December

We are getting ready for Christmas here and things are a "little" crazy.  We are on our second Christmas tree of the season.  Our first tree was trouble from the start.  It fell at least 2 or 3 itmes (once it was even tied up!) before we finally got it somewhat stable...with lots of string helping it and it leaning way to the side, but hey, it wasn't falling down anymore!  Then we went on the cruise and forgot to leave instructions about watering the tree.  Unfortunately, by the time we got home, the tree was so brittle, if you looked at it funny, branches would crumble!  After deciding the tree was a fire-hazard, we took it down and have now put up our second tree of the 2010 Christmas season.  So far, this one is leaning only slightly to the right and hasn't fallen yet, so it is a keeper.

Gunars and I went on a fantastic trip/cruise the first week of December to Ft. Lauderdale then to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and St. Marteen.  While we were in Ft. Lauderdale, we met the little boy who is going to be using Kyara's carseat.  The father is an old friend of Gunars' from Venezuela and we had the opprotunity to meet the family while in Florida.  I had mixed feelings going into this.  When Gunars first mentioned it as a possibility, I jumped at the chance.  Absolutely, I wanted to meet them.  But as time got closer, I was beginning to get cold feet.  What would it be like?  Would I bawl my eyes out?  Would I feel nothing?  Would it make me sad to see this precious child, or happy to be able to help them in anyway we could?  Well, the little boy was beautiful.  As soon as they were in the house, I asked to get him out of the stroller so that I could hold him.  He reminded me of Kyara in so many ways, and to be able to snuggle with him was like wrapping my arms around her again.  Of course, the tears came.  But I tried to stop them the best I could.  It was nice to talk to the mother and give some encouragement and really, just talk to someone who understands the trials and tribulations of having a severly disabled child.  The little boy was only 2, so he was still like a baby.  It is a bit different as they get older.  Things like moving them from bed to wheelchair, or into the shower, or in the car are things that have to be figured out as they grow.

The next day, Gunars and I took a walk on the Riverfront in Fort Lauderdale.

We then boarded our cruise ship to head off on our 7 day trip. Can you see me in the picture below?  It is like a Where's Waldo.  The boat was HUGE!!

We had a balcony room. 

After a full day at sea on Monday, we arrived in Puerto Rico on Tuesday.  We decided to do a cruise excursion and do a zipline canopy tour through the rain forest.  Can you believe it rained?   But that didn't stop us.  After the zipline tour, we caught a taxi back to old town San Juan and ate dinner. Then back to the ship.

The next day we awoke in St. Thomas.  We went to a small Sea World type establishment and Gunars fed stingrays. We watched a show with sealions and learned about sea turtles.  We then walked over to Coki Beach and Gunars snorkeled to fish watch while I rented a beach chair and people watched.  We rented a taxi/bus and took a short sightseeing tour of the island then headed back to the ship for dinner. 

The next morning we arrived in St. Marteen.  We decided to rent a car here so that we could see the island on our own time.  We arrived on the Dutch side of the island and hit every beach we could to take some pictures.  I found it interesting that each beach had a different look to it.  Some were sandy, some rocky, some a mixture of the two.  We drove to the French side of the island, too, and ate lunch at a beautiful restraunt.  Unfortunately for us, we mixed up the conversion ratio of the prices, and lunch cost more than a nice dinner out at home!  What a surprise that was when we got the bill.  Oh well, the food was AMAZING!  We also hit the nude beach on the French side.  NO - we did NOT go nude. :)  But a nice gentleman put on his towel and offered to take our picture.

I would insert pictures, but for some reason I can't get the image thing to work.  I will try to post more pictures later.

We spent the next two days on the ship headed back to Fort Lauderdale.  By the time we got home I was more than ready to see the girls again.  I missed them so much, but must say, not having to cook, clean, do laundry or any of the other things was NICE.  ;) 

As good of a time I had on the cruise, and it was amazing, I still had this hole in the my heart that wasn't filled.  It seems nothing can fill it.  That part of my heart belongs to Kyara.  It will always be hers, and one day, when we are together again it will be whole again.  Until then, I am trying to learn to live with a piece missing. 

Cruising Along

In case the title didn't give you a hint, I'll enlighten you.  Gunars and I went on a cruise.  We celebrated our 10th anniversary this October and decided to take a cruise.  It was important for us to get some alone time to really get solid again.  This year has been a stressful year, well, actually the past two years have been stressful, and there are two ways this stress could drive us... together or apart.   We are committed to maintaining our love for each other and our family, so we needed to take time out for the two of us.

If you haven't been on a cruise, I HIGHLY recommend it!  Wow!  The ship was fantastic, the crew was unbelievable, and for us, the length was perfect.  We went for 7 days to the Eastern Carribean.  By day 5, I was missing the girls and ready to go home.  Gunars felt that way the 6th night.  Really, it worked out well. We saw shows on the boat, we toured St. Marteeen and St. Thomas and ziplined in the rainforest of San Juan. 

Skylar and Kassey spent the week with Bunny and Lulou (Gunars' mom).  My parents had the girls the first weekend, then Lulou stayed at our house with the girls the rest of the week.  Skylar had a tough time with us going, but Kassey didn't really know what was happening.  The second night she told me on the phone that she would "Beat you home".   Well, yes, Sweetheart.  By a couple of days! :)  We were able to stay in touch with limited internet and cell phones when we were in the US territories.  

Right now we are sitting the Ft. Lauderdale airport waiting for our flight home.  I am ready, but not looking forward to the cold weather I hear Atlanta is having.  Yuck!  Just yesterday I was laying out by the pool in my swimsuit! 

I will post some pictures once we have settled back in at home. 

Christmas time is just around the bend and I am perplexed as to how to deal with this holiday.  We have two stockings hung, one for Kassey and one for Skylar.  Seems a little strange.  I still have all of Kyara's ornaments that she made.  They are on the tree.  One has her face and is in the shape of an angel.  I put that one front and center.  I want her to be in full view.