Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Tate and Reese 2/19/07

It's been a long time since I've blogged. I just haven't been in the mood.... However, today is different! My little miracle babies are TWO today!!!

I got pregnant and was due on 5/30/07. Needless to say, we were quite surprised when my water broke on 2/19/07! Thank Jesus that I was already in the hospital on bed rest.

So this is a picture of Tate... He was born at 6:18 am and weighed 1lb 14oz and was 13in long.

And this is a picture of Reese... She was born at 6:19 am and weighed 1lb 8oz and 13in long.

They are true miracles sent from God and we are so blessed. It makes me sad that neither of their Grandfathers will be at their 2nd birthday party. For more "Fro me to you" action, check out Kristen's blog at "We are that Family". (The party is Saturday..I'll post some pictures next week if Happy Mommy doesn't beat me to it!)

Wordless Wednesday

Thanksgiving Day

Hello regular Twice Blessed Mommy readers! 

Twice Blessed Daddy is guest-hosting today from sunny (but very cold) Ohio.  We're here visiting TBM family and friends for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Today, we're in Columbus where the TBM extended family meets every year to stuff ourselves silly with turkey and pies and catch up on old times.  The yearly family picture is taken, and pictures from past years always bring laughter and tears.  This year has been bittersweet, since TBM's Dad is here only in spirit. However, we have been blessed by the happy memories of years gone by, though his ever present sense of humor will always be missed.  And, we know he is gloating, in spirit, at Ohio State beating Michigan once again earlier this month.

Tate and Reese are making their first visit to the annual Thanksgiving event, and are both sick with a cold (naturally).  However, since they are now really toddlers, this does not slow them down; they're just more effective at passing their cold around as they run around the house.  Since they tend to weave  through people a lot faster than TBD (they've evidently watched football and know how to use blockers), I think the exercise I got today more than compensated for all the food.

Tate has been particularly active, more than we would expect since his cold is a bit worst than Reese's.  We think it's because he can see better.  On Tuesday, he got a custom-fitted contact lens to replace the lens they removed during surgery a month or so ago.  Putting a wafer-thin piece of saran wrap in his eye is a bit of a challenge (we dropped it in his mouth on the first try, which made the nurse who said "I've seen everything" say "I've never seen that"), so I leave it to TBM and just "assist" as needed.  Once he had it in and was on his two feet, he immediately stopped crying and stared in the distance. I thought I heard him say "whoa" (we must watch too many Keanu Reeves movies).  It was obvious he might have been seeing pretty well for the first time in his life.

So, if you're wondering what TBM and I are thankful for today, it's that we are dog-tired from chasing our agile (but sick) kids who are acting a lot like normal children.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

My Kids Learned to "Salsa"

I swear I just walked away for a few minutes to put the clothes in the dryer. When I came back to the kitchen.....Tate and Reese had got a jar of salsa out of the pantry (which is child proofed) and opened it (not sure how they did this) and poured it out into two nice piles..one next to her and one next to him. Now where are the chips when you need them?

Another Surgery for Tate

Tate is having another procedure in the morning at 9am. It's an exam under anesthesia to be exact. His doctor is going to fit him for contacts... I'm not sure how thrilled I am about the idea of contacts for him. I'd like to have glasses too as a back up. Can you imagine...."Tate, let mommy put your contact back in your eye....hey Reese, let mommy put your eye back in". Sounds lovely huh? Reese is constantly taking her prosthetic shell out of her eye. Lately, she's been bringing it to me and saying "uh oh". She's getting better at giving it to me and not putting it in her mouth.

I'm taking Reese to visit Aunt Jessica at 730a tomorrow morning. She should have a lot of fun with Jessica and her new room mate. Reese gets to help Jessica fluff her new "luv city sac".

Please pray for Tate that there are no complications and that we hear all good news. I'm so tired of bad news these days....

Wordless Wednesday

Surgery Update, NICU Reunion and Shampoo

It's been awhile since I've felt like sitting down to blog. I guess I've been in a bit of a funk lately...and feeling a little old since my niece just turned 30! YIKES!

