As is typically the case...

I'm not so good at this blogging thing. Maybe I should ask Carmen how to keep motivated since she is the grand champion. Or Amy, who takes the time to maintain 2 blogs. At any rate, here's my latest and greatest...

So it was Christmas Eve the last time we met. Since then life has been such a whirlwind I'm not so sure where to start! Christmas at my place was as festive as ever. I was worried about the logistics of everyone's holiday cheer, but, as is typically the case, God blessed us, everyone. Mom spent the night and had Christmas breakfast with us. I, being large and in charge with my due date just over a month away, pretty much just watched the girls unwrap their gifts and soaked up my family--thankful that we could all be together. Trying not to think that it could have easily been otherwise.

New Year's rolled around far too quickly. Between a intensely chaotic work situation and managing the girls' holiday break schedules, it is surprising that I did not lose my mind altogether. But, as is typically the case, all's well that ends well. The practice successfully moved across the street from Hendersonville Medical Center. I spent all day New Year's Day filing charts and getting us prepared to see patients in the new office January 2nd.

The end of the girls' holiday break rolled around as they went back to school on January 6th. Audie met the occasion with a new academic class schedule and Jenna was glad that chorus was back in session. With work keeping me busy, the contractions were generally rationalized away by reminding myself, "My due date is January 30th--still a couple of weeks away."

Umm, no. The girls went back to school for one day before I woke them up the next morning by 5am telling them that my water had broke. Since my water did not break with either of the girls, I was unsure what to expect. In no hurry to get to the hospital. I made my phone call to Labor & Delivery, took a shower, and stopped by my office on the way to Vanderbilt Medical Center to check my emails and let everyone know I'd be out for a while.

So it was 8am when I walked into the room where my first and only son would be born whenever he decided to arrive. Let me tell you--he took his time. After hours of agony and only enough medication to knock me out for about an hour and a half around early evening, out came Heath Collin Harrington, by way of natural and PAINFUL childbirth delivery.

I have a notable placenta story I will post later, for those of you into strange childbirth stories. Not gross at all, just unique.

Due to his prematurity, he was watched for signs of respiratory stress for several hours and then appointments after leaving the hospital. He was also quite jaundiced, but managed to avoid what I call the "baby tanning bed." He has been such a precious addition to our family.

Other than the new person, though, life has kept me on my toes. Mom watches Heath while I work 3 days a week, but, as is typically the case, I wind up taking him in to the office with me on the days I'm supposed to be off, if only for a hour or two or four or maybe six...

Audie submitted her requested classes for her sophomore year. Another round of honors classes headed her way. She's getting her foreign language out of the way, which I think is a great idea. It should make her junior year at least one class lighter. At Hume-Fogg your junior year could make you or break you. It was DEFINITELY a sink or swim kind of academic regimen.

Jenna is headed off to middle school in the fall. What does this mean for me? Well, I have been having lunch at school with her as much as possible because I have a sneaky suspicion that once she's in 6th grade it will no longer be cool for her mom to show up at lunch. She is also getting more and more independent, which is sad. I love that she still needs me right now. She's a great cuddler...I'll miss that.

As for me and Casey, we are still working through alot of issues, as is typically the case. My new mantra is that catchy Kelly Clarkson song, My Life Would Suck Without You. Not sure which line speaks to me more: "I know that I've got issues which are pretty messed up, too" or "Baby, being with you is so dysfunctional." At least the chorus is loud and clear: "...we belong together...forever united..." I sincerely believe that.

That's all the time I have. So until next time, I wish you all the best and all of my love. Maybe I will start posting monthly again, and not blow it off, as is typically the case.

Christmas Time Epiphany

I know it has been a while, as it always is, BUT I wanted to share with guys something extraordinary that happened to me lately. I'm just going to cut and paste what I sent to Amy over Facebook, and you'll get the gist of the story. But before I do that, I want all of my friends to know how much they mean to me. I love each one of you dearly and thank you ever so humbly for the outpouring of support and compassion you have blessed me with in 2007. This was definitely a year of reflection--I certainly had to determine my true constitution. How to cope, how to fight, how to forgive, how to find joy again, and not lose my spirit. Well, I'm proud to say, I MADE IT! Thanks to a wonderful group of friends. I sincerely hope that none of you EVER have a year like I've had...but in the event that you do, you WILL be blessed 10-fold. You will know your friends are true and that all of the love you have inside you will bubble to the top and wash away sorrow. My girls and so very precious to me. They are growing up, very quickly, in the image of so many of my friends' greatest attributes. My husband is, and always will be, my best friend. Love conquers all. Merry Christmas, everyone. Here's my story/gift to you. It truly riveted me. It provided so much food for thought...Love to all this holiday season, Marilyn



