Our Christmas...

Merry Christmas everyone!!  ...Only a few days late!

I know it is the 28th and I am just getting around to posting our Stimpson Christmas!

Here's the scoop...

Decorating for Christmas started a couple days after Thanksgiving.  Chris did a fabulous job stringing lights up outside.  We haven't put up lights for a while (mainly because Chris didn't want to, since he is the "light guy").  This year though, he was totally into it and we have loved it!  It brings back lots of childhood memories!

Next came the inside decorating...which is my job! 

I love to decorate and make my house cozy and inviting. 

 I am not sure it is pretty to everyone else, but to me (and I think my family) it seems pretty cozy.

Every year, I say that I am going to change the colors on our tree.  And every year, I don't.

I did however change the ribbon and change the way I put it on.  I am not convinced I liked it.  But, it was so much work to put up that I wasn't about to change it...even if I didn't totally love it.  It was still pretty though!

 

So usually, I am so anxious to get up all the decorations and enjoy it for the entire month of December.  I usually then leave them up until a week or two into January.  Well, this year, I finally finished putting them up the week before Christmas and just finished taking them all down today!  I told Chris it must be because I am pregnant and hormonal and am having a huge urge to declutter and clean!!!  It was stressing me out!  

 Once I got all the decorations up, I really liked it...while it lasted!  Here's a bunch of pictures of the main level of the house.  I only did one simple thing down in the basement where the tv is.  We were going to put up another tree down there, but didn't ever get around to it.  Too many things going on and not enough motivation!

Picture this next one with a big mirror over the fireplace/stove.  I used to have a picture up there, but decided it was really bugging me and didn't look good.  So now, there is a big dark, almost black framed mirror on the mantel behind the "Believe" sign.  Oh, and yes, I finally had Chris put some tacky stuff on the back of the kids pictures so they would actually be straight....obviously, he hadn't done it yet in this picture!

Chloe and Parker thought these little window cling characters I found at the pharmacy were awesome! 

They had fun helping me put them up.

Like usual, we have been doing a lot of remembering. 

Remembering her sweet face and her sweet presence in our home. 

Remembering her laugh and her sweetness and her love for her family. 

Remembering our Karleigh Ann and missing our daughter and sister. 

She will always be near and we felt her close as we were together as a family this Christmas!

Now with the decorating out of the way, it was time to focus on our Christmas Eve dinner party and spudnut making...and devouring!  We invited 3 different families, a single man in our ward and the elders over for dinner and spudnuts (donuts made out of potato flakes) on Christmas Eve.  Counting our family, there were 24 people here!  Lots of fun! 

Chris's family has a tradition of making spudnuts for Christmas Eve (or maybe it's New Year's Eve...can't remember).  We have never done it except one year when we were in Raleigh at my parents house for Christmas.  So we decided it would be great to have lots of people over to eat yummy donuts with us!  First we all munched on LOTS of yummy finger foods for dinner.  Chris then got to work making the dough.  After it had risen, he got to cooking the spudnuts and I was the glazer!  We made a good team!  Everyone enjoyed HOT spudnuts!  YUM!!

I only took a picture of these two cuties all night!  This is Parker's little buddy!

 

..........................................................................................

CHRISTMAS MORNING 2010!!!

We first started with the traditional "I hate to take pictures on the stairs because I just want to go see what Santa brought" picture!  I had to do this my whole childhood, so now I am passing on the joy!  As you can tell, Parker was thrilled!  Really, he just wanted his dad!  Chris has been on vacation for a week and Parker has rarely left his side!

There...All better!! 

And no...my pregnant self didn't get in the picture...for very good reason!!

Opening presents...

Tools!!!  Now Parker can "help" Chris "fix" stuff!!  He asks to "help" and "fix" ALL the time!!

Even good old Baxter knew it was Christmas morning!  He was so excited to get his yearly present...a new ball and dog treats!  It was so funny to see how he totally remembered what the presents and morning meant!  His tail hardly stopped wagging for a split second until Chris gave him his present!  Then he was off to chew his ball! 