Tate's surgery went very well. Dr. Trese tried to make a few cuts to Tate's pupil in hopes that it would just spring open but that didn't work. He had to cut away part of his iris to make his pupil size be 4mm which is good. He removed the rest of his lens capsule and did a bit of laser to remove old scar tissue. He also put an air bubble in Tate's eye because his retina is slightly folded and this should help flatten it out. We had to keep Tate on his belly for 2 days and that was quite the task. We are going back to Detroit on 10/14 for a check up (we usually follow up with his doctor here but Dr. Trese wants to see him first) and hopefully that will be our last visit to the Motor City. For all of you who are wondering ~ Yes we finally went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Sad to report it was a bit underwhelming. The highlight was listening to "Roundabout" by YES on a video monitor since it's in the top 500 songs that changed rock and roll. I'm a HUGE Yes fan for those of you who don't already know that!

We went to the first NICU reunion last Sunday. It was quite surreal seeing all my friends that I made (my pump room buddies) while the twins were there and their children. I was so happy to see our 2 favorite doctors and they were equally as happy to see Reese and Tate. It was a little disappointing that we only saw a few of the nurses who cared for them. We were hoping to see our favorites but none of them were there. The nurse who let me touch Tate for the first time when he was just 1 day old was there and she came right up and hugged me..that surprised me a bit but she was really sweet. I think we'll go back next year for sure. I hate to say this but I was quite surprised that out of all the kids who were in the NICU at the same time as my kids, none of them had any health issues. Please don't get me wrong..I'm very relieved that they are all healthy with no problems. It's just made me feel a little worse about my kids vision issues... and selfishly so. Please don't say "It could've been worse" because I already know how their whole ordeal could've turned out...I just wish that they too had no problems at all.

Okay, last subject is Shampoo. I will tell you that I always have been and always will be a shampoo snob. Even in my broke and single days I would buy expensive hair products and live on rice and cereal. I'm in a shampoo rut. I always have at least 3 different shampoos and alternate their use (just to keep my hair surprised) but I've been using the same ones for years and I'm getting very bored with them. I'm asking for your help and opinions..which shampoos do you use and why? There really is a huge difference between salon poos and drugstore brands. My hair will attest that this is true. Anyway, please let me know if you have any good shampoos I should try. Thanks for your help!!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Week in Review

19 on the 19th

Just realizing that my twins are 19 months old today and that today is the 19th! It's their Golden Month Birthday!! Did I just make that up? They are taking a nap so I'm catching up reading blogs when I should be packing! We're leaving tomorrow late afternoon to head on over to Detroit by way of Cleveland (RRHF here I come). Tate's surgery is early Monday morning and I'm asking again for all my blogger friends and family to pray for my sweet little guy.

Will keep you all posted after his surgery. Thanks for praying!

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Tate and Reese Day 5 Transfer

Twice Blessed Daddy and I both waited until we were a bit older in life to get married. On January 15, 2005, we tied the knot...I was 40 and TBD was 44 (it was also TBD's parents 50th wedding anniversary). We decided to try and start a family right away. We had trouble conceiving on our own, so we did what many people do and turned to a fertility clinic. I will tell you that one of the worst things a woman can hear in her life is that she has "old eggs". After one failed attempt at IVF (10/05), we waited almost a year before we tried again. I was the one who wanted to wait. I was in such a funk after the first round failed and was very depressed for several months. It hit me a lot harder than I had expected.

In the summer of 2006, I started working out much harder than usual. I went from running 2-3 miles a day to 3-5 miles a day (5 days a week), I walked 2 miles almost every morning with Mrs. G before we would head over to Curves. I also walked with TBD some evenings. I decided that I was going to be in the best shape I could be in if/when I ever became pregnant. Later that summer, our church had a series called "Deep Water Faith". On the kickoff Sunday of the series, they placed a blank sheet of paper in the bulletin. After the service, they asked everyone to write down a subject that needed to have complete faith about. You could sign it or remain anonymous. We were told that all notes would be read and that the staff would pray for each and every request. I wrote almost word for word, "TBD and I are trying to decide if we should try IVF again or go straight to adoption. We want to have faith that the one we choose is the right decision". I placed my signed piece of paper in the oak box.

