Brothers...

 Brothers. They fight. They tease. They taunt. They roughhouse. They get wild...really wild.  I wonder if they will ever understand that they have something so special...a friend for life.  I wonder if they are learning anything about getting along..about what it means to see the loyalty, the love that each has for one other...brotherly love that looks like something so different when I see their relationship at times.

And then, in the quiet moments, I see the tenderness they have for each other. And in the noisy moments--the rambunctious ones...I see the "we are stronger together than we are apart" attitude...it's the language of  the bond they share.  I see the laughter.... the connection they have...one that has to do with a secret world they have shared growing up alongside each other...

In moments like today, I don't wonder as much if they have learned the lessons I so want to them to learn...because I have seen the lessons lived out between them. In between the struggles, I see compassion, I see love and I see friendship between brothers. And for this glimpse of hope,  I am so grateful.

Not much change..

Not much change with Elijah today. His heart rate is still high but his temp has not increased. He is tired and doesn't want to talk because his mouth is bothering him. His nose is still bleeding. His response to the surgical procedures reminds me of how fragile a body is after a bone marrow transplant. During work up week,  he had most of the same procedures that he had on Friday.
He recovered quickly even with all of the challenges he began this journey with.

He is weak. He doesn't have a lot of reserves to be able to "bounce back" from over three hours of anesthesia as well as the procedures.

I am reminded today that life is so fragile. Elijah is being held up by the grace of God..

God's grace has been poured upon us in such great abundance. His grace is sufficient...