Chloe modeling the Rapunzel hair that she got from Grandma and Grandpa Clay and the Leapfrog she got from Santa.  They took us to see Tangled while they were here for Thanksgiving, so the hair was a big hit!

The rest of the day was spent watching movies, playing with toys, taking naps and just being lazy.  Then Chris and I made a "fancy" meal for dinner, complete with a candle burning on the table.  Zach and Chloe got to have sparkling cider in goblets and thought that was pretty awesome!  Parker decided that he needed to "help" me set the table.  So after I set it, he set his silverware aside and set his place like this.....

Darling boy! (and no...I didn't even get him dressed all day...LAZY day I tell ya!)

We had a great Christmas and hope you did too!  It was a very busy time getting ready for everything, but we enjoyed it just the same.  Chris worked extra hard to make this year a fabulous Christmas and spoiled me.  It has been nice having him home for a week and we will miss him when he goes back to work tomorrow. 

I love Christmas-time!  I love what the meaning behind all the decorations, celebrations and gift-giving is.  I love that I have a knowledge of Jesus Christ and his mission on this earth.  It is because of Him and his life and atonement that we will be with our sweet Karleigh again.  I am eternally grateful and have felt so full of gratitude this Christmas for His miraculous gift to me - to all of us.  It has been wonderful for Chris and I to sit down with our children and talk about the true meaning of Christmas and to talk about our Savior.  My heart is full of thanks for all the many, MANY wonderful blessings I have been given - especially the gift of a wonderful husband and children.  I love them with all my heart and am so thankful to be able to be with them FOREVER!!! 

Merry Christmas!!

I am A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E!!!!!

I just got glasses on Saturday! 

Am I the cutest little 22 month old you have ever seen!?!?!

The eye dr. thinks he knows everything and told my mom that my eyes are extremely farsighted and also keep going cross-eyed!  What's the big deal?!?  I have still succeeded in being the busiest Stimpson kid, AND I still totally know how to tease my older sister and make her squeal!  Obviously, I can SEE!!

 

I have already figured out how to rip them off my face in .5 seconds after my mom puts them on and turns her back!  On Saturday, while we were decorating the church for the ward Christmas party, I had a great time tossing them on the floor in the gym wherever I was at and then running away.  My mom made me show her where they were everytime so she could put them back on...boo on my mom!!!  Today I got smarter and decided that if I handed them to Chloe each time, I might get away with not having to put them back on my cute face!  Too bad Chloe thinks she needs to tattle on me everytime and take my glasses to my mom!  Then I just have to put them back on...AGAIN!  I made my mom put them back on my face about 15-20 times this morning.  She said it was driving her nuts!  I don't know what her problem is...she should just let me not wear them and we would all be happy!!  But, she thinks she is the boss of me and told me that I still have to wear them.  After taking them off a few times at the grocery store today, my mom promised me a fruit snack if I would leave them on.  So, I was super awesome and left them on just so I could eat my yummy snack in the car!  I am so smart and think my mom will get a good workout everyday by chasing me around to put my glasses on!  We'll see who wins this battle....HAHAHA!!!!  ME!!!!

Grandma, Grandpa and Joy

My parents and little sister, Joy, are leaving today to make their journey from North Carolina all the way to Maine!  Oh, and their new little dog, Sadie!  We get to have them here for Thanksgiving and are SO excited!!!  We are so thankful they are willing to make the trek up here to the cold, and probably rainy, place we call home.  So thankful to have them here for the holiday!!!

My dad is quite an amazing person!  He is always so willing to help others and does an amazing job when he does.  He gets up every morning and runs 3 miles on the treadmill.  He loves his family tremendously and loves to tell not-so-funny jokes that we are supposed to laugh at.  My dad works hard and has often puts up with crappy bosses (and job assignments) at work so he can make sure he is providing for his family.  He is very good about not talking about others behind their back and keeping confidences.  I love my Dad!!

Dad holding newborn Karleigh.  Notice all the blankets on her? 

She had a hard time regulating her body temperature.

Baby Parker chillin' out early in the morning with Grandpa!

