More of Jack

Clearly Jack is doing quite well at home with his mommy and daddy. However it is obvious, by this picture, that Jack has a little something on his mind. Something that is making him so happy. So why is Jack smiling? Well, it's because his lovely cousin, Wendy, is going to be his godmother. That's right. Courtney asked me today. I didn't know what to say...so I just started crying. After the tears were dried, I accepted. What an honor for me. So while Jack may be smiling, I am glowing. I promise not to let you down, Jack.

Jack

On December 29, 2009, Jack was born. He is the child of my first cousin, Bryce. We are an exceptionally close family, as all the cousins grew up together and continue to celebrate birthdays, first communions, weddings, anniversaries, or any other occasion that might be cause for a get together. I still remember where I was, getting my car repaired, when I got the call from Bryce. "We have a baby boy!" Then silence. Then, "Are you working today?" Jack was born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. The odds were stacked against him. A diaphragmatic hernia does not have a good prognosis. Nobody knew what was going to happen. All we could do was pray. And we did plenty of that. The fact that I just happen to be a nurse in the unit where Jack was, proved to be a great blessing, for both Jack and myself. For right before Jack was born, I was still consumed with my own grief and my own loss. But when Jack arrived, there was no place for that anymore. My focus turned to him, to help him heal. Jack was in the hospital one month. I only missed two days. I can't begin to imagine what it would be like to have your child in the hospital, to not get to hold him, smell him, even touch him. I'm sure that their entire stay was somewhat of a blur. And so for Jack, and his parents, I chronicled his journey. Because I know that I would have wanted somebody to do that for my baby.

Cupid Strikes Again

We had a lovely Valentine's Day. Well, actually we celebrated a day early, on Saturday. The day began with a manicure and pedicure...for both of us! That's right, I made my husband go with me. But don't let him fool you, he loved it. While the woman was massaging the lotion over his feet, his eyes rolled back in his head, he looked at me and said, "Why don't we do this more often?" Who knew I fell in love with a metrosexual? Then we went shopping. I got two new pair of jeans and two new shirts. Perfect! Then we came home, showered, and got ready for dinner. But before we left for dinner, Chris surprised me with BLING! He gave me a diamond bangle bracelet and earrings. I was as giddy as a school girl. Why is it that diamonds make one feel so much prettier? So with my new bling adorning my body, we went to a little Italian restaurant. It was so quaint and warm. The restaurant was actually in an old home. Every dining room had a fireplace, which we were able to sit right next to. We shared an entire bottle of wine, had cheesecake for dessert, and toasted to each other. Valentine's Day could possibly become my favorite holiday. What's not to love? It was a perfect evening, and the night reminded me once again how much I love my husband.