Three Years Old Today

Olive Hope,

What I wanted was to throw you a big birthday party today. You would be three.

I just wanted you to know that we will never forget you.  You taught us so much and continue to shape and mold our lives.

What I have is the JOY of knowing your nana is throwing you that party.

Happy Birthday my tough girl.

Dad

"You will lose someone you can't live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn't seal back up. And you come through. It's like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly--that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with that limp."-Anne Lamott

Feeling the pain of missing you today...

I didn't write this prayer, and I'm not sure who did...I remember a friend sent it to me when we were in the middle of things with Olive and I still love it.

Talked with our Akha friends Ae and Joe the other night on the phone and they said  they are waiting for little Aevi to reach 4.4 lbs before they go ahead with the next surgery. Joe mentioned that they have been in tears almost every day over their sweet little girl.

Also, here is a link to watch Colleen's Eulogy (my beautiful mother-in-law who passed away this summer after living with glioblastoma multiforme or brain cancer).

Parent Rap

This made me laugh.

a long overdue update.

I have a LOT to update since my last post...


My amazing mother-in-law Colleen passed away at the end of June. She has left a huge hole in the family and we are all missing her so much these days. She brought so much stability to the family and was the nurturer, always paying attention to details and making you feel so cared about. We made a video in her honor talking about her life, and who she was with photos and videos. I'll post that to the blog next month after her final memorial service in Rehoboth, NM. We are so grateful that we were able to be home over these past few months to help care for her and take advantage of the precious time we had left with her.

Little baby Aevi has been stable over the last few weeks. She was diagnosed with necrotizing enterocolitis and had to have 25% of her intestines removed. Her doctors were also in dire need of IV access after her surgery as no PICC lines were small enough for her in Thailand. We called some of Olive's neonatologists in Bangkok to see if they had any access to PICC lines small enough, and they said they would need to be sent from America. So, Dr. White saved the day once again and sent over a few very tiny PICC lines for little baby Aevi. The PICC lines were inserted successfully, and since then she has been pretty stable and continuing to grow.

Henry is so much fun. He has his first tooth popping through, is crawling, and lots of personality.

My sister Melody, and my cousin Katrina along with her husband Trent and little baby Tipper Olive came out to visit for my birthday at the end of June. We had a great time hosting them. My parents were also out here in Lynden for two different weekends in July before and after an Alaskan cruise they were on. So fun seeing them so often.

The Polinder reunion also was in July and we had a great time together. It was the week after Colleen's passing so there was a definate hole without her there. She is so deeply missed by so many.

Here are some photos over the last few months...

Colleen and I

Rusty with his sisters Shawna & Stacia

Grandma Polly and Henry

Colleen and Henry

Henry loves his cousins.

My cousin Katrina, Tipper Olive, me, Henry, and my sister Melody

My dad & Henry