Two days later, I woke up from a dream and knew right then and there that we were supposed to try IVF one more time. I turned to TBD and told him that I just had a dream about us and IVF and felt absolute peace that this was the right decision. He agreed to proceed but requested that we change clinics. Not a problem. I also told him that I wanted to go to an acupuncturist who specializes with IVF patients. We made our appointments later that week and we were all set.

We went on vacation to London and Paris and on our way home 8/11/06, I started my first injection of Lupron while on board the airplane. It was kind of cool, sitting in our seats and TBD giving me a shot in my belly. I had a great month without too much pain and my retrieval date was 9/6/06. They were able to get 10 eggs from me..this was great news since the first time I only had 5. We waited for the progress report daily and it was decided to transfer on 9/11/06, day 5 which is amazing (for those of you who don't know much about IVF, a day 5 transfer is the best you could hope for)!

So two years ago today, on 9/11/06, I finally had something wonderful happen to me. After living and working in NYC during 9/11, it was about time that something special happened on that date. Here is a picture of Tate and Reese taken right before they were implanted in my belly. This day turned out to be one of the best days of our life! (I covered my real name.)



I'm so happy that our church had that series. We prayed in earnest to have the faith we needed to make our family complete....and it worked!

For more "fro me to you" action, go to Kristen's site at "we are THAT family" and check it out. It's the best thing in the blogging world happening on Thursdays.

Wordless Wednesday

Update on Tate

Tate's surgery went as well as could be expected. He did have a cataract which had to be removed, meaning they removed his ocular lens. They were able to open his pupil which was the main goal of his procedure. They did have to make one serious decision and we're glad that opted to stop where they did. I should mention that Dr. Trese (doctor in Detroit) was aware of Tate's surgery and acted as a consultant. After removing his cataract and all the lens cavity, they wanted to make a small hole in the back of his lens chamber. After noticing that Tate still has some residual ROP scaring, they realized if they did make this hole, it would pull on his retina. This is where Dr. Trese will come in. We will be making hopefully a final trip to Detroit so he can do this delicate procedure on Tate. So all in all, this is a good thing. Tate will probably have to wear glasses or a single contact on his right eye but that is so minor.

Tate's primary doctor who lead the surgery told us that Tate's cataract was so opaque, that he didn't really think that there had been any useful vision in his right eye. What?? Here we've been so worried about this procedure since all this time we've thought it was his "good eye". After Tate's right eye was patched yesterday, we were not sure how much he could see out of his left eye which has a severely dragged macula. I tell you people, I'm so happy to report that Tate was not the least bit affected by his right eye being patched (except that he kept trying to remove it all day). He played and acted like his usual self.....so now we realize that even though his macula is dragged, he still has had very useful vision out of his left eye....who knew?

I'm looking forward to know how he sees after I take him to the doctor this morning to have the patch removed. Since his pupil is now open, he should be able to see much better. And we do know he was nearsighted in that eye and removing the lens should correct that. The reason he'll need glasses or a contact is to replace the lens and help him focus.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers. It has really meant a lot to me and our family. I'll keep everyone posted on when we make our trek back to Detroit. Maybe there's still hope for me and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!!

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ First Time I Held Tate

This picture was taken on March 7, 2007 and it was the first time I held my son. His nurse Connie let me hold him and I was so happy that I could hardly contain myself. My parents were there with me but TBD was on his way to the hospital from work and he missed it. I was so happy that Connie took this picture and gave it to me right then and there. She was one of my favorite nurses of Tate's. I'm doing this "Fro me to you" on Tate because I found out yesterday that he is going to have his long awaited eye surgery next Monday 9/8 (my sister's birthday- Happy Mommy's mom). This is a very complicated surgery and they are expecting complications but 2 of his doctors will be there to handle any situations that may occur (ocularplastic surgeon for the iris and retinal surgeon for the retina). Please pray for my little boy, that the Lord has mercy on Tate and that there is NO cataract, hence saving his ocular lens.


