Be Still My Heart

Rylee Lane Howard is now 7 months old.  I can't believe how fast time is flying by us!  When she turned 6 months, we did a family session with Jamie Sapp Photography.  Jamie did an amazing job capturing our little family!!

I can't believe it has been over a year and a half since we said goodbye to our McKinley Grace.  McKinley is and will always be a part of our family and we wanted to include her in our family session.  Thank you Jamie, for capturing such a sweet moment!  This picture packs a lot of emotions for me. 

Here are a few more shots from the session...

A very, very special picture...

Wow... I have not posted in a really long time!  Needless to say, things get a little hectic with a new baby and you just can't find the time to do things that you use to.

Well first and foremost, I would like to introduce you to McKinley's little sister, Rylee Lane Howard.  She was born on November 30, 2012 at 11:56 pm.  She was 9 lbs 4 oz and 21 inches long.

Here is a more recent picture, taken yesterday.

She has brought us more joy than we could have ever imagined.  She has also brought a lot of healing to our souls.

The other reason I wanted to write a post on McKinley's blog was to show you a picture.  Most likely one of the sweetest picture I will ever see in my life.

To give you a bit of the background of it...  When McKinley was born, my parents and Matt's parents found these little white stuffed puppy dogs.  We wanted McKinley to have something to take with her.  It was placed with her in the bassinet in the hospital and also laid beside her in her casket.  We all got one for ourselves as well.

Last night Matt and I were at his parents house visiting and Rylee decided she wanted to fuss!  It was just one of those fussy times of the day. All I could hear was crying while preparing her bottle.  The next thing I hear was complete silence as Matt was walking into where I was to show me this picture.  Matt's mom was trying to console her and decided to show her McKinley's puppy.  I will let the picture do the rest of the talking...

I should add that yesterday, when this occurred, was McKinley's due date...

I will treasure this picture for as long as I live...

Howard Family News!!!

I am a little behind on posting this great news but.....

Here is a picture of McKinley's little brother or sister!!!!  I am almost 15 weeks and we are due December 10th!  We are so blessed and humbled by what God is choosing to do in our lives!

Makes Me Smile

Unexpected surprise to be behind this truck this morning! Made me smile! (Hopefully you can see it even though there are shadows!)  :)

Sips n Strokes!

Recently, I had my first experience at Sips n Strokes!  If you aren't familiar with it, its a place where they teach you how to paint! They post a calendar online and  feature a different painting each night.  So, you pick a picture you would like to paint and go on that night!  They provide everything you need for painting and show you step by step how to paint the picture.  You can also bring wine to sip on while you are painting!  Super cute idea!

I had always wanted to go but I have ab-sol-u-tely no talent when it comes to drawing and painting.  My sister got ALL of those genes!!

They broke down each step and made it so easy to follow along!  So we all ended up with the same painting but they were all just a little different!

We painted "Dandelions Blowin' in the Wind"

I went with the "Trisomy" mommies and we had a blast! From left to right:  Jeannie (mommy to Porter Gray) Me,  Katie (mommy to Hallie), and Kara (mommy to Dalton)  You can find all of their blogs on the left side of my blog under "Fellow Trisomy Blogs"  I am so so thankful for these girls and what they have meant to me over the last 7 months!  We will forever be connected in an extremely special way.

And the picture you have been waiting for............!!!

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Kelly's Korner

Today I have linked up with Kelly's Korner.  Today her topic on "Show Us Your Life" is about  mothers who have lost children.  I have said it before, its not a club I want to be in but I am so thankful to the many women I have met over the last few months.  Their support has meant so much to me through this journey.

For those of you who are coming here from Kelly's Korner, here is McKinley's Story.

McKinley's Story

Also, please visit the "McKinley's Friends" tab and add your information to be linked up for others.  Would love to hear from you!

McKinley's Friends



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Still here!

Hey everyone!  I just wanted to let you know that I am still here!  I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while!

Matt and I gave ourselves some time before starting the process of picking a headstone.  We didn't want to rush it because we wanted it to be perfect.  I cannot say enough nice things about Hamilton Mill Memorial Chapel and Gardens.  They have been incredible through this whole process.  The funeral director was so patient with us while going back and forth picking the perfect marker for McKinley.  After sending us multiple sketches of different things we wanted to see, we settled on something perfect and simple!  The marker is in production now and will be placed in the next several weeks.  Pictures to come.

In my last post (you can see the original from our wedding there), I mentioned that Matt and I were going to re-create an artificial version of a flower arrangement from our wedding to place on the shepherds hook at the grave site.  After Matt mastered the art of the hot glue gun, I wanted to show you the finished product!  We are super happy with the way it turned out!  :)