Its probably going to come off hokey, but because all of my emotions are amplified right now, its a poignant story for me... So this has not exactly been the best year of my life. Casey. House, Meridith. Work, etc.etc. And I was making small talk to a lady in the hospital the other day. She was an older black lady, kinda the maternal, delicate type. Very softspoken and "holy." She was asking about the baby and somehow the conversation turned to whether or not I had faced many trials lately. Well, I said, life could certainly be worse, but yeah, I think some trials have been tossed my way that I didn't expect or quite know how to handle.She asked me how I got through it and all I could think of to say was that I prayed to God for him to help me cope. Help me make the right decisions. Help me to give, as well as forgive. She just smiled and told me that my little boy was going to be so precious and bring so much joy to so many shattered parts of my life. Then it occurred to me that I never mentioned I was having a boy. I asked her about it and she said to me, "Whenever some one in the Bible has prayed to God earnestly for the wisdom to heal or overcome, God has sent a man-child. There was never a question in my mind that your baby was not a boy. He is the miracle you prayed for." I guess I just needed a stranger to help me see why God "blessed" me with this child at what I once considered the most inopportune of times. The timing was exactly right. Exactly right.

Monthly Update??!??

So I skipped the month of September, but who's counting? So much has happened since the last time we met, I'm not sure where to begin... Let's see. It was the end of August which means the girls had been in school for a couple to three weeks. Yeah, that's still working out just splendidly. Audie has enjoyed the social atmosphere of a large high school. Football games and making new friends, going to the movies and youth group events--all of these things mesh together for a wonderful start to her high school career. She's in honors classes, making good grades and though her decision-making skills seemed to be a little questionable at first, she is slowly but surely accepting my advice to stay away from people that are good at causing drama. Jenna loves her school, as well. She loves wearing her non-uniform clothes and eating in the cafeteria--no lunchbox all year, thus far. She was so excited about her chorus auditions that she became a regular Celine Dion in the shower for days. It paid off, though, because she flew through auditions and now I am the proud mother of a 5th grade chorus student at Jack Anderson Elementary. Let's see, I have had 2 OB visits and the awe-inspiring ultrasound. My first ultrasound (middle of August) was to determine 2 things: due date and the elimination of a possibility of multiples (GASP!!). All was fine. I was a little farther along than 1st projected, but that's no big deal. One baby, though. Count it--just one. The tech said the baby was plenty bug enough to see the gender but the little squirt would not cooperated so we had to wait another 4 weeks. The next ultrasound was to look for abnormalities. Its the standard one that most OB patients have between 18 and 20 weeks. Its also the one where the sex is usually revealed. It seemed like forever before the age old question "do you want to know the gender of your baby?" popped into conversation. As soon as the y-sound in the word yes was out of my mouth, the tech said "well, there it is" and I knew she was talking about teeny-weeny weenie. Mom and the girls were there and Casey was holding my hand. It was a special moment in all our lives. A little boy. Who'd've thought? We had kicked around the name Elliott for months, but now at the moment of truth, we decided to go with a tradition in Casey's family---using the HCH initials---and thus we saw for the first time on the ultrasound monitor Heath Collin Harrington. During the procedure, he kept putting his foot in his mouth and rolling around. I even have a picture that looks like he is smiling. For all of the nonsense that I have been subjected to in the past several months, I now know the meaning of MY life. Covet every moment. Fall in love with your family and friends and sing the praises of thanksgiving ceaselessly. To all of my friends and family out there reading this, I love you.

Guess I Should Try to be More Steadfast With this Blogging Thing

Last time we met, I was about to move to Hendersonville. Well, I've been there a while now. Everything is as well as can be expected. The girls love their schools. Its a quiet and clean community and Jenna has a pool to help entertain her on sweltering days. I am proud to say that Audie's participation in the honors program at Station Camp High was a good decision. Her classes, though challenging at times, provide her a wealth of self-esteem when she scores high on projects and papers. I am so proud of her. Jenna is enjoying 5th grade--particularly, the fact that she no longer has to wear uniforms. She even made a point of telling me the other night that she was in the mood to wear her pink glitter jelly shoes to school the next day and was thankful that she could. Oh, its the little things. The baby is beginning to do the Hokey Pokey in my belly and turn itself around. I'm exactly 18 weeks today and we are all anxious for the sonogram on Sept 10 to reveal the gender. Though Elliott for the longest time, our new boy name is Heath and I think its going to stick. I've been on a mission to find a strong boy name that's 5 letters long (like Audie and Jenna). So I will be super surprised if that changes. For a girl, we are leaning toward Neely because we think that sounds like the little sister of Audie and Jenna. We shall see. In closing, Casey started his new job at Vanderbilt last month. Thus far, things seem to be just what he expected. And the perks aren't half bad, either. My job just keeps adding on new and challenging tasks, but its nice to know that there's always one more thing to take care of--that is what we in the business world call JOB SECURITY. Seriously, my boss is fabulous and we work together to keep this practice as pleasant, professional and positive as possible. All in all, a couple of months ago my life looked fairly bleak. Today, though, I'm proud to say, that life is a gift and I will never waste one more moment pitying myself. After all, I have seen my fair share of rainbows lately.

