We left this morning about a quarter to nine. We made the 60+ mile trip dressed in our Sunday best to attend the baptism of my niece, Nessa Hubbard, who also turned eight today. For me, this was a little bit different of a baptism for the family because Shani's dad would not be there physically for the baptism as he has in the past. I am not sure if anyone else thought of this fact, but I am sure that a few did and I know that I did too. The baptism went well and lasted about an hour at the Grace Stake Center. Everyone was there except for Dave and Lora and Alex. They had other commitments and could not be there.
After the baptism, we headed back to Shani's mom's house where there was a luncheon and party planned for later in the afternoon. We actually did not eat until a couple of hours later by which time I was really hungry. I did not have a lot for breakfast this morning knowing that there would be a lot of food. So, we all ate with the family gathered as well as sang Nessa the happy birthday song, she opened gifts, and we pretty much had a great time with the family. The weather was bright and sunny, but I could not help but feel pretty close to the family both present and those already passed on.
Eventually, the festivities began dying down and I had planned on us leaving to come home to enjoy the rest of the afternoon here at home. The kids begged to stay a little longer and seeing no harm, we agreed. So, I got on the trampoline in the back yard. The rest of the kids seeing me joined in and we began playing games. That lasted probably about twenty or thirty minutes. Then through minor injuries and crashes among the kids, people began to loose interest in jumping and they cleared off.
By this time, Lizzie wanted to get on and jump around. So Christopher got her on and she began to do her best to walk, jump, and have a good time on the trampoline like she saw earlier with the other kids. Now, here at the house, we have a trampoline too. So she was used to a trampoline and having a good time. Well a few minutes after getting on, we were bouncing around a little and Lizzie starting from one side of the trampoline began to walk/run/bounce to the other side and I watched her as she went.
However, I quickly realized that she was NOT going to stop and if she didn't, she would have ran right off of the tramp and crashed onto the ground below. Before she did, though, she fell forward, bounced on the edge and went over the side of the tramp while I called out her name and tried to reach her to keep her from falling, but failing miserably in that attempt.
I sprung over the edge myself to see a two year-old little girl looking up at me with a questioning look of how she could have possibly ended up on the ground. I also found her laying flat on her back on the cement pad that the trampoline was sitting on. Fearing the worst, I snatched her up to check the back of the head, which at that point she started screaming. Here cry though was not of hurt, but of shock from the whole experience of falling, flipping, and falling onto the cement.
To my shock, I found no blood. No scratches. No indication that she had fallen on cement anywhere on the head. I took her into the house and sat down with her in a chair. I got her to stop crying and just held her grateful that she was not more seriously hurt. The others in the room (Shani, Samantha, Abby, and Melissa) said that she looked a little pale and that we should keep a close eye on her in case she went into shock or showed signs of a concussion. With concern, we did keep an eye on her and we came home. However, she showed no other signs of possible brain damage. She never fell asleep. In fact, she was still awake after we got back from conference, which means that she stayed awake after the fall (that took place around a quarter to four this afternoon) until around eight this evening. A good four hours since the fall and she was fine.
It was during the conference session that it hit me how much of a miracle it was that she did not sustain a head injury and that she landed in such a way that she essentially got up and was fine. The only answer that I have for this miracle is that the angels of Heaven (her grandpa and older sister and possibly others) caught her and laid her gently onto the ground. I can not explain any other reason why she would NOT have had a scratch on her from a fall of about three feet after doing a head to toe flip off of a trampoline with a look of surprise in her eyes.
I had to write about this tonight even though it is late because of my realization during the conference. This is a miracle. A big miracle and I almost mist the impact of it. I came home and gave my daughter a hug. She was happy to see me and I her because under other circumstances, we could have been spending the evening in a hospital instead. So, a miracle...simply a miracle...