This next picture was taken last Saturday when we all went to Kings Dominion for my nephew's birthday celebration. Tate loved the merry go round and I loved taking him on it...that's not completely true! I had just rode a roller coaster with Luke and my brain was a bit rattled and I felt very nauseous and going round and round didn't help!



Anyway, please be so kind and keep Tate in your prayers.

For more "Fro me to you" fun, check out Kristen's blog at "we are THAT family".

Frustrated!!

Our trip to Detroit was a bust! No zoo..no Rock and Roll Hall of Fame..no surgery...nothing!

We were so excited that Tate's care was now in Dr. Trese's hands only to be shut down. The appointment was Tuesday at 145p. This was our fifth trip to his office and at the most, we've waited 45 minutes. They have a great set up. You sign in and they administer the drops while you wait so when your name is called, you go straight in to see the doctor. This visit was quite a bit different...to say the least. We arrived at 140p and there was not a seat available to sit it. There were at least 50 people in this waiting room..parents along with their children all waiting to see Dr. Trese. I guess they got a little behind that day. There were at least seven blind children there and it was quite humbling for me.

We were finally seen at 430p and promptly found out that the letter from our doctor never made it to Tate's file..good thing I was prepared and had a copy myself. Dr. Trese comes in, reads the letter in front of us, looks at Tate for maybe 2 minutes (remember I said previously that Tate's eyes do not dilate so he couldn't see behind them very well), and tells us that he doesn't preform perifial iridectomys..only bilateral ones. What?? He said that we should go back to Tate's surgeon..you know, the one who sent us to Dr. Trese.. and have him preform the iridecomy and leave the lens alone. Even if Tate has a cataract or if the Dr gives him one, just leave the lens as is and then bring Tate back and Dr. Trese can remove the lens.

This could have all been found out with a simple call from our doctors to Dr. Trese. He could have given his second opinion over the phone instead of giving it to us during a 10 minute office visit. Which by the way cost us well over $600 in hotels, gas and not even counting food. We were very upset when we left there ( I did tell Dr. T that our doctor didn't want to do the surgery and wanted him to do it but it was kind of a mute point since he doesn't even do them).

The next day, we drove 12 hours home..our 8 hour drive always turns into 12 with stopping to feed our kids, and realized that now we were no longer upset but rather mad and frustrated.
We're now awaiting a call back from Tate's primary opthamologist who was rather quite surprised when I called and told him our ordeal. He's getting involved and having the surgeon fit Tate in for surgery ASAP. So, hopefully we'll know a little more next week.

Please keep little Tate in your prayers since he now has to wait even longer for this procedure....oh yeah, and pray for his frustrated mommy too!

Road Trip to the Motor City

We're off on another road trip...not a pleasure trip however. We are going to Detroit again to take Tate to see Dr.Trese. We haven't been to see Dr. Trese since last September. We are both relieved and anxious about this visit.

We learned in May that Tate's right eye has changed since his last eye exam in November. It was explained to us that Tate's eye is getting shallow and the fluid in his eye isn't flowing like it should. They just need to poke a little hole in his pupil to get to his iris and then make some holes in his iris which will allow the fluid to flow properly. If we do nothing, it will surely result in glaucoma. His surgeons here fear that if they do the surgery, they may cause a cataract (they think he may already have one forming) which will result in removing his ocular lens. The problem with that is he may have scar tissue behind his lens and if they even touch it, it could detach his retina. Drama right? And I forgot to mention that Tate's pupils don't dilate because they are scarred down to his iris from the ROP. His opthomologist and retina specialist have highly recommended taking Tate to Detroit to have Dr. Trese give a second opinion and ultimately have him do the surgery. They are also hoping that the doctor can loosen that scar tissue for proper dilation.

The worse thing about all this is that this is Tate's right eye which is his good eye. We know he can see out of his left but the vision in the right is much better. Dr. Trese is Tate's best hope for a successful outcome. Please keep our family in your prayers for safe traveling mercies and especially for our sweet baby boy. We know God has great plans for Tate and we just want his vision to be perfect.

