A Beautiful Story....

I would like to share my neice's new blog with you.

 In this blog, she will take you along on her journey to have another child through the beautiful world of surrogacy.

I will warn you though, you better have a box of kleenex

nearby!

 

Betsy, Craig & their sweet daughter Elizabeth

 
 Our story begins back in the fall of 1988 when we first met in kindergarten. Little did we know that when Craig played Peter Rabbit and I played Mother Rabbit in the kindergarten production of the famous Beatrix Potter play, we would someday be high school sweethearts and now happily married for over eight years.
We both grew up in large families, so we dreamed of having at least two-three children. We were delighted when I became pregnant with Elizabeth in the spring of 2009. I had the most wonderful pregnancy I could ask for. I felt amazing the entire time and couldn't wait to meet our new bundle of joy. I ended up going eight days over for Elizabeth, but she was well worth it.

For having such a "text book" pregnancy, I expected my delivery to be the same; sadly I was wrong. After a long labor, I finally gave birth to a healthy baby girl. With both sides of the family there to welcome Elizabeth, Craig and I both thought it was the happiest day of our lives. Within minutes, our world was turned upside down, facing something new parents shouldn't have to.

I unexpectedly started to hemmorage and had to be rushed into emergency surgery. I had a condition called placenta accreta, where my placenta grew into my uterus and would not detatch after labor. In order to save my life, the doctors told my family he would have to perform a partial hysterectomy, give me 10 units of blood, and fly in platlets from Eastern Maine Medical Center. Due to the amount of blood I lost, the doctors were worried about organ damage, specifically my heart, as well as kidney failure. In order to help my body recover, they placed me into an induced coma and put me on a ventilator until they felt my body could handle functioning on its own again, if at all. To the surprise of all the medical staff, I woke up with nothing more than a very sore abdomen. My family wanted to wait and tell me about the hysterectomy after I had time to recover a bit, but minutes within getting my ventinator tube removed, a nurse informed me what had happened. Of course I was upset at the thought of not being able to carry another child, but at that point I had enough faith and strength to say "thank you" to God instead of "why me?" I also knew I needed to focus on my recovery and finally get to hold my baby girl, Elizabeth. Read more of their story here.

Blessings,
Julie

A Little of This & That....

 

Our eldest son turned 28!

Where, oh, where did the time go?

We had a nice dinner; some

Thai food that my husband made per Matthew's request.

 

 

 

Our youngest son Andrew and his

lovely girlfriend came over.

You can see that Andrew is very much in love with the new

puppy.

 

Robin, Janice and Marianne

 

My sister and a couple friends and I all went

snowshoeing. We had a great time. We didn't go far, but

we got plenty of exercise breaking a trail.

The weather was perfect...40*. 

We all made a date to go again next week.

I can't wait!

After our little snowshoe journey, we came in and just enjoyed each other's company. Marianne brought her braided rug, so that Janice and I

could see how she does it in a bit more detail. She also showed us how to make a hooked rug.

She is much better at it than I am, but I'll get there with some practice.

I showed the girls how I made yarn out of t-shirts. That is what I am using to make my hooked rugs. Marianne uses wool, but this still gives the same look, but is much less expensive. Who doesn't have an old t-shirt or two hanging around? Until I can really master it, I think I will just continue using my t-shirt yarn.

 

 

Oatmeal is my favorite breakfast food.

Do you like oatmeal? I find it's especially good on cold

winter days. My mom always said it'll keep you full, because it

sticks to your ribs.

I found a great oatmeal recipe here.

It calls for whole milk, but I just used 1%.

I think you could pretty much add whatever you want

for fruit. I just might try some apples and walnuts in it next time.

 

Well, we got hit with another storm yesterday. Nothing new around here, I guess.

Poor little Angus has all he can do to keep his head above the snow.

He's completey tuckered out by the time he comes in.

 

 

I actually went out this morning and shoveled a large area

on the lawn for him to go out in. The things we do for our pets!

 

I hope you are having a lovely week in whatever part of the country you are in. Drop me a little note, I'd love to hear from you and what you've been up to.

 

Blessings,

Julie



Meet Angus...

As promised, this is the new puppy. His name is Angus.

 

 

I think he looks like a little fox.

 

He's pretty quiet for the most part. I think it will take a few days for him to get adjusted to his new home and family.

 

Hollie isn't quite sure what to think of him yet. She just thinks it's her job to guard me at all times from this new little creature...

 



 

...even when I'm sitting in a chair. She's nowhere near what you would call a lap dog, but you could never convince her of that. She just likes to make sure she is protecting me at all times. One can't be too safe, you know!

 

 

Silly Hollie! Can you imagine needing protection from this sweet little baby?

 

 



Blessings,

Julie

Another Hazzardous Weather Advisory...

Snow, snow, and more snow....

 

 

This weekend has been a blizzard!

The winds have been blowing up to 37 mph., and

the temperatures have been in the teens

Just one of the many perks of living in Northern Maine.

I wouldn't change living here, though.

 

 

The beauty of winter is so extraordinary! So, instead of dwelling on the fact that it's cold, and lasts between 6 - 8 months, I choose to celebrate it!

 

 

This is the little village where we live.

 There's maybe about 40 people in all that live here.

 

 

 

 

 

 On our way back from town on Saturday, my husband and I came across some kids cleaning some snow off the ice so they could enjoy a bit of skating.

I just love this...no tv, to computer, no video games or cell phones. Just good old fashioned fun!

 

 

 

 

This is the snowmobile trail. The railroad used to run through here, but when the trains stopped coming up this way, they pulled up the tracks and it became a great trail for snowsledders, atv's and bikers.

 

 

No matter where, or how far you roam....

 

 

All roads take you back home.

 

May God's love keep you safe and warm during these cold winter days.

 

Blessings,

Julie



A Snowshoeing Kind of Day...

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love snowshoeing...

The sound of the snow crunching beneath you,

the wind blowing through the trees,

the snow melting in the pines,

and the beauty that surrounds you.
 

There is nothing like it. If you haven't tried it, you should. It doesn't take any special skill, and it's a great way to get some exercise. I pretty much stay inside all winter, so for me it's a great way to breathe some fresh air and enjoy the sunshine.

I spent Tuesday afternoon snowshoeing with Hollie and had so much fun, I decided to go again on Wednesday.
This time I went with my sister and our friend, Marrianne.

Marrianne lives in a beautiful log cabin set way back in the woods. It's the perfect place for snowshoeing.

 

 

 

We stopped by Marrianne's son's cabin to say hello. He lives even further in the woods than she does.

 

 

 

 

We found an animals den. Just glad it didn't belong to a bear!

 

 

We finally made it back!

 

 

 

Time to sit by the fire and enjoy a little snack, a cup of tea and the company of good friends.

 

 

Marrianne is quite a crafty lady. She showed Robin and I some of the projects she has been working on. In the above picture they are looking at some rug hooking patterns. Something I want to try someday.

 

 

This is the wool rug she is braiding. I LOVE IT!

 

Here are a few more pictures from Marrianne's beautiful cabin in the woods.

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you are all enjoying winter in whatever part of the world you live in.

 

Blessings,

Julie