August

( from Left to Right; Kimmie; Courtney, Tia Arlene, Melissa, Me, Tia Susan, Sarah & Capri)

This going to be a crazy month. My sister is having her baby girl next Tuesday. She is having a c-section. Bella is going to be born with a cleft lip. Everyone is gearing up for all the unknowns. Between her husband, sister in law, her best friend, father in law & his gal pal, myself & our aunt we are tag teaming her help. I leave for San Luis Obispo on Tuesday Aug 12 to watch my 84 year old grandfather (he has Alzheimer's and cannot be left alone) while my aunt (who is his primary caretaker) comes to take care of my sister and her family. I will be gone 7 days. Which means I will not be online much. My aunt does not have the net, however my cousin does and she lives across the street so I will try to post updates & check my mail.

It is going to be a tricky time for all of us. My sister has known for about 3 months that Baby Bella is going to be born with a cleft lip and it has been a roller coaster ride since. She has had good days & bad days as you can imagine. We have faith in God, which has been a great source of comfort. We know God did not cause this (we are dying humans, disease and sickness are mostly out of our control). We believe that our Lord is there for us to draw strength from in our times of need. Our family is peppered with strong women. We know there is nothing that we cannot survive. But in this case, we want to do more than survive we want there to be beauty and life for Bella so that she can thrive in a loving caring environment. My sister has had a wonderful presence of mind and has been strong throughout her pregnancy. I am so proud of her! Our families have been supporting her and trying to keep all the anxiety at bay. No one knows exactly to what degree the cleft lip is deformed & there is still a 25% chance that it is not just the lip but possibly the palate as well. However, we will not know anything for sure until she is born on Tuesday.

In any event, that is what is going on. So my posts for the next few weeks will be sparse. The one thing I know for sure is that I know nothing for sure. Life is what we make it and I am doing all that is in my power to not let life rule me but to rule life. These are things that I am telling my sister to give her hope that in the end all things are going to be wonderful for Bella & she is beautiful to her family.