This will be our fifth trip to Detroit. I've made only one request...to stop in Cleveland on our way back to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We'll need a little excitement after all this. I also hope to take the babies to the zoo while we're there. We took them last summer and it was a lot of fun. Well....I better get back to packing. Just wanted to keep everyone up to date and ask for your prayers.

PS.... My 25 year high school reunion is going on as I type this and I obviously wasn't able to make a trip to Dayton Ohio (Wayne High School class of 83) to attend due to this impromptu trip. Hopefully I'll still look good for our 3oth!!!

Reese's Surgery and Tate's Playdate

Reese had surgery again on Tuesday morning. Somehow the Gunderson Flap she got on 7/8 tore and she needed a few more stitches. We kept debating whether to take Tate with us again (he was so bored but very good the last time). Our good friends The G's offered to keep him for the day. So, we left our house at 400a and dropped Tate off (I told you she was a good friend) and headed to Baltimore. Reese's surgery lasted only 30 minutes this time and it was a success. She did however wake from the anesthesia in a very distraught state. She screamed, kicked and cried for over an hour and a half. I was very upset because she's never acted this way before. They gave her more and more pain medication but I don't think she was even in pain...just having a bad reaction (bad dream maybe?). Anyway, once we got her back to her own recovery room, she was back to her normal self..maybe she calmed down after seeing her daddy.



All the while, Tate was being doted on by Mrs. G, Audrey, Betty and Sojung. They took him to the park and played with him all day. Here is a picture that they took of him in his stroller. He had a great time and came back smelling lovely (Mrs. G wears Pure Grace and he smelled just like her the rest of the day). We're very blessed to have good friends who are willing to help us any hour of the day or night.

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Tate and Reese Age 1 Month ish

Having just posted about my twins, I thought I'd share with you the first time I did Kangaroo Care with Tate and one of the first times I held Reese. Tate was 3 weeks old (pic taken 3/11/07) and Reese was 4 weeks (pic taken 3/17/07) old in these pictures. They didn't even weight 2 pounds at this point. They were just little bitty things. The first time I got to hold Tate chest to chest (hence called Kangaroo) was such a wonderful feeling. They made me wait a little longer to do KC w/ Reese for the fact she was just so tiny. Being a mother of preemies, I felt very robbed of all the normal things moms get to do when their baby's are born. These babies are true miracles and we thank Jesus for them each and every day.

For more "Sincereley Fro Me to You" fun, head on over to Kristen's site and enjoy!

No Longer a Milk Mama

I've been a Milk Mama since 2/19/07. I started pumping on the day my twins were born. I pumped for the 3 months they were in the NICU and started breast feeding them both the last 2 weeks of their hospital stay. I continued to pump and nurse once they were home. I was somewhat relieved that they had to be supplemented on Enfacare 2 times a day because I just wasn't convinced I had enough milk for both babies. I continued to pump and give them bottles, nurse and give formula (alternating of course) until August. We had to make a trip to Detroit for one of Tate's eye surgeries. The 8 hour trip took us 12 hours. TBD bought an adaptor so I could use my pump in the car. Yes that would be me ~ driving down the highway pumping away. Once we got to the hotel at 2am (we had to be at the hospital at 6a), I pumped for the very last time. I said, "That's it!" and it was.

I then started nursing and giving Enfacare (still twice a day) and that lasted until February. Once the twins turned a year old, I was able to stop the Enfacare. I freaked! So, I started giving them Lipil 2 times a day instead. Tate was the first to lose interest in nursing so I increased his Lipil to 3 times a day in March. They both always nursed first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Reese would nurse several times throughout the day but not for very long.

In May, Tate stopped nursing at night and only nursed in the morning. Reese still nursed at least 3 times a day. In June, Reese only wanted to nurse in the morning and only sometimes at night. They started drinking whole milk the latter part of June and both love it.

I'm so sad to say that Tate stopped nursing completely the last week in June and I can't even remember the day...or the last time for that matter. Now if you know me...I ALWAYS write stuff down. I've had a diary/journal since I was in the 7th grade and I faithfully write in it daily. I've looked through my journal and realized that I didn't even write about it. I guess there's been so much going on lately and have had other things on my mind. At least that's what I've been telling myself because I just can't believe it didn't write it down!