My mom is one of my best friends.  I call her when I'm happy, bored, sad, lonely, needing help, the list could go on.  She is always there for me and will drop anything to help one of her kids when they are in need.  She has helped me through more than I can express.  She has been there for the birth of each of my children, even actually in the room when I delivered Chloe.  She was there for every surgery that Karleigh had.  She loves the scriptures and faithfully reads them everyday.  My mom is beautiful inside and out and I am SO grateful that I get to be her daughter.  I love my Mom!!

Mom smiling to Parker. Dad in the background.

Thanksgiving 2008 in Raleigh, NC at Grandma and Grandpa's house!

Kamryn, Grandma and Chloe

Grandma Clay tickling Karleigh.  Karleigh loved her Grandma!

Joy, my youngest and super beautiful sister!  She is fabulous!  She is the sweetest of all of us Clay girls and loves all her neices and nephews.  Of course, they all love her the best and she always gets to be Favorite-of-all-favorites!  Joy was just 4 years old when I got married.  She was my little buddy all the time before I went away to college.  I remember missing her SO much when I went away to college and then even after I got married.  Joy is very smart and works very hard to keep good grades.  She is an excellent violin player and has even started teaching violin lessons.  When any of us older sisters have "fashion questions"...we just call Joy!  She is super stylish and just beautiful.  Not just beautiful in looks, but beautiful inside.  She is kind and caring and gentle.  I love my Joy!!

 Playing with Chloe at the go-cart track in Raleigh back in March.

August 2008 at the Mesa, AZ Temple visitors center.

Beautiful!

Date Night!!!

I am thankful tonight for a MUCH needed date with my hubby!!  And especially grateful to our friend, Sarah, who is so willingly keeping our kids!  The kids are excited and won't miss us a bit!  Yeah for date night!!!

Snuggles & Morgan

I love to snuggle with my kids!  When Zach was really little, I would bring him into my bed most mornings and he would snuggle with me while I tried to finish waking up.  Sometimes when Chris was home, he would go back and forth between both of us for snuggle time.  I loved it.  I also remember many mornings when Chris would already be gone to class and Zach would wake up earlier than I wanted to get up.  I would put him in bed with me and he would then go back to sleep for another 30-60 minutes!  Heaven!

I have done this routine with all of our kids.  Those snuggle times with Karleigh are etched in my memories and I love that I have those to help heal my heart.  She loved to be held close and I loved to listen to her breathe (quite loudly) and just stroke her little face and arms and hands.  It would calm her little muscles that wanted to move wherever they decided at that point.  We would talk, laugh and just be.  It was wonderful!

 Parker is so full of mischief, climbing and curiosity all the time.  But last night, right after dinner, he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "Neck hurt."  I rushed him to the toilet where we made it just in time for him to throw up in the toilet.  He looked at me crying and said, "Spit in toilet!"  Then all he wanted to do was snuggle on the couch and for me to "hold you" (hold me). 

This morning after eating breakfast (Chloe was still asleep and Zach was gone to school), I wasn't feeling too particularly great.  My sweet little Parker brought me a book and said, "read it, snuggle!"  That is code for...get the big blanket out, lay down on the couch with me snuggling next to you as close as we can and then read me a story.  We read and reread some of his favorite books (favorite for right now).  He laid by me for a very long time, "nice and warm" as he says.  Then we sang songs and played tickles and played, "oh no, here comes daddy!  HIDE!"...to which he would cling even tighter to me and say, "Oh no, save me!", to which I would get to squeeze him even tighter and get squeezed back. 

I was grateful for this little bit of snuggle time alone with my baby this morning.  It was wonderful while it lasted and oh, how I wish it would have lasted longer.  For the rest of the morning, he was a tornado around the house - getting into everything that he wasn't supposed to...over and over and over!  The second Chloe tells me she has to go to the bathroom (because she always has to let me know everything little thing she does and where she will be - and I have to do the same!), Parker will take off running as fast as he can to beat her to the bathroom.  All he wants to do is stand there while she is in the bathroom, but he knows it bugs Chloe to death and he can get her to scream!  It is quite hillarious to watch his face when he does it!  He loves to tease her already because he can get such a rise out of her!  He does the same thing when I tell her to go get dressed or clean her room.  He takes off full speed to get there before she does so that he doesn't get locked out of the room.  Funny!

