With Thankful Hearts

Thanksgiving has past now, but I wanted to share what we, our little family, is especially grateful for this year: the Plan of Happiness. This has become more real to us than ever with the loss of our baby, Honey. The day we found out she had died, for FHE we decided to talk about the Plan of Salvation with our kids and talk about what was happening. Ryan did a fabulous job describing it with our Candy Land board game. We all lived together with Heavenly Father before we came to earth. We chose to come here. Then starting on our journey here in mortality, we receive great blessings that help us move forward faster. But we can also feel like we're stuck in the mud, like we're stationary or sometimes even feel like we're moving backwards. Our hearts can hurt, and we face life with sadness and sorrow. Ultimately though, our goal is to live faithfully and return as a family back to Heavenly Father.

The kids seemed to grasp what we were saying, and it was nice to be reminded of why we are here. That we knew there would be tough times and rough patches. We are so grateful for the temple, for the promise of eternal families. The night we went into the hospital, Ryan and I were able to go the temple. What a comfort! To be reminded that as we try our best here on earth, we can be with our families together forever. That not being able to have our little baby right now, we can look forward to being with her and enjoy her on the other side.

There is no way we could have done this alone. It is such an amazing experience to feel (and I mean really FEEL) all of the love, support, fasting and prayers that have been said on our behalf. And thank you to all who are still offering this support, who have called us up to see how we're doing, to see how we're managing and offer love and support. Our lives have changed and our hearts are still tender and we appreciate (tremendously!) the thoughtfulness. Our ward has been and still is so supportive and loving. What a great Plan! To not only have families, but ward families. So it is with thankful hearts that we share our love and gratitude for you, not only during this holiday season, but for always.

Outstanding Citizen

Congratulations to Rylee who received the outstanding citizenship award yesterday for the third time!! During the year, each trimester, Walt Whitman Elementary has an awards ceremony and present the kids with certificates. Last year in kindergarten she received this same award twice in a row and earned it again this year. Whenever I visit with her teachers they mention how shy she is, but what a gem she is. They all adore her. As do we! Besides her little mood swings at home at times (normal right?) she is so helpful and bright. She was presented this award because she "leads through example, makes good decisions and respects others." We're so proud of her. Way to go Rylee!

Our Sweet Baby

Sadly, we remove our baby counter as our baby girl was delivered yesterday at my 20 week mark. It was on Monday when we found out that our baby had no heart beat and had probably died some two weeks ago. It was my worst fear confirmed and the anticipation of having to deliver this tiny infant was unbearable. But, we truly feel blessed. We have felt the love and peace of the Savior in a tremendous, unexplainable way. Our family and friends have been here for us and we cannot express how much this has meant. As we held our tiny, 2.7 oz little girl, we were overwhelmed with love. She was only 7 inches but still, a perfect little body. What a miracle! How we wish we could keep her and have her in our home, she will always be in our hearts, a part of our family, our little Honey Mary. We drive out to Utah tomorrow to bury her little body with our Grandpa Carlos Rodriguez on Saturday. There is some comfort knowing that little Honey will be buried near family, perhaps watching over her. I'm sure there will be rough days ahead, perhaps even months or years. It states in the chorus of the song that I was named after "And Honey, I miss you, and I'm being good. I'd love to be with you, if only I could." We know that our baby girl is well and safe, waiting for us to join her. We love you, baby Honey, and we long to be with you.

Halloween 2007

Here are our Halloween pictures this year. Our kids were thrilled to be able to trick-or-treat two nights in a row! Tuesday night was our ward's trunk-or-treat and everyone came away with plenty of candy. Last night we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Hunt's house and were thrilled that Grandpa had just come home! YAY! The kids decided they weren't quite finished with the trick-or-treating so we ventured out again hitting about 10 houses. It was quite a bit chillier last night that Tuesday, but everyone had a good time!

A huge thank you to Grandma Livingstone who made the Dorothy dress for Rylee. She absolutely loved it and looked great! And for sending the unicorn costume that KC thought was great. KC loved the idea that one night she was a unicorn and then the next, a red power ranger! Another huge thank you to Grandma Hunt for inspiring Rylee with Toto in the basket (sorry, not pictured on here) and the red power ranger outfit (originally for Clay until KC put it on). The cutest power rangers I've seen...Thanks to our wonderful grandmas!