I noticed a few weeks ago that Reese has been less than enthused to nurse in the morning. Now this does make me very sad.. Again, if you know me - you'd never know I was feeling this way. I know so many women enjoy nursing so much (you know who you are!). But for me, I liked it and did love it sometimes, but didn't have that crazy nursing feeling I was expecting to have.
Back to Reese - she started only nursing every few mornings. Then I noticed it was twice a week. Last Saturday about 5am ish, Reese woke up and I was listening to her cry. I thought to myself she'll go back to sleep. Then I remembered that it was her 17 month bday (7/19) and decided to get my girl out of her bed and nurse her for the very last time. She was so happy to see me and she nursed for over 45 minutes while sleeping. I knew that it would be the last time I'd ever nurse a baby.

I'm happy that I remember every little detail about it (and yes, I wrote about it in my journal), but I'm also a lot sadder than I expected. We went to Happy Mommy's house that day for Bo and Daisy's party. I told HM about my morning and could hardly get it out - I started crying and got very upset. I totally didn't expect the emotions I was having . My husband will read this and go "What? I didn't know this." It's not something that I wanted to share until now.

That's all for now. I have to figure out what I'm going to post for tomorrow's SFMTY. Where's the Kleenex?

The Pool Incident

I decided to take the babies to the pool on Tuesday. Our routine - I wheel them in their double stroller under this massive umbrella, grab a pool chair and lay in the sun next to them, give them Cheerios and sippy cups and they almost always take a nap and sleep for 2 hours give or take.

Reese decided she didn't want to nap but wanted to cry instead. She was cranky, needed a nap and wanted me to hold her. I'd pick her up and get her to fall asleep and put her back in the stroller only to have her wake up and cry some more. I've had to learn how to let a baby cry once in a while (you have to when you have twins). I decided to let her cry it out and figured she'd fall asleep. Didn't happen. My friend April who just happens to be a NICU nurse, came over to me and said "let me hold her - your relax and read your book and I'll walk around a bit with her". Of course I said yes! I don't get too many offers like that and learned not to pass them up. Keep in mind - Tate was asleep the whole time during this.

She was able to get Reese back to sleep and handed her to me and went back to her daughter across the pool. I guess I forgot to mention that 2 women had shown up during one of Reese's crying jags and sat at a table near by. They talked quite loud and the one who was a little more obnoxious than the other had a very strong NY accent. Don't get me wrong- I LOVE NY and miss it very much. She was just one of those ladies who wore all her jewelry at once and wanted everyone to know she was from NY.

I again put Reese back in her stroller and she starts screaming this time..not crying, no tears, just loud screams. I'm very calm during all this because what can I do? We're at the pool and she's not the only screaming kid there - granted the others were swimming and having fun with their friends. Ok..back to the reason I posted this! Now I do realize that there are some people who can't take hearing a baby cry (like I said above - I am used to it). The NY'er comes over and kneels down in front of Tate (who had just woke up about 2 minutes before) and brings with her an orange Popsicle that's 12inches long in a plastic case and asks if she can give it to Reese. I said "no, that's ok". "Can I hold her for you?"...."no, that's ok". "What's wrong with her?"...."she needs to take a nap". Then said NY'er looks at Tate and says "Is he BLIND?"...."NO he's not". Over comes her friend. "Can I hold her for you?"..."no, that's ok". "What's wrong with her?"..."she needs to take a nap". "Are you sure I can't hold her for you?"..."no, that's ok". "You let that other lady hold her."...."I know, she's my friend".

They finally walked away after that and carried on with their own conversation. I just sat there and couldn't quit thinking how rude it is to ask someone if their child is blind the way she did. I was in a bit of shock and I let it ruin the rest of my day. Why do I have to explain anything to a total stranger?

Anyway, I was able to get Reese back to sleep and she did take an hour nap and was very happy after that. I guess I should've just taken her home and put her to sleep in her crib. It usually works out that they get their nap in and I get some time to soak up some sun. I'm trying to take advantage of this while the weather is still nice. Well - I just wanted to share our pool incident with everyone. Does anyone else get bothered by strangers rude remarks?

