For the 16th year, we trekked down to Charleston to take Annabelle Baskets to the heart babies at MUSC in the Pediatric Cardiology ICU. What a kind God to allow this to continue! People donated and filled these baskets in the most generous of ways.
š¤At first glance, this might look like just another family photo we’ve taken every year for 16 years with our Annabelle Baskets. You probably notice the man in the white jacket to the left of us, too. But what you don’t see is the story behind it…
Seventeen years ago, our lives changed. The daughter I was carrying was diagnosed in utero with half a heart. A referral led us to a local pediatric cardiologist, where two options for survival were presented. A third option—termination—was mentioned, but it wasn’t an option we could consider.
We prayed and decided to seek more answers. That journey led us to Charleston, to the only hospital in South Carolina equipped to operate on tiny hearts. There, we met a doctor who would change everything.
After confirming her diagnosis, I pulled out a list of questions. By the third one, he gently interrupted, saying, “If I didn’t believe in hope for these babies, I wouldn’t be doing this.” Those words became a turning point.
We toured the ICU, asked questions, and left with a sense of hope. I began packing a hospital bag for my daughter—not with the typical newborn items, but with things to celebrate her precious life. These same things are still given in Annabelle Baskets.
So, when you see this man in the white jacket, you may just see someone standing with us. But we see a man that the Lord used to bring light into our darkness. A man that has walked us through a third pregnancy with its own concerns (and that Luke is named after), a man was instrumental in bringing both of our daughters home from China, a man who became a friend during the fire and still escorts us around like family…and today, he is the Chief, though you’d never know it from his humble spirit.
š¤There are no coincidences and God does not make mistakes even and especially when it seems like the valley could not get any lower.
š¤Hope came to us over 2000 years ago this Christmas as the Babe in the manger… and Hope is still alive today.
š¤Let this be your proof.
We grabbed lunch and headed back in a whirlwind! Bubba had to be at work that evening but we were SO thankful we were all able to go together. God is so very kind.
