I stood over the stove preparing dinner for my crew this evening, in the middle of a so-very-messy house, still in my pajamas from last night (which also means unshowered and bare-faced), and I thought my heart just might explode with joy.

There is astonishing beauty in normalcy.

The sound of the washer means our clothes are being cleaned and we aren’t living out of suitcases.

The smell of that chicken baking means a home cooked meal tonight, together as a family.

That cartoon blaring in the background is a result of a blissfully lazy day at home, allowing my little bit to rest and recuperate in peace.

And those girls giggling together at the kitchen table over games and art… the most precious sound in the world. Love and togetherness.

If you haven’t yet heard, Harper’s surgery went amazingly well. She just had to stay the one night at Duke, and now we get to complete the recovery process at home. She had a few quirky little things pop up (a little fever, some low blood pressure, some weird drainage, some vomiting), but she has pushed right on through- and hasn’t had any seizure activity!

We will be quarantined the next week or two as she recuperates- we want to minimize stress on her body, encourage lots of rest, and avoid any germ exposure to keep her strong and healthy and seizure-free. If I’m slow on responding to messages, I apologize in advance- we are doing round-the-clock nursing care right now, which means getting up every three hours, plus she’s a bit more demanding at the moment, so our schedules are pretty wacky this week.

We are so grateful for all of your prayers and encouragement- we were feeling pretty anxious, but once again, God superseded our expectations! We are blessed to have all of you on Harper’s “team,” and blessed by these beautiful, normal moments together ❤️