It's Been a While!

I haven't posted in quite a while. Not because I haven't had anything to say - but because I had so much to say and I couldn't get myself together.

To begin, last Tuesday (7/8) Reese had her eye surgery. It went very well and she's recovering nicely. She goes back to Hopkins tomorrow for a post op appt. While she was in recovery, they called me to go and be with her. I held her for over a 1/2 hour while she slept peacefully with her little eye patch on (the nurses told me it was her 3rd - she'd pulled the first 2 off). They finally released us to go to her recovery room on a different floor. They wheeled me (holding her) off to the elevator. When we passed TBD he was on the phone. I said - let's go and he shushed me. I said TBD, we're off to the recovery floor and he said "my Dad died this morning".

The day was very long and full of a lot of emotions. We were expecting this - just not so suddenly. We thought he had a few more months. My husband was not prepared. I don't think you can ever be.

On Wednesday 7/9, Tate had a consultation with an eye specialist. I was told that he definitely needs surgery on his right (good) eye and there's a 50/50 chance it could go right/wrong. I struggled to tell TBD this info so I decided to tell him face to face (he had a meeting he couldn't miss or he'd have been at this appt). If we do nothing, we guarantee Tate will have more problems and possible glaucoma in the future. We know we must let this surgeon do the surgery, but we're not prepared for the outcome. Keep sweet baby Tate in your prayers. (I haven't told many people about this since I was so overwhelmed - sorry if you're reading about it and I didn't tell you personally.)

Thursday 7/10 was the 1st viewing. It was very hard on TBD. I took the twins and joined him. That seemed to make him feel a little bit better. Everyone was excited to see them. Need to mention that Mrs. G stopped by our house while we were away and left lots of goodies for us. Chocolate chip muffins, brownies and my fav - a Texas sheet cake! Thanks to the G's for being so sweet!

Friday 7/11 was the full day of viewing. My parents and sister came to our house and my sister Kristy helped me get the twins ready. While we were running around our house, my mother in laws sister Helen and husband Joe came by (they were to follow us the the funeral home). They had this lady with them and I thought to myself, this must be one of their nieces (she looks very young for her age...I need to know her secret). Once inside my home, she announced "I'm the other sister". I was shocked but happy to meet her. She brought me a cake. My mother in law hasn't seen or spoken to her in over 20 years. At the funeral home, they hugged and acted like it was just yesterday that they had last saw each other. I think they've both forgotten why they were mad in the first place. Anyway, at least something good came from this...family has come together. I'm looking forward to getting to know her better and spending holidays with her. Teresa (that's her name) just lost her husband 6 months ago. Maybe Marie (m-in-law) can get close to her sister again since they are both going through the same thing.

Happy Mommy and her family met us at the funeral home. We had a nice get together at Marie's apartment clubhouse and ate some great food during the break (another viewing that evening).

One good thing about the day - it was my niece Daisy's birthday. We had cake and gave her a few presents that evening. She was so cute and excited but kept reminding me "this isn't my party". She's such a sweet girl and we love little Daisy May to pieces!

Saturday 7/12 was the funeral in Baltimore. Happy Mommy and Kristy watched our kids while we were away. Another freaky friday moment - my father in law's (Ernie) twin brother Franklin was there! They hadn't seen or spoken in about 20 years as well. It was very surreal because they are identical twins! His hair was shorter and he doesn't were oxygen but the voices were the same. It was nice of him to be there and I'm happy I got to meet him. He even came to lunch with us after and it was like Ernie was there....I kept hearing him talk over all the conversation and I kept turning to see..they sound so much alike.

Things are back to somewhat normal around here except TBD is in Charleston SC on a business trip. I hope he thinks about work while he's away and doesn't keep thinking about last week. I don't know how he's supposed to feel. I just know it must be awful to lose your father...something I'm not looking forward to in the future but something I've been thinking a lot about this past week.

I'm going to try to start posting a lot more often. Thanks to Happy Mommy for posting a "fro me to you" tribute to my father in law last week.