The Good Samaritan

I teach Gospel Doctrine Class in Sunday school (sorry to those of you who attend- ha!) and one of the recent lessons was regarding the parable of the Good Samaritan found in Luke chapter 10. For reasons unknown, that story has been buzzing around inside my brain. A lot. So it must be important. And I needs learn something from it, obviously, or it wouldn't be hounding me.

We know the story; a man had been beaten, robbed and left for dead alongside the road. Both a Priest and a Levite passed him by, neither offering aid. A Samaritan came along and assisted the man, paid for his lodging, food and care. They were strangers. There was no obligation yet the Samaritan had compassion upon the man; he demonstrated love for his neighbor.

I've often thought about the "Samaritans" in my life and how I can be more servant-like. It's not an easy task! Seriously, especially for a personality like mine who's not wired to think 'servant-like'. If you can relate you'll understand what I mean. It's not that I don't want to serve it's that oddly enough, it doesn't occur to me half the time. Weird, right? Lucky for me, I've got the perfect match.....  


There is one 'Samaritan' who stands above; and blessed me- I live with him! In class you'll often hear me speak about Ryan and what an awesome person he is. Not just because he's my husband, but because of who he is. He is one of those true servants- he loves to serve. If he sees a need and can fill that need, he does. I watch that attitude demonstrated over and over with Ayla and with perfect strangers.

It's quite humbling, really.

He takes such excellent care with Ayla I never worry. In truth, I think Ayla is the one who worries when she and I are left alone!  

Love this picture- one of the first times we were allowed to hold Ayla and she has always since preferred her dad's warm, hairy chest over mine (not that my chest is hairy- that would be gross). Go figure. She's been 'daddy's shadow' ever since and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Ryan is the same regarding strangers; always smiling and ready to help. To Ryan, there is no such thing as a 'stranger', we're all neighbors. Not that he lives in 'Disneyland', he's smart and a good judge of character. People like him. Rightfully so, he's a likeable guy. He's always doing something for somebody somewhere- he's a tricky one to catch home.

So what's the point to this post?

Nothing really.... only to give a shout-out to Ryan and what a cool guy he is. I don't believe he realizes just how much he's appreciated (though I do tell him all the time). And on that note; hey Ryan, it's your turn to get up with Ayla tonight!

Cheers!   

PBR

It's awesome when we can escape on a date as being under "Ayla quarantine" places a hamper on the social scene. Not that we could claim much social interaction prior but....

The PBR/Professional Bull Riding circuit came through Nampa and the dairy-farmer-ranch-girl inside me wanted to see the show. 

Mostly, it's the fascination of watching other people (wow- and let's just say there are some pretty strange rednecks out there)  but I also enjoy watching those crazy/brave cowboys climb atop a 2k pound bull and attempt to hang on for 8 seconds. Can you imagine drawing the name of a bull named Gangsta, Bushwacker, Hammer or (my favorite) Smack Down?      

Opening night- these were taken via cell phone but they light the ring on fire and introduce the cowboys.
We had the cheap seats so the view wasn't great but not bad, either!

The guy riding this bull (if you can see it) is from Caldwell- a hometown professional! and yes, the crowd went wild when he was introduced. 

Meet 'Smack Down'...he has an 87% success ratio:

Thanks but no thanks- seriously could not pay me enough to ride one of those beasties!

 Ayla is such a hambone! Whenever she sees us getting ready to leave she becomes clingy and begins acting cute so as to tempt us into staying...such a charmer!

We enjoy those coveted dates and look forward to spending time together as a couple. I am seriously one lucky chick- I get an awesome husband AND stellar dad for Ayla!

Micro-Preemies and Bereavement

We were going through Zoey and Ayla's boxes the other day- recalling how incredibly small and fragile they were and remembering how that 5 month hospital stay, only a year and a half ago, feels like it was only yesterday....yet seems long ago. 

Zoey at 10 days old holding Ryan's finger

We're contemplating building a mini-wooden cedar chest for Zoey's memorabilia. Shifting through her things; the cards, diapers, blankets, hospital gear, blood pressure cuffs, hair bows, hand prints and other miscellaneous items from her short 24 day stay is healing and bittersweet. So tiny- it's impossible to imagine unless you've actually seen and even then, you forget how incredibly fragile and small they were.

The term 'micro-preemie' is just that- micro small. 

Sweet Zoey- 8 days old and 1 day after heart surgery

Can you imagine performing heart surgery on a baby less than 2 pounds and medically extremely fragile? Wow.

We were asked to share our story with a bereavement group in May and have been pondering on what we should share. The group specifically wants us to speak about multiples and how hard it is when parents lose one baby and still have to come back to NICU for the other. It's not easy and we recall a sense of sadness and loss when we walked into the room Zoey's incubator was no longer there....

Ryan comforting Zoey- 10 days old.

However, the real journey begins once arriving home and the shock of the NICU passes. One woman accurately described, "People think, 'Oh, the baby is small, it's a miracle it survived and now they take the baby home and that's it, everything's fine.' But it isn't fine. The real story, especially with extremely premature babies, is that it doesn't end with release from the hospital. That's when it begins."

Well said.

If you are interested in the article,
You can read it here.

In the meantime, still thinking on what we should share. If we were going to be speaking to you- what would you like to hear?

Sitting next to Zoey