Just Like Her Sister

When Savannah was around 6 months old, I "caught" her rummaging through one of her cloth bins and it was super cute.  Here are some pictures:

Someone is just like her big sister:

Penelope at 6 Months

I can't believe my little girl is already 6 months old.  I feels like I just brought her home from the hospital.  Then, I think about all we have done since she is born (repairs on the house, house on the market, under contract, more repairs, packing, moving, etc) and I can't believe it has only been 6 months!  What a wonderful six months it has been.  Penelope is so active and happy.  She will smile at you if you look at her.  She laughs and absolutely loves to play with her Little People toys.  She is trying to crawl.  While sitting up, she lunges forward to get on her tummy.  If I put a toy just out of reach, she will stretch and roll and push off with her toes until she gets the toy.  Nothing really gets her down.  She even goes to sleep well (most times, just starting a week ago).  Sometimes, if she is really tired, she will fall asleep while sitting up. 

One funny thing she does is when it comes to eating her solid food.  She will be completely fine and content playing, etc and I will pick her up to put her in the high chair and she starts crying because she just realizes how hungry she was.  I can't get the food in her fast enough.  It cracks me up.  I love her so much and am so thankful the Lord blessed us with her.  We enjoy every day and try to make the most out of every day. 

Please continue to pray against anxiousness for us with her.  We have done ok, by God's grace, so far.  On Sunday morning (around 4 am) we had a false alarm with the Angelcare monitor.  I woke up to the alarm going up notifying us that there was no movement coming from the crib.  Eric ran in her room and realized she was ok.  We checked her out and made sure she was reacting well and she was fine thankfully.  We got back to bed around 6 am.  It was hard putting her back in the bed but some things you just have to do and trust that the Lord is in control.  That was one of the scariest things I have experienced.

We had three more false alarms and after some research, decided to turn up the sensitivity control on the monitor.  Because of her moving around the crib, I think she might have been getting too far away from the sensor pad making it not pick up her breathing.  We haven't had any more false alarms and as far as I know, it is working correctly.  I know that seems really stressful but I rather have a false alarm than to not have an alarm at all.  So, please continue to pray for us.  We are so appreciative of your love and prayers, even now, 16 months after we lost our sweet Savannah.

Here are some pictures of Penelope (via Photo Booth) on her 6 month birthday!

God remembers us, even in the small things

Savannah Grace's room was very bright and cheery.  It had 3 yellow walls and a hot pink wall.  It had a mural painted on the hot pink wall that had Alice in wonderland, Corduroy, Max from Where The Wild Things Are, Winnie the Pooh, and the Velveteen Rabbit.  It had a beautiful little chandelier that tied the room together perfectly.  When we went under contract (for selling the house), the chandelier was still hanging up in the room meaning we could not take it with us.  The last night we were in our house (before we made the big move) we debated on whether or not to take down the chandelier so I could have it to put in Penelope's room in our new house.  We knew the person buying our house would most likely take it down and probably sell it or get rid of it somehow.  It would mean nothing to them but we knew the rules for being under contract and it was already late and we would have had to find something to put up to replace the light, so we decided to leave it.  Eric told me he would get Penelope one similar to that one.  I was ok with that and we left it behind.

About a month later, Eric went up to Raleigh to help a family who was also moving down here with us.  He drove up on a Sunday night, spent the night, then helped pack that family up and came back down on Monday night.  It was late when Eric got in, so I was already in bed.  I was awoken by a big box being laid on my stomach.  I woke up and saw Eric there and had a confused look on my face.  It was Savannah's chandelier!!!

What happened was, we left our cookie sheets under our stove (in Raleigh), so the person who bought the house called our realtor and told him about it.  One of our friends went to pick them up for us and the new owners had taken down the chandelier and asked if we wanted that as well.  All I can say is that was a sweet blessing from the Lord.  God not only takes care of us in the big things but in the little things as well.

Here are some pictures of the chandelier: 

The Mural!!!

 

 The chandelier against the hot pink and yellow wall.

Pumpkins, Year 3

Every Halloween, since having children, I paint a picture on a pumpkin the same as that particular child's Halloween costume.  With Savannah's pumpkin, I have to be creative and choose something that I think she would have had fun dressing up as.  I chose a zebra for her.  Penelope was a Pumpkin this year.

Penelope and I went trick or treating with some friends.  Unfortunately, Sweet P slept the whole time we trick or treated.  We only ended up with a couple of small bags of candy corn and a tootsie roll pop.  It was still super fun!  Here are a few pictures from the Halloween season.

           Savannah's pumpkin and her favorite bunny at Lake Robinson.

