Life in the Fast Lane

A typical night at our house these days looks like this:

That moment when you hit 'send'

I've started something that I call "letters to my girls".  Every couple of days (or sometimes multiple times a day) I write a quick email to an email address that I've set up with random notes to them.  It may be something funny they've done that day, milestones, or an event or some kind.  It partially serves as a journal of sorts for me to help remember all the small things and it is also something that I hope that the girls can enjoy one day when they are older and they think I am cool again.

Tonight I was writing them a little note about how much Irene loves meatloaf, Brooks loves to "wiggle", and Anna acts like she is being tortured when you try to give her a doughnut or any kind of good food.  After I hit 'send' I was overcome with sadness about the Sandy Hook tragedy and the parents that will never have those little moments with their children again.

I decided that I needed to write the girls a note about it.  I am not sure why...maybe this is turning into some type of therapy for me.  I have made a pact with myself not to look at any of the letters until a date in the future, but I cheated tonight and went to my sent items.  Here is a little exerpt from what I wrote:

"The Sandy Hook school tragedy happened three days ago.  I'm not sure if you even will know what that is.  How will what happened on December 14th 2012 shape our future?  Will it drastically influence the progression of certain laws or bring awareness around mental health issues and help to drive positive action for effective treatment options?  Will the story stick in our minds as the shocking and horrible tragedy that it is, or are there such devastating stories to come in the future that it will be only a vague memory?  I don't know.  We can only hope something good comes out of all of this suffering and sorrow.  I hope when we read this together years from now that we will remember with honor the victims and heroes....I hope that we have refused to live in fear....and  I hope that the nation has stood united in taking positive steps to preventing this awful tragedy from occurring again."

It goes on a little more, but you get the point.

So as soon as I hit 'send' on that one I felt a loss at not knowing answers to some of the questions.  Not a minute later I get an email from my friend Tarver with a link to this blog and a good idea:
http://thisishappilyeverafter.blogspot.com/2012/12/moving-on.html

I take this as more than a coincidence and a way that I can at least do a little small something personally to help us remember.  I vow to pray for Allison Wyatt and her family every day for the rest of my life.

Old Lady Ging

Our first baby, Ginger, turned 10 today.  We had a little celebration tonight.  We love our Ginger - neurotic, wood eating, ear scratching, death staring, outside hating - and all.

dirty diaper alert dog

We've enjoyed the holidays so far.  The girls met Santa and went to the Oxford Christmas parade.  Brooks liked the parade much better than she liked Santa.

Major Milestone

The grocery store.  With all three.  I realize this may not seem like a big deal but I HATE the grocery store in the first place and see no reason to torture myself even further by taking the girls.  But the girls got a grocery cart for their birthday and we realized they don't have a clue what that is, so a family trip was in order.  They were quite fascinated with the strange new world.  Maybe they will get to go again next year.

In other news we went to the beach for Thanksgiving.  So much fun.

love an empty beach

indoor pool was a hit

hit the beach after Thanksgiving lunch

exploring the condo

patio dining

found a place to watch the egg bowl

Jack and Uncle Matt celebrating the Ole Miss win

The Windy City

Last week I went to Chicago for work for a few days and then Carolyn and Anna Ruth flew up and we stayed the weekend.  So much fun.  We ate, drank, walked, and shopped.  Great short getaway.  It was so hard to decide where to eat.

After the huge Chicago Christmas parade (which we had no idea about when we booked the trip)

don't ask

celebrating our trip

can't get it open

so this guy had to do it

Pizza Pot Pie at Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder

Frontera Grill

Quartino

Yolk

I forgot to get a picture of the food at Cafe Ba-ba-Reeba which was amazing.

First Birthday

I've been meaning to blog about the girls' birthday but I think I am in denial that they are actually a year old.  That is just crazy.  I've been in total sappy parent mode and now I understand what people mean when they tell you time flies.  I think the most common statement out of my mouth the last month was "this time last year".  It does not seem like a year ago that I was in the hospital so huge and waiting for their arrival and praying that we could make it to 34 weeks.  Last year we were visiting the NICU every day and celebrating every ounce gained and every cc they took by mouth instead of feeding tube.  Now they are 18 lbs (Anna), 20 lbs (Brooks), and 22 lbs (Irene) and drinking real milk by themselves.  We were scared to death a year ago over the news of Anna's brain hemorrhage and now have watched her grow into an extremely feisty and active 1 year old.  Their personalities are all so unique and wonderful and we are amazed with every single thing they do.  I'm going to stop now because I could go on and on and on and on and on and on and on.  And on.

Here are a few birthday pictures from the party.  It was great fun with family and friends.

Sweet Irene

Feisty Anna

Wild child Brooks

Irene and Fran (Irene just wanted Fran's drink the whole time)

birthday girls

sugar high

with cousins Fran, Lyndy, and Kat

With Grump and Meme

family pic

post party with Honey, Aunt Melanie, and cousins Kathleen and Sarah Beth

They've enjoyed playing with all their new toys.

cell phone is always the favorite toy

Brooks loves to tackle