๐ป๐‘œ๐“Œโ€™๐“ˆ ๐’พ๐“‰ ๐‘”๐‘œ๐’พ๐“ƒ๐‘” ?

โ€ฆ itโ€™s a question you ask in parenthood the moment your child leaves your arms, exits your home, or quite frankly does anything outside of your presence for more than just a few hours. Your partner takes the baby for a while: you find yourself checking in, โ€œHowโ€™s it going?โ€ Date night with your spouse:Continue reading “๐ป๐‘œ๐“Œโ€™๐“ˆ ๐’พ๐“‰ ๐‘”๐‘œ๐’พ๐“ƒ๐‘” ?”

๐—Ÿ๐—œ๐—ง๐—ง๐—Ÿ๐—˜ ๐—›๐—˜๐—Ÿ๐—Ÿ๐—ข๐—ฆ ๐Ÿ‘‹๐Ÿผย 

When your child dies before you, itโ€™s what you live forโ€ฆ the โ€˜little hellosโ€™ that take you by surprise; the โ€˜little hellosโ€™ that keep you going for the next hour, the next day, the next year without them… Itโ€™s the โ€˜little helloโ€™ from the red cardinal that swoops down in front of your car. Itโ€™sContinue reading “๐—Ÿ๐—œ๐—ง๐—ง๐—Ÿ๐—˜ ๐—›๐—˜๐—Ÿ๐—Ÿ๐—ข๐—ฆ ๐Ÿ‘‹๐Ÿผย “

CHD is weird.

“You wanna know something, Mom? Everything that is weird today is Theodore magic!” -๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ž๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฎย ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐—น๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ปย ๐—ผ๐—ปย ๐Ÿด/๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฌ/๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏย  (๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒโ€™๐˜€ย ๐Ÿฐ๐˜๐—ตย ๐—•๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜†) My little 8-year-old was certainly on to something, as we were walking the beach back in August; she made a very basic point that carries a whole lot of punch.ย ย โ€˜๐˜ž๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ฅโ€™โ€ฆ Itโ€™s such an innocent way to put it.ย  CHD isContinue reading “CHD is weird.”

ย ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏย ๐——๐—”๐—ฌ๐—ฆย ๐—ข๐—™ย ๐—Ÿ๐—œ๐—™๐—˜ย ๐Ÿ–ค

Oh, Oliverโ€ฆ Iโ€™ll admit, itโ€™s one weird milestone I never fathomed โ€˜recognizingโ€™โ€ฆ Itโ€™s a day I did not celebrate with your sister; I suppose I never had a reason toโ€ฆ Itโ€™s a day I took for granted; after all, she was so easy to โ€œkeep aliveโ€. Itโ€™s a day I only began to pinpoint afterContinue reading ”ย ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏย ๐——๐—”๐—ฌ๐—ฆย ๐—ข๐—™ย ๐—Ÿ๐—œ๐—™๐—˜ย ๐Ÿ–ค”

๐—›๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐˜†ย ๐Ÿฐ๐˜๐—ตย ๐—•๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜†ย 

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ  August 30, 2023 Here I am again at the waterโ€™s edge.  I find myself chasing the coast line to feel closer to you. You seem bigger here; maybe because I feel so minuscule compared to the enormous crashing waves at my feet. The fierce waters roar, yet somehow their tonic pulse is calming to myContinue reading “๐—›๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐˜†ย ๐Ÿฐ๐˜๐—ตย ๐—•๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜†ย “

ย Oliver’s Dedication๐ŸŒฟ

July 23, 2023 When โ€œwe thank God for giving us Oliverโ€, and all four of our children, we are recognizing that our most precious possessions belonged to Him first. If โ€˜God givesโ€™, He must initially possess. Itโ€™s a hard concept to grasp; God giving us His beloved children to care for as our own. But,Continue reading ”ย Oliver’s Dedication๐ŸŒฟ”

Theodore’s 3rd Birthday in Heaven๐ŸŽˆ

August 30, 2019 It was the day that you, my breathtakingly beautiful baby, redefined the meaning of my entire life. It was a day that your perfect self entered our world through so many imperfect adversities. And still, somehow, Mama finds it more difficult to manage the raw emotion surrounding the day that you enteredContinue reading “Theodore’s 3rd Birthday in Heaven๐ŸŽˆ”

ARTHUR IS โž“ ๐— ๐—ข๐—ก๐—ง๐—›๐—ฆ!

โซธ ๐•‹๐• ๐•ก ๐•‹๐•–๐•Ÿ ๐•‹๐•š๐••๐•“๐•š๐•ฅ๐•ค โซทโ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โž™ 18 pounds 13 ounceโž™ 28.75 inches longโž™ new words: โ€œGa-Ga!โ€ & โ€œMaaaa!โ€โž™ got 4 new teeth on top all at onceโž™ โ€œMr. Open-Mouth Slobbery Smoocherโ€โž™ smacks lips and signs for โ€œmoreโ€ foodโž™ favorite: swinging fast at the parkโž™ only drinks from special 360-rim sippy cupโž™ lowered crib since strong boyContinue reading “ARTHUR IS โž“ ๐— ๐—ข๐—ก๐—ง๐—›๐—ฆ!”

Seeing The Unseen

๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ดย ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒย ๐—จ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป Itโ€™s such a blessing and a curse.  The hard truth is when I look at a picture of my children, I instantly see the one that is missing.  It is my broken heart that sometimes has the 20/20 vision, while my regular eyesight takes a backseat. I see the unseen. I see the empty spaceContinue reading “Seeing The Unseen”

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒย ๐—™๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜ย ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ

๐Ÿฐ/๐Ÿต/๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ I saw the flat line.  It was a flat line that told me your heart was finally too tired to produce another beat.  An illuminated flat line had the ability to call the attention of dozens of people within seconds; my own eyes being the first and the last to acknowledge the magnitude of itsContinue reading “๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒย ๐—™๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜ย ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ”