A Year of Miracles

Bassett Family 2014

If I had to choose one word to describe 2014 it would be EXHAUSTING. Bonkers, bananas, wild, painful, and insane also come to mind, but we will stick with exhausting. A few days after the new year started I got my regular 20 week ultrasound, and a puzzling, blurry little spot on that ultrasound kind of rocked our world. Now 2014 is coming to a close and we are ending with another surgery on our little Tess. This year has literally been non-stop. As I wrote out this Christmas card in my head though, I realized that, while on one hand this year has indeed been exhausting (both physically and emotionally), it has also been the most miraculous year of our lives. We've spent more time praying, more time appreciating, and more time counting our blessings than ever before.

* Tess Leone arrived on May 21, 2014. That blurry little spot on the ultrasound turned out to be a sacral dimple with a dermal sinus tract. After a roller coaster of hospital stays, ultrasounds, and an MRI it was determined that the tract (track? I never quite could tell what they were saying) was attached to her spine. Spinal surgery ensued. It was exhausting. I've never worried so much. After her MRI she would NOT wake up. At one point dozens of doctors were in the room flipping through books, shouting things, all while I sat in the corder watching the life slip out of my new baby. I've never prayed so hard. The Miracles- Tess WOKE UP from the sedation after her MRI, it took hours longer than it should have - but she woke up. The surgery was a success! Everything looks as though the lasting impact of this whole experience will be a gnarly scar and a heart overflowing with gratitude. 

*Blaine finished law school, took the patent bar, and the Texas state bar. In the midst of the hospital stays, while I sat in a corner anxiously biting my nails and eating Lorna Doone's, Blaine was studying diligently for the patent bar. Which he took in between Tess's MRI date and her surgery. I have no idea how he did that. All the finals, studying and tests were exhausting. The Miracles -  He passed! He passed them all, and with flying colors! The man is amazing. 

*A couple weeks after Tess's surgery, we took the family on a hike up at donut falls. Through a couple of misunderstandings, Gwen got separated from the group, and we couldn't find her for hours. It was getting dark. Search and rescue was called. The Miracles- we were meeting lots of family members and they arrived just as our panic set in. We had a dozen people scouring the mountain, multiplying our efforts. Among these great people was Blaine's brother Nick, who happens to be an elite runner. He ran and scoured more terrain than I could have covered in a month. Just as the police got to the scene and the sun sunk below the horizon we heard Nick holler that she was found!

*When Tess was three months old we packed up the family and moved to Texas. Several of the rental houses we were interested in fell through. It really seemed and felt like we were making the wrong choice to be moving to Texas at all.  The Miracles - We eventually found a great house, in a great neighborhood, with the perfect elementary school, and a great ward family. 

*We are in the process now of praying for another miracle as Tess is having surgery on her eyes next Tuesday. 

At the close of this exhausting year, we are so grateful. We are grateful for insurance. We are grateful for surgeons. Grateful for pain medication, and nurses and specialists. We are grateful for a paycheck, to have a roof over our heads. We are grateful for family (who dropped everything to take our kids during our hospital stays) and to help us move. Grateful for great friends who prayed on our behalf countless times, and stepped up to help in times of need. And we are so very grateful for "normal days". We didn't get too many of those this year, but I've never really been one to appreciate them before. I am incredibly grateful for all the days that come and go. Ordinary days are the best kind of days. 

We are so grateful for the miracles in our lives. We are grateful for  our Savior. We really learned this year to rely on our faith and in the Lord. We look forward to celebrating his birth and wish you the Merriest of Christmases! 

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