Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Our Angel Baby

Yesterday Amanda was a month old. I'm sure she had quite the party in heaven with her Great Grandparents, dog Jake and fish Rainbow Fish. Yesterday we sent a few balloons to her and Kara wrote a note to her sister that we attached. Kara's been fairly quiet about Amanda, but yesterday the balloon release seemed to open her up a bit. We talked about Amanda's heavenly party and I reminded her that she has her own dog in heaven (Kara remembers Jake's death 3 years ago) and Kara reminded me about Rainbow Fish being in heaven too. I think having her pets with her sister made Kara feel better.
Corey and I want to thank everyone for their prayers for Amanda. We've kept to ourselves for a month but it's time to open ourselves up to life again. We needed time to begin to process the loss of Amanda, to be with Kara and Emily and to just think about her and the time we had with her. I updated our blog's profile picture to add Amanda. The picture is at my parents' house on Christmas Eve. I'm pregnant so the picture is of the five of us:) As many of you may know, naming our children is for some reason VERY difficult for Corey and I and takes us FOREVER to decide on a name. We hadn't finalized a name for Amanda when the time came to need one but all the sudden it was a very easy decision. When we were dating, I was probably 18, I sat at Corey's parents' table and was writing the usual "Kristen loves Corey", etc. and I wrote Lauren Elizabeth and Amanda Lynn as "our children's names"-I guess I knew we were always destined for girls:) When it came time to name Kara and Em, neither one of the names seemed to perfectly fit them (tried to name Kara Amanda but Shell had a fit:). When we were discussing names for Amanda, we both brought it up and liked it but were still exploring others. Kara was getting tired of the name game so one day said, "Mom, we need to name our baby. What name do you and Dad agree on?" Amanda was the only one so I told her that. Her reply, "Boom, then it's Amanda." So, at the hospital when asked what her name would be, Kara had made the decision easy for us.
In the spring we're going to plant a tree for our baby girl. The need to remember her, to make her more real is something I feel everyday. Please don't be afraid to mention her to us--I say this on behalf of Corey and myself--I can't speak for the rest of our families. God blessed us with three beautiful girls. No matter how heartbreaking the outcome, we're ever so grateful for the time we had with Amanda.
Love,
Kristen and Corey

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Surprise Surprise

Well, it turns out the Lord has a sense of humor. The Film family will be welcoming a new addition in the spring, early April the doctors say. Now that the shock has worn off, we're all very excited. It's a new experience for us and one we're happily sharing with our girls and our family and friends. Kara and Zach put their hands on my belly--Kara thinks she can feel the baby and Zach thinks she's crazy. Emily talks to my belly and pats it now and again. I'm enjoying being pregnant although I'll admit it's a strange experience. Corey is taking good care of all of us and doesn't make me feel too badly about going to bed with the girls, if not before. We'll have our hands full but we love and enjoy the girls so much that I'm looking forward to meeting this little one as well. I can't get used to how fast pregnancy is, although I'm sure I won't be saying that at the end. We had so long to prepare for the girls that this seems super fast to me.
The girls are doing wonderfully. Kara is in first grade and seems to be enjoying it despite mentioning sooooo much work and less recess! She hasn't tried to glue any of her classmates to the floor yet this year so that's an improvement. She's so independent--I have a hard time adjusting to it. But at night she still wants to snuggle up with me and read books, so I haven't lost her yet:)
Emily, on the other hand is firmly attached to me often. Although she does often go off and play with Kara. Kara is so wonderful with her. She's patient and kind to her, teaches her things and reads to her. Don't get me wrong--they have their moments but Corey and I really enjoy watching them interact with one another. Emily is talking quite a bit and I just love listening to her sweet little voice. She's also got quite the temper so isn't always using that sweet little voice:) She's adjusting to Alex being home. It's actually very cute--she loves him to pieces and talks to him/about him but then he touches her toys and all bets are off. We're working on that!
Well, that's it for the Films' for now. I'll try to update the blog throughout my pregnancy and let you know how it's going!!
Love,
Kristen

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Bliss......

