Greetings!  My name is Siobhan O'Malley; I live in Dublin, Texas, with my husband, Patrick, and our three kids:  Theresa Maureen (11), Michaela Colleen (6), and our youngest, Garbhan Padraig, who is two years old.

Garbhan is a medical miracle.  I was pregnant with him when, at five months, my water broke after I fell on the ice.  They tried to stop him from coming, but nothing could be done; he was forced to enter the world way too early.  He weighed less than a pound at birth, and was only 10 inches long, less than the length of a ruler.  He was impossibly tiny; he was one of the tiniest babies I had ever seen in my life.

Doctors gave him no hope whatsoever of surviving.  If he did survive, he would have serious medical problems or would end up being permanently disabled somehow.  Well, Garbhan proved to be a fighter, just like his daddy.  He beat the odds that were stacked against him; now at the age of two, other than being very small for his age, he is healthy, smart, and beautiful!

I don't know what I would have done had Garbhan been left disabled.  I don't think I could have handled it.  It was only by the grace of God (and plenty of prayers) that got him through his rough start in life; he continues to beat the odds even now.  Other than physical/occupational/speech therapies twice a week, he's doing great!!  He is a very active, gregarious, vocal little guy; you hear him first before you even see him.

His name is so fitting:  Garbhan means "little rough one" in Gaelic.  He is exactly that ... and much more.  He can knock his two older sisters down, even though they are so much bigger than he is.  He can rough house with the best of them.  He can be a holy terror at times!

Well, Garbie is calling me; he must have awakened from his nap.  I will write in here again soon; until later, this is Siobhan O'Malley saying so long!  God bless and Happy New Year a few days early!  I pray and hope the new year is a lot better than the previous one!

~Siobhan.  :)

*to be continued.*