Walk for Babies 2012

We've decided to make it a tradition to do the March of Dimes Walk for Babies each year.  It is for such a good cause.  March of Dimes does research to help prevent babies from being born prematurely and to help those who are born too early to survive.  We are so grateful for the advances in medicine over the years that helped the Neonatologists to care for Owen and send him home with us.

I have to admit, I cried several times today during the walk.  There are so many families wearing T-shirts with photos of babies that looked just like O did laying in the isolette in the NICU.  Their outcomes were so much different though....the shirts listed birth and death dates just a few days or months apart.  The team we were on was one of these families.  They lost their little Lily while she was still in the NICU.  It was an honor to be one of the 130+ people walking with her parents in her memory.

Other times, I cried because I saw a healthy 4 or 5 year old proudly standing next to a banner that displayed their photos from birth to now.  (The race has signs posted all along the 3.2 miles showing babies that have been touched by March of Dimes.) 

It is days like this that my heart just swells with gratitude for the gift we received in Owen.  As everyday life happens, I sometimes forget what could have been, but events like today really ground me and remind me how precious life is.  Owen's outcome could have gone either way and thank God for miracles!

CHEESE!

 Elmo even Marched for Babies!

 The highlight of Owen's weekend - he got ride on a school bus!!!

 It was so exciting that he crashed almost immediately when we got to the car