The circle of life...

Ahhh...the circle of life. It truly is bitter sweet. A new life brings on hope and joy. The end of a life brings on grief and loss. Although many of my friends are expecting new bundles of joy soon, our family, unfortunately, has endured more end of life moments within the past year.

Beginning early 2008, we lost Richard's Uncle "Brother" George, on his father's side and then his Uncle Jimmy, his mother's brother. Shortly thereafter, we lost my Uncle Phil in June. This was my mother's older, but youngest brother, and his loss is still very much felt within our family. We miss you much Uncle Phil!

As we were still reeling from these devastating losses, we learned that Richard's Aunt Doretha was ill, and she soon passed on as well.

Psalm 91:1-2 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

We could never have imagined the loss that was upon us.

On December 4, 2008, Richard, myself and Layla took a Continental flight to Oklahoma City to visit his mother, sister and brother, with their families in Lawton and Mangum, Oklahoma. What a wonderful trip this was!!! We had a beautiful dinner with Richard's mom, Medina, and the rest of the family. We had no idea that this would be the last time we would get to hug Medina in person...

On New Years Day 2009 we received the unbelievable news that Medina passed away. This news rocked us to the core, and her loss is completely immeasurable. We miss you tremendously, 'Dina! May you rest in peace. We love you.

Psalm 23:1-6 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

The most recent family loss occurred on February 17, 2009. My first cousin, Jason went to be with the Lord at the young age of 44. Jason, I pray that you finally found your peace.

Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

A look back...

Many of my friends began blogging after finding out that they were expecting! What a great way to chronicle your daily life, and provide such a meaningful "diary" for your little one? Since I missed out on that phase of my life, I thought I would share a retrospective of my pregnancy...

The above art work is the only piece I was able to finish for Layla's room due to an issue that I began having with my hands. They would go numb for no reason at all. Drove me crazy, and halted all creations for her room. Although the numbness went away, the other art work never was completed.

This is how mommy looked at our June 2007 Couple's Baby Shower...I gained 45 lbs!!! Hello double chin...I still have 5 weeks to go...
Overall, my pregnancy was easy. I never did feel "that glow" they all talk about, but I was told it did exist. Who knew?

I craved Italian food! I liked Italian food prior to becoming pregnant, but I absolutley HAD to have it when I was preggers. And ICEE's too...yum, yum.

One night, I had to have a cheeseburger, from Whataburger. Richard thought it would be a better idea to get a great burger from Beck's Prime. I did not put up a fight. That is, until I smelled the burgers in the car! I thought I would vomit before we could get home. And to this very day, I cannot eat a burger from Beck's Prime.

Layla's due date was August 3, 2007. The same birthday of my older sister, Michele. I wasn't quite sure Michele would like to share her birthday, and Layla agreed. She waited until midnight on August 4, 2007 before letting mommy know she was ready for her grand entrance! We headed to the hospital at 2 am...although Layla was ready, mommy's body was not. I was not dilated and my water had not broke. Around 4:30 am the hospital staff was ready to send me home to wait this one out...gave me two, yes, TWO, sleeping pills and told me to go home and get some rest? What? How could I possibly rest? I stood up to go home, and my water broke...

After some time, mommy was out of it, and I am sure Miss Layla felt the effects of two sleeping pills too. Her heart rate dropped and we were forced to have an emergency c-section. Layla arrived at 8:43 am!!! The only words I remember are "It's a girl...with bright red hair!" What a relief to have her here with us....

I had to recooperate for 3 or more hours, and I was finally able to see my little red head! We were all beyond shocked!! She was perfect.

What a lovely day...

Layla and myself began Valentine's Day in San Antonio with Mimi, Popo, Honey, Ethan and Paige! We had great intentions for a very productive and lovely day...my mother has wanted a picture, a nice professional picture of Ethan, Paige and Layla since the day Layla was born...so, we were determined to get that taken care of finally! First studio had a 45 minute wait, so we couldn't do that because we also made plans with my girlfriend, Nicole, to help her with her baby bedding. So, off to meet up with Nicole and Kristen at Alamo Cafe. (One of my favorite restaurants in San Antonio, and where we had our June 2007 Couple's Baby Shower in celebration of Layla's arrival!!!) Yummy food, very slow waiter, three rambuntious kiddos. That was a lot of fun, so, we set off to do baby bedding stuff...

