We're In

Well this move has set several new records....

1. longest time we have ever paid movers - took them 9 hours
2. most damage done - broken screen door and 3 walls now need paint work
3. most electrical problems - all the outlets on the upper floor would not work, the CO2 detector was faulty and went off and all but one of the telephone jack wires are running to a mythical place that we have not yet discovered
4. most calls placed to Bell to get services sorted out - upwards of 20 and about 400 minutes on my cell phone
5. fastest unpacking - 4 days!! All that is left is to hang the art

I'm exhausted....

Today is a sad one. I am sure you all recall me telling you about Kayleigh Anne Freeman and that I follow her blog daily. She is a heart baby that has been through 250+ procedures since her birth last June. She was born 1 lb and 1 oz and survived some incredible odds. Well she lost her battle last night. At 9:44 she passed away. I am having a very hard time with this news. I never physically knew her but I have checked in with this family on a daily basis through their blog for the last 7 months or so. I found them while searching for answers about Olivia's condition.

Kayleigh was an example of worst case scenario as far as heart conditions go, exacerbated by the fact that she was 3 months premature and her systems were not stable.

My heart is breaking for this family, as it has in many tough times in the past when things looked grim. Today I am kind of suspended in a state of shock and sadness. Its a parent's worst nightmare.

This hits very close to home as there was only subtle differences between her heart condition and Olivia's. I could not imagine loosing my dear sweet Olivia - I am not sure I could survive that - literally. I am so very grateful that our child is getting stronger every day but I am also so heartbroken for the Freemans. I know that Kayleigh is in a better place now and that she is no longer in any pain or discomfort and that brings me some kind of peace.

I don't know what else to say, all I can do is cry.

Chaos Abounds

Moving is quite possibly the most thrilling and horrific experience known to man. I should know...I have moved 16 1/2 times in my life - 11 1/2 of those in the last 10 years and this is the 5 1/2th move with Ben. I think its safe to say that I picked a winner. If you can survive 5 and a half moves in 3 years with anyone, its meant to be. A half move you ask? Well there was Texas last year, while we still maintained our place in BC, we had a whole other place there. It was furnished mind you, but we still had a tonne of stuff there and had to ship all kinds of stuff home at the end. Moving through the mail is actually quite cost efficient but the post people don't really like it. They get a little crusty when you attempt to pick up your 30Th Rubbermaid tote.

5 days until *this* moving day...everywhere I look is a disaster in this house. The basement is packed, the main floor is 95% done and upstairs is about 50% done. This is the most organized move I have ever done. Our goal is to be calm, organized, ready and perhaps giddy when the movers show up. Let's see if it works. We have 3 trucks and 4 moving men coming on Saturday so hopefully this will be somewhat painless. Fingers crossed.

We bought a new couch set on Monday - new to us I should say. Got a steal of a deal on a used leather couch, love and chair and while its got some blemishes, its overall look it quite good. We hummed and hawed about getting a brand new set but I think this was smarter, if Olivia were to say draw our portraits on it one day with a magic marker, I would not cry.

I had a wonderful first Mother's Day yesterday. Olivia and Ben got me a gorgeous Swarovski crystal ring. We had a fun family weekend of packing and getting organized. There was even some hysterical laughter as we went through old boxes and strolled down memory lane.

Olivia is doing well, growing and thriving beautifully. We did have a hiccup last week as we attempted to try her on regular formula to see if she had outgrown her lactose intolerance. NOPE shes still intolerant (which by the way I figured out myself when she was a month old and the docs had no clue). She refused to drink and we went through what they call a 'bottle strike' for 4 days. We're back on track now though and back up to cruising speed.

Today I came across an ad online from a local family in trouble. They couldn't make ends meet and their kids were going hungry. Now I know that there are all kinds of scammers out there but for some reason I knew this ad was real. I contacted the mother right away and found out how old the 3 kids were. They had been to the food bank but their allotment was insufficient (all she has left for the week was pasta and rice) and she doesn't get paid until next week. It broke my heart to think of these kids going hungry so Ben and I packed up a huge box out of our deep freezer for them full of meat, fish and veggies and drove it over to their home. One look at the house and I knew it was just as she said it was. She and her kids answered the door, they were so grateful for our stuff, I was grateful to have made a real difference to some people in need.

I really enjoy helping others, especially those in dire need. I know there are organizations out there that do it on a large scale but to me its not the same. I get such joy out of helping those who really need it, in person, face to face. It is the best feeling in the world.

Last year at Christmas, Ben and I helped out another family in need, the Freemans, who have preemie heart baby that I have mentioned before. They are actually going to be featured on 'The Doctors' TV show this month. Their gal Kayleigh has been through 248 procedures since birth and is not even a year old, she has never made it out of the hospital and its not likely she will. It's a long and complicated story which you can read all about at http://kayleighannefreeman.blogspot.com/ if you wish.

This year we are going to try and make Christmas happen for a local family who would otherwise not be able to do it. We are going to see if we can find an organization to hook us up with a needy family and provide Christmas dinner and a present for each family member.

I feel the need to find a good outlet for my ever increasing desire to help those in need. I have some ideas but I will save those for another day as this entry is now getting out of hand. Anyhoo, that's about all I have to say about that....for now