Celebrate We Will . . .

For Life Is Short . . .

A Prayer Request -

That was the title of an email I received a while back from a girlfriend who lives in my neighborhood. Considering the year we had just been through and the number of similarly titled emails I had sent out, I was eager to repay the favor and spend some time in prayer for a fellow family. Little did I know that this family, who lives in our community but whom I have never personally met, would become a constant part of my daily conversation in prayer with God. Here is this family, this picture perfect family of four, with two adorable little girls in the perfect little pink tutu dresses, with big smiles on their faces, timelessly captured in breathtaking photos all rejoicing in THAT day, in that moment. This family all suffering, no championing their way through the living (& dieing) hell that comes with being a victim of childhood Cancer.

The Bowden family, had two healthy little girls until their youngest Aubrey went in for a regular nine month check up and found things weren't exactly as they should be for that sweet baby girl. I am not going to attempt to retell their story, like I said I don't know them personally, just prayerfully, but click here to go to their page. However, when the update came out that said "Our sweet Aubrey angel earned her Angel Wings at 2:30am this morning. She went peacefully in mommy and daddy's bed. Thank you all so much for your faithful prayers and sweet, sweet posts. We love all of you so much." My heart broke for them, for her, for the loss of such a beautiful young girl, for the suffering and fighting and pain a toddler had to endure from just before her first birthday until just before her second birthday, for all the hopes and dreams that they would not get to experience on Earth with their Aubrey Angel. My thoughts and prayers are still with all of them and to sweet Aubrey, I can see your Halo!

Next Blog

One day a few weeks back, the stars aligned and both boys took a LONG nap at the same time, and since I'm considerably behind on my blog I decided to do some work on it. After finishing a few posts and updates I decided to do once last look and clicked the 'View Blog' button to double check my work. My blog was how I wanted it (for that day) and since the boys weren't up yet for fun I clicked on the 'next blog' button - which jumps you to some random blog. This one was an adorable family from Texas, with a too cute toddler named Colton, which is Pierce's middle name, so immediately I took an interest. They had just given him a haircut, been to the park you know typical cutesy mommy blog stuff. But then she had a more serious post, she prefaced it with a blurb about how she felt strange blogging about a family that she didn't personally know but that she had also stumbled across and become entrenched with this family and their struggle with Childhood Cancer, much the way I had followed the Bowden Family. I read the remainder of that post then clicked the link to read for myself the family that she was praying for.

Here again is this beautiful family of five this time. Three gorgeous daughters in these amazing black and white dresses, a Mom & Dad also in coordinating black and white ensembles smiling, laughing, hugging, cherishing that time together, that timeless memory, that last day of happy, healthy togetherness. Another case of the average family, with three healthy girls until the youngest, Layla, just after her 15 month check-up started having some issues. Sleep habits messed up, diet changing drastically, a perceived 'pick-eater' by May it was discovered she had a stage 4 Neuroblastoma. Again I will not attempt to retell their story you can discover them yourself on their page.

I read a LOT of blogs, I don't always tell Dave because he really isn't that into blogging, and it's weird to him that I take interest in people who I have never actually met, Layla Grace's story fell into this category. I added her and her family to my prayer routine, as well as the countless others who struggle with a countless multitude of issues with their children. Then this morning Dave sends me a text with the web address for Layla Grace, since I had been to the site just a few weeks earlier I asked him how he knew about this site, he said it is a Facebook friend, remember he grew up in Texas. Since I hadn't been able to go back and catch up on their story I went ahead a logged on. . . well the way the blog is set up they also have a 'tweet' box on the side so that their tweets post to the blog when the most recent one read "Claire told the dog 2 stop barking b/c she was going 2 wake up Layla. Tears started flowing. #riplaylagrace" my tears were also flowing. Another family torn apart by this horrible awful disease. Another sweet baby girl who grew up WAY to fast in the experiences of surgery after surgery, transplant, chemo, blood transfusion, learning to make a 'new normal' in her hospital room, away from her sisters and home, I know it's not about me but I was saddened, defeated and outraged!