Nicole decided she wants to decorate her first baby boy's nursery in red, blue and khaki, with teddy bears and animals. She picked out a few different fabrics, and we called it a day. My mother will be helping Nicole to design personalized bedding for William Wade Dillard's first room. I know they will have a great time.

From there we tried two other portrait studios...both were booked up for the day! What a big let down...we were determined to get THAT picture, and it just didn't happen.

After a long day, and it was only 4 o'clock, we headed back to the house to take our own pictures since the kids had matching outfits on ~ we couldn't let them go to waste! I am waiting on those pictures, mom. Send them my way...until then, here is one I snapped of Layla and Paige at the restaurant.

Richard, myself and Layla met up that evening to celebrate Valentine's Day. Again, this proved to be a hectic evening as every restaurant had a 45+ minute wait...with an 18 month old? I think not....Martha's Mexican Kitchen it was! The setting really never matters, it is the company you keep. And I was happy to be with the man I love and the little girl who makes our hearts melt...

A loving thought for all of our loved ones we were not with ~ we love you!

A special message to Grandma Medina...we miss you tremendously!!! A day filled with hugs, kisses and love was not the same without you here...R.I.P.

a cookie crumb for a brain

So I stayed up late baking cookies for Layla's Day Care Valentine's Party...wrote out note cards for her teachers, past teachers and the directors! What does mommy do this morning? Walks outs of the house and leaves all of the gifts, cookies and cards sitting on the kitchen table! I do believe I have a cookie crumb for a brain.

The one good thing, I did not forget the juice boxes for the party. And I took the kiddo's Valentine's Day cards from Layla to Day Care yesterday, at the request of her teachers. (Thank you!) At least the kiddos won't miss out on all of the love and fun!

Technically, Valentine's Day is not until tomorrow, so I do not have a recent V-Day picture to post of Layla quite yet. I have decided to post a few from last year. Who needs a Hershey Kiss?

...the tall, skinny one...

As I mentioned in my very first post, Layla had her 18 month well child check up yesterday. Apparently we have a little one on our hands! (Not that big of a surprise, myself and her daddy aren't big people either.) She weighed in at 22 lbs. and height is just about 33 inches! She is right on par for average height of an 18 month old, however, her weight is only in the 20th percentile. I guess now would be the time to tell you more about our little red headed girl! Yes, red hair!

Although she is delightful, funny, adorable and near perfection, she is a very picky eater! I swear she lives off of yogurt and fruit. Which, isn't too bad, so I won't complain. In addition to being a picky eater, she was also sick about two weeks prior to this appointment, and was not eating much. I am happy to report she is feeling better, although she may not agree with me as her mouth is erupting with LOTS of teeth!

Layla is our angel. She is such a sweet little girl, with A LOT of sassiness to her....I have NO idea where that could have come from? 8-) Maybe something to do with all of that RED HAIR!

Speaking of, we were shocked to say the least when Layla made her grand appearance on August 4, 2007. At that time, she weighed in at 6lbs. 8oz. and 20in. long. Poreclain skin, with bright red, firey red hair! From that moment on, our lives were forever changed and we know that we have been blessed.

And it starts...

Blogging. I suppose this is inevitable. This is just like myspace. Didn't do it. Wouldn't do it. Too old for it. But, then I did it! So, this begins. Blogging.
With many of my girlfriends beginning to blog, and actually loving it and some even finding it therapeutic for them, I thought ~ why not? (I could probably benefit from some free therapy!)
I hope this blog proves to be helpful for distant friends and family to stay up to date with our daily life that seems to fly by...
Layla is already over 18 months old and we are going to her check up appointment today. I am looking forward to it. I am sure Layla is not. I am interested to see her weight and height percentiles. At her one year check up, she was on the tall side and a little bit on the chunky side too. Let me say, fluffy side. She was like one cute little butterball. Oh how I miss those rolls and that gummy smile!!! She is now thinned out and looking like a little girl, no longer a baby. Teeth coming in full throttle and all of her hair will now go up into one ponytail.
I will sign off for now, and update after her appointment. Welcome to my blog...