I am grateful for his happy little self that loves to say everything these days and makes me laugh.  I am so glad he is such a snuggly boy and that even though he keeps me going all the time - he is just as genuinely sweet and nice as can be.  He really is just such a nice little boy!  He loves to hug anyone and everyone - even weirdos at Wal-Mart.  He loves to say Hi to everyone.  He is obsessed with a little baby doll and always tells me that she is crying and he needs to give it a hug.  He then puts the doll to his chest and pats her back gently.  Seriously, he is just a darling little guy!  Have I said that already?!?  I love my boy and I am so grateful I get to be his mom!!!

And one last little "I'm grateful" today...

To my darling, beautiful little neice, Morgan. 

This is my sister, Marci's, daughter.  Morg's turned 7 years old today!!  Happy Birthday, Morgan! 

You see, Morgan was the only other Clay grandchild born when we had Karleigh.  Morgan's middle name is Ann, same as Karleigh's.  She loved Karleigh and Karleigh loved her! (most of the time - see below)  She is only a little over a year younger than Karleigh, so seeing her do things has often times brought thoughts to my mind of, oh yeah, Karleigh would have done that last year, maybe. 

Since Karleigh passed, Morgan has always held a special place in her heart for my little girl and I am grateful to little Miss Morgan for remembering Karleigh and loving her for who she was.  (and I couldn't say that Morgan did it all on her own.  Her wonderful mom, Marci, has very much kept Karleigh's memory alive for Morgan!)  Thanks, Morgan for loving your cousin!  She loved you lots and I am sure watches over you often!  I love you!!!  Happy Birthday, Morg's!!!

(Karleigh-1 1/2, Zach-4 and Morgan-8 or 9 months - the girls wearing the matching dresses Grandma Clay picked out!)

Doctors and Nurses

My sister-in-law, Melanie, has had a rough week, but hopefully is on the mend.  She was due with her 6th child in 5 1/2 weeks and her body decided to go into labor early.  Though I have only some of the info, what I know is that she ended up being transfered by ambulance to a bigger hospital, because she also came down with appendicitis!  How awful!!  So, last night they did a cesarean to take the baby out and then she went right in for more surgery to have her appendix removed!  As far as the update last night, she and the baby are doing ok. 

So, Chris and I (and the rest of the family) are very grateful for doctors and nurses that know what they are doing, and do it well.  We are thankful that Melanie didn't develop the appendicitis way earlier in her pregnancy!  And we are also very grateful to have another little neice!  Welcome to the world, baby de Gaston!!  We love you, Mel, and pray for a speedy recovery!

Hmmm...

Well...let's be honest...today was one of those days where it is hard to feel grateful about a lot.  Not because I didn't have a good day or get the things accomplished that I set out to do.  No, I actually DID get Chloe's, Parker's AND my room cleaned today!  Doesn't sound like much?...well, you didn't see them when I started, did you!!?!??! 

Like I do most every Saturday, I call the kids up from their Saturday morning cartoons or movie and hand them their list of chores.  They know the drill.  Get it done - have a great rest of the day playing and doing whatever.  Whine and complain and be rude...earn extra jobs!  Well, let's just say that a certain child of mine wasn't too in the mood to do the work asked and decided that throwing fits and doing half-way jobs (my pet-peeve) ALL day would be a better decision.  Hmmm...I am not sure it was such a good decision on this childs part.  Extra jobs were handed out and extra whining, complaining and being rude followed.  Thus, my thoughts haven't quite been on the gratitude scale they should be today. 

But, I did have some time of peace and nice-ness from said child, so I did try to remind myself to think of something I was grateful for.  And here are my thoughts today....