Innocence Lost!!

I know life isn't fair, and I know that who we are is directly related to the struggles we have overcome but really I do NOT get it! Childhood and Cancer should NEVER be in the same sentence! EVER!!! This, to me, is the truest definition of Innocence Lost - these babies should be learning to walk, run, feed themselves with a fork. Their parents should be concerning themselves with the trivial things like did the babies eat enough veggies, or fruits today, when was their last bath. . . NOT trying to find a way to explain what the bag of blood was for, or remember which of their multiple injections the baby had received and which one made them vomit & which one made them spike a fever. . . Stolen! Robbed! Really it's outrageous to think what they lost before they even knew what they had!! But thankfully God knew how to make these babies with life in their eyes and a fight in their heart! Thankfully He made these children to be SO strong, so resilient and adaptable that even though they may have had ports and tubes in and out of their too tiny bodies, they still could laugh and enjoy their 'good times'. I know too many adults who would not be able to have that same 'childlike' outlook, myself included.

Too Real

Sometimes life takes you in different directions, and maybe you don't know why you are headed that way at that time, but I believe if you have Faith in God you will find His meaning and reason for your journey. I know I am so grateful for my boys - both of them miracles in their own right, both of them received SO many prayers and we are SO thankful for them. This year has been SO different from any I've had before - so much of everything - fear, anxiety, birth, death - system overload really! Families we met down at Egleston, or since who have success stories, or who carry their angels in their heart and on their face in their sad eyes. I don't know how these families do it, but they have strength, faith, and drive like you have never seen before. And ultimately I believe that these families appreciate how many (many) peoples lives these sweet babies touched, and how these brave little girls brought so many people closer to their families and their God. From our Pierce I have become interested in raising awareness of CHD through organizations like CHOA and Camp Twin Lakes and through these brave girls I have also been turned on to CURE and I've always been a fan of St. Judes which is why I cry every year their Thanks & Giving campaign starts! Like their motto says 'Give thanks for the healthy kids in your life and give to those who are not' - I know times are tight, but if it comes time for your family to think about their donation choices, maybe consider one of these or similar type organizations.

But Sweet - For Certain!!

So one last family who, again, I have never actually met in person, but whom I have followed through blogging for a few years now is The Delisle Family. She writes the He Will Carry Me blog that is also on my blogging buddies list. We 'met' on a chat board for women who had suffered miscarriage (Sticky Babies - it's a GREAT community, it is invitation only to keep the drama down, but if you know of someone who could benefit from this type of community please let me know). So after suffering a loss with her first pregnancy this couple was so excited to make it through the first trimester of her second pregnancy, only to receive news at the NT scan that all was not well with her baby. They knew from the start that their child, Issac, would have little to no chance of survival once born and with their Faith in God and His plan for them they chose to keep the baby and experience their son. You can read their whole story and see the 16 minutes they got to spend with their baby before he returned to Heaven and you can catch up on the hell they went through losing a baby and remembering him - but I am so happy, excited to my core, to announce that last week she gave birth to a BEAUTIFUL baby girl Eliana and that everyone is healthy and doing great! I have kept them in my prayers since our paths crossed three years ago, and now I prayerfully rejoice in the addition of their sweet baby girl!

I know this has been a more 'Real' post and that may translate into tears for some (I know my eyes haven't stopped leaking) so take a minute to click on Stacy's blog and see their now little girl, it will put a smile on your face & warm your heart! Like I mentioned before I don't actually 'know' any of these families, but in some way aren't we all a part of that family?! I mean if you cried you are compassionate & if you could relate then you are one of the families who have suffered/survived/championed your way through a loss or an illness or whatever obstacle was in your way. I think my ultimate goal for this post was to remind everyone, myself included, to be Grateful For Today! Hug your babies - give them a break if they are getting on your nerves (or puking on everything) because the most important thing is continued health! Five years from now, the broken DVD or the 'marked' pictures (again with the vomit) won't matter - really they won't! But having your children in five years, ten years, twenty & so on, that is what it is all about! Enough blogging I have two boys waking in their cribs that I need to go give hugs and kisses to!

