Well we have nicknamed Grant, "Grunting Grant". He is quite the little talker and not fussy, just chatty. I hope you all enjoy the video of him. He makes us smile and has already brought so much joy to our lives.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Will You Dance With Us?
READ THIS VERY SLOWLY.... IT'S PRETTY PROFOUND. This came as an email forward from a dear friend of ours, but it is as if it was written by us...
Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they
haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know
it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.
I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who
passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back.
From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.
How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't
suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does
the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?
How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you
watched 'Jeopardy' on television?
I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, 'How about going
to lunch in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't. I
have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known
yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain.' And my personal
favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have
lunch together.
Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our
headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves
when all the conditions are perfect!
We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve
toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet.
We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.
Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter,
and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we
awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going
to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'
When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure
and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her
enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes,
and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Roller blades and
skip an elevator for a bungee cord.
My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's
just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula
and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car
and bought a triple-Decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way
home, I would have died happy.
Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to.......not
something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had
only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would
you say? And why are you waiting?
Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this
to you.
Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to
the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic
flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through
each day on the fly? When you ask ' How are you?' Do you hear the
reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred
chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it
tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch?
Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi?
When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened
gift....Thrown away..... Life is not a race Take it slower. Hear the
music before the song is over.
'Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we
might as well dance!
Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they
haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know
it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.
I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who
passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back.
From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.
How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't
suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does
the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?
How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you
watched 'Jeopardy' on television?
I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, 'How about going
to lunch in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't. I
have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known
yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain.' And my personal
favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have
lunch together.
Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our
headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves
when all the conditions are perfect!
We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve
toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet.
We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.
Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter,
and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we
awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going
to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'
When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure
and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her
enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes,
and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Roller blades and
skip an elevator for a bungee cord.
My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's
just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula
and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car
and bought a triple-Decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way
home, I would have died happy.
Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to.......not
something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had
only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would
you say? And why are you waiting?
Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this
to you.
Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to
the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic
flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through
each day on the fly? When you ask ' How are you?' Do you hear the
reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred
chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it
tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch?
Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi?
When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened
gift....Thrown away..... Life is not a race Take it slower. Hear the
music before the song is over.
'Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we
might as well dance!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
A Pair of Shoes
I am wearing a pair of shoes.
They are ugly shoes.
Uncomfortable shoes.
I hate my shoes.
Each day I wear them, and each day I wish I had another pair.
Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can take another step.
Yet, I continue to wear them.
I get funny looks wearing these shoes.
They are looks of sympathy.
I can tell in others eyes that they are glad they are my shoes and not theirs.
They never talk about my shoes.
To learn how awful my shoes are might make them uncomfortable.
To truly understand these shoes you must walk in them.
But, once you put them on, you can never take them off.
I now realize that I am not the only one who wears these shoes.
There are many pairs in this world.
Some woman are like me and ache daily as they try and walk in them.
Some have learned how to walk in them so they don't hurt quite as much.
Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before they think about how much they hurt.
No woman deserves to wear these shoes.
Yet, because of these shoes I am a stronger woman.
These shoes have given me the strength to face anything.
They have made me who I am.
I will forever walk in the shoes of a woman who has lost a child.
They are ugly shoes.
Uncomfortable shoes.
I hate my shoes.
Each day I wear them, and each day I wish I had another pair.
Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can take another step.
Yet, I continue to wear them.
I get funny looks wearing these shoes.
They are looks of sympathy.
I can tell in others eyes that they are glad they are my shoes and not theirs.
They never talk about my shoes.
To learn how awful my shoes are might make them uncomfortable.
To truly understand these shoes you must walk in them.
But, once you put them on, you can never take them off.
I now realize that I am not the only one who wears these shoes.
There are many pairs in this world.
Some woman are like me and ache daily as they try and walk in them.
Some have learned how to walk in them so they don't hurt quite as much.
Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before they think about how much they hurt.
No woman deserves to wear these shoes.
Yet, because of these shoes I am a stronger woman.
These shoes have given me the strength to face anything.
They have made me who I am.
I will forever walk in the shoes of a woman who has lost a child.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Welcoming Grant to the world...
Wow, where do I even begin....what do I say to all of you? What do you say to us? To say the last few weeks have been a roller coaster ride would be the understatement of a lifetime (the last six days in particular). I go one minute from complete joy and elation at the beautiful gift of God that has joined our family to complete devastation and sorrow that E is not physically here to meet his little brother.
A new book has been started in our house (the old one however will never be closed)...all of you have been anxious to hear about Grant so here are some random things about him. Grant Michael Tillmann joined us on 4/17 at 6:46pm weighing 8lbs 12 oz. My labor went well until they broke my water at 5pm, then things got intense and an epidural didn't really do a whole lot. But I ended up with a gorgeous boy and no stitches so I guess that hour and 45 minutes was nothing to complain about. Grant looks like a "Tillmann". He sleeps really well and has been given us at least one 3 hour stretch during the night. He is unbelievably content with life and only fusses when he needs something and makes whatever it is well known quickly. He nurses pretty good, although we have had some problems with the left side for some reason but overall he eats like a champ. Diaper changes sometimes involve both mom and dad as he like to pee on his head! :-) He loves his paci! He loves to be held and is rarely put down (and I don't care what the parenting experts say)!
We saw Dr. Beebe (our ped) on Monday and he weighed 8lbs 2oz, which is what he weighed when we left the hospital the day before, so we think he has already hit the bottom of his weight and is on his way back up. Dr. Beebe said he is a healthy and strong boy.
Grant has given me a reason to get out of bed everyday...my husband has given me love and support that I can't begin to put into words along with blessing me with two incredible boys...our amazing friends and family have given me strength and comfort...my faith in God, hope for the future.
Thank you all for everything you have done and continue to do for us. The phone calls, text messages, emails, facebook notes, gestures big and small, prayers etc. mean so very much to us! I don't know if I will ever be able to thank you all properly for what you have done. We are looking forward to all of you meeting Grant, please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
A new book has been started in our house (the old one however will never be closed)...all of you have been anxious to hear about Grant so here are some random things about him. Grant Michael Tillmann joined us on 4/17 at 6:46pm weighing 8lbs 12 oz. My labor went well until they broke my water at 5pm, then things got intense and an epidural didn't really do a whole lot. But I ended up with a gorgeous boy and no stitches so I guess that hour and 45 minutes was nothing to complain about. Grant looks like a "Tillmann". He sleeps really well and has been given us at least one 3 hour stretch during the night. He is unbelievably content with life and only fusses when he needs something and makes whatever it is well known quickly. He nurses pretty good, although we have had some problems with the left side for some reason but overall he eats like a champ. Diaper changes sometimes involve both mom and dad as he like to pee on his head! :-) He loves his paci! He loves to be held and is rarely put down (and I don't care what the parenting experts say)!
We saw Dr. Beebe (our ped) on Monday and he weighed 8lbs 2oz, which is what he weighed when we left the hospital the day before, so we think he has already hit the bottom of his weight and is on his way back up. Dr. Beebe said he is a healthy and strong boy.
Grant has given me a reason to get out of bed everyday...my husband has given me love and support that I can't begin to put into words along with blessing me with two incredible boys...our amazing friends and family have given me strength and comfort...my faith in God, hope for the future.
Thank you all for everything you have done and continue to do for us. The phone calls, text messages, emails, facebook notes, gestures big and small, prayers etc. mean so very much to us! I don't know if I will ever be able to thank you all properly for what you have done. We are looking forward to all of you meeting Grant, please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
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