The Kring-a-lings: Overwhelmed

I am overwhelmed.

I know that it is technology that let us see Julianne and David weekly, hear their hearts beat twice daily - to get to know them intimately before we got to hold them and watch their little hearts beat in their chests. I know that it is the same research that helped me hold Veronica and Thomas longer in my womb - long enough to help them be born at a healthy stage. I know I can also thank the March of Dimes for aiding in the education of the doctors that helped care for all three of my mothers children and for my husband. I also know that none of this would be remotely possible without God's gentle hand guiding in all these developments.

This is the fourth consecutive year our family team Touched By Angels has walked in the March of Dimes' March for Babies. The first year was after Julianne and David were born. I was very weak from the bed rest, but I worked to be able to walk the 5 miles - and we did it in the rain. Many of the people who walked with us this year were there along with many of my friend Deanna's youth ministry teens.

The second year was quiet as I didn't know if I'd be able to do the walk after much more bed rest and trying to nurse our new twins. Mom and Dad went with me and Veronica and Thomas as Judson had to work (always falls during Session). We cut the walk short and surprised Judson at the State House so I could rest.

The third year we picked things up, and I even made posters to promote it and wore team t-shirts. Our team was good-sized and the weather was beautiful.

This year, it was a beautiful day for the walk. Very warm for April (low 80s), but bearable thanks to a nice breeze. I think this is the first year that most of the team walked close enough to each other that I was able to hop around and talk to a lot of our team members. There was a great picnic afterward with music and a bouncy house. There was even a guy with animals for the kids to pet (bunny, beetle, alligator, python...).

I was afraid that this year the novelty of our team would be wearing off. I'm always shy about promoting it. I'm not sure how I would get the word out without hiding behind email! However, I was reminded that our team wasn't novel. Our team is our family, and our family is loved. We were strong with 25 walkers (some in strollers) in Indianapolis. We even had people signing onto our team, but walking in different states. New friends, family,old friends, and even people who heard our story through friends - all showing how much they support and love the whole of our family - however different it may be from the normal "unit."

I'm crying right now... so overwhelmed with the love that is shown by those we love, and those that love us. Many of these people have been affected by prematurity in their own immediate families, so it is that much more important for them to walk. What makes it extra-special to me is that they make the effort to come to a walk closer to us - to walk with us - for our story, our family, our children, all four.

I recognize many of the names of the donors on their lists and ours. People who have gladly given because they know how important it is for these people to walk with us, why they walk with us. They show their support through their donations and know that the money will be put to good use. They know that another family will reap the benefits we have from the knowledge gained from research, from the new technology - and more as new ideas and facts are found each day. We give back because of how this organization has impacted us and how we hope it will impact others in the future. I am overwhelmed.

I am overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with love for the angels I long to hold. Overwhelmed with love for the miracles I hold daily. Overwhelmed by the love that these incredible people so freely share with me. Overwhelmed that God would love me so much to put all these people in my life - no matter how briefly.

I am overwhelmed.

Kiddie row: Hannah, Emily, Robert, Judson, Thomas, Veronica, Annie