"The Sweet Sound of Snoring"

So.....last night was one of those funny nights.  I couldn't really sleep.....partially because I was thinking of all my many blessings.....and partially because my husband AND daughter were both snoring.  YES, my little 6lb. 7oz. baby girl SNORES.  My husband sleeps on the right side of me, and Brooklyn sleeps in a pack and play next to our bed.  I was caught in the middle, in between a snoring symphony of sorts.  Most nights this would have annoyed the heck out of me, and my husband will be the first one to tell you that he has received a few pokes, pushes, and jabs to the side in order to get him to roll over so he'll stop snoring.  Well, not this night.  This sounds cheesy, but these sounds literally were music to my ears.  I felt warm, safe, and blessed.  I had two of the most important people in my life sleeping soundly, alive and well, right beside me. 

You see, this summer was kind of a scary one for our family.  Without going into too much detail, one night at the beginning of the summer, Kolby had one of his regular stomach episodes that he has, only this time it was a lot more serious than it had been.  This time he got a rash all over his whole body, his chest hurt, and his throat felt swollen.  He called for my name and when I went into the bathroom he was fairly unresponsive.  We made it through that night (later learning I really should have called 911), and anyway, his regular Doctor sent us to an allergy specialist.  From there, we went on what seemed to be a never ending journey to a variety of doctors, hospitals, radiologists, specialists, etc. to try and find out what was wrong.  Most of them thought we were dealing with some form of cancer. 

Thank heavens Kolby does not have cancer, what we have been able to gather so far is that he has moderately severe eosinophilic esophagitis which is basically a chronic inflammation with numerous allergic cells.  It is treatable with an inhaler that he takes. However, for the majority of the summer I thought I was going to potentially lose the most amazing, special, and wonderful person in my life.  So.....getting back on track.  I thought about all of this tonight, and was extremely grateful to my Heavenly Father that my husband was sleeping soundly next to me. 

Also, when we first found out that we were expecting Brooklyn we went in for an ultrasound.  Well, Dr. Sanders couldn't find a heartbeat.  So, for several days we didn't know if this pregnancy would be viable.  Now, 8 months later we have our beautiful, sweet, baby girl......and she is sleeping soundly next to me.
Now you can see why this snoring was "music to my ears."

Blessing Day

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Today was a very special and beautiful day. Our first daughter, Brooklyn Alicia Blackner was blessed. Kolby blessed her, and we had many members of our family and friends that stood in the circle.  Seeing my husband bless our baby girl is a moment that will be forever etched in my memory. One of the things that was very special about this day is, that the dress Brooklyn got blessed in, I was blessed in when I was a baby. My great-great-grandmother Cleo gave it to me, and it was the last thing she gave me before she passed.  Another thing that is special is that Brooklyn Alicia is named after my sister Alicia. We always told each other that we were going to name our first born little girls after each other.  Then, just a few days before the blessing, my mom was looking in her scrapbook/journal and found that the day I was blessed was September 6, 1981, and that was when Brooklyn was born!  They also celebrated my sister Alicia's 2nd birthday that day because family was in town.

I don't know why I'm like this, but before a family get together like this I usually get really nervous wondering how the day is going to go, if there's going to be enough food, if everything will go smoothly, etc., but I think with this third child in our family I have learned to relax a lot! Don't get me wrong, I still like things the way I like them, I am just learning to ENJOY the journey and not worry so much. I know that this stage of life won't last long so I do NOT want to wish any of it away!

Having a daughter is the most amazing thing in the world!!  Lately at night when I have been feeding Brooklyn and it's just me and her awake, I smile thinking of all the things we are going to do together when she grows up.  I also think about the hope of having the same relationship with her that I have with my mom....someone who I consider to be my best friend.

Overall, today was just very special because we were surrounded by so many wonderful grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends. Everyone helped make today one of the best I've ever had.  This definitely is one of my favorite seasons in life so far.................

My mom gave Brooklyn for her blessing gift a beautiful bracelet and it came with this poem:

"Precious daughter of God, most beautiful girl,
We welcome you in to this wonderful world.
Today you'll be held in a circle of love,
Given blessings from loved ones-here and above.
Remember those blessings, hold tight to them, dear,
For with them, the Lord will remain ever near."

The day I was blessed:  September 6, 1981

"Family resemblance?"

"My blessing day" September 6, 1981