Our Christmas Dilemma

Our family had so much to be thankful for this Christmas! 6 weeks before Christmas, Lily Baker came into our lives. That's the greatest gift we could ever have asked for! And despite her early entry into the world, Ann Catherine is healthy and thriving. We are so blessed!

Having said that, we faced a Christmas dilemma this year: What do you get a 6 week old baby for Christmas? Lily didn't really need any toys. Number one, she's too young to really play with anything yet. And number two, we already have a playroom full of toys! So we decided to take the practical approach. We bought things for her room. We bought pictures to hang on the walls. And she also got a lamp and a mirror for her dresser. I know it's not that exciting, but it's stuff we really needed. And she's too young to even know what's going on this Christmas so I took advantage of it :) I'm sure next year will be an entirely different story!

As for Ann Catherine, Santa brought an awesome gift - an Elmo chair! Ann Catherine loves Elmo and loves to sit in her chair and watch TV. I've attached a picture of her on Christmas morning sitting in her chair playing with her new learning table.

Christmas took on such an incredible meaning for us this year! At times it was hard to believe how blessed we are! Our family felt so complete this year with the addition of Lily. I hope your holidays were just as happy!

p.s. If you're wondering why I didn't post any pictures of Lily, it's because she slept all day on Christmas :) What a life!

Spirit of Hope

What an amazing night! Tuesday, December 12th was the 2nd Annual "Spirit of Hope" Tree Lighting at Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children. Part of the proceeds from the tree lighting go to the Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund. Last year, we raised enough to buy a transport ventilator for the Kids Care ambulance. Premature children who are born outside of Huntsville are brought to the hospital aboard that ambulance. The ventilator they had on board was old, so we were so happy to be able to buy a new one. Premature babies are often born with lung problems and they need to go on a ventilator after they are born to help them breathe. This year, the NICU is in need of more cardiac monitors. We hope to buy 6-8 of them from the money raised from this tree lighting. I don't have an exact amount raised yet, but I do know that as of Tuesday, we had already sold more lights than this time last year. My sincere thanks to all of you who supported the tree lighting this year, and who have supported Melissa's fund in the past. 100% of your donation goes straight into the NICU to buy equipment and other things the nurses and doctors need. Your donation truly does make a difference. You are helping the doctors and nurses save the tiniest lives, and as the mother of one of those "miracles", I can't thank you enough!

This year's tree lighting was extra special for us. Not only was Ann Catherine there, but Lily joined us also. Melissa's fund is a huge part of our lives, and we want Ann Catherine and Lily to, not only take part, but to know how Melissa's short life is impacting premature babies and their parents. To learn more about our fund, click here.

Merry Christmas!

Today I dressed the girls up in their Christmas outfits and attempted to get a picture. We thought there was no way Ann Catherine would cooperate, but she did! Lily slept through the entire thing. I just thought I would share the pictures with you. Merry Christmas!

Double the Trouble, Double the Fun

Wow! I never realized that adding just one more child into the mix could change things so much. Some days I don't know if I'm coming or going :) The mornings are just complete chaos. Ann Catherine is walking all over the place, pulling things out of cabinets and such. And just when it's time for Ann Catherine to eat, Lily decides she's hungry too and starts crying. And then when I start feeding Lily, Ann Catherine brings a book to me and wants me to read to her. Talk about multi-tasking! Some days I feel like I'm "learning on the job" - which I guess I am. This is - without a doubt - the hardest job I have ever had!

Having said that, I wouldn't trade this life for anything! I feel like my family is complete. After Melissa died, Chris and I always felt like something was missing. Even though Ann Catherine brought us more joy than we could ever imagine, we still felt like our family was missing such an important part. Lily has brought such a sense of completion to our family. She in no way replaces Melissa. No one could ever do that. But she has truly completed our family. We feel so incredibly blessed. When we lost Melissa, it was the worst pain I had ever experienced. At that point, I never could have dreamed that God would bless our family in this way. It's so true that his time is not our time. And while nothing will ever take away the pain of losing Melissa, Lily has brought so much happiness to our family. She'll never know how she has changed us.