Often when I’m in Nawal’s room, I am reminded of all the love and support that surrounds us.  Nawal’s first year of life was incredibly challenging.  She spent the first four months of her life in the hospital and for weeks at a time after that, due to respiratory illnesses.  Our girl has come a long way since those days and continues to thrive.

My pregnancy was very tough on the entire family.  I was sick all the time and James rushed me to the hospital 4 times due to pre-term labor.  As you can imagine, we didn’t have much time to prepare for a new baby.  We had a completely blank room that needed to be transformed into a nursery.  My cousin, Shawn, put up the wainscoting and I purchased the shelves and decorations that we were to hang on the walls.  Before any further work could be done, Nawal was born.  Our baby girl was rushed to Children’s and much of my time was either in her hospital room or at home with Noah.  James was in the same boat – at the hospital, at work, or home with Noah.  Luckily, we had our parents contributing as much time as they could to give us a hand.  My father-in-law painted the nursery and hung up the shelves and decorations, and James moved Noah’s old baby furniture in.  When Nawal was finally home, she was able to sleep in her own crib, away from all of the hospital noise, thanks to them.  A few months later, I found some time to create final pieces to add to her room.

This room reminds me of the toughest year of our lives.   It also reminds me of the family, friends, medical team, and even strangers that reached out to us and prayed for our daughter to become the healthy girl that she is today.  The outpouring of love truly helped us overcome some very trying moments.  We’re forever thankful.

Photos by Leslie Larson Photography