Blessed Beyond Measure

"Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful!" Song of Solomon 4:1

"Be strong, be brave, be fearless. You are never alone." Joshua 1:9

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young. Instead, set an example for the believers through your speech, behavior, love, and faith." 1Timothy 4:12

The past two weeks have been extremely busy, but I feel extremely blessed beyond measure. The bible verses above are for our two youngest daughters. They are the reason we have been so busy these past couple of weeks. I think about how things would have been these past weeks if Mark was still in his active drinking phase. I am sure there would have been fights and a lot of unnecessary words exchanged. But guess what? I don't need to think about that because Mark has been sober for 400 days! Congratulations to Mark! The stress that these past weeks could have been so great, but we sailed through them. All our hard work is paying off and this is the reason we are serene (most of the time 😉).

On May 1, 2022, Kalli was confirmed in faith at our church. We are so proud of her! Kalli has a tough time learning things and needs a lot of repetition. Memorization is very tough for her and anyone that has been through confirmation knows that there is a lot of memorization that goes with it. She did it and we are amazed every day at her hard work. Things never have come easy for Kalli, but when she wants something, she works hard to achieve it. Mark and I often reflect on our first couple of years with Kalli. She was so fragile medically. We remember the doctor telling us that he discovered that she had a paralyzed vocal cord and unfortunately, she would probably only have a whisper for a voice. I remember the look of despair on his face as he told us this. Then I replied, "Kalli will be just fine. We are a loud family, and she will find her voice if she wants to be heard." Well, Kalli found her voice and it is much more than a whisper. "Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful!" Song of Solomon 4:1. This is the verse Kalli chose as her confirmation verse. I think it is very fitting. Congratulations on this milestone Kalli!

On May 7, 2022, Bailee graduated from the University of Jamestown with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. Mark and I got to pin her at her nursing pinning ceremony. Bailee is another miracle story. I know I told Bailee's story before, but I will touch base on it again. Bailee was born at 26 weeks. She weighed 1 lb. 14 oz. The day she was born, the doctors told us that she likely may not live and if she did, she would probably have a plethora of problems. They told us to pray as the rest was up to Bailee and God. She sailed through her NICU stay with little complications. At 24 hours old, she underwent heart surgery (PDA ligation to close her PFO). With this heart surgery, she had a chest tube inserted. The only complication was that they tried to remove the chest tube a day later and it was too soon, so that had to re-insert it. After a couple more days, the chest tube was removed and no further complications. Yes, she was on a ventilator for a while, but always on low settings as she was breathing above it. They would have removed it sooner, but they wanted her to reach two pounds. She had an initial scan of her brain that indicated a small bleed, which is very common in premature babies. A later scan confirmed it had resolved completely and the doctors were in awe. They still told us to be guarded, there could be so many problems that we may not know about until she gets older. They told us she would probably have trouble in school and would most likely be delayed. I think Bailee laughed in their face as an infant because by the real age of 8 months (5 months corrected age), she had completely caught up to where she should be. Her neonatologist called her a true miracle and said he had never seen someone as premature as Bailee thrive like she did. We all know it was God. He works miracles every day and Bailee is proof of this.

Fast forward to school. Bailee had to study to get her grades, but she did not need extra help. She worked very hard, and she excelled in school. She participated in a lot of activities in school and in church. When Bailee graduated high school, she was awarded several area scholarships. One of the scholarships she was awarded, paid for all her tuition, room, and board! Yes, you heard that right. Bailee had her four-year college completely paid for. She graduated from the University of Jamestown with a four-year degree and completely debt free! If I could have looked into a crystal ball 23 years ago and imagined how Bailee would be at this age, she definitely surpassed everyone's expectations! Bailee Nicole, we are beyond proud of you!

Bailee worked as a CNA off and on during college. She saved her money and then used it for travel. Bailee spent her summers and spring breaks seeing the country, literally. Over the past four years, Bailee has traveled to Punta Cana, Mexico, Jamaica, Alaska, Nashville, California, Florida, Las Vegas, Oklahoma, Duluth, and so many trips to Minneapolis and Detroit Lakes. This girl loves to travel like her mama and Grandpa. She has seen places that I haven't even seen. Nothing will stop her from doing what she sets her mind to. Her determination and drive are what has gotten her so far and we are so proud. Bailee accepted a RN position at the Intermediate Care Unit at May Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Her boyfriend Tristan will be moving with her across country. They will be moving the end of June and Bailee starts her position July 5, 2022. Bailee's love for life, love for people, drive, and determination will take her far. We have no doubt that she will do great things and we cannot wait to watch her grow in her career. Tristan and Bailee (and hopefully two other recruits) will be driving a U-Haul and Mark and I will be flying down to help them move into their new place (yet to be determined). We spent a few days moving their things into a storage unit and some to our house as Bailee and Tristan are now living with us until they move.

These past two weeks we have been blessed beyond measure. We have felt God's presence and we are so grateful. Our house is a mess right now, but it is so full of love that we wouldn't want it any other way. There have been trials and life changing events these past couple of weeks, but because we vowed to make changes in our lives, we sailed through these weeks with ease, taking in all the love and joy that we could. We moved Tristan out of his apartment and Bailee out of hers. We did this with a lot of teamwork, and no fighting (well maybe a few crabby moments). The serenity that both Mark and I feel is amazing and miraculous. God is good.