At this moment, the toll is 20 innocent children and 7 adults.
What could possibly go through someone's mind to act in this way? What could possibly be the root of the problem that the solution is to take innocent life? Why would someone go to an elementary school wearing a bullet-proof vest and semi-automatic weapons, kill innocent babies and adults and then use those same weapons to take their own life? What was the purpose of the bullet-proof vest? Why? How? Why?
There are too many questions. Questions we will never have answers to until we're in heaven with G-d himself. Only our faith in G-d here on earth can give us peace.
A few things come to my mind as I sit here:
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding
Proverbs 3:25-26
25 Have no fear of sudden disaster
or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
26 for the Lord will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from being snared.
All I can do is pray for those who lost their innocent children, for the adults who innocently lost their lives, the children and teachers exposed to this horrific nightmare - one that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Pray for the service men and women first responders to the school and those at the hospitals, fire houses, ambulances, police and detectives who put their lives at risk to protect and save everyone in harm's way.
I can hug my baby tighter, tell her I love her and make sure she never doubts that love. Ever.
Heddy Love Timeline
Friday, December 14, 2012
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
18 months and where has the time gone?!
Time is literally flying by... and way too fast! My sweet baby, Piper, that took us 3 years and 2 days to conceive, is now 18 months old! I feel like it was just yesterday that I was holding her for the very first time. Now when I hold her, she puts her fingers in my eyes and says, "eyes" while laughing and then jumps down to pull the dog's tail.
This has been an amazing journey and I am still awed each and every day at her development and milestones. At this point, every single day she comes home with a new word and she understands more and more.
Here she is "jumping".
Since November is the month of Thanksgiving, I'm going to give you my list of thanks in this blog this month.
Day 1: My amazing husband. After all this time together, he still cracks me up on a daily basis, takes me care of me and Piper in ways that we (*me*) don't deserve, and is without a doubt my very best friend in the whole wide world. Life would simply suck without him.
Day 2: My precious angel, Piper. She also cracks me up on a daily basis. She is smart, funny, sweet, a stinker, and makes me happier than I ever imagined I could be. Watching her grow and learn each day is remarkable and I am in awe of her every word and move.
Day 3: My family. Without them, Iwould not be who or where I am today . They rule and there are a heck of a lot of 'em.
Day 4: I am thankful that our basic needs are met ~ we have a roof over our heads, warm beds to sleep in, food to eat whenever we're hungry (or even just bored), we have clean, running water, electricity, heat, and so much more. I have never been without and I cannot thank God enough for that.
Day 5: My dog Scooter, may he rest in peace. That little white dog gave me so much love and happiness in our 10 years together. He was funny, sweet, affectionate, a good cuddle buddy, he watched TV (which was just as funny as it was annoying) and I miss him terribly every day. However, I thank God that I had him in my life.
Day 6: My freedom and the USA!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Traveling alone with a 6 month old? Piece of cake! NOT
This past week I traveled by plane to lovely Brownsville, Texas by myself with Piper, age 6 months 3 weeks for my uncle Jack's funeral. In order to get there in one piece and function while away from home, all we had to pack/bring with us was the following:
1. Large suitcase with clothes for the both of us
2. Diaper bag containing bottles, wipes, diapers, burp cloth, toys, formula, bowl, spoon and baby food
3. Car seat
4. Car seat base
Question: Know what's not easy to cart around by yourself?
Answer: Large suitcase, diaper bag, car seat, car seat base, umbrella stroller, purse, pillow, baby blanket, and baby.
Luckily I was able to manage with the help of lots of people along the way, but it wasn't without a LOT of stress and anxiety.
Once we made it to our tropical destination, after an hour and a half-long flight of straight turbulance, I was able to relax in the comfort of my aunt's house. Until Piper had a blow out in her diaper. I was passing her to a relative to hold when I noticed what I thought was black "ink" on her back until I quickly realized it was poop. Nice.
After that, things were going smoothly. We visited with aunts, uncles, cousins, distant relatives, and friends. Everyone was ooohing and ahhing over Piper (as they should!) and she was her sweet, happy self. Because there was so much going on, Piper never really did take any substantial naps, but it was fine because she was having so much fun being adorable!