 

Another picture of Savvy G's pumpkin.

                                   Penelope and Savannah's pumpkins at Lake Robinson.

                                                  Penelope in her pumpkin costume.

                                                     P chilling with her pumpkins.

                                              Sweet P with her Halloween candy!

A Quick Update

I just realized that it has been a while since I posted a blog.  With a young baby, things get really busy around the house.  Penelope Ann is such a sweet girl.  She is super laid back and such a joy.  Most nights, she sleeps all the way through.  I usually put her in bed for the last time for the night around 10  pm and she will sleep until 7 or 8 am.  Occasionally she wakes up around 4:30, but not a lot.  Nights and naps are really hard for me.  She sleeps in the pack and play right beside the bed.  I find myself waking up several times at night to make sure she is breathing.  During naps, I go check on  her every 5-10 minutes.  I'm not sure if I will ever stop doing that.  Whenever we move her to her crib, I have an Angel Care monitor that I can use.  It detects movement, so if your baby stops breathing, an alarm will go off.  Something you can pray for is for my anxious heart.  Pray that I will trust the Lord with her little life and remember that nothing will happen to her that isn't in God's plan.

On July 24th, we remembered Savannah's life.  We went to story time at Barnes and Noble.  The lady read a Fancy Nancy book.  During the story, a little boy walked up on the stage (as the kids always do), but he had a little accident while up there.  I told Eric that the kids come for the story, but the parent's entertainment is in watching the kids.  They are so funny.  When I used to take Savannah, she wouldn't really be interested in the book.  Since she had a love for chairs, she would try to climb into a chair even if there was a kid already sitting in it.  Haha!  I showed Eric the chairs that Savannah used to climb into.  After that, we went to Chick-fil-a, which is what Savannah and I (and friends) would do after story time.  It was really fun to get out and do something to remember Savannah.  It was a hard day.  Here are a few pics from our adventure.

Penelope is so wonderful.  She smiles really big when you look at her or talk to her.  A lot of times, she sits with her hands clasps together.  The other day, she realized that she has feet.  She kept looking at them.  She was probably thinking, "Where did those come from?"  She worked really hard at rolling over today.  She will be doing that soon.  She rubs her eyes when she is tired, which is so sweet.  She started to play with toys.  I love it when there are toys around the house.  With a baby, or with kids in general, there are a lot of things that they need which makes it hard to keep the house clean.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.  I try to straighten/wash everything while she naps or after she goes to bed but I love that there are toys to pick up and bottles to wash, etc.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers over the past year.  Please continue to pray.  We need it!  Love you all!

One Year

Tuesday, July 24, 2012 marks one year since Savannah Grace left us to go be with Jesus.  It's hard to believe it has already been a year.  I can't believe that this time last year I was spending the last few days, on Earth, with my sweet girl.  We had no idea.  In a way, I think that was a blessing.  We didn't get to say goodbye, but we probably wouldn't have been able to handle that.  God knew what was best for us.  I often think back to the morning and day that she died.  Even though it was such a horrible day, I know that God was with us every step of the way.  He never left us.  He promises us that he will never leave us or forsake us.  Some people say, "How could God have let this happen?"  We know that God is sovereign, and in his wisdom, he chose for this to happen.  We can't question Him but have to trust.

I wonder what Savannah is doing in Heaven right now.  I wonder what she is like.  Is she still a baby?  I don't know.  I do know that she is perfectly ok.  She is beholding the saviors face right now!  As much as I miss her and want her back, I can't even imagine pulling her away from what she is experiencing now.  One day I will see her again.

A few months ago, I was wondering "How do I know if Savannah really is in Heaven?"  So I prayed for a little while.  After that, I went to my Bible Reading Plan.  It is a "read through the Bible in a year" plan that has taken me more than a year, but that is ok.  The point is for me to read through the whole Bible no matter how long it takes.  Anyways, I was in 2 Samuel.  The passage I read was about David's child being sick.  The child dies and David (who had been fasting while the child was sick) worshiped and ate food.

"And he said, "While the child was alive, I fasted and wept, for I said 'Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?  But now he is dead; why should I fast?  Can I bring him back again?  I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."  2 Samuel 12:22


Later on you read that David's older son dies and David weeps over him because he would be separated from God forever because of his sin.

I was very thankful to have read that first part that night.  I felt like God had ordained that to happen!!!