Darling little Parker decided that 6:45 AM was wake-up time....on a Saturday!  BOO!  BUT...what I am grateful for is that my nice hubby got up with him (and the other two kids that soon were up) and took them downstairs for a bowl of cereal.  He then did the dishes (yes, yes...from last night...hey...it wasn't my dishnight!!  He was quite exhausted last night from a horrible day at work.), and kept the kids down there with him.  An hour later he returns with Parker-pants so he could go get started out in the garage like we had planned he would.  An hour?  Did I really get to doze back off to sleep for a whole hour!?!?!  Oh yes, I was grateful!  This bladder of mine seems to not want to work at night and I am up quite a lot these days!  So thanks Chris for the extra sleep!

Chris also did something else for me today.  I am not quite sure WHAT it was that he did, I just know he did something.  Something with the breaks on my van.  You see, quite some time ago, Chris changed my breaks on the van and ever since, when I back down our driveway, they squeak and squeal. Yes, annoying and embarrasing, but sometimes if I did it just right, it wouldn't squeak.  So last week, he finally got around to getting them fixed (it may or may not have been because I threatened to take it to the shop), and walla! No more squeaking!!!....just a scratching noise when I stopped.  He said the rotors just needed to be turned.  Well, tonight when I drove the van...there was nothing.  NO sounds!!  I don't know what he did to fix it...but it was a lovely thing to not hear anything!  So, I am super grateful for that!  I guess Chris won a bunch of bonus points today, eh?

The last thing I am thankful for today is the fact that even though my little 1 1/2 year old decided that nap-time was "jump-in-my-bed-as-high-as-I-can" time today all while saying "Mommy, come here!" over and over - he still managed to be a super darling, happy little huggable kid all day long!  I have drilled into him the following statement, to which he promptly and happily replies....

Me: "Parker, guess what?!?"
Parker: "Huh?"
Me: "Mommy loves...."
Parker: "Parker!"
Me: "Parker loves...."
Parker: "Mommy!"

(Photo taken January 2010 - he's a lot bigger now!!)

Sometimes he will want to tease me and fill in the blanks with different names.  Most always, that is how we say it and then he usually will give me a "squeezee hug" and kiss!  I love my baby! (who's not really a baby anymore!)  I am all geared up to potty train soon...!  Yikes!  But he is totally ready, it is just me that is not quite sure I am.  He loves to sit on the big toilet and go both, so, hopefully soon, we will get started with that.  Wish us (I mean me!) luck!!

Music

Last night I accompanied on the piano two woman singing at our Relief Society meeting.  Our ward does their Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner early so that more people can come.  The woman sang beautiful and it was fun to play for someone again.  I sat down and my thoughts drifted from the next speaker to how grateful I am for musical talent.  It really has blessed my life immensly. 

Which then made me think of my wonderful parents and all the sacrifices they made to pay for and take me to lessons.  All the hours my mom spent driving me to and from, along with my sisters, adds up to LOTS of time!  And let's not forget when I was younger and first starting lessons that my mom was my teacher!  So, lots of time and energy spent sitting next to me teaching me the notes and helping me understand what I was doing. 

And now in hindsight, I am thankful for all the drama my mom had to go through to get me to even sit and practice.  Now, I don't nessecarily think I am overly grateful to my mom to humming the correct note to me EVERY time I messed up!  Right, MOM!!  Urrgghh, that bugged!  But, I guess it in a way has helped me to be able to pick out notes better while sightreading music while singing. =)

My mom was the driving factor behind us kids learning to sing and play and instrument.  My dad loved us doing it and was glad to pay for it, but it was my mom who had to do all the shuttling around and reminders to practice.  I am thankful for my mom and for the influence her musical abilities has been on my life. 

I am grateful for all the piano teachers I have had, yes, even my mom.  My favorite piano teacher would definetely be Sandy Beck, my wonderful friend, Heidi's mom.  She is such a sweet and caring lady and I loved taking lessons from her.  My sisters and I took lessons from Sandy, and her kids took from my mom. Which worked out perfect because while the other siblings were doing their lessons, we would get to go play up in Heidi's room!  Barbies, Barbies, Barbies!!  Heidi had ALL the Barbie stuff, or so it seemed!  The Barbie house, the Barbie car, tons of clothes, Ken dolls!  All the stuff we dreamed of having!  We wouldn't want to go down for lessons because we were having too much fun!  Thanks for sharing all your Barbies and toys, Heidi!! 