That is, until, we arrived exhausted at our Best Western hotel room. We shared a room with two of my aunts. I was pleasantly surprised at how clean and nice the accommodations were and how inviting the queen bed that I would have all to myself looked. Piper had a little pack-n-play provided by the hotel to sleep in next to my bed. Since we had been up since 5:00AM and it was now 9:00PM, I fed her, changed her, put her PJ's on and put her to bed. I crawled in to my nice, comfy bed and promptly went to sleep.
At 1:30AM, Piper began to cry. Normally at home I would just let her cry it out, but since we were sharing a room with my two aunts, I picked her up, gave her a bottle for about 3 minutes and she went back to sleep.
At 3:00AM, P Dawg started crying again. Once again, I picked her up out of respect for my aunts (cursing under my breath that I didn't get my own room) and as I was going to make Piper a new bottle, dropped the container on the floor, spilling ALL of the formula that I had on the floor. Not in a nice little pile, but as if it blew in the wind making a 4-foot smear on the tile and carpet. Now what?! Now I don't have ANY food to feed my kid. WTH was I going to do? What else? Rock her to sleep in the pitch black bathroom while sitting on the toilet seat. That only took an hour. I finally put her back down at 4:00am.
5:00AM rolls around and Piper starts crying again! WTH dude?! I pick her up to find her soaking wet as she had peed through her pajamas... for the first time ever. Her pack-n-play sheets were wet as well. Since I didn't have the forethought to pack another set of pajamas for a 1-night trip, I didn't have anything else to put her in. I changed her wet diaper for a dry one and put her in bed with me to try and keep her warm. She fussed quietly for a few minutes, but then fell asleep. I was so stressed about having her in bed with me, that I couldn't for the life of me fall back to sleep.
6:00AM and BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP the effing alarm clock in the room starts going off. Piper immediately pops her sweet little head up and says with a big smile on her face, "goo goo, ga ga!"
Translation: "Good morning! I'm up! Let's play!"
Put a gun to my head.
Have I mentioned that while all of this went on during the night, my aunts never made a peep? I have no idea if they were pretending to sleep through it all or if they really did. Either way, I should have just let Piper cry it out the first time and we probably would have had a good night's sleep.
Anyhoo... the night sucked and the morning was off to a rough start, but things eventually fell in to place. I was able to get to the store for formula before she had a meltdown and we made it to the funeral just in time for... Piper to fall asleep and sleep through the whole thing. Which was such a relief - poor little nugget was tuckered out!
The funeral was beautiful - funny and touching and sad, but a wonderful send off for my sweet uncle. May he rest in peace.
That afternoon all 55+ of us went to brunch after the service and Piper was a little angel. She ate her peas like she had never had something so delicious in her life and then decided to show off her public speaking skillz by babbling at the top of her lungs. Luckily Nana was there to rescue Mommy so I was actually able to eat lunch in peace.
After brunch we headed back to my Aunt's to rest before going back to the airport. Piper finally took a legit nap and I was able to enjoy my family and laugh along with them to all of the funny stories and memories people had of my uncle. It was a good time and I was grateful I made the trip - even with the difficulties.
Our flight home was uneventfull - the flight was smooth, Piper played and was a good girl, and we even arrived back in Dallas 40 minutes early!
Overall it was a good trip and I'm so happy we went. Just for future reference though, here are some helpful tips for traveling alone with a baby:
1. Pack twice as many clothes for the baby as you think you'll need. I only brought 1 bib (it was disgusting after 1 day) and 1 set of pj's and they were peed on. Plus, it was hot there, but cold here, so pack for both. Luckily I had warm clothes to dress Piper in for when we arrived back in Dallas where it was only 50 degrees (it was 95 in Harlingen).
2. Pack diapers like you're going to change the baby every hour. I had exactly enough diapers for the trip, but any more accidents and I would have had to buy a whole new batch and then cart them around too.
3. The pillow for the airplane is key. I use it to put under my arm since she's on my lap and it makes a huge difference. Plus, once she got tired of her toys on the plane, the tags on the pillow became instant entertainment.
4. Food. Pack like every meal will be her last meal. I way underestimated her food intake and even if I hadn't spilled all of her food on the floor, I'm pretty sure I would have to go to the store and buy more anyway. I miss nursing.
