February 6, 2011

Sunday was a special day for us. We were celebrating 2 important things in our little family. First, it was Heidi's 1st birthday. We had our families meet at the cemetery so we could remember her. We took some pictures and had those that were there sign their names in a card. I wrote her a note in the card about some things that happened in our family in the past year. I am going to try and do this every year and keep them in her photo album.

with Dave's parents and Grandma McCullough

with my parents, Grandma Melville, and the Valquintos

We were grateful that our family gathered together to remember our sweet daughter even though it was pretty cold!

The second thing that we were celebrating on Sunday was Brady's blessing.
From the cemetery, we headed over to our chapel. Brady looked so cute in his white outfit my mom sewed for him. I had forbidden Brady to have a blowout while he was wearing it, but he didn't listen to me! My grandma was holding Brady and she felt an explosion. When I took him from her to go change his diaper, I could feel his back was wet. I rushed to the bathroom and took my mom with me, since she always seems to know what to do in situations like that! Luckily, the onesie he had underneath prevented it from leaking through too bad and we were able to wipe the outfit mostly clean. While Brady was laying on the changing table, I told him that he was so naughty for doing that. He just laid there and had this huge smile on his face like he knew exactly what he had done! That little stinker!
Dave did a great job blessing Brady. Since it was fast and testimony meeting, I knew one of us needed to go up and bear our testimony. Neither of us had since we lost Heidi, and we know that we have been so blessed. I wasn't sure if I would be able to say more than a few words, since my emotions had been running high the past few days. So Dave went up, but he didn't say one thing about Brady! So, I ended up going up there anyway. I certainly did cry. The problem with me is I sound like I'm laughing when I'm crying, so I hope my ward didn't think I was laughing!

Afterward, we went to Dave's parents house, since ours isn't big enough to accommodate that many people. We had lots of yummy food! This is a cookie we decorated for Heidi.
It was so nice to be able to honor both of our babies on the same day. I hope that it is a special connection that Brady can share with his older sister. It's crazy to look back on the past year and reflect on everything we have been through. One year ago, I felt like my life and everything we had planned for was over. Everyone else's lives just seemed kept on going and I felt like mine had just ended. It was the hardest year I've ever had and I changed more than I ever have. Now a year later, I feel so happy and I have an adorable, perfect little boy. We are so grateful for him. We know that we are lucky and blessed that he joined our family just 10 1/2 months after losing Heidi. We're also grateful for Heidi and the 23 short weeks she was with us. We learned so much because of her. I hope this next year is easier than the last and filled with hope and happiness.

(the lamb in the picture at the top was given to Heidi in the hospital)