hello and goodbye

Today was supposed to be a happy day with a happy announcement. Today I was going to go into the Maternal Fetal Medicine Doctors to have a check up. They were supposed to do another ultrasound and tell me that everything was ok with our 15 week gestational baby. This little baby was actually the reason why I decided to finally figure out how to blog. I was going to come home, type up this blog and tell you all that not only did I learn how to blog, but that we were going to have a baby! I had gone for 4 weeks without bleeding and Chris and I were finally feeling confident enough to let our family know that we were going to have another little baby on June 1st. Instead today I am recovering from losing that baby. I woke up around 5am on Saturday morning and knew that I was bleeding... I told Chris and we went to the hospital to determine if the baby was still alive. The doppler couldn't detect a heartbeat and the ultrasound showed a beautiful little baby, but no heartbeat or movement. Chris and I were going through the nightmare all over again. I was admitted to the hospital and went through the process of delivering this little baby. "Baby Lamb" was born close to midnight on Saturday, December 7, 2013. Baby Lamb was still so small that we are unsure of the sex although we think he was a boy. I didn't get to hold our baby because he was so small and delicate, but we did get to look at him and love the dreams we had for him and for our family... I have a lot of questions...questions that probably will never be answered. I found out shortly after the marathon that I was pregnant - I was actually pregnant while I ran the marathon and wonder if that had anything to do with the loss of this baby?... The doctors tell me that I didn't do anything to cause this loss, but in situations like this you can't help but wonder. Chris has questions too, but the doctors said it was an acute placental abruption and that there is no rhyme or reason as to why this has happened twice now. Natalie, I'm sorry that I lied to you, but we weren't ready to tell anyone yet. Chris doesn't want to tell his siblings, but I do. If I didn't it would seem like it wasn't real. We would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone else though, even your children, unless you feel it is necessary. Because the baby was so delicate and small there will be no burial. Although our sorrow is just as great there was a different feeling with the delivery of this little baby than the delivery of Charlie... We love you all very much and hope and pray for your safety and happiness.

grandma lamb retires!

This has been a BIG year for Grandma Lamb - she has experienced many difficult and life changing experiences. In February her sweetheart, George Edward Lamb, passed away. She, well, we all miss him more than we can say. This loss triggered many other events. First during the summer she moved into a beautiful new home near the hospital. Although this was a difficult move we hope she is happy there and are grateful to have her closer - and the kids love how she lets them use her community pool! The last big event for Grandma Lamb was her retirement from working for 30+ in nursing and more specifically IHC! I'm sure the decision to work to support her family had to have been one of the most difficult of her life, but what a blessing it has been for her family to have the income they needed as they grew up. I am also grateful for the example she was to my sweetheart Chris. Because of her dedication and her knowledge she inspired Chris to become a nurse and explore his current profession in the healthcare field. We celebrated by going out to dinner without children on a Saturday night at Olive Garden. On Sunday we celebrated by having two of Chris' brothers, Alex and his family and Jared come over for a dinner at our house. We had a nice time and enjoyed the memories/pictures Grandma brought over and shared about Grandpa Lamb and about her nursing career. Although it is impossible to show your gratitude to your parents for their lifetime of service to you as a child we tried to honor her in a small way with a new kitchenaid mixer. Thank you Mom Lamb for your sacrifice and love!

thanksgiving 2013 and great grandma crosby's 90th

Christmas may be coming quickly, but we just recently celebrated some wonderful events. We combined our Thanksgiving Feast with my Grandma Mary Crosby's 90th Birthday. Thanks to my parents and my aunts and uncles we had an incredible day!

After having a yummy catered dinner at a LDS chapel, we went over to the college to honor Great Grandma with a paver stone. She is an amazing woman!

We finished the day off at Grandma and Grandpa Crosby's house with siblings and cousins. It was a wonderful day! I'm so glad that the Wallace and Garner family traveled safely and that I got to spend time with them as well as with cousins and family that I rarely get to see. I was especially grateful that my kids got to play with their cousins and spend time with their Aunts and Uncles. Thank you to everyone who made it an incredible Thanksgiving!

Some of the cousins ended the day climbing "Pride Rock" close to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

The goodbyes were inevitable... but before we said goodbye we braided hair:)

George 5th Grade Football

Although blogging is old news by now it is time for me to join the blogging world and keep a record of our family events - good and bad - happy and sad. To begin with I wanted to celebrate George's 1st year of football. He was on the 5th grade Dixie Flyers Team with Coach Washington. We all had an incredible experience! George's team made it to the semi finals and then to the championship. They came in second place and we couldn't be prouder! I will try posting pictures.