And although there were so many things going on completely overwhelming me. The day Keegan was born was nothing short of amazing! It was sunny and beautiful, a typical 97 degree Florida August day. The palm trees blew gently in the humid breeze outside the hospital windows, and Keegan came into this world like a calming presence. It's super ironic of course, because everyone that has had a child or has spent ten minutes around a newborn knows how demanding of time and attention they are. But this precious little guy is very content in all things he does or experiences. He even sleeps most of the night which is just crazy, but so, so very nice. 
In just these 3 short weeks since he's been born, he's been such a blessing to our family. Rory is completely enamored with him and I haven't spotted one ounce of jealousy. This was always a fear of mine that Rory would feel threatened that there was a new family member, but no. He truly cannot get enough of his brother. I also want to thank our Anna and family for everything they have done for the past four years in caring for Rory and also prepping him for our new family member. We couldn't survive in Florida without you guys!
And we were doing so well too with balancing the transition between starting a new school year (no one needed to sit on any kids by the way, because I'm sure you were wondering), and introducing Keegan into our changing family dynamic. And then just as one Grammy flew back home a few days early and another grandma, Mimi came to visit, we heard about Hurricane Irma coming to Florida.
At first I figured it would be okay. We'd stayed last year for Hurricane Matthew and it was fine, but as the storm grew closer and more and more unpredictable, it just didn't seem wise for us to stay with our two little babies. We sure did debate though. Do you stay and hope the storm isn't too bad? Do you flee and risk running out of gas halfway to your destination? How can we deal with a newborn in a flood or sitting in traffic for hours upon hours? They are all impossible choices. Especially if you're making them alone, so we prayed about it for days and we decided in the end God was telling us to go. Where? We weren't sure yet. Not until Kim's sister called and told us we should come stay with her.
And so after school we packed up, walked through the house praying that God would protect our home, our city and our state. That he would protect the people here from what is predicted to be a catastrophic hurricane. That he would sway the storm back to the ocean. (Or as Rory was saying - that the sharks would eat the storm in their bellies.)
It felt so surreal evacuating a place that has been my home for so long. I said goodbye, and maybe I'm dramatic, but it took me back to a time in my past where I had to escape from my home quickly, leaving almost all of my belongings behind, knowing I'd never see it or them again. And just like before, it's not the things that you'll miss. Things are just things. It's the memories you made there. The feeling of having to leave a place, not knowing if you'll see it again is very unsettling.
And as we were leaving town with my mom, my dog, the four year old, the three week old and my wife, the lines of traffic already forming, we prayed for safety for us and our town. And as soon as we said amen, we saw the biggest rainbow I've ever seen behind me in the gray sky. And I just knew it was God saying that he was going to be with us and keep us safe. I don't know the big plan here, I probably never will, but God will be faithful. He always is. I don't know how that will look or what that will mean for our state but as I've experienced many times in my life. He is smarter than I am. His ways often are too far over my head to comprehend. I just try to wait and listen for some directive. And I got it. To go. Others in town heard theirs too. To stay. So I don't know. I just pray that everyone stays safe and after everything clears we can continue on.