Happy 1st Birthday in Heaven Sweet Angel

There is no party, no balloons, no cake and no celebration however we have memories.

Memories of the sweet little girl who touched our lives forever on this very day last year.

She was not with us long but her memory will remain forever. Our love for her is never ending.

Megan Grace ~ We are so glad you came into our lives even if it was for a short time. You have shaped our family forever just by being you and for that we are so very grateful.

I'm sure you are smiling down from above but what I hope you realize is that many of us are smiling back at you on this very day. You touched lives of people your daddy and I do not even know.

How amazing is that?

Happy 1st Birthday Megan Grace! We love you!

Love,

Mom, Dad, Tonka, and Baby Sister

Mother's Day

The other morning as I was driving to work, I began contemplating this Mother's Day.

Last year, I vividly remember standing in church with tears streaming down my face. Megan Grace was still here with us yet we knew it would be the only Mother's Day we would share with her on this side of Heaven.

This year is again very different. As I ponder Mother's Day this year, I teeter between longing for the daughter who is not here with us while holding out hope for the daughter we are expecting later this year.

Such a twisted ball of emotions all being housed within my heart and soul. Through the coming years I am sure I will continue to figure out how to reconcile these feelings for now though they kind of just reside as polar opposites forever playing a game of mental tug of war.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful Mother's out there especially the ones who woke up as I did this morning trying to balance such opposing feelings.

Just the Right Outfit

This, is in my opinion, is the perfect first outfit for Megan Grace's little sister don't you think?

We think so and we can't wait until October to see just how cute she looks in it :)

So there you have it blog world. Megan Grace is going to be a big sister in October.

We very excited yet in no way, shape, or form does it take away the pain of missing our Megan Grace. One can only hope she is watching over us as we await the arrival of her younger sister.

Over the last few weeks/months I have been quite MIA from blog world for many reasons but mainly due to finding out we were expecting again.

It has been a very emotional ride that we continue to endure daily. Through the grace of God and the support of each other along with friends and family we are balancing the rollercoaster of emotions that are part of being pregnant again after loss.

We hope you will join us for the ride :)

Whitewater Fun

Last weekend we headed to Charlotte to attend the 6th Annual KinderMourn Duck Race in honor of our Megan Grace as well as Wyatt.

Due to logistical issues, we found out once we arrived that we had to leave at the same time the race actually started. All was not lost. We had arrived 2 hours ahead of time because that is when the gates opened so we had a chance to enjoy the amazing facility.

It was held at the Whitewater Facility in Charlotte, NC. We have been hearing about this place since it opened but had not had the chance to visit. Now that we have we will definitely be making a return trip.

There are tons of activities from rock climbing to actually trying out your skills on the water. We sat and watched some guys who were obviously not amateurs for a bit while there. They were really fun to watch. It made me want to take nap afterwards though because they were working so hard.

We did not walk around the whole facility because it was huge. Also, as you can tell I do not have any pictures of the actual ducks. They were apparently quite a distance up from us and well I was being lazy :)

Steve and I can't wait to return next year and maybe give it a try ourselves!

Megan Grace's Scholarship Presentation

On Saturday, we had the honor of presenting a very deserving student with the scholarship we had setup in honor of Megan Grace.

We feel this is a wonderful way to memorialize her life in a way that will continue to give year after year. We are very proud of the fact that despite her being gone there is still something positive coming from her life.

As I sat in the room with all of these students along with their parents and families I was just in awe of their talent. Many of them are working to be dentists, pediatricians, musicians, and in our case the student is going into vocational rehab.

These kids are the future of our society and it makes me so very proud to be honoring our daughter in a way that would make her proud as well!