When that saying came out, I saw it as very Mark and I. We love much, we laugh much and we live much. Our journey to today has not been paved with gold. We have struggled and we have hurt. Our imaginations could not have made up the things we have lived together, the joy and the pain. Mark and I have been alone in this often. We share much with our friends and family, but even with how open we are, I do not believe anyone can understand the sorrow and the love we have experienced. Our faith is strong, we both have ever evolving beliefs in our God and where we are going in this life of faith. I have personally gone through stages of extreme comfort in knowing there is a God who loves me and is looking out for me, to the complete opposite extreme of feeling completely alone and lost in the crisis of the moment. There have been times when our daughter has gone through extreme mental or medical crisis and my faith was lost. After all, what God would allow a child to suffer like she has? And why Mark and I? Many times I have wondered what pushed us through those crises, how did we survive on very little sleep and even more significantly, very little joy? How did we not turn on each other during those times of pain? I also believe we have witnessed miracles, not just one, but many. From the moment Teale was brought back to life in that operating room after her traumatic birth, she has molded and changed us and our lives. She has been our inspiration and she has kept us going. Teale has made Mark and I stronger, not only in ourselves, but in our faith and in our marriage. We have fought hard to Love, Laugh & Live.
