Updates

Merry Christmas!!! I know I'm a little behind posting that, but I'm trying to catch up! We have been really busy as it seems to be one thing after another.

Some updates:

Last week, a few days before Christmas, Nate's grandmother passed away. It was very unexpected and made the holidays a little tougher to get through. Please keep Nate's family in your thoughts and prayers.

Christmas went well for us. We started off the day quietly at home and made it up to my grandmothers in the afternoon for dinner. Ayla got tons of toys and clothes, and although she didn't really understand what was going on, she was happy and enjoyed the day.

Saturday we drove up to Buffalo NY to see the Patriots game on Sunday. I got 2 great seats 4 rows from the field for Nate's Christmas present. The game was very cold and windy, but a lot of fun! I have never been so close to the players before. It was amazing! Unfortunately (since nothing seems to go smoothly) we had some issues during our trip. Sunday morning it was pretty windy and our car was hit by shingles flying off the hotel roof. Apparently the roof was re-done a few months ago, but not done properly. It scraped up our car and damaged the windshield and now we have to try and get the hotel to pay for the damages. I am praying that they agree to a settlement and we don't have to hire a lawyer, but it looks like they may try to get out of paying for it.

With all this going on, and a lot more I don't have the energy to type out...we need some quiet time! It seems that 2008 is going out with a bang, but not in the way I had hoped. I am really hoping 2009 brings some better things.

Makayla's Video

Here's a little video of Makayla cruising around the furniture,making faces. Don't mind the mess in the background of what is supposed to be my living room.... Ayla finds that the most fun can be had by taking everything off shelves and out of boxes and throwing them around the room. Ahhh, oh well....I give up :)

Digital Scrapbook

I was recently introduced to the wonderful world of digital scrapbooking! I would never have the time, space, or patience for traditional scrapbooking.... but I really wanted to create something special for Gabe and Ayla. Right now I am working on finishing Gabe's and will soon start on Ayla's. I have done about 30+ pages of Gabe's and have another 20 or so planned out. I have uploaded them all to Gabriel's website, so if you are interested in seeing more check it out here:

Gabe's Scrapbook

For now I wanted to share a couple of pages. Hope you enjoy them!:

Blankets for CHERUBS

As most of you know, we started the Gabriel's Gift Bags project with CHERUBS to provide new and expecting CDH parents with a gift bag filled with comfort items for their baby's NICU stay. One of the main things that we are including is a blanket. We would really like to include a handmade blanket which can be knit, crochet, or quilted. These blankets take a lot of time to make and we cannot do it by ourselves! There are too many parents out there who need these for us to keep up with, so we are looking for volunteers who would like to make small baby blankets to include in these bags. If you are interested, in doing 1 or 100, please let me know! You can email me at Chefrinny@gmail.com or join our yahoo group by clicking this link:

knittingforcherubs

If you can, please consider doing this, it can really make a difference for those families in need of a little comfort.

Makayla Pics

Someone mentioned that I haven't been posting enough pictures of Makayla lately so here are some more:

Truffle Mania

It's that time of year again...truffle time. Last year I decided to do a "small" fundraiser selling homemade boxes of truffles. I started in September and ended up selling them through the holidays. By the time I was done we had sold over 700 boxes (6 per box)! My house was covered in chocolate and I never wanted to see another truffle again. This year I decided to do it again, but more organized. We had a variety of flavors including Andes Mint, Orange Creamsicle, Chocolate Banana, Peanut Butter, Double Chocolate, Key Lime, Coconut, Chocolate Raspberry, and Mocha. We sold them in boxes of 6, 15, or 40. We did extremely well and sold over 2200 truffles, raising over $1000 for the Gabriel's Gift Bags project. I am very excited to have done so well and am extremely happy that we will be able to fill so many bags this year. I am also thanking god it is over! This year went so much smoother than last year, but it was still A LOT of work.

And for everyone who has asked- Yes I will be doing a truffle sale for Valentines day, but it will not be a CHERUBS fundraiser. You can email me at Chefrinny@gmail.com for more information.

Here are some pictures of the truffle mania:

My New Nephew

Sunday night my sister-in-law had her third son, Joshua. We went up to see him last night and he was gorgeous! Seeing how little he was made me realize how fast Makayla is growing! It almost made me want to have another one right now.... and than I thought about how wonderful it is to not have to get up ever few hours for feedings. :)

Here's some pictures of the cute little guy.

National Children's Memorial Day

Today is National Children's Memorial Day, a day to remember ALL chidren lost. Everyone is encouraged to light a candle for an hour at 7pm local time to keep a continuous wave of light around the world in memory of these children. Today as I think of Gabe, I think of all the other angels up there with him, watching over all of us here on earth.

Thanksgiving weekend

Last weekend we took a trip up to New Hampshire to relax. It gave me a lot of time to think and reflect on what I have to be thankful for.

I am thankful for my daughter. She is truly amazing. I look at her each day and cannot believe that she is really mine. The love and pure joy that comes from her smile leaves me speechless.

I am thankful for my son. I am thankful for every moment I was able to share with him, and all the lessons he taught me in his short life. Because of him, I am a better friend, a better mother, a better person.

I am thankful for my husband. He has been there with me through these last 8 years, which hasn't always been easy, but with him I know we can make it through anything. He gives me strength and courage to go on, I couldn't imagine life without him.

I am thankful for my friends and family. I know I have so many wonderful people who surround me with love and happiness. I don't know what I did right to deserve all those who have touched my life, but I am very thankful for every one.

I am thankful for my health, my home, my animals, and all the small things I have in my life. When I take the time to reflect on all the positive things I have in my life, it makes all the negative not seem so overwhelming. I think I need to take more time to remind myself of the wonders in my life and spend less time worrying about the things I don't have.


Here are a few pictures from our New Hampshire get-away.