Amanda and the Hendersons

It was early.... The sun had not yet come up..... Still..... no one argued with the alarm clock, the boys scurried about..... We all dressed quickly, grabbed a muffin and some coffee in the lobby, and loaded the airport shuttle. just a blurry capture on the shuttle.... The boy's excitement was already pretty high..... smiling as they sat in the back of the shuttle....stuffing muffins in their mouths, whispering to each other about not having to wear a seat belt. Three of the five people in our family had never flown. The children. One of us has flown a hundred times.... Their father. The last of us hates flying and rates it close to the top of her fears list.... Me...... I worked on burying my anxiety so the kids would relax..... The five of us made our way through the airport jungle.... It was mostly quiet....early and a Tuesday. Phinlynn bounced around in the pack on her daddy's back..... her tired eyes darted about taking in the scene. The ...

One day......Parklen made a wish. It was a wish fueled by stories from his Nana of the time she had spent in Hawaii.... from visions of dolphins on movies..... of the knowledge that his mom and dad had swam with dolphins on their honeymoon...... I wish to swim with (kiss) dolphins in Hawaii........ Once he made the wish the ball began to roll....there is something to be said about those people whose job is to help make children's wishes come true.....they work hard. The trip was set. Our tickets bought.... But the thing about sickness is...... it doesn't care about your plans. When the time came.... it was a fight between a trip and sickness... The sickness won. Parklen didn't get his trip. He was just too sick. But, time passed and wounds began to heal. and, as if there was never a delay.....we packed our bags. Parklen held tight to his hopes during 19 months that went by......the time between making his wish and when his wish came true..... He ...

  Once upon a time there was a baby boy..... One day he left the warmth of his mother's womb and was born into this sometimes cold and often harsh world..... It was a day to be remembered....a day to celebrate... He was born. Plummeted into the arms of his eager mother..... the second son, a brother...... He had been prayed for, hoped for.... longed for..... He was a gift.... a blessing..... As his mother looked down upon his tiny face, she saw nothing but beauty and love..... for she had never imagined her heart had been large enough to love two children completely.... but in that moment, she had no doubt..... She touched his tiny cheek and daydreamed of his life to come..... the future sound of his voice, the curve of his smile, the giggles she would someday hear...... She filled up further with joy as her first born son rushed in to meet his new brother.....not quite two years old but already filling the role quite nicely.....