KK

Bath Time!

Scrub-A-Dub. . .

Kirk Boys In A Tub!!

What a GREAT day in the life of a mom with more than one kid - the day the baby can sit in the big boy tub!! Not that this was actually the first bath without the infant tub, but it was the first bath without the infant tub that I remembered to bring the camera upstairs!!!

So here are a few clean pictures of my boys getting clean!!

Pierce in the tub & standing up - not this Mom's favorite new trick!

Kaiden telling me the baby fell down on him.

Now he's demonstrating what happened.

"And then he looks over the side like this"

My little disciplinarian ~ "No more stand up in tube Baby Pierce"

AGHHHHH!!! Can you believe my boys are old enough to take baths together?! Me Either!!

Photo Friday

An Unexpectedly Delightful Afternoon

Lunch Done. Errands Abandoned For Fun At The Playground
Side Note: I attempted to catch Kaiden in action but being armed with only my slow snapping camera phone, his pictures were just body parts - like his slide picture is just one foot & a leg coming down the slide & the tube picture of him was just his hiney.

**One week ago today there was 3-5 inches of snow on the ground & today it's a perfect 57 degrees! Gotta love the south!!

Happy Valentines Day 2010

Cupid Is My Homeboy!

One Sweet Day
So I would guess, hands down Halloween is the biggest 'candy' holiday but I have to think that Valentine's Day would have to be the Silver Medalist! There is friggin EVERY kind of candy you can imagine that is marketed just for this special sweet day - and in case you missed them - YES there was a whole 1lb bag of just green M&Ms, apparently the rumor is the green color acts as an aphrodisiac. . . . I was just thinking 'SCORE, I'll pick those up at 75% off & save them for my St. Patty's Day B-day party!' Back to the V-Day. . . .

Sunday's are tennis day around here, and since both Dave & I are on a mixed doubles team the scheduling can be a little complicated because we also have two lovely children to care for. But since this particular weekend also happened to be the start of Cherokee Co.s mid-winter break Dave's team played their match earlier in the week so people could travel. Which meant come Sunday I would be the only one playing tennis and since both of our teams were in the running to win the division, it was kind of a big match. Now don't get me wrong I am having a blasty blast playing tennis & I really love my team, but I'm don't go nuts over it (or much of anything these days) and since our weekend schedules are usually jammed full I don't usually get to go early or stay late to watch the other lines play. But since this was a special day I got to go do the tennis thang for like 5 hours!! While on that tennis note - I had been assigned a 'side dish' as my what to bring - and I didn't want to make another trip to Kroger so luckily I had the stuff in the pantry to make my Mexicorn Macaroni, and since it's a hot dish I brought my crock-pot up there - boy did that ever give Dave a good laugh. Oh well the people enjoying my hot dish on that pretty cold day enjoyed it!

