Rory Feek wrote about Valentine's Day, the Grammy Awards, his new album and his daughter's birthday in a new blog post on This Life I Live in what he is calling a 'week to remember.'
Those four major events are all happened this past week for Rory and his terminally-ill wife Joey, who has continued to defy the odds in her battle against stage IV cervical cancer.
And even better than Rory's words were the photos he shared of Joey watching as her daughter blew out her candles, a smiling Indiana celebrating her second birthday and, most touching, an image of Rory and Joey laying in bed together for the first time since November.
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Touching:Rory Feek shared details of the past week which included a Valentine's Day where her and Joey got to lie in bed together for the first time in months (above)
Happy day:Joey had said her only wish after being diagnosed with terminal cancer was to live long enough to see her daughter turn two (above)
Big night:The couple were also nominated for their first Grammy on Monday, and watched the ceremony from their home in Indiana (above)
'Indy and I drove through what seemed like a blizzard on Sunday afternoon to pick up dinner for Joey for Valentines Day,' wrote Rory.
'My wife loves sushi and I had decided that morning that we could surprise her with some of her favorite rolls.'
The sushi seemed to do the trick that night as well, with Rory saying of his wife; 'Starting that night, her appetite came back and she had the greatest time.'
After dinner is when the couple were able to enjoy a special moment they had not experienced in months.
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'When dinner was over, as I said goodnight and tucked the blankets around her in the little hospital bed she has been living in for months, she thanked me for the special night and then made one last request. “If Jody helps me to scoot over to one side…could you try to lay down with me and put your arms around me?”' wrote Rory.
'I haven’t been able to be in the same bed with my wife or hold her in my arms since the beginning of November – when she made her last trip to the hospital.
'But for one sweet half-an-hour… that changed on Valentines day.'
The next day was the Grammy Awards, and Rory revealed that after watching the ceremony he learned that it is not just an honor to be nominated.
'Instead, I would say that just being able to wake up and look into the eyes of the people we care about and tell them that we love them is enough,' said Rory.
'Everything else is just icing on the cake.'
He also said that despite their loss the couple is still hoping to get nominated next year.
'The morning after the award show, Joey looked into my eyes and said, “I’m sorry we didn’t win us a Grammy,'" wrote Rory.
'I smiled and said, “that’s okay”. Then jokingly, I added, “…there’s always next year”. She smiled back at me and said, “yes… next year."'
Rory shared a slew of photos of Indiana enjoying her birthday cake
'For the most part, Indiana’s big day was nothing but joy and more joy. She has a way of bringing even the most painful parts of life back into perspective,' wrote Rory.
After learning last October that her stage 4 cervical cancer was terminal and she had six months to live at most, Joey's only wish was to live long enough to see her daughter have one more birthday.
'Joey barely slept the night before Indiana’s birthday. She was too excited,' said Rory
'When Joey woke up, a little before noon, I came in to see her… and tears were flowing down her face,' wrote Rory on his blog
Rory then added; 'I put my arms around her and asked, “why are you crying honey?”… '“We made it…”, she softly answered. “We made it."'
The big event however was Indiana's second birthday.
After learning last October that her stage 4 cervical cancer was terminal and she had six months to live at most, Joey's only wish was to live long enough to see her daughter have one more birthday.
'Joey barely slept the night before Indiana’s birthday. She was too excited. Jody said she didn’t fall asleep until about 5 am, around the time that Indy and I woke up,' said Rory.
'When Joey woke up, a little before noon, I came in to see her… and tears were flowing down her face. Again, I put my arms around her and asked, “why are you crying honey?”…
'“We made it…”, she softly answered. “We made it."'
Joey got to watch her daughter blow out her birthday candles and Indiana could be seen smiling from ear to ear in photos from the day, especially as she enjoyed her cake.
'For the most part, Indiana’s big day was nothing but joy and more joy. She has a way of bringing even the most painful parts of life back into perspective,' wrote Rory.
And that was not all either, as the couple learned that their new album was selling out in some stores.
'Our manager Aaron called us yesterday morning and told us that lots of folks have been buying our new Hymns album and that stores across the country have had a hard time keeping them in stock since they went on sale earlier this week,' said Rory.
'I put it on speaker phone so Joey could listen and hear the wonderful news and say hi to Aaron. When we hung up, Joey and I sat there holding hands… knowing that in time those sales could turn into some income for our family and that could really help, now that there are no more concerts or income from shows.
'We talked about what a blessing it was, and then she looked at me very seriously and said, “I need you to do something for me."
'I told her I would be glad to. Then with all the sincerity in the world, she said, “I need you to be generous… God has blessed us so much. We need to bless others."'
Gifts: Rory also shared a photo of Indiana opening some of her many birthday gifts (above)
Big day: Joey got a special cake (above) for Valentine's Day
Bigger day: And Indiana got a special cake (above) for her second birthday
Romance: Rory shared a photo of Joey on Valentine's Day as the two enjoyed some sushi (above)
Joey had appeared to be defying the odds after being given six months to live last October, making remarkable progress despite being told she would be bedridden for the remainder of her life in late November.
She got out of bed in December and then began to walk again, all things that seemed impossible just weeks before.
She even got to spend Christmas with her family near her childhood home in Alexandria, Indiana.
Then, at the beginning of the year, things began to take a turn for the worse.
Joey, 40, was diagnosed with cancer in June 2014, just a few months after she and Rory welcomed Indiana, who was born with Down's syndrome.
The cancer eventually spread and in October doctors revealed there nothing they could do for Joey.
Joey was as a restaurant owner when she met Rory, falling in love with him as he performed during a songwriter's night.
He was also a single father with two daughters, another reason Joey has said she was first attracted to him.
On June 15, 2002, the couple was married in a small ceremony.
Joey shared how she first fell in love with Rory in an interview with People earlier this year, saying; 'Rory was singing In the Round at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville with three other songwriters.
'I was just one of dozens of people in the audience that night. From the first song Rory sang, I fell head over heels for him.'
She then added: 'I didn't even know him, but something inside me said, "You're going to marry that man and spend the rest of your lives together."'
And while Rory was a noted songwriter who had penned hits for artists such as Blake Shelton, the couple got their big break in 2008 when they appeared on the reality show Can You Duet which aired on Country Music Television.
They finished in third place on the show and signed a record contract soon after - and have been making music ever since right up until the release of their new album on Friday.
'Our music has taken us many incredible places and let us experience some amazing things in the past 8 years and people we meet have often asked if we had a plan to get to where we are. I’ve always answered, “yes, there’s a master plan… it’s just not ours,'" Rory wrote in a blog post last week.
'And so now, with the big week we have coming up, we have a little plan. But ultimately, how the plan plays out is up to God.'