A T T H E P A R K ' S

Today, November 8th, 2014, they said our baby would be due. I have dreaded this day ever since OUR LOSS in April.  Nothing has really prepared us for what we should expect to go through since that day and in fact, it seems that every event this entire year has been documented in my mind as either before or after our miscarriage.  I know that at some point I won't think in terms like that, but I don't think you ever really get "over it" either.  You never, ever , forget. Today could have been the day I brought our little one into this world and that makes the day especially painful.  Today, we should be looking into his or her eyes, hearing that first cry, and wrapping little hands around our fingers.  But our arms are empty and my belly is flat, evidence that I am not bringing a baby into this world.  Today I've carried this baby full-term, in my heart.  The pain becomes fresh again as we have passed through the "markers" or mile...

***Update:  For whatever reason, blogger didn't put up my post when I had scheduled it to be posted, so here it is a few days late. If you've never lost a child, survived a miscarriage or a stillbirth, you may be unaware that October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month and the 15th is the universal day of remembrance.   There are events taking place across the country this month raising awareness and offering support and resources for those that are walking along this journey.  If you have suffered a miscarriage or a stillbirth, please know that you are not alone.  My husband and I had no idea how many of our friends and family had gone through miscarriages, suffering in silence, until we had experienced our own. 1 in 4 will lose a baby to miscarriage In the US, 1 in 160-200 will experience a stillbirth In the US, just over 11,000 infants will die within 24 hours of their birth each year Let's speak out about pregnancy loss.  Let's not suffe...

Lucy is our newest niece, born just last week exactly on her due date!  Hubby and I spent last Saturday introducing ourselves and I got in some lengthy Aunty Julie time with her.  She is so precious and such a gift.  Happy and healthy.  We even got to witness a huge smile from Lucy, even if it was just gas. Her big brother is so sweet and so gentle with her.  I was lucky enough to capture the photo below showing big brother very gently rubbing baby sister's five day old head.  Priceless.

As I write this, it has been 9.5 weeks post surgery and I have been working now for the last 2.5 weeks.  Below is a photo on the morning of my first day back to work (sorry it's a little fuzzy but it's the only one I have).  I actually look pretty tired in the photo and believe me, I was.  While I was certainly not prepared to go back to work, I'm glad to be getting back into a normal routine.  Life has been busy since then, playing catch-up on housework, studying when I can, having guests over, beings guests of others, and enjoying Duck football!   The parents of a coworker/girlfriend of mine invited me to a Duck game and I had a great time.  We had great seats and bonus, the Ducks won!  What's really neat is that she has become a really good friend of mine and I feel super blessed to have her in my life.  And to think it all started on the first day of work when we learned we were both Duck fans! On the morning of that Duck gam...

This morning as I was going through my feed on instagram , there was a loop giveaway that I joined.  In order to participate in this particular giveaway I had to share (with all other followers) my most embarrassing moment.  Part of me right now is horrified to expose this, but the other part of me thinks it's hilarious...probably since it was back in college eleven years ago and it is mostly out of people's minds. I hope. A group of us were coming home from track and field championships in one of those large 15 passenger vans you see below.  We were packed in there pretty tight and since I was one of the last ones to get in, I ended up sitting in the first row of seats.  I was battling some upset stomach and bloating the entire three hour ride home and even had to shift positions in my seat every so often.  You must know that back then, I was incredibly shy.  Actually, until I get to know someone, mostly I am still super quiet.  I get ...