OK - so the first 3 lines won & it was my turn to get out on the courts, well done team. And I had sent Dave a text message telling him we were starting so that he could head up with the boys, well they were still napping & my partner & I were winning pretty fast. So about an hour later when Dave and the boys finally made it up to the courts we were up 6-2 in the 2nd set & the score was 40-love us - basically we needed one more point to win & end the match - in pulls FOXY (my Mom'mobile). So Dave unloads Pierce who is all bundled up & snug warm then here comes Kaiden in short sleeves - REALLY Dad?! Whoops I missed the ball, because I was much more concerned with why my two year old is friggin naked & the rest of the world is in their parkas!? OK get it together the serve is coming to me, I return serve then see that Kaiden is handing Dave my C.O. Bigelow cinnamon lip gloss & Dave is just opening it & handing it back to him - whoops there goes another shot RIGHT past my head - I laughed & looked back at Jim & said 'sorry I'll pull it together then I'll go be Mom'. We put away the next shot ending the match & I walk towards Dave handing him my fleece & said 'put this on Kaiden, did you forget his jacket?' Of course the typical Dad response, he says"no, I asked him if he wanted to wear his jacket and he said NO" REALLY?! Really, oh OK, wait REALLY - you asked our 2 year old if he wanted to wear his jacket & because he said no that is that - REALLY!!?! I'm guessing it is some weakness linked to that darned 'Y' chromosome - but I know for a FACT that you can ask Kaiden just about anything & his immediate response is going to be 'no' - which would be why Mom's DON'T ask we tell them & take away privileges when they don't act fast enough - I mean just this weekend Kaiden had a stinky diaper - potty training is one step forward & 15 steps back - anywho when he walked past me & I got a whiff I said yikes we need to change you & guess what his response was "no, I don't need a diaper change. I'm OK for now" - SHOCKER!! And can I just add that as Dave & I were discussing Kaiden's jacket or lack thereof, the poor boy is shivering - needless to say he had on his fleece in record time after that.

Our Valentine's Night
Well remember we have two kids so this isn't going to be some romantic romp, in fact the way it worked out was since I had gotten to do tennis for the better part of the afternoon & in to the evening, when I got home Dave wanted to go to the gym. So I got Pierce fed & in his jammies & he was in bed by 7, it had been a big day for him. Then Kaiden and I had some of the leftover macaroni & then we set the table for our Valentine's dessert so that when Dave got home from the gym he could eat his dinner then we could jump into our table of sweets.

Both Granparents had sent/brought over gifts for the boys & Valentine's cards & we had made Valentine's cards for everyone in our family & then the centerpiece was our dipping goodies. A few years back when Kaiden was just months old we went to visit my cousin Gretchen the day after Valentine's day - and she introduced me to the melt in carton chocolate fondue that is oh so yummy, and we had gotten strawberries, marshmallows & pretzel sticks to dip - it was the perfect way to end our sweet day.

Of course if you are wondering what sweet treat the hubs got for me, well. . . I'll let you know as soon as I know! Don't get me wrong I really don't put much merit in this holiday, I mean it's fun to do the little valentine's with the kids, and the candy is cute - but they jack up the prices of flowers & candy SO friggin high. Not to mention NO ONE needs that much candy - you'd have to be at the gym already an hour into a treadmill marathon to even think about eating that stuff. And I've never really been a fan of clutter crap - it's cute but let's leave it at the store. My gift to Dave was a picture frame - which was empty because I couldn't find where I had put the envelope with the pictures I had printed out for it, and a bag of strawberry twizzlers because originally we were going to make the night a RedBox movie night. Really, with me it is just the thought that counts - Dave likes to use the "well I've gotten you a house, and a car, and two beautiful boys and we'll go on vacation soon. . . . ." or his other fall back is "I don't see why we need to waste money on one day when we just live it everyday!" Yeah, that only works ONE time for each excuse, needless to say since we are rounding the corner on our 11th year together - there are quite a few Valentine's, Anniversary's, Birthday & even Christmas presents that have been repeats, threepeats, quadpeats. . . . . .

Frozen Peaches!

Georgia's Snow Day - Part II!

Big, Fluffy, Fun Snow -

It was very early Saturday Morning when Kaiden and I went out on our upstairs front porch to get a look at just how much snow had fallen overnight. It was so cute because as soon as we stepped out there and I shut the door Kaiden said "Oh, it snowed and it's a wonderland" I was FLOORED!! I quickly switched the camera from still mode to video mode but of course he wouldn't repeat it. Since we were still in jammies, it only took a minute for us to get pretty cold so he asked to go back inside. We walked down to the kitchen and I said Dave you'll never guess what Kaiden said about all the snow, and that was when he told me that he had said it to Kaiden just a few minutes earlier when they were looking out the window. OK so he's not a lexicon genius like I first thought, but still impressed that a 2 year old knew how to appropriately use that word with the correct inflection. . . . Like usual I got off track - so here are a few shots from upstairs just before the sun broke over the trees, LOVE how still and calm the world seems in the pictures.