I believe that my sweet Savannah is in Heaven and I will see her again where there is no more death and tears.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers.  I have heard from several people that the 2nd year is the hardest.  I honestly thought that it would be a lot easier after a year had passed, but I must say that it has been harder the last couple of weeks.  We miss Savannah so much.  We think about things that she may be doing if she were here with us.  We tell Penelope about her big sister.  On Tuesday, we are going to do things that Savannah liked to do.  One thing we are doing is taking Penelope to Story Time at Barnes and Noble and then to Chick-fil-a.  Savannah and I used to do that on Tuesday mornings.

Here are a few pictures of our Savannah Grace:

Hanging out in my float

Her hair was finally long enough to put in a ponytail.

 Those who knew her, remember her scoot!

 Walking with daddy at the beach.

 Reaching up for daddy.

 Playing in a tidal pool.

 Beautiful little Savannah Grace.

 The last picture I ever took of her face.  (The last official one is of her butterfly bloomers that match this dress she has on.)

Sweet P is here!!!

It's hard to believe that my little girl will be one month old this week.  She arrived June 5th weighing 8.8 pounds.  Crazy!  She came quickly.  We were only at the hospital for a few hours before she was born.  I love her so much.  I can just sit and stare at her for long periods of time.  She has been a good sleeper from the beginning.  For the first two weeks I had to actually wake her up at night to feed her.  After she gained back to her birth weight, I was given the clear to let her sleep as long as she wanted.  She usually gets up once at night to eat.  Sometimes it is 2 am and sometimes it is 5:15 am.  I never know which one it will be.  She eats and then goes back to sleep.  It makes a big difference in how you feel when you get sleep.

I am enjoying her so much!  Loosing Savannah made me really appreciate those around me.  I want to make the most out of everyday because I am not promised the next breath.   Even when she wakes me up in the middle of the night and as hard as it is to emerge from the warm covers, I am so thankful that she is here and that she is healthy and can eat.  Our day usually consists of her eating, sleeping, diaper changes, repeat.  haha!  I love it and wouldn't trade it for anything.  She started smiling yesterday which is one of the coolest things.  Her personality is really starting to show.

Here are a few pictures from our first month:

Adventures with Car Seats

Eric and I decided to get a new car seat for Penelope.  One of our main concerns about getting the car seat is making sure it sits back far enough so that Penelope's head doesn't fall forward when she sleeps in the car (know what I mean?).   While we were in Target, Eric decided to get creative in seeing if it would work correctly.

Savannah's Birthday

1Savannah would have turned 2 this month (on April 23rd).  On Saturday, Eric and I went and visited her grave for the first time.  I know that seems like a long time to wait to see her grave but I wanted to wait until the marker was on the grave before we went.  Here are a few pictures.  (They are bright b/c the sun was so bright that morning.)  The bunny was one of Savannah's favorite toys.  She would carry it around and kiss it.  It still has stains from where she kissed it in between bites of Sweet Potatoes.

 

For her 2nd birthday, we are going to wear pink that day in honor/memory of her.  Feel free to join us in wearing something pink.

This is a video from April 23rd, 2010.  Eric and I took her to the NC Zoo on her birthday.  She loved it!!!

Opening Day: Go Cardinals!!!

Yesterday was opening day!!!  Eric is a big St. Louis Cardinals fan...so now, I am a big St. Louis Cardinals fan.  I really do enjoy watching baseball.  I especially like going to baseball games.  Some people say it is boring, but I don't think it is.  Eric has helped me understand some of the strategies that go into baseball, and that makes is super fun to watch!!!  Our little Savannah was a St. Louis fan too!  Here are a few pictures of her supporting the Cards!

 

Speaking of the color Red...Savannah loved Elmo.  Her favorite video was the one of Elmo singing with Norah Jones.  It didn't matter how sad she was, if you brought up the video of Elmo and Norah Jones, she would laugh.  I came across this video.  I love her laugh and how she starts dancing as soon as the music starts.

One final thing before I go.  I want to wish you all a Happy Easter!!!  As your hanging out with family, eating chocolate and peeps (my personal favorite) don't forget the reason that we have Easter!!!  Because of Jesus' death on the cross and His being raised from the dead, God's wrath was satisfied. 

"It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed.  And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last."  Luke 23: 44-46a.

"But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.  And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.  And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but has risen.  Remember how he told you, while he was in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise."  Luke 24:1-7

Praise the Lord for the sacrifice He made on the Cross!!!  Even though I want Savannah here with me, how awesome is it that she gets to spend Easter in the presence of Jesus!!!

I am reading a book called "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn.  He quotes D.L. Moody in his book.  I like what he says: "Soon you will read in the newspaper that I am dead.  Don't believe it for a moment.  I will be alive more than ever before."  D.L. Moody