My New Purse

 

I recently went purse shopping and found the perfect purse. My new purse is made from 100% recycled plastic bottles! I was so excited to find it – right up my alley!

My Birthday in Food

Breakfast: Coffee, Banana, Granola mixed with Kefir

Lunch: Tabouli Salad, Fruit

Snack: Fresh Fruit Juice with Apple, Pear. Plum, Peach

Shot of Wheatgrass

Another Snack: Veggies with Hummus

Dinner: Salmon with Veggies from Whole Foods

Cake! Jason got me an Ice Cream cake. I ate a small piece and it was yummy!

My preschool class gave me a very thoughtful gift. A Mellow Mushroom Gift Certificate. A Gift Certificate to the Juice Bar in Buford, a coffee mug filled with organic dark chocolate, and a magazine. This is one of the best gifts I have ever gotten from a preschool class because it is all the things that I love! Made me feel special!

A Day Off

The girls had another day off due to the rain, so my mom came for a visit. She took me out for a birthday lunch and brought me flowers – Thanks Mom!

 

The girls and I got silly this afternoon and just started taking pictures. Look at Claud’s face  - I think she might grow up to be a rocker chick!

I did get one serious shot out of the bunch!

Back to school tomorrow and another year older (not sure how I feel about that yet)!

I got a package yesterday!

My new cookbook and juicer arrived yesterday!

This cookbook is from the restaurant in Athens were Jason and I ate at on our anniversary. The restaurant is called The Grit, and I loved it! I found the recipe book on line and ordered it immediately. I can’t wait to try out some recipes.

I also ordered a Wheatgrass Juicer. I had been using my big juicer to juice my wheatgrass and it just wasn’t working out.

I tried it right away, and couldn’t have been happier with it. It is very easy to use, it produced more juice than my electric big juicer, and the clean up was a breeze!

True Beauty!

I was so excited to see this picture from Jason's trail camera. I think it's beautiful!

A project completed!

We finally got a summer project completed! Jason painted the girls dresser for me and a bookshelf.

Before:

We took all the labels off and got new knobs (I had the plastic/glass look alike knobs and they all broke off).

After:

  

Thank you Jason!

9/11/01 - 8 Years Ago – Marley was Born!

September 11, 2001: We slept in and got woken up by a phone call from Bruce telling us to turn on our TV. So we did, and could not believe what was happening. Total shock. Jason went on into work and I settled on the couch to watch the events unfold. After a lengthy telephone conversation with my brother, I got up to go the bathroom and realized that my water had broke. "Oh no, I thought, this can’t be happening, not today. I can’t have a baby today. "

We got to the hospital around 3:30 pm. The hospital staff was in shock over the events of the day. I don’t think the doctors and nurses were 100%. Who could be. Our safety in America was being compromised, we were being attacked! We all worried about what would happen next. At one point I made my dad turn the TV off. Enough was enough. I was having a baby and I needed everyone to focus, including the staff!

I started pushing around 8:00 pm. At some point it became clear that I had an infection and needed an emergency c-section. I wasn’t scared, just felt really sick and confused. My baby girl came into the world at 10:17 pm September 11th 2001.

It was a crazy, emotional day. Actually it was a crazy emotional week. I ended up staying in the hospital for a week due to my infection. The only TV programming on during that first week following the attack was news coverage. I was sick, wanted to go home and just got depressed. I remember taking a walk with my dad outside. I remember crying to him. I took another walk with Jason and cried my eyes out to him too.

Marley and I finally left the hospital a week later. My parents took me home because Jason had to go back to work. As we drove home I saw American flags everywhere. I cried again.

Every time I had to tell someone Marley’s date of birth, the person would say “oh”. It never stops. I called the dentist this week to make an appointment for Marley. When I told her the date of birth, the lady said: “Oh, I didn’t realize you said 2001, oh!” How am I to respond to “Oh”?

I will be honest. I was in a fog for the first few months. And at times I did struggle with her birthday. I was suppose to be rejoicing while so many people where morning, it did not feel right. But I pulled through and realized that she was a gift of Hope, a gift from God. A full circle.

Last year, on her 7th birthday, Marley realized that something did happen on the day she was born. We told her the bare minimum and let her know that when she got older we would share the newspapers and magazines that we had saved.

I am reminded of the tragic events of that day every time I say or hear her birthday. It always evokes a very strange feeling – one I can’t even begin to describe. But it is also the day that my first child was born. The day that God choose for her to come into this world. It was a day that changed our lives forever. But it was also the day that I became a mom. So I am grateful for September 11th 2001, but I am also sad for the families who lost loved ones. May they find peace in all the little children scattered across our nation who were born that day!

Happy 8th Birthday Marley Jayne. I love you!