Five years later.

"Go wide! Go wide!" I lifted one leg and leant back before letting the football rip toward Josh. He tried to get in under it, but it went over his head. "Noooo... that was pathetic." I laughed as he glowered at me.

"Yes, Dad, that was pathetic."

Josh turned to stick his tongue out at the young boy rolling around on the grass laughing. "You let a girl beat you. Again."

"Hey, you two... man on wheels here; have a little compassion." Josh pointed at his wheelchair as if to make his point.

Tyler raised his brows as he observed Josh with all the seriousness a seven-year-old could muster. "You need to find a new excuse, Daddy. That one is getting a little boring." He got up and hugged his dad. "Don't worry, I still love you, even if you make us boys look bad."

Josh grabbed him and tickled him until his giggling voice begged for mercy. My heart swelled with unimaginable joy as I watched my beautiful family.

Josh's recovery had been a long one; he had needed more than a year of intensive physiotherapy to get back minimal mobility in his lower body. There had been days when everything had seemed dark and hopeless, days when he had lost the will to carry on, and days when both of us felt the strain.

Then one day a ray of golden light was shone into our bleak little world. A woman and young child were brought into the emergency room with massive injuries from a car crash. The woman succumbed to her injuries a few days after they were admitted and the young boy fought bravely for weeks before he could be moved out of the I.C.U. The authorities were unable to track down any living relatives of the young mother, so the boy became a ward of the state, and, after a five-month stay in the hospital, he had grown inside the hearts of everyone on staff. When the time finally came to send him home, Nathan nominated that Josh and I foster young Tyler until a more permanent home could be found. If you have never believed in love at first sight, I can assure you that it does exist. That was three years ago and Tyler is now our legally adopted son.

We told Tyler about the sad events that had brought him into our lives. We spoke to him often about his mother and about the love she had for him, reminding him daily that she would always be a huge part of his heart. Every night as we knelt before his bed to give our thanks, he never forgot to say a prayer for the mother he would never get to know. He was our miracle. And we were his.

Our gazes met and I smiled at my amazing husband, my heart overflowing with love. I was truly blessed.