It's Been A While

I've been avoiding this blog post until I could be more emotionally stable about it.  First we'll discuss the positives about our Christmas/Holiday.

• We loved having my brother and sister-in-law in town from California for the entire week.  Mira "remembered" them because we talk about them all through the year, but she didn't REALLY remember them, so it was fun for her to get to spend time with them.  She fell in love with them and had so much fun!  Jeff and Lindsay babysat the kiddos the Monday of Christmas week so I could go to the dentist. After that we went to lunch (where Isaiah had the biggest, leakiest poop of his entire life. It ended up all over me and him, and I'm pretty sure we scared my brother from ever having kids). When we got home from lunch, Mira said, "this is the best day ever!"  I'm so thankful she had a great time! Jeff babysat both of them by himself (after Isaiah was in bed) the Wednesday evening of Christmas week. Mira and Jeff watched Toy Story 3 together and Jeff said Mira ignored him the entire movie.  After that she was her chipper little self again. He may have panicked a little when Isaiah woke up screaming only 5 minutes after we had left home, but luckily settled down so Jeff didn't have to rescue him.
• The kiddos enjoyed Christmas and all their gifts. Mira received several princess outfits from Jeff and Lindsay, which were housed in a glorious trunk also containing tiarras, slippers, rings, and a princess wand.  Her favorite part of that gift? The trunk. She stores her Toy Story friends (Woody, Buzz, and Jesse) in the trunk and takes it with her wherever she goes in the house. And we're not talking a small trunk here, we're talking the sucker is pretty heavy for an almost three year old. She acts out part of Toy Story 3 with her toys and the trunk. Pretty hilarious.
• I had my second OB visit on January 4th in which I got to hear the baby's heartbeat. LOVE that sound! And my doctor switched my due date back to July 7th. Remember how I was panicked about her changing the due date? All that panicking and she changed it back as quickly as she had changed it in the first place. After looking at the ultrasound again and realizing it said July 11th (instead of the 13th as she had said my due date was) she said the date will be somewhere between the 7th and the 11th. Thank the Lord. I was also thankful that after all my ridiculous holiday eating, I had actually lost three pounds. It's the small things in life that make one happy.

And now you're wondering why this is an emotional post. I found out on Christmas morning that a friend from college and her husband were killed in a head-on collision on Christmas Eve.  The couple in the other vehicle were also killed.  My friend, Jenny, and her husband, Chris's 8 month old daughter survived the crash. Chris and Jenny lived in College Station, Texas and weren't very far from home, on a highway just outside of College Station, when another vehicle hydroplaned and slammed into their SUV.  There was no reaction time, no brake marks. It was sudden and tragic, and we've all been trying to come to the reality of the situation.  Jenny's family lives in Edmond, Ok and Chris's in Stillwater, Ok.  Their funeral was on January 5th in Stillwater.  For now, Chris's sister, who lives in Dallas, is caring for the couple's daughter, Emily (Emmy for short). Emmy is doing remarkably well. Both femers were broken, she had internal bleeding from the seat belt, and a small skull fracture. She's still in a half body cast as her legs heal. It's unclear at this time whether Emmy will continue stay with Chris's sister. The blessing in this situation is that Emmy has so many loved ones, there are others who would love to care for her as well. I cannot imagine what their families have gone through and will continue to experience in this grieving process. Please pray for them. I know they still have Chris and Jenny's house to go through in College Station. 

You can read the news article about the crash here.
You can watch the news story here.