "People that have sight have to get over the hurdle of judging others by their appearance. I don't have that struggle. I get to see people for who they truly are." A question was directed towards the dad. It was asked "What has it been like sacrificing yourself for Patrick Henry?" I was so deeply touched by this dad's response. He said, "I don't see where I have sacrificed myself at all. I'm just being a dad. I took a job working nights to be home with my family and that has been a blessing, not a sacrifice."

Cayman slept through the whole service. The music was really loud too. At home things are mostly quiet so we weren't certain how she would handle it. The noise put her to sleep. She would wake up whenever it got quiet.

Sunday May 18, 2008

We finally made it to our Sunday morning church!! As soon as we entered the doors, it was beautiful the multitude of love that Cayman received! So many were so excited to finally meet her. Our pastor called us up front. Daddy was put on the spot of recalling all the baby facts: birth, weight, length, etc :o). And of course he had to sneak in his bit about the football rivalry. He said, "Cayman was born at U of M hospital. They have a much better hospital than they do football team."

When we finally made it to the van after the service, I started laughing and crying. I think Mike was questioning my sanity when he asked what I was thinking about. I told him, "Do you remember, before Cayman was born, I feared that she would be ignored and unaccepted because she was born different? Wow, today sure puts that fear to silence!"

Our church family has been absolutely wonderful to us. They have supported us with prayers, gifts, food, money, cards, etc. A lot of this feels less scary knowing we are not alone.