Man, it sure has been  a while since our last non-house update. As you know, we’re stoked about and staggered by the amount of time, money, effort and love that’s gone into this fundraiser. We wish we could somehow thank each of you in person who’ve contributed. You’ve blown us away and we’re grateful.

I think it’s about time we let you all know how we’re doing. Mainly Nyra, because she’s the cutest of our little Bargeron trio (let’s be real. She’s the main attraction these days anyway). For those who didn’t hear, she became a one-year-old last month. That’s right, a whole year! Gone are the months of infantile serenity and sleepy submission; our daughter is a crawling, grabbing, squealing roly poly of energy and love. We’re still pretty young and nimble (I’m young and Emily’s nimble) but Nyra puts us both to shame with her speed. Emily will put her on the floor with some toys, and before we can blink twice she’ll be gone: pulling dishes out of cupboards, finding cords to chew on, splashing in the (clean) potty water, and wreaking adorable havoc across the whole of our little apartment. It’s so cool watching her learn and discover things for the very first time. Little things we don’t even think about, like how carpet feels different than wood, how putting a cup over your mouth makes your voice sound different, how Mommy sings much better than Daddy and that some things taste different than others. Speaking of taste, we do not have a picky eater. Nyra eats pretty much whatever we throw at her (figuratively and literally), from salmon to olives to spinach to black beans.

This proud daddy is also an undeserving husband. My Emily (a close second to Nyra in the Cutest Bargeron contest) just got a Per Diem job as a nurse at a nearby hospital. She’ll be working with patients like me on the rehab floor. This woman is amazing. The things I can’t physically do for Nyra, she takes care of with supermommy ability, with a strength and grace we both know can only come through Jesus Christ. She feeds Nyra (and me) her deliciously cooked food, she changes poopy diapers (not too upset I can’t do that) she gets up in the night when Nyra cries, and she takes care of the physical side of Nyra’s discipline.

Discipline is something we’re finding Nyra needs more of every day, and it reminds us that parenting takes work, just like marriage does. It’s a wonderful blessing and a whole lot of fun, but it’s not a free ride. We could just cruise (and too often do), hoping things turn out alright, but we realize there’s a difference between parenting and just being parents. We would be doing Nyra a disservice if we let her do whatever she wanted, just as we’d do ourselves a disservice by chasing after our every fancy and whim. We only find lasting satisfaction and true happiness in Jesus, and Emily and I are working in His strength to teach Nyra the freedom of this submission someday.

So there are my girls. As for me, the happy man between these two beautiful ladies, I’m still doing outpatient rehab 2-3 days a week and lots of therapy at home. We’re really thankful for the agency that provides me with caregivers to help me with daily activities I can’t do without help (which I guess is just about everything). They also take me to therapy and anywhere else I want to go, so I’m often out running errands Emily doesn’t have time for. Otherwise I’m a big reader, and, in case you couldn’t tell, really enjoy being a husband and father.

That’s us for now. Till next time.

Lane (for my honeys)