Feb. 26, 2011

Dear Faith,

We have lots of snow at our house! Definitely enough to make snowmen and sled down the hill! We have been out of power but it came back on this morning. So glad it did because it was FREEZING!! I couldn't help but think how you would have reacted to all of this. Without power, you would not have been able to have your air purifier plugged in that created the white noise you loved to sleep to. I think you would have had to snuggle in bed with mom and dad. :) We actually had to do that with Melina because we were concerned with her getting too cold.

Speaking of Melina, she is doing wonderful. She will be 11 months old on Monday. She is getting so big and making some small attempts at crawling. She is starting to throw little fits and has a definite personality. I am beginning to think we may have our hands full with her!!!

We have our first Lacrosse game today for Dominic. I can't wait to see how his team will do. They have quite a bit of athletic talent on their team, however it is a small team....so we shall see. Lacrosse is my favorite sport to watch so I am excited! Tomorrow they have a double header in Redding. Do you remember when we went to Redding two years ago? I sure do. It was SO hot and I was very concerned about you. We went and sat in the back of our van to shade you from the sun. I remember having my feelings hurt because none of my friends kept us company. But now, looking back on it, I am grateful it was time for just you and I. You took a nap in the back and I just loved watching you sleep so peacefully. I sure wish we could go again together....

I took Dominic and Jessica to Disneyland a couple weeks ago. Again, a place that kept me constantly thinking of you. The three of us had a really good time. We got to go for 3 days and it was nice to spend quality time with Dom and Jess. The lines were short and we got to go on every ride we wanted. The longest line we stood in was to take a picture with Tinkerbell for Jocyleen. When we got up to Tink...she didn't even look like her! We waited 45 minutes for that!! But, it is a good picture that will give us memories to laugh at for years to come.

Grandma (mima) had a birthday yesterday. I didn't get to celebrate it how I wanted to since we were snowed in. However, I had candles lit and had a glass of wine in her honor. I hope you got to share her special day with her.

I miss you so much Faith. Whoever said that time heals....didn't know what they were talking about. It doesn't heal. It just provides you with the time to get a band-aid to cover up that wound....but the wound is still there. I think about you constantly and the realization that you are not physically with us is stronger now. I miss your laugh, your enthusiasm, your love.... I hope you are happy wherever you are and I hope you can feel all the love we continue to have for you.

Love,

Mom

7 years old

Happy Birthday Faith. Hope the heavens are throwing you a beautiful party! We love and miss you so very much. Wish we could be with you.

What a Grieving Mother Really Thinks...poem

Hello old friend,

Oh yes you know

I lost my child a while ago.

No, no please...don't look away

and change the subject

it's ok.

You see at first I couldn't feel

It took so long...but now it's real.

I hurt so much inside you see

I need to talk

Come sit with me?

You see,

I was numb for so very long

And people said,

"My she is so strong"

They did not know I couldn't feel

My broken heart made it all unreal.

but then one day, as I awoke

I clutched my chest,

Began to choke,

Such a scream,

Such a wail,

Broke from me....

My child!

My child!

The horror of reality.

But everyone has moved on, you see,

except for me.

Now when I need friends most of all,

Between us there now stands a wall.

My pain is more than they can bare,

When I mention my child

I see their blank stare.

"But I thought you were over it"

Their eyes seem to say -

No, no

I cannot listen to this, not today

So I smile and pretend...and say...

"Oh, I'm ok"

But inside I am crying

as I turn away.

And so my old friend,

I shall paint on that smile

As I have from the start.

You never knowing all the while

All I've said to you in my heart.

Author unknown

Missing you

Missing you Faith.......missing you so very much. The brightness of the Holiday season just can't compare to the light you had within.

December, 2010

Its been a long time! We have been so busy! However, it has been worth it. Football and cheer season went great! Andrew and Dominic's football teams both went to the Championships! Andrew's team won and are the Champions! Monty did an amazing job at running the snackbar and I really enjoyed this season as Cheer Coordinator.

But, no worries on not being busy...lol. Jessica is on a competition cheer squad now with her gymnastics center. She was asked to fill in for one of the girls and they wanted her to stay on! She has practice 3 days a week and usually one to two competitions a month. Lacey is on their special needs cheerleading squad so her team has performances as well! Andrew starts basketball next week and Dominic will start LaCrosse at the beginning of next year.

Melina is now 8 months old and is such a happy little girl. She receives therapy once a week through Infant Program. Developmentally she is at about 4 1/2 to 5 months old, so not too bad! Adoption should be complete in Jan or Feb.

I am still not that into the Holidays as it is hard without two key people in our lives, but I am trying to get myself in the mood. My cousin Nicole will be here with her daughter, Taylor, who is 21 months. So, with Taylor and Melina it should be fun and I keep trying to remind myself of that. It is always enjoyable to see the magic of the holidays through a child's eyes.

Monty and I recently went to UC Davis Children's hospital and were part of a panel speaking on grief and loss. At first, I didn't want to go. I was a mess initially and was not able to speak when it was my turn. Luckily, another mother spoke in my place and they were able to come back to me. By that time, I was able to pull it together and speak about our experience. I must say, it was one of the best things I have done. I came out of it feeling useful.....being able to use our experience for something good and productive. It also felt really good to share Faith will people who wanted to hear about her. I expected to come out of there feeling sad and exhausted. Instead, I came out on a natural high.....loving that I got to remember Faith and use that memory for a greater good. They asked if we would do it again and I hope they ask!