5. Remember these trials because they will be (and already are) funny. Life is short. Shit happens.
1. Large suitcase with clothes for the both of us
2. Diaper bag containing bottles, wipes, diapers, burp cloth, toys, formula, bowl, spoon and baby food
3. Car seat
4. Car seat base
5. Umbrella stroller
6. Purse
7. Pillow to use as an arm rest during the flight
8. Baby blanket
9. BabyQuestion: Know what's not easy to cart around by yourself?
Answer: Large suitcase, diaper bag, car seat, car seat base, umbrella stroller, purse, pillow, baby blanket, and baby.
Luckily I was able to manage with the help of lots of people along the way, but it wasn't without a LOT of stress and anxiety.
Once we made it to our tropical destination, after an hour and a half-long flight of straight turbulance, I was able to relax in the comfort of my aunt's house. Until Piper had a blow out in her diaper. I was passing her to a relative to hold when I noticed what I thought was black "ink" on her back until I quickly realized it was poop. Nice.
After that, things were going smoothly. We visited with aunts, uncles, cousins, distant relatives, and friends. Everyone was ooohing and ahhing over Piper (as they should!) and she was her sweet, happy self. Because there was so much going on, Piper never really did take any substantial naps, but it was fine because she was having so much fun being adorable!
That is, until, we arrived exhausted at our Best Western hotel room. We shared a room with two of my aunts. I was pleasantly surprised at how clean and nice the accommodations were and how inviting the queen bed that I would have all to myself looked. Piper had a little pack-n-play provided by the hotel to sleep in next to my bed. Since we had been up since 5:00AM and it was now 9:00PM, I fed her, changed her, put her PJ's on and put her to bed. I crawled in to my nice, comfy bed and promptly went to sleep.
At 1:30AM, Piper began to cry. Normally at home I would just let her cry it out, but since we were sharing a room with my two aunts, I picked her up, gave her a bottle for about 3 minutes and she went back to sleep.
At 3:00AM, P Dawg started crying again. Once again, I picked her up out of respect for my aunts (cursing under my breath that I didn't get my own room) and as I was going to make Piper a new bottle, dropped the container on the floor, spilling ALL of the formula that I had on the floor. Not in a nice little pile, but as if it blew in the wind making a 4-foot smear on the tile and carpet. Now what?! Now I don't have ANY food to feed my kid. WTH was I going to do? What else? Rock her to sleep in the pitch black bathroom while sitting on the toilet seat. That only took an hour. I finally put her back down at 4:00am.
5:00AM rolls around and Piper starts crying again! WTH dude?! I pick her up to find her soaking wet as she had peed through her pajamas... for the first time ever. Her pack-n-play sheets were wet as well. Since I didn't have the forethought to pack another set of pajamas for a 1-night trip, I didn't have anything else to put her in. I changed her wet diaper for a dry one and put her in bed with me to try and keep her warm. She fussed quietly for a few minutes, but then fell asleep. I was so stressed about having her in bed with me, that I couldn't for the life of me fall back to sleep.
6:00AM and BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP the effing alarm clock in the room starts going off. Piper immediately pops her sweet little head up and says with a big smile on her face, "goo goo, ga ga!"
Translation: "Good morning! I'm up! Let's play!"
Put a gun to my head.
Have I mentioned that while all of this went on during the night, my aunts never made a peep? I have no idea if they were pretending to sleep through it all or if they really did. Either way, I should have just let Piper cry it out the first time and we probably would have had a good night's sleep.
Anyhoo... the night sucked and the morning was off to a rough start, but things eventually fell in to place. I was able to get to the store for formula before she had a meltdown and we made it to the funeral just in time for... Piper to fall asleep and sleep through the whole thing. Which was such a relief - poor little nugget was tuckered out!
The funeral was beautiful - funny and touching and sad, but a wonderful send off for my sweet uncle. May he rest in peace.
That afternoon all 55+ of us went to brunch after the service and Piper was a little angel. She ate her peas like she had never had something so delicious in her life and then decided to show off her public speaking skillz by babbling at the top of her lungs. Luckily Nana was there to rescue Mommy so I was actually able to eat lunch in peace.
After brunch we headed back to my Aunt's to rest before going back to the airport. Piper finally took a legit nap and I was able to enjoy my family and laugh along with them to all of the funny stories and memories people had of my uncle. It was a good time and I was grateful I made the trip - even with the difficulties.
Our flight home was uneventfull - the flight was smooth, Piper played and was a good girl, and we even arrived back in Dallas 40 minutes early!
