Heavyweight Champ!

Weighing in at 8 lbs 10 oz today!

Our little "Fighter" is really growing and thriving!

Nurse Ann comes to our home to check in on us every couple of weeks. She weighs and measures Annabelle, and is here for any questions or concerns we may need a nurse for. She is really a wonderful person. We are blessed to have her as such a help and encouragement.

This is Nurse Ann

Thank you Ann! We truly appreciate you.

Welcomed Rain

This morning was the right one for a good rain. A nice low booming rumble of thunder came followed by the ssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh of falling water. A calming symphony to my ears. It was gorgeous. The heat needed that shush here in San Diego. It was a bit too loud for the end of September. Quiet down you Heat!

This time if year I really miss Seattle. Pops and I lived there for a good chunk of time and it will always be a part of me. The husband ( "Pops" ) is a Native Southern Californian, and we eventually decided that we'd rather look forward to the rain than the sun. We got rained out. So a few years back, we moved back to where we started here in San Diego. We really love it here. Fall has always been my favorite season though, and Southern California doesn't seem to think it's quite as important as I do. I have pangs for the hovering colors of Wallingford, Green Lake, Freemont, Queen Anne, Revenna, and Madison Park. The charming streets of Seattle. I want to walk through Pioneer Square ( Old Seattle ), enjoy the market and all of the old brick buildings with my cup of coffee, and need to wear a scarf.

Come Spring, our friends and family there will be singing the opposite blues that I am now. Coveting the sunshine and begging the halt of the constant drizzle and often downpour, and our decision again felt right this morning as I welcomed the rain.

Is the Party Really Over?

Have you ever noticed that's it's often after the party is over that the really good stuff happens? A smaller, more intimate gathering, with the better bottle of wine poured because it can actually serve everyone now. The vibe is of the truest and most relaxed kind. The conversation is more candid and has more depth. The jokes are funnier, and the laughs are bigger and last longer. Sometimes you even get in a good cry.

On August 7th I gave birth to our little miracle child. We named her Annabelle. She is the party after the party. My husband and I have been married for sixteen years, and were so excited to finally start a family. Early on in our pregnancy, we were told that Annie had a severe form of Spina Bifida. That she wouldn't be able to walk, among many other things. We were repeatedly encouraged to end the pregnancy. This was not an option for us. It was of our deepest conviction to keep this baby, our gift. Later on in our pregnancy we were told that she would probably not survive outside of my womb. My heart surged from the most exquisite pain imaginable to the most jubilant celebration on the 2nd day of her life, when she successfully survived major surgery closing the giant opening in her back. On the 3rd day of her life, she survived yet another major surgery putting a shunt in her head and through her little body to drain fluid from her brain. It has not even been eight weeks yet, and has been an amazing journey watching her grow and thrive beyond all expectations.

God has blessed us with an astonishing amount of love, support, and generosity of every kind through friends, family , and even people we have never met who have been touched by our Annabelle. We thank Him for this circle of people, and for her every day.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a grand soiree, ( we certainly had one for her! ) but it's the post party that I love the most. We have celebrated her life each day since the day she was born. This is one post party, with all the challenges known and unknown, that I intend to do my best to make as artful and lovely as I possibly can. So let's push on til' dawn!