Due to the amount of laundry to be done, pretty soon I'm going to be using paper towels to dry off after my shower and then sew them together for clothing and yet, I've never been happier. After Kara came home from Russia I had a difficult adjustment to motherhood. I assumed that because I wanted it so badly that it was going to be easy. The joke was on me. I remember after all the company had gone, Corey, Kara and I were watching Baby VanGogh and I thought "This is it? This is what we do now?" It was Corey that was the glue that held it together until I fell head over heals in love with her and then we figured out the parent/child thing together. So in preparation for Emily I had a pep talk with myself, reminding myself that the bonding takes time, 2 kids are a big change, etc. So I was again unprepared to find that I had fallen for her in about 24 hours. My theory is my heart was already trained in motherhood and Kara had done all the hard work for Emily. I'm happy to say that Emily responds to me in the same way as well. She's such a complete joy--funny, happy, silly, sweet and snuggly. But boy is she loud when you don't feed her fast enough!! Emily's just in a great stage--babbling, almost walking and did I mention sleeping through the night:) There are so many facets to a second child. Not only do I get to enjoy her, on top of my precious Kara, but I get to watch their sibling relationship unfold. It's so precious to see them chatting to one another and reaching out to touch each other as they talk. Emily's favorite thing to do is watch Kara be silly--she laughs and laughs. Sharing all of this with Corey and our families/friends has been great. Corey is very cute and funny with the girls. They really love their Daddy. I have to admit, I also get a kick out of Corey when the girls are loud and nutty and he's taking deep breaths rather than losing his mind. He's so cute!!
Kara has been a hoot. She comes home with the funniest stories, songs, etc. from school. One day she's buying ice cream for a friend who didn't bring money and the next she's smacking a boy at school who knocked her on her butt ("but don't worry Mom, the principal wasn't there"). Watching her begin to navigate life without us by her side is exciting, fun filled and scary for us. I feel very fortunate for all I have--we're very blessed. I pray that somehow God will let their birth families know how happy and loved they are and that we'll cherish our girls forever.
Have a great day everyone. Time to do the laundry:)
Love,
Kristen, Corey, Kara and Emily

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Update on a return to life as usual--with one more

Good Morning,
I've posted some pics this morning--finally, I know. When scrolling down the page, the first 5 are of the girls on various days and the last 4 are the night Emily came home. She's doing very well so far. She's adjusted to the time change and has been sleeping 8:00 PM to 6:30ish AM and takes an afternoon nap--no complaining here!! She's eating well and although she ate just about everything I fed her when she got home, she's now becoming more selective. She and I went for our first and last long walk together. 3 miles may have been pushing it, I guess. After 2 miles, she was done and screamed the rest of the way home. Nothing makes you walk faster than a screaming baby!! I carried her part of the way home and this morning my arms are feeling it:) She doesn't love the swing yet either--she gets all tense and looks very scared but she loves to go on another swing that we have when she, Kara and I are on it together. Depending on how silly I look I may post a pic of that.
Kara is still loving her sister and does not want to share her with her friends--and she's very vocal about that unfortunately. We're working on that everyday. I love watching Kara and Em together--it's so sweet--Kara talks to her and picks her flowers--gently touches her face--love it. I know the time will soon come when their exchanges won't be as sweet but that's okay too.
Corey no longer looks like he was hit by a bus--thank God. Those under eye circles were a bit scary. He's staying home with us thru Tuesday which is great. Yesterday Em was napping and Kara was at school so we spent some quiet time on the deck--first few hours alone since they got home. It was nice to chat with my husband:)
Gotta go now--baby's awake. Love you all!
Kristen, Corey, Kara and Emily






Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Our Happy Girls





Hi everyone. Emily is adjusting nicely to her new life as a Film. She is a wonderful baby--happy, smiley, funny. Sunday night she began sleeping through the night--7:30-5:00. I'm an early riser so that's not as bad as it sounds. She still takes 2 naps a day but will soon be transitioning to 1. She loves to eat and when I take too long between bites there's probably a chance the neighbors can hear her. She loves to test out her voice--sometimes sofly and sweetly and sometimes not. She's slowly getting to know everyone and unlike Kara as a baby, she won't go to everyone. Right now she's holding onto Nana's hand and walking aroung checking out the house (carrying a small garbage hand, strangely). Kara continues to be a great big sister--helping her sister learn, to walk around the house and play with her. I couldn't have anticipated how sweet she is with her sister. We have enough arguments to come in the future so we're just relishing these sweet times right now.

Corey and Connie are recuperating. The time change is tough on all of them but they're quite happy to eat American food. Corey will be home with us for another week, which great for all of us. I've posted some pics from her arrival. More to come soon.
Love,
Kristen, Corey, Kara Michelle and Emily Xian