Overall it was a good trip and I'm so happy we went. Just for future reference though, here are some helpful tips for traveling alone with a baby:
1. Pack twice as many clothes for the baby as you think you'll need. I only brought 1 bib (it was disgusting after 1 day) and 1 set of pj's and they were peed on. Plus, it was hot there, but cold here, so pack for both. Luckily I had warm clothes to dress Piper in for when we arrived back in Dallas where it was only 50 degrees (it was 95 in Harlingen).
2. Pack diapers like you're going to change the baby every hour. I had exactly enough diapers for the trip, but any more accidents and I would have had to buy a whole new batch and then cart them around too.
3. The pillow for the airplane is key. I use it to put under my arm since she's on my lap and it makes a huge difference. Plus, once she got tired of her toys on the plane, the tags on the pillow became instant entertainment.
4. Food. Pack like every meal will be her last meal. I way underestimated her food intake and even if I hadn't spilled all of her food on the floor, I'm pretty sure I would have to go to the store and buy more anyway. I miss nursing.
5. Remember these trials because they will be (and already are) funny. Life is short. Shit happens.
 |
| She Sleeps |
Monday, November 14, 2011
NOM NOM NOM... Learning how to eat.
Life is just going by too quickly!
It feels like just yesterday I was treading the stormy waters of breastfeeding (in the beginning) and now my little nugget is eating baby food, oatmeal, avocados and yesterday, her first little puff. She's still in the learning phase and gets bored of it pretty quickly, but we're trying!
One of the things I'm learning as we go is that this new type of eating is a time sucker! I feel like it takes forever and at the same time, we're still feeding her bottles, so it's like double the work. Maybe this will help put some weight on her little frame. She's 6 months and 3 weeks old today and she's still wearing 3 month pants! She's leetle!
It feels like just yesterday I was treading the stormy waters of breastfeeding (in the beginning) and now my little nugget is eating baby food, oatmeal, avocados and yesterday, her first little puff. She's still in the learning phase and gets bored of it pretty quickly, but we're trying!
One of the things I'm learning as we go is that this new type of eating is a time sucker! I feel like it takes forever and at the same time, we're still feeding her bottles, so it's like double the work. Maybe this will help put some weight on her little frame. She's 6 months and 3 weeks old today and she's still wearing 3 month pants! She's leetle!
 |
| First time eating rice 9.26.11 |
 |
| Eating carrots 10.26.11 This was Daddy's mess to make and clean up |
If things go my way, she'll have my appetite and she will not be a picky eater...
fingers crossed!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
So I gave birth, but was it to an adult man because that's what my body looks like...
I used to be cute. I used to have cute clothes that I could wear and sassy hair, and pretty skin, and... but now... nuh uh. It's all gone. What happened?!
My stomach honestly looks like I am someone that lost 100+ pounds, but the funny thing is that I weigh more than I ever have in my life. So NO, I haven't lost weight, I did however lose the person that was in my body and stretched my skin out so that I can now tuck my muffin top and lower belly into my pants. FYI, that is NOT attractive and IS painful when wearing pants/skirts.
Speaking of tucking in... my boobs. I used to have the BEST boobs and now, yep, I can tuck them in to my pants too.
But, it's all worth it for this, right?!
Yes, it's worth it.
My stomach honestly looks like I am someone that lost 100+ pounds, but the funny thing is that I weigh more than I ever have in my life. So NO, I haven't lost weight, I did however lose the person that was in my body and stretched my skin out so that I can now tuck my muffin top and lower belly into my pants. FYI, that is NOT attractive and IS painful when wearing pants/skirts.
Speaking of tucking in... my boobs. I used to have the BEST boobs and now, yep, I can tuck them in to my pants too.
But, it's all worth it for this, right?!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Well... She's here and she's 6 months old! Introducing Miss Piper Marie!
SHE'S HERE!!!
Piper Marie was born on Monday, April 25, 2011 at 11:31pm after a long day of labor. She weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces and had a head of dark brown hair. She was 19 inches long and had 10 fingers and 10 toes. 
Friday, April 22, 2011
Dear Easter Bunny,
Please bring me a baby Piper in my basket this year. I've been a really good girl.
Thank you.
Amen.
Love,
Stephanie, Josh, and Piper
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