Recognition

May 17, 2010

I received a call today from the local March of Dimes chapter. For the walk here in Midland, the Grace Elizabeth Butler team came in second for the most amount of money donated. This did not inlcude the $10,000 donation because that donation was made to the main office, not to the local chapter.

In addition, we won first place for the "best use of the mission" t-shirt. I had to ask her exactly what that meant. Basically, they liked our t-shirt the best because the design of the t-shirt showed the best use of the March of Dimes mission. Apparently she is going to be presenting me with some plaques as well. I will let you all know as soon as she gives them to me!

Abby's Tutu

I just had to share this picture of Rick wearing Abby's new tutu and her sunglasses.

I'm sure you will all enjoy it!

San Antonio Walk

May 8, 2010

I went to San Antonio to participate in my third and final March of Dimes walk for 2010. I walked with my sister Diana and her family and my brother David and his wife Cathy.

Cesar and TJ


Karina, Tina, and Abby

Check out my tutu!!

Sly, Diana, and Karina

Many thanks to everyone (again) who walked, donated, and/or supported us. I have had tremendous joy from this entire experience. It feels good to be pro-active and to do something of importance and value in honor of my daughter, Grace. I plan on walking in her name every year, so don't be surprised if you hear from me again next year!!! :)

10,000 Thank You's

May 2, 2010

So one of my fellow fundraisers for the March of Dimes walk for Midland pledged to raise $10,000. I saw that pledge and honestly thought he put too many zeros! Well, it wasn't a mistake. My friend donated $10,000 in Grace's name! That put our total raised at $13,000!!! I was overwhelmed to say the least!

How do you thank someone for such a generous donation? Somehow "thank you" just doesn't seem like enough. It really got me thinking. God sent his son to be our saviour. Jesus had to die on the cross. Somehow "thank you God" just doesn't seem enough, does it?

Please say a special prayer to bless my friend and his family, because my thank you just doesn't feel adequate!

Walk for Babies!

May 1, 2010

Thank you so much to everyone who was a part of the Grace Elizabeth Butler team! For those who raised money, those who walked, & for those who were there to support each and everyone of us!


Together as a team we raised almost $3000 for the March of Dimes!!!!

The kids had a great time walking with us! Abby wasn't too crazy about the giant Rockhounds dog though!
Abby and Cookie taking a stroll!

Abby showed her spirit by walking and running. She was done riding in the stroller and wanted to be like everyone else and walk for her baby sister, Grace!

My dad came up to walk with us too!

TJ had a blast with his buddy Jacob! They were running all over the place! They all should sleep good tonight!

One more walk to go next weekend in San Antonio!!!

March of Dimes - Dallas

Last week I went to Dallas to participate in a March of Dimes - March for Babies walk with my sister, Carmen. I haved decided to try and be positive and pro-active about Grace. I know that by doing these walks I can't bring Grace back, but I can help raise money for research to help someone else's baby! So this year I will be participating in 3 walks. My first was last weekend. It was a 5 mile walk. I drove to Dallas (took 7.5 hours!!! Abby is not a good traveler, had to keep stopping for her). On Saturday Carmen, TJ, Abby and I headed to the walk. It had been raining most of the week and I was concerned if they would hold the walk or not. Fortunately it was dry that morning and the walk was scheduled to go as planned! The ground was a bit muddy, but that was ok. We started the walk. I of coure brought a stroller for Abby because she is too small to walk. I was hoping TJ could handle the walk. Well... about half way through he decided he had walked enough, and Carmen and I were tired of carrying him on our backs. So we turned around. Will definately have to bring two strollers for the next walk going on here in Midland next weekend!!! Here are some pictures of Carmen and the kids before the walk.