Puppy Dog Tails and Pigskin

Still not good at this blog updating thing. But I have a few minutes during lunch, so I thought "what the heck?" Most of my friends and family know my mortgage debacle, so I will spare you my sob story. Just suffice it to say, we are scheduled to move to our townhouse in Hendersonville this weekend and it is none too soon. The girls are anxious to get settled before heading off to new schools in less than a month. Casey and I are still spending a good deal of time together regardless of our current living arrangements. Last night mom fixed a big home-cooked meal and he came over and stayed a good while. It was nice--almost normal. I miss him terribly, but Jenna is ready for her Daddy. Audie misses him, too, but Jenna is clingy. Here's hoping the family will reunite soon. The new buzz is about our next edition due to arrive early next year. Our entire family is excited and constantly throwing out baby names and such. Thus far, Elliott is still winning in the boy category. Girl name? Well, I kinda refuse to consider that this baby might actually have a vagina. Not that I do not cherish my girls. I love them dearly, but a boy--just think of it! I'm hoping that Casey can get him as fired up about football as he wishes I could be. My enthusiasm wanes before halftime. Who am I kidding? I'm lucky if my attention holds to the first commercial break! Thanks to all for love, support, compassion and laughing with me when I should probably be melting down! Thanks, friends!

Try to Recover

From the shock that I am updating my blog. In the past couple of months a multitude of events have gone down at Hacienda Harrington. Where to start? Jenna was 10 April 16th--so its been a whole decade since a punched out offspring. Some would say that the world was blessed, but I say if someone waved their magic finger and said, "you're having a boy next time," I would pounce on it tomorrow. But, as luck would have it, I am one of three sisters, and the mother of two daughters and I do not need three. So that's that soapbox. As we rounded out the school year, Audie attended her 8th grade banquet. She looked absolutely beautiful, wearing a purple dress with silver sparkles and all the bling she could afford. The other students also looked wonderful, but I am little prejudice, of course. May would also bring the end of another successful school year. Very bittersweet yet tinged with an air of hope and excitement that pushes me to want to be part. It is a difficult concept to grasp--the idea of their not returning. Tides ebb and flow, and final decisions have yet to be made regarding the upcoming school year. Through much prayer and petition, I feel confident that He will lead us in the right direction, even if the girls wind up at different schools. Memorial Day weekend was uneventful. We enjoyed a lazy afternoon enjoying the family time during the intermittent raindrops. Near the end of May, we enjoyed a short trip to the beach with our pals. Audie was allowed to bring a friend along, and chose Rachel Daniel. This girl is precious. She is such a good friend and influence on Audie and I am blessed that she is part of Audie's life. Jenna enjoyed many hours of swimming--at the pool and on the beach. Casey got scorched the first full day out, but found the kahonies to play golf with Jonathan and Nick on Monday anyway. He was at one time as red as a firetruck, but he's pretty much just moulting now. I enjoyed the relaxation with friends, an afternoon shopping trip (you can take the girl out of the mall, but not the mall out of the girl), a lazy nap on Sunday afternoon and playing in the sand with the little tikes. Upon returning to work, all was status quo. Casey was back for 3 days before Quebecor shipped him off to Chicago for 5 days. He is 4 days into the Windy City today, and I am anxious for his return. So is the dog.

AUDIE has a "significant other" NOT a "boyfriend"

Yeah, smile & nod--he is a boyfriend. But he is a good kid, thus far. To those of you that require an update: AUDIE WENT ON HER FIRST DATE. It was last Saturday night. Casey put a ridiculous amount of rules on her--only double dates, more than 2 people in the car, public places only, home by an early hour, etc. But every rule was followed and all is right with the world. He went to dinner with our family tonight. This kid is very personable and seems to really like Audie. It has been a positive first dating experience--for Audie & her neurotic parents. Otherwise, Jenna has started soccer practice and loves it as much as ever. She is really beginning to travel that road of pre-teendom. She will be 10 in a couple of weeks--so hard to believe that it has been nearly a decade since she was kicking my guts to death and making me perpetually barf. She has been such a blessing to our family. Her upbeat, cheerful personality and impeccable comedic timing have carved her a special place in the legacy of our family. Casey's job is maintaining status quo. He continues to be blessed with new projects. My work is heavily tasked right now as the end of the first quarter presents new and seemingly impossible challenges. The PTO efforts for the girls school seems to be nicely progressing. I am working alongside several very imaginative and optimistic women. How inspiring! To you each: hope this spring brings you each rejuvenation and loads of daffodils!