Our Angel

I don't even know where to begin, other than just to say it.
Last night Amy and Bret welcomed their precious baby, Ella.
Only to relinquish her to the arms of a loving Heavenly Father a few hours later.

Our hearts are heavy.
Our eyes are wet.
A mother and father's arms are empty.

We know of a plan.
A Plan of Happiness given to us by our dear Father in Heaven.
It gives us comfort to know that she belongs to an eternal family.
But still we ache with shed and unshed tears.
And painful loss.

We are so uplifted by the love and prayers and comforting words of others.
And we thank you so much.
And please never forget our precious angel baby, Ella.

Please go to my daughter's blog, Green Apple Images, and see the tribute and photo to our precious baby and if you feel able, donate to help a young couple pay for her funeral expenses.

How Many People Can you Cram into this Madwoman's House on Christmas Day?

It's Christmas!!

Christmas stockings are ALWAYS a favorite. Gifts are specially selected for the receiver.

Can this poor woman cram  any more baby into her belly?

Grandma with the requisite garbage bag, trying to cram more paper into it. 

Princess was the theme of their stockings!

Jammies: The theme this year was polar bears for the boys, snowflakes for the girls, in honor of our boy in Alaska......
Who we had an awesome 1 1/2 hour visit with BTW......

We even managed to cram the missionaries in. (standing in front of our Sun "Devil" tree-oops)

The fruits of Santa's workshop-Grandma did a LOT less sewing this year.
And I didn't get a photo of the girls in their matching aprons.....again!!!

Wait? I paid for all this?????

Okay everybody.......

Take a deep breath........

inhale..........(1)

exhale........whoooooooshhhhh

inhale.......(2)

exhale......whoooshhhhhh

inhale......(3)

exhale.......whoooshhhhhh

Okay.
We're almost to the finish line!
You can do it!

My Christmas List

***warning*** snarky post here. I may end up deleting it......

Things that are getting crossed off my Christmas list this year:

1. Christmas cards.
Yet again.
I've received quite a few electronic Christmas cards this year.
So I'm thinkin' maybe that will be the new trend.
Although I do honestly love reading the happenings of our friends & family.

This year we DID not go to Europe or Hawaii.
Or plan to any time in the near future.
Our kids are average human beings-I really like them.
(I must say though, they do produce beautiful children)
(And they ain't half bad looking themselves)

2.  Neighbor goodies.
I'm so terrible, I only wave at my neighbors most days.
If you don't speak Spanish or aren't related to me,
I'm probably not paying much attention to you this Christmas.

3.  Santa's Workshop
Well, I did get a few things done this year.
But I had to put the plans for others on hold.
Seein' how Amy & I are becoming intimately acquainted with the inside of hospitals.
(Three time in the past 2 weeks)
And we are learning the tricks of trekking to Phoenix for doctor appointments.

The end of my true confession.
There may be others.
But I don't want to look too bad.

Chubby Cheeks

Due to amazing technology, I have a sweet photo of Amy's little Ladybug, as she is affectionately known to her parents.

Isn't that amazing? Dontcha' just want to munch on those chubby cheeks?
Wanna see something even more amazing?

Same chubby cheeks. That's the momma of the little one with the chubby cheeks.
Is there quite possibly a resemblance?

Hmmmmm, I'm thinkin' yes.

Update:
Amy's pre-eclampsia is gone! She's been a very good girl, resting lots, and the doctor said it will stay away as long as she keeps up the good work resting. Baby still has the severe heart defect, and the doctors all say she won't go until her due date of Jan 17th but it sure is comforting to see that cute little face on the ultrasound-she even waved at her grandma!

Word

I don't know why, but I woke up feeling better this morning than I have for weeks. (maybe it was the late night spagetti dinner???)

I woke up smiling and thinking about my word for the year 2010. Little did I realize how prophetic that would be.

I've been learning a lot this past few weeks. Learning about
NICUs
PICUs
neonatologist
perinatologist
echos
ultrasounds

Since Amy's been on bed rest, I've been the chauffeur to all her doctor appointments. And we've been to the doctor nearly every day since she was released (got another one at 8:30 today).

I've worked for/been around doctors for nearly 20 years. And I've been so impressed with the team that has been assembled to take care of her.

There's a certain humility and compassion that I've noticed about these folks who work with little babies, especially sick little babies. There has been demonstrated a high level of patience and kindness when talking to a mommy who is scared to death about her baby's future. It's been wonderful to watch. My prayers have been filled with gratitude for the multitude of tender mercies that have been bestowed upon us to this point.

I'm learning more than I ever really wanted to learn this year, but that's okay. And we are still uncertain of the future but as the days progress, we take one day at a time, filled with hope and learning new things along the way.

Baptisms, Baby Showers, and Birthdays, Oh My!

So life just keeps moving on...faster than I can keep up with it!

Here's the big girl that was baptized a few weeks ago.
Our oldest grandbaby. Except she's not a baby anymore.
Time flies!!
It was a great day.

And here's the baby shower honoree.
We are SO blessed that she was able to attend her shower.
Because she was in the hospital for most of last week.
The baby is starting to have edema under the skin (typical condition with babies with heart defects)
And the doctor wanted her to be monitored.
She has mild pre-eclampsia and is now on strict bed rest.
Except for special things like baby showers.
And doctor appointments!

And the Birthday Boy is the handsome fella on the far left.
Poor guy, he seems to get gypped every year on his birthday since it falls in December.
And we remedied that...
With a nice family dinner.
Complete with favorites of lemon chicken and chocolate cake and ice cream.

So we're still alive and kickin' around here.
Decking the halls.
and Creating in Santa's workshop.

And sorely lacking in the picture taking department!!!!