Social Security Number

February 19, 2010



With each of my pregnancies I have developed gestational diabetes. With TJ and Abby, I was able to control my sugars with diet alone and I did not require medication. With Grace, things were very different. The only way I could keep my sugars under control was to eat basically only protein and very little carbs. Obviously going on a low carb diet while pregnant was not a healthy choice. If the outcome would have been different with Grace, I would have been placed on medications. Instead, the decision was made to deliver her since my health was now an issue. The perinatologist recommended I get a glucose tolerance test performed to make sure I did not go on to develop diabetes. Since delivery, I have noticed that my sugars are still not "ideal". So I headed to Odessa for my glucose test. I had to go fasting, get my blood drawn, drink 75 grams of this glucose drink, then get my blood drawn again at one and two hours after drinking the glucose. Now, for any of you who have had to do this, you completely understand when I say YUCK!!! That drink is sooooo disgusting. You have to drink it in 5 minutes or less. They try to make it test like an orange or lemon-lime soda, but it is no where near as good. The good news is I didn't get sick. Now all I have to do is wait for the results. Should get them back at the first of the week - hopefully!

Well, while in Odessa, I went to the county clerk's office to get a copy of Grace's birth certificate. I needed it to file my taxes. It looks very different from TJ and Abby's. It list the time of her birth, the place, and the physician. It lists me and Rick as the parents, and then there is a section there signed by a certifier from the hospital certifying that Grace was born alive. It does not list any other information about her, i.e. birth weight, length, etc... If your child is born alive, no matter for how brief, you are able to claim them on your taxes, but not if your child is stillborn. You just have to provide a copy of the birth certificate documenting the live birth. Just doesn't seem right to me. In my opinion everyone should be able to claim their child, wheter born alive or not. You still have to pay all the hospital and physician bills regardless of the outcome!

The day before my trip to Odessa, Rick had received a call from the funeral home wanting Grace's SSN so they could finish up their paperwork. So I decided to take a trip to the social security office to see if Grace had been given a SSN. Mind you, I did not need one to file my taxes, only a copy of her birth certificate. So I walk in there and I am immediately hit with the smell of really bad body odor!!!! I can only imagine what that place must smell like during the middle of summer -- eewww! So I wait for over an hour and finally my number is called. I explain to the attendant how we had given to birth to Grace and 30 minutes later she died. I explain about the call from the funeral home and I ask her to check to see if a number was assigned to Grace. She was unable to locate one. She asked if I filled out any paperwork from the hospital to apply for a SSN - to which my response was no. Heck, I left the hospital so quickly they had to mail me the paperwork to fill out for the birth certificate.

Then the woman proceeds to tell me that in order to get a number assigned to her I need to provide a copy of her immunization record. What???? Was she just not listening to me? My baby died 30 minutes after delivery, she did not receive any immunizations! I calmly explain that to her. Then she says I will need to provide a copy of the insurance card showing proof of insurance for her. What???? Again, does this woman not understand me? I explain once more that my baby died, therefore she was never placed on my insurance. Then she tells me in addition to the birth certficiate I will need to provide the death certificate, idenification from both Rick and I, either one of the two listed above, or copies of the medical records in order to get a SSN assigned to her. Let me just tell you I am about to lose it at this point! Isn't the entire purpose of getting a SSN assigned to you is that you were BORN a United States citizen????? Not that you died, not that you received immunizations, have health insurance, or medical records???? Why is it the IRS is satisfied with a birth certificate only but the social security office is not???? I just looked at the lady dumbfounded. I said ok, thanks for your help, and got up to leave. In reply she tells me she is sorry for my loss. I guess she finally understood that my baby had died.

Me and car batteries

February 12, 2010

Let me just preface this by saying "No, I did not leave the lights on in the car!!!" Apparently I have quite the luck when it comes to car batteries! For those of you who are unaware of my history with car batteries, simply refer to my previous post titled "stupid car".

A few months ago we traded my Honda Pilot in for a used Chevy Suburban. I absolutely LOVE my suburban! I was preparing to leave to take the kids to school/daycare when I went to start the car and it was sluggish to say the least. I asked Rick if that was the battery. He said yes and asked if I had left anything turned on. I was proud to say - NO!!!! :) So I went on to work with the intentions of him looking at the car later.

