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!

You Know That Broken Hearted Feeling

Well that is me after looking at my bracket this morning. Yuck.

I'm last in my pool. Not only is ECU the laughing stock of college basketball but my bracket is too.

Oh well!

Devastation

The next morning we were up painfully early. The appointment was actually scheduled for 8 am however I did have some stuff at work I felt like I had to take care of in the event I was out for a few days for some reason. So off we went.

We arrived at my dark and quiet office together so I could take care of my work quickly before heading to the doctors office.

Once that task was complete we grabbed a quick breakfast together.

And then we were off.

I remember sitting in the doctors office looking at the other people waiting. Why were they there? Surely it was something routine and they weren't there to find out the details of their child's condition as we were.

It was just such a bizarre feeling.

Finally, they called us back. The u/s tech spent forever doing the u/s.

To be honest, at this point I still don't think it had occurred to either of us that our child might not only have Dwarfism but that we would be told she wasn't going to live.

At the end of the u/s they took us into the genetic counselor's office.

This part is a little foggy. I can't remember exactly but I think she told us the news and then the doctor came in to answer any questions we had.

The only part of the conversation I remember really was the point when he told us this was not the walking, talking, functioning type of Dwarfism we were dealing with. At that point I said, "So this child will never come home with us". His answer was "Well, I never say never and I've seen miracles but most likely it will not."

Not long after that I think we drove home and packed our bags for the beach. We had no idea how we were going to break this news and it all felt like a really bad dream so we decided to getaway for a couple of days to digest what we had just learned.

That weekend was quite possibly the most painful part of our whole journey for me. At times I even think it was harder than when she was born and passed away.

It was physically painful. We didn't eat, sleep, or say much of anything meaningful. It was the strangest place to be emotionally.

Once we arrived back home we had to start sharing the news. It was very difficult and something I hope to never have to do again.

We are grateful that through God's grace and the passage of time along with endless support from our friends and family today is not nearly as painful as one year ago today.

It still hurts from time to time. Not a day goes by that we do not think about our daughter and everything the last year has held but together we continue moving forward with Megan Grace in our hearts.