Here Come's The Sun, Do-unh- DoDo. . . . Here Come's The Sun!!

Do You Hear That?!
So while I was out back shooting the sunrise I could hear a LOT of rustling in the trees behind me, and as you may be able to see in the pictures our bird feeder is EMPTY and I think the birds were staging a protest - as long as it doesn't resemble Alfred Hitchcock's I'm cool with it!

After listening to the fidgeting going on behind me for a minute or two I decided to take a closer look there was a whole flock of Robin's and they were friggin freezing!!! I had to get a picture, just look how fluffed up they are - that was reason enough for me to freeze a little bit longer to refill their feeder cause Lord knows they needed to eat!!

What A View!!
We had to go back upstairs to get everyone's cold weather gear ready so I stepped back on the porch to get a picture looking up towards the clubhouse. Snow sure does make everything look so gorgeous!!

The Sun Peeking Over The HouseOur Crape Myrtle

The Boys. . .
Isn't it always about the kids? Darned Right! Kaiden LOVES the snow, in fact that may be an understatement - actually I can't think of any phrase that would accurately express just how much he is crazy over the snow!! The only thing with Kaiden is he doesn't love to get his hands dirty or wet - smart kid - so if he falls we have to help him to wipe off his gloves (yes, it bothers him just to know there is snow or dirt on his gloves) but other than that the kid is good to go all day out in the snow! Pierce on the other hand ~ not as big of a fan ~ yet! Plus it is a lot harder to enjoy the snow when you're all bundled up to the point of hardly moving ~ think 'Christmas Story' I CAN'T PUT MY ARMS DOWN! I mean honestly, this boy has just mastered crawling & pulling to stand in footed jammies, how in the world is he going to do anything but tip over with the extra 5 pounds of jacket, hat, mittens, etc. . . . Not to mention holding a 20+ pound baby in said clothing isn't really my idea of a good time either. So we put the foot gate in the cozy coupe & let him cruise around in that for a while. He was digging it -of course until too many snowflakes began clumping on his eyelashes. Yes! Apparently this is a problem for some people - NOT me of course, but that is another story. . .

Here's my Cool Cruiser - I have to admit he does looks pretty cozy in that coupe!

And my little adventurer! Telling me about the snow on the branches.Trooper's Day In The Sun & Snow!!!

Talk about being a kid at heart, this dog turns into a puppy when it snows!! He LOVES the snow too!! He frolics, sprints, jumps, rolls - you name it he does it! Of course he also slips, skates & 'Bambi's It' (you know all four legs in different directions on the ice), which freaks me out since he is ten years old & I DO NOT want him to get hurt - although luckily he was just sore, nothing a little enteric aspirin couldn't take care of!!

Hanging By The Tree
I know you can't see it, but he's chewing on his tennis ball - or TenIce Ball!!!The boys looking for the ball. . .There it is! They found it!Trooper checking out his snowy surroundings.Again with the ice ballNot 100% convinced he wanted to leave his beloved outside.

All-in-all, it was another GREAT snow day!! With all of the bright sun throughout the day there wasn't too much of the fluffy stuff left by the end of the day, but Kaiden still wanted to take one more walk and I was ALL too happy to oblige. Kaiden, Trooper and I set off for one last adventure walk across the street, through the 'echo tunnel' - also know as the cart tunnel for the golfers, but I wouldn't want Kaiden to think that isn't there just for him to yell ECHO into! Up the cart path we walked, around a few bends, laughed as trooper chased a few squirrels - since the movie of the week had been 'UP' - we got a good chuckle out of Trooper doing his 'Doug' impression. Then Dave stepped out on the porch and hollered for us to let us know dinner was ready and Kaiden, Troops and I headed home to end the perfect day. I thoroughly loved our second snow day but I have to admit I am all too excited for Spring to make it's presence known and to have some new adventures with a new season!!