After work I had a few errands to run. I was happy that my car started (still sluggish). I went to the pharmacy, turned the car off & went inside. Now in the back of my mind I'm thinking... should I have left it running??? Fortunately it started again upon leaving the pharmacy. Then I went to the postnet place to mail a package. Again I turned the car off. Well... I guess I pushed my luck a little too far b/c this time it would not start back up! Fortunately I wasn't too far from the office and one of my coworkers drove over and gave me a jump start. I drove it straight home and Rick put a new battery in it for me!! :) Now it starts up everytime without hesitation!

I'm thinking I may need to invest in a pair of jumper cables to keep with me given my love/hate relationship with car batteries!

Not too bad

January 21, 2010

So I have officially been back at work fro 3 days now. I must say it has been much better than I anticipated. It has been nice to surround myself with people who truly love and care for me. I haven't even been upset by the "how are you" questions - and to think, that's what worried me the most! In fact, I find myself wanting to share with people about Grace. Funny how things work out. I guess the saying is true about making a mountain out of a mole hill!

Next Chapter

January 18, 2010

Today is the last day of my "maternity leave". So the big question is... am I ready to go back to work? The answer is yes and no.

Yes because it will be nice to get back into my daily routine and see all the great people I work with. It may be a little difficult in the beginning because I'm sure I will receive looks of sympathy and the "how are you?" question. But I know it will only be because they love me and want the best for me and my family. So I will keep that in the forefront of my mind. Hopefully it won't be too hard of a day. I'm sure emotional will be the descriptive word of the day!

No because I have sooo enjoyed some "me" time and "me and Rick" time. My relationship with Rick has only strengthened and our love has deepened during this time. It's nice to know that God blessed me with the perfect man for me who could love and support me during such a difficult time.

But I am realizing that I have reached the point of having too much time on my hands. I read the entire Twilight series of books in only a week and a half! Was very good! The third book is going to make an awesome movie! Not too sure how they are going to make the last book into a movie... but I will definately be going to see it when it does come out. But I digress... so tomorrow is the big day and the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. So thank you all for your continued love and support - see you soon!

Poem

January 11, 2010

Today marks 4 weeks from when I gave birth to Grace. I have been writing out thank you notes to so many people this morning and trying to get everything organized. I came across a copy of the poem that Monsignor Bridges read at Grace's service. I wanted to share it with everyone because it is so beautiful and it means a lot to me.

I'm just a little baby

who didn't quite make it there;

I went straight to be with Jesus

but I'm waiting for you here.

Don't you fret about me,

I'm of all God's most blessed

I'd have loved to stay there with you

but Heavenly Father knows what's best.

Many who dwell here where I live

waited years to enter in,

they struggled through a world of sorrow

and their lives were marred with sin.

So sweet family don't be sad,

wipe those tears and chase the gloom,

I went straight to be with Jesus,

from my lovely mother's womb.

Thank you for the life you gave me,

it was brief but don't complain;

I have all of heaven's glory

suffering none of the world's pain.

Thank you for the name you gave me,

I'm thankful for all you've done.

I'll be waiting here for you

in heaven up above.

I would have loved to stay with you,

and lived life by your side,

but the Lord has called me home,

I know it's hard to understand why.

Thank you mommy and daddy for making me,

you made me out of love,

I can't wait for the day I see you both again

so you can see what I've become.

I'm an angel here in heaven,

the Lord's here by my side

He wants me to let you know

He's sorry he made you cry.

He has a plan for me up here,

and a plan for you here too,

someday we'll be together again,

and this I know is true.

Great Day!

January 5, 2010

What a great day today is! I had coffee this am with my friend Beth from church. How great it was to visit with someone who I feel so spiritually connected with. I haven't ever visited with her before other than quick hellos at church, but I felt so comfortable with her like I'd known her for years! I shared my joy of Grace with her and thanked her for singing at Grace's service. I had a great time! Yesterday was a good day too! Had lunch with a dear friend. It has been so good to just take the time to enjoy people and the gifts that God has given to us all!

Then I met up with Rick and we went running around for a bit. It's always a good day when I can just be with Rick and we can enjoy each other's company. I feel closer to him then we we first married. I love him more and more every day!!

I hope everyone is having as good a day as I am!!!! :-)