Lastly, I am grateful that one of my callings at church is the ward organist.  That was a scary proposition when they asked me since I had never touched the thing before!  I think it is a lot different than the piano.  I still don't know how to do the foot pedals, and maybe someday I will figure that out.  I was pretty nervous to play at first and believe me, there were many songs that sounded pretty strange for those singing!  Let's just say, you have to make sure you are playing in the right key signature...not the key signature of the last song you just played!  =)  But I KNEW that Heavenly Father would help me learn to play the organ because He wasn't going to want me to totally bomb it every week and totally drive the Spirit from the meeting.  He has helped me learn the organ and has never let me bomb it so bad that I wanted to run out of the chapel in tears...almost a couple times....but it ended up being ok. 

So, I am thankful for being able to play the piano and also carry a tune vocally.  While I am far from anything awesome in either, it is nice to pull out of my back pocket when needed.  I am grateful for it!

Needing more gratitude

It is almost 1:30 in the morning.  Tonight, I actually went to bed early - as in I was in my bed laying down a couple minutes before 9!  That rarely happens!  But...I was tired...or so I thought.  I had the bed to myself the last few nights as Chris was out of town.  Well, except for the night the wind and rain howled so loudly and scared Chloe and she ended up crawling in bed with me for most of the night.  But...2 out of the 3 nights, I had it to myself.  I don't like it when Chris is gone, but after our time living in Indiana where he traveled Monday - Friday almost weekly for 3 years...it is not such a shock anymore.  Thankfully, he got home safely tonight (after driving all afternoon and being exhausted, he then had to go to the store and buy me a new battery for my car and install it as my car decided to competely die after a certain little boy left the light on for a day! It's ok though...it needed to be replaced.  I just feel bad he had to do it tonight.)  Tonight though...I kept waking up - over and over.  Yeah, part of it probably was due to the fact that a certain person kept snoring...but, it was also just me.  I couldn't sleep.  SO...here I am blogging and trying to figure out how to finally make a book from my blog posts!  

I have had this lingering thought lately that I have not been very grateful for all of the things I have.  I am grateful for the obvious things, but often overlook the small things - things I take for granted.  I have been in a slump for the last couple months.  Why?  Well, probably because I haven't felt very good...ya know, morning sickness can do that to you!  Yep, that's right!  Stimpson baby #5 will be making his/her arrival next May!  We are excited!  It was a bit of a surprise, but a fabulous surprise nonetheless. I am almost 13 weeks, so hopefully will be done with the sickies soon!  

8 week ultrasound - Yes, there are multiple sacs, if your wondering. No, there are not multiple babies growing. Only one baby actually developed. I'm bummed, Chris is relieved!

So when you feel pukey for 2 months and other stressors going on (yes, I know I sound like a wanny-pants because there are many people that have it way worse!), I have kind of gotten into this blah slump and haven't been very observant of all that I DO have.  I have much to be thankful for and I need to remind myself more of that. 

President Monson's talk in the October conference just reaffirmed that need.  He said,

"My brothers and sisters, do we remember to give thanks for the blessings we receive? Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love.

A grateful heart...comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. This requires conscious effort—at least until we have truly learned and cultivated an attitude of gratitude. Often we feel grateful and intend to express our thanks but forget to do so or just don’t get around to it. Someone has said that “feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”


When we encounter challenges and problems in our lives, it is often difficult for us to focus on our blessings. However, if we reach deep enough and look hard enough, we will be able to feel and recognize just how much we have been given."
 
So that is my goal for the next long while.  I want to cultivate an attitude of gratitude, because as President Monson also says, "Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love."  I need to feel more of that love from above.  I need to be more worthy of that love and recognize it.  
 
Most days, I am going to try to post something I am grateful for.  I know...kind of doesn't seem possible given my blogging record.  But, I will try.  Hopefully, I will be able to be more grateful and recognize all that I have.  I don't really think many people even read this blog much anymore, but if you do...here is what I am thankful for in the middle of the night tonight...
 