I am part of a network of parents that have angel children. It is a good place to share your feelings with people that understand. I have recently been told how much I have changed and have been reflecting on that. I guess I have and I guess it is to be expected. I am not really sure what I can do about it either. I think differently now. I don't like conflict. I am stronger in some ways, but so much weaker in others. I feel like people forget that I have been through life's worst pain. I know this is partly my fault because I don't show it. I don't like to be a burden on others and I definitely don't expect anyone to understand. I don't WANT them to understand because that would mean they would have to go through the worst of the worst....losing a child. So, this network has become a valuable part of my life to express and vent without judgment.

Anyway, through this Angel network, I came across this poem. It is a great one. So true and maybe gives a little insight and understanding. I thought I would share it.

My Mom's a Liar

Ask My Mom How She Is...

My Mom, she tells a lot of lies,
She never did before.
But from now until she dies,
She'll tell a whole lot more.

Ask my Mom how she is
And because she can't explain,
She will tell a little lie
Because she can't describe the pain.

Ask my Mom how she is,
She'll say "I'm alright."
If that's the truth, then tell me,
why does she cry each night ?

Ask my Mom how she is,
She seems to cope so well.
She didn't have a choice you see,
Nor the strength to yell.

Ask my Mom how she is,
"I'm fine, I'm well, I'm coping."
For God's sake Mom,
just tell the truth,
Just say your heart is broken.

She'll love me all her life,
I loved her all of mine.
But if you ask her how she is,
She'll lie and say she's fine.

I am Here in Heaven.
I cannot hug her from here.
If she lies to you don't listen,
Hug her and hold her near.

On the day we meet again,
We'll smile and I'll be bold.
I'll say, "You're lucky to get in here,
Mom, With all the lies you told!

Summer

The craziness has begun! Football and Cheerleading season started this week. We are down on the field everyday from 4pm until 8pm. Andrew is on the Pee Wee football team and Dominic and Jessica are both Midgets this year. It will make the rest of the summer fly by! I am the Cheer Coordinator and Monty is in charge of the snack bar. With 7 children at the moment, including a baby, you can imagine how busy things will be! But, it is a good busy because we all enjoy it and have good friends involved in the program. Besides, it is always worth it for the kids!!!

Greg is still in Texas and apparently enjoying it. He has been working construction but is trying to finish up completing all his licensing this week to look for an EMT job. We miss him like crazy but are glad he is happy.

The baby is now 4 months old. She has good head control and is beginning to smile. I think she will be pretty high functioning since she is not too far behind developmentally so far. She is a beautiful, chubby baby that is VERY loved around here! She has a second mommy in Jessica, which is also nice for me! :) Things are looking positive for an adoption around November so we are trying to get all our paperwork in order. We can't wait to finalize!

Lacey turned 10 last week and Andrew turns 9 tomorrow. Jessica will be 12 next month. So, the ages at home are: 17, 13, 12, two 10 year olds, 9 and a 4 month old. (Greg is 19). It may sound like a lot, but they are really good, independant kids. I am a lucky mom!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

"I don't know how you do it"

I can't sleep because my mind is circling with the thought of how many times I have heard...."I don't know how you do it". I will be honest, I don't know how I do it either. I think that is why I am awake too early this morning trying to figure it out. I don't like the idea that people think I possibly didn't love my daughter as much as they love their kids which couldn't be farther from the truth!!! But, that is what comments like those make you feel like (and I know that is not the intent of them).

In fact, for those of you that know me and knew Faith and I together, we were obsessed with each other! Seriously. There are people in this life that I believe are destined to be together. Some people use the term soul mate. I have to agree with that term, although most people use it to describe their partner in life. I do not believe it has to be your partner. I believe it can be anyone: a parent, a friend, your partner, a child...

I am convinced Faith and I were meant to be together. She was absolutely a soul mate of mine: a person with whom you have an extremely deep connection that was put in your life for a reason. Our connection was the strongest I have ever felt in my life. I guess, in a way, that gives me comfort because it gives me a belief there is a higher power. It gives me the belief that there is something beyond what is here on Earth. It gives me the belief that things do happen for a reason and we have to have Faith in that eventhough it doesn't always make sense.

I have never been one to play the victim role. I think there is always someone out there that has it harder than I do. I do not feel like anything productive can come out of dwelling on the bad things that have happened to us and reliving it over and over. I will be honest that I did that for awhile. Then my counselor asked me if I like being in a painful moment over and over. Of course not! She then walked me through the fact that going back in those painful moments only hurts and does not change anything. If I could have changed something, I would have. If I could have changed places with Faith, I would have done it in a heartbeat. No questions asked. Any parent would. But, obviously I was not given that choice and here I am...

Life is all about choices. I choose to try to primarily think of the happy times with Faith and my mom. I choose to feel extremely lucky and grateful for the time I had... instead of dwelling on the time I don't have. I am choosing to continue to live because, really, what other choice do I have? I choose to try to give my other children a good life and be PRESENT for them. If I continued to allow myself to be "victim" of all the bad things that happened to me, not only would it hurt me, it would hurt them. They don't deserve that.

I will admit it is a struggle everyday, every hour. I have to do a lot of mental work and sometimes it is exhausting. But, I do it because I want Faith to be proud of me. I want Faith to know that I am living my life with love and courage in her honor because that is how she lived. I know she would want me to be good to myself, her father and to her brothers and sisters. I want to hopefully help someone else through my experience. I want to do the best I can so that when I do see her again, she will say "you did good mommy".