Nicholas & Tabitha: A Modern Day Good Samaritan

Most people know the parable of the Good Samaritan.... A man lay on the road side, battered a bruised, strangers passed by but none would help. One humble man stopped, and in that moment changed not only the life of a helpless man, but all who heard the story and learned from his example.

The past month has been a month of challenges and joys. It has been a month where I learned what it truly means to be a Good Samaritan.... This is Beckham, our full of life 2 year old nephew. He was born with undeveloped kidneys. In other words they weren't really doing there job. His parents were told when he was born that Beckham would need a kidney transplant. They waited 2 long years full of doctor visits hospital stays and weekly test, but on Sept 11, 2013 Beckham received a kidney transplant. After waiting for this day his whole life, he was finally going to receive the gift that would forever change his life. Beckham was part of a very unique kidney exchange. Ari (Beck's dad) wanted to donate but he was not a match, so they got to be part of this great kidney exchange. Beckham received his kidney from a woman who wanted to donate to her friend but was not a match. This woman's friend received a kidney from a man who had no ties to any of the recipients. He is the modern day Good Samaritan. He wanted to do something good in the world, his desire for good and willingness to help a stranger gave Beckham and 2 other people a chance at life. We will be eternally grateful for this man and his kindness. Beckham and Ari are both recovering well. I have been touched at what a parent will go through to save the life of their child. Ari never one hesitated about donating, and Hayley stood right there beside him. They spent weeks in the hospital sleepless nights on a hospital couch and never once complained. While they were in the hospital Nick and I got the privilege to take care of the other 2 boys. What great boys they are, they had to be passed around to different houses and people and never once did they complain. I have to admit I miss hanging out with them, as challenging as it was at times, it was so much fun a rewarding to be able to help them out. They were a lot of fun to have around. We are so glad that everyone is home and doing well. Beckham is a whole new kid, I thought he loved life before, but now he is loving life as a healthy boy!

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=26898205 This is the link to the news story, such and amazing group of people that have come together to change and save lives.

Aj and Andrea

Mom and Dad at the wedding

In Other News... September also brought the wedding of Aj and Andrea. It was a beautiful wedding and we are excited to add another member to the family.

Some of the best news we got in the past month is Nick had a position change at work. He is now the inventory analyst, which means he works a day shift! This is the first time in the 3 years we've known each other that he has been on a day shift, we couldn't be more thrilled. We are finally starting to see what normal feels like! He still has school at night but it is not nearly hard since his classes have him home by 9. Things are really starting to go well for us, we feel like we are in a good place. We are still just in the "waiting place" when it comes to adoption. We know that our babies are out there and we will find them when the time is right. Until then we just have to do all we can to be prepared for when we find them. We continue to put our profile out there. We are so grateful to all of you who share it and help us spread that word. We know we can't do this alone that has been the lesson we have been learning with starting our family. This long process is designed for others to be involved and we just want to thank all of you who have been involved and who will be. Nothing means more to us then having our own family and we can't wait for that day! Until then we are grateful that we get the job of being Aunt Tabi and Uncle Nick. We love every minute we get to spend with our nieces and nephews and we cherish those times.

Baby Gwen had her blessing day

Just a few more things that happened that last few months. Baby Gwen had her blessing day. She was so pretty, it was a really nice day. She is so loved by her family. Her big brother and sister take the best care of her!

We were able to live one of Nick's life long dreams. We went to see Alan Jackson in concert. It was actually a lot of fun. We had seats on the lawn so we just got to go enjoy the show. I love doing things like this with Nick, I love the memories we get to make.