A tiny little baby growing inside my belly.  It truly is a miraculous thing if you think about it!  I am grateful for this opportunity to help grow our family and count my blessings that I am able to.  The whole process of having a baby has never come easy to Chris and I (with this baby being the exception).  It usually took a while and then being pregnant is not a fun thing for me.  Delivery has not always gone as smoothly as I would have liked, but I am here and that is all that matters.  I am thankful for the opportunity to once again participate in another little miracle and pray that I will be able to remember that despite the pain and discomfort of pregnancy.

Guests and tulips

October was kind of a crazy up and down month and flew by very fast.  In a lot of ways, that is a good thing.  I sometimes think that things happen all at once for reasons unknown at the time.  It was busy with Brittany (Chris's youngest sister) and her family in town, and then my sister, Mindi and her family in town.  I never thought that when we moved clear out here to Maine at the end of the world it seemed like, that we would have visitors!!  We are missing Brittany and her family since they just moved away.  It was fun to have them living so close by in Boston!  We loved having Mindi's family here!  Those little people of hers are just darling and I miss their cuteness around my house.  We really do enjoy visitors...so if anyone wants to travel to New England for the winter...(haha...I know...ya right!) 

Little Miss Abby, Brittany and John's little girl and Parker's buddy!!  I got to do her hair and she actually kept it in all day!!  She is a dolly face!

Mindi, Ryan, Kamryn and Carson (twins!) and baby Weston.  Chloe was in heaven with two little people her age to play with all week!  I wish they could be together more often and I wish I could squish that hefty Weston some more!  They are such good kids and I miss them lots!  It was fun to see Mindi and Ryan too and have late night chats with them!

Karleigh's birthday this year was different.  Not because we thought of her any less, but because of the circumstances.  I had been having some testing done late into the night the night before Karleigh's birthday (don't worry, I'm fine) and upon leaving, I got a text from my dear friend, TJ telling me they were headed out to CA to be by her brother's side as he was passing away from his battle with Leukemia and a bone marrow transplant.  I immediately called her as soon as I got to my car to head home and we cried together.  I wanted to tell her it would be ok and that he would make it.  But I remembered someone telling me that as I drove to the hospital to see my dying child and hating those words afterwards.  I am sure what I said was probably of little comfort and didn't ease her pain.  I wish I had just the right words to say in hard times, but I often stumble and mess up.  I only hope I didn't make it worse.

Through the night, we sent brief messages and I just had such a hard time sleeping as I felt so horrible for TJ, Tiffany, her parents, her family and Todd's wife and son.  I lay their envisioning what they were going through, knowing I really only have a small clue.  So, so sad - beyond sad.  That morning, on Karleigh's birthday, I recieved TJ's message telling me he had passed.  I rolled over and showed Chris the message and cried.  Cried for my friends.  Cried at the loss of a good man, who had so much going for him and his family.  Cried for the pain that they feel and cried for the pain that I felt as my dear friends ached and longed for their wonderful brother and son.  Tears still come freely as I think of what a great loss this is for their family.  I wished so bad that I could fly out there and hug my friends as they grieved...as if that would make it all better.  I knew it wouldn't...but I just wanted to be there for support.

The day started out rather slowly as Chris and I felt such pain for them, probably made even more tender by our own personal circumstances.  We decided that although we felt such sorrow for TJ and her family, we still needed to remember our daughter's special day.  Chef Zach made the cupcakes all by himself and Chloe helped me decorate them.  The kids helped package the tulips and get everything ready to take to a few friends.  Chris talked me into taking a brief nap so that I could enjoy the rest of the day, since the few days before were so exhausting.  After I woke up, we all went outside (including my niece Abby who we were tending for the weekend) and planted Karleigh's tulips.  I love that we can plant bulbs on her birthday and they come up in the spring around the time she passed away.  Such a wonderful way to remember her and I am thankful that we started that tradition on Karleigh's 3rd birthday, the first on after she passed.  Although, I am assuming up here in cold, cold Maine, they probably won't bloom until after her April date...but that's ok.  Maybe they will be peeking out of the ground by then. 

Happy 8th Birthday, sweet Karleigh girl.  We love you and miss your smiling face.