First things first

Let me begin this blog by saying I am a procrastinator. I put my profile on this site at least 2 months ago and am finally getting around to my first post. Perhaps I feel that nothing of much interest ever really happens under our roof or maybe I just don't have an extra 5 minutes to document any of it. Nah...neither of those excuses holds up.

I think what actually triggered me to place my first post was thinking of my daughter and wanting her to know just how much she has changed my life when she is old enough to read and understand what I will be writing. Sure, I could show her photo albums and recount stories from her childhood, but I feel this blog will better show her, on a more regular basis over the years, just how loved she is and how blessed we feel to have her in our lives.

Olivia was a long time in the making, so to speak. Johnathan and I were married in 1998 and we decided we wanted 6 children...at least. We suffered miscarriage after miscarriage for numerous medical reasons. 5 total. I can honestly say that I have more fear of an ultrasound machine than I do of poisonous snakes. They have literally killed me inside on numerous occasions. To find that yes, there is a heartbeat at 6 weeks only to return 2 weeks later to the lack of a heartbeat. Over and over again.

When the genius folks at the Center for Assisted Reproduction finally found the perfect fertility "concoction" for all that ailed my body we were still considered high risk. Every time I had to have an ultrasound I replayed seeing and hearing those words and seeing that look on the doctor's face. But week after week, month after month, she grew and grew and developed perfectly. I had to see a Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor every week for the last several months to ensure that no danger was lurking. We have loads of ultrasound pictures of Olivia at each week of her development...someplace. Please refer back to sentence one of this blog. In the end, we did have 6 children, but only 1 is living with us on this Earth.

It is to that one child that I dedicate this blog. My sweet baby girl. My Olivia.

NOVEMBER 9TH, 2004 _________________FEBRUARY 20TH, 2008