Well hello old friend

Grandma Patti coloring with Maddi in March, just after ending
five weeks of radiation and chemo treatments

Last month, I barely posted a word on this blog.

It was a busy time.

The mix starts with being a CPA. It's my spring busy season. Then throw in a few emergency room trips for grandma, getting Maddi registered for nine summer camps (one per week), organizing three summer vacations, and comforting Lizzie through early teething.

It was a busy time.

I've missed you old friend. Three months ago, I found solace through writing this blog, spilling conflicted emotions and stories onto these pages as a way to remember, work through and share what I felt at the time was an overwhelming task. With Elizabeth's unexpected diagnosis of Down syndrome in November and grandma's diagnosis of primary brain cancer in January, I was dealt a hand that few receive in a lifetime.

My little sis, Lillian, with the girls

My blog was a way to find comfort. At the same time, it became my long-sought after means to document our life through words and pictures that I could leave behind for our kids. I plan to print out these pages and pictures into books every 6-12 months so that our experiences and feelings are not lost. Instead, the girls will have a way to understand just what mom was thinking when....

...Lizzie joined us amidst respiratory distress, low blood sugar and an unpredictable diagnosis of Down syndrome. In the early days, I wondered what this meant. Would she walk? Talk? Love us? Could we love her?

...Faith taught me that I'm not walking alone. Instead, God is by my side.

...Holidays brought our family together. At Christmas, we jumped from house to house, visiting dozens and dozens of relatives who welcomed us with open arms.

So I think I'm back. Back to documenting our life on these pages that I will eventually print into books for lasting memories of a remarkable experience - life!