For most of 2009

For most of 2009, except for 6 days he was at home with us, Daddy has been in the hospital. When he entered on January 5th, Gracie and Luke turned 16 months old. This Sunday, they will be 19 months old.

Taking toddlers to visit him in the hospital was problematic in the beginning, but he has fought for private rooms and lately, we have been able to see him more often. Daddy lives for the days when Gracie and Luke come to visit. He will talk with me about how he keeps going: picturing them run around his room, playing. I try to bring toys for them to play with to keep them occupied, but most often, they like to see how many latex gloves they can pull out of the box on the wall or how many sugar free candies they can steal from Daddy's tray.

We visited Daddy yesterday and I took some pictures of Gracie and Luke with Daddy. When I sat down to look at them, I started to cry. He has lost so much weight and his eyes have a hollow look to them.

This picture was taken on January 8th.


These pictures were taken yesterday.




We stayed about 45 minutes. Gracie and Luke had a snack.



And then, all too soon, it was time for us to leave. The balloons we bought for Daddy didn't stay in his room, although one binky tried to. Instead, they came home with us. Somehow, Gracie and Luke held onto their balloons, even when they passed out in the car before we made it out of the parking structure.


Dear Daddy, we want you to get better enough to come home with us. We promise to take good care of you and help you get your strength back. Don't give up on us! We love you!