Don't Get Me Started with Linda Sharp

More Christmas Dreams Come True!

Another family we helped this Christmas has sent in an email and some pictures from the happiness of that morning!  (While mom would still like to remain anonymous, as a reminder: Their story is HERE.  In addition the to gifts mentioned below, your donations made it possible to provide $150 in JC Penney money and Mom was able to get:  coats for all 3 of them with gloves, scarves and hats, 4 pairs of pants and 4 shirts for Emily, 2 pairs of pants and 2 shirts for Zach, 6 pairs of pants, 7 shirts and 5 pairs of PJ's for Cam!!!! )

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I hope you had a great Christmas Linda! I just wanted to thank you again for all that you did for us! The kids had a GREAT Christmas and loved their gifts! Camden has hardly gotten off his Buzz Lightyear Ride-On since Christmas as he LOVES it!! Emily has played her guitar 24/7, even though I have begged her to play with something else since its loud, LOL. And Zach has had all the neighborhood kids over to check out the Flying Millennium Falcon.They were very excited and really had a wonderful day.

Here are a few pics for you. I tried to crop them so they weren't so big. Just let me know if you get them okay:) I didn't get to take that many pics because they were FAST opening everything. Its like I blinked and it was over, LOL

Hope you have a great New Years! And I hope 2011 is a lot better for everyone :)

Pictures From Our Elfing!

Kerry sent me these pictures of one of the families (Tammy, Natalie, and Luke) I wrote of during the run-up to Christmas.  As always, their smiles are a huge return on investment! Between a bunch of Secret Santas on Kerry's end, and help from our Namaste fund, there were smiles aplenty on Christmas morning! In addition to what you see in the pictures, they also received iTunes cards, a gas card for Mom, a Subway giftcard, and AMC passes!)

Natalie and Luke getting ready to open ...

A Wii Fit!

Natalie giving it a try

Luke loving his Madden Football game

Luke also got a jersey of his favorite NFL player, Knowshon Moreno 

Natalie's wish for some PINK from Victoria's Secret came true!

Looking lovely!

And while it may not seem very glamorous, anyone who has one knows how quickly you fall in love with it.  Tammy had mentioned that her vacuum cleaner was broken.  Welcome to your new Dyson, Tammy!

 

Remembering A Loved One

I am clearing my inbox as fast as I can and wanted to get this one up for Jean.  I know you'll join me in sending your condolences, as well as healing thoughts for their aching hearts.

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Dear Linda,
Just a brief note to let you know that my dear wonderful Mother passed away on December 26, and I feel like my heart is broken, if you would please put something on the blog so that people can add prayers or light a candle for her to guide her on her way, i would really appreciate it. She was so very loved and I miss her with all my heart! The funeral will be on Monday, January 3rd,  Thank you so much in advance! I will attach a picture of her but she was and is my angel forever,

God Bless You and thank you, her name was Ethel Turner.

Jean in MI

Rest in peace, beautiful lady.

It's Daisy's Birthday!

Baby, Baby

If you are friends with me on Facebook then you are up to speed on the day's events.  If not, allow me to fill you in...

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Monday night, we were all set to go.  I picked Wendi up, headed to the hospital, excited to welcome Anya and Kristoff into the world that evening.

A fever and some thyroid issues flaring up put the brakes on the proceedings.  She was admitted to the hospital and doctors began to deal with the issues at hand.  The babies' heartbeats were fine, they were both good, but given her past thyroid problems they could not risk triggering a thyroid "storm" with surgery.

As of yesterday, the doctors were still dealing with her fever and had started her on antibiotics just in case the fever was a result of strep.  At that point, they were aiming for a C-section on Friday.

So, my plan at bedtime last night was to drop by the hospital this morning on my way back to Austin and head back to Dallas when they set the time for the C-section on Friday.

This morning I got up, packed, and at the last minute before shutting down the computer, Facebooked Lori to see if I could crash her Starbuck's get-together with her friend, Carrie.  (I swear it had not been in my plans at all, but made all the difference in where I was when what happened next, happened.) I met up with them, hung out for a little while, then said I needed to get going.

I stopped at Kroger to get some bananas and yogurt for Wendi and then headed to the hospital.

Less than one minute before I walked into her room, her water broke.

That changed my plans immediately. :O)

I called Rudy and had him contact the hotel to get my room back for another night, and I settled in with Wendi and Robert.

Things moved pretty fast.  Within 20 minutes we were down in a labor/delivery room.  They quickly prepped Wendi for surgery and whisked her away.  When Robert came back from his car, I helped him into his scrubs.  They then came and got him to go to surgery.

It couldn't have been 15 more minutes before Wendi was rolled back into the room holding two of the most precious babies ever.  Anya is 18 1/4 inches and 5 pounds, 11 ounces.  Kristoff is 18 1/2 inches and 6 pounds, seven ounces.  Beautiful, lots of black hair, perfect.

I just got back from the hospital (went up again tonight).  The babies were in the nursery when I left - their temps were a tad low so they were both in warmers, but doing fine.   Wendi is antsy waiting for them to come back to her room.  I told her to savor every moment she has alone right now because that will end very, very soon!

Thank you all for the love and prayers being sent their way.  I will update you again tomorrow.  Right now?  I am pooped and headed to bed.

Love you all, Linda

Heading Home

I'm getting ready to check out of my hotel, grab some coffee with Lori, then will stop by the hospital to see Wendi on my way back to Austin.  Hopefully they will have a better handle on her fever, sore throat, etc today.

As for the babies, they did another ultrasound yesterday morning and are now estimating that both are 7 pounds!  Their heartbeats were wonderful to hear Monday night and I cannot wait till we all finally get to meet them in person.  The last word from the doctor who stopped by while I was visiting Wendi yesterday afternoon is they are now looking at Friday for the C-section.  Once they set a new day/time this week, I will get back in the car and head to Dallas.

I want you all to know just what an incredible thing you have done for Wendi and these babies.  I have been to her apartment and have seen the crib and all the items you stepped up and sent for them.  Please know your generosity, and open and trusting hearts have truly changed how these babies will start their lives.

The challenges that will be faced once they are here are many.  I will not lie and paint a rosey picture.  Caring for one baby is a daunting experience for a prepared, financially stable new parent - two demanding infants will be overwhelming for Wendi and her circumstances for quite a while.  I have made sure to stress to Wendi that it is both normal and OK to go through feelings of depression, exhaustion, selfishness, even anger - none of those make a person a bad mother - it just means she is a normal mother.  The key is to take it one breath at a time.  The first 8 weeks will be like a black hole.  But it will get better, routines will slowly reveal themselves, and she will eventually come to establish a new "normal."

The key here is not only a support system (many of the wonderful people from Toni's life were at the hospital Monday night and have been visiting the hospital), but Wendi's acknowledgement that the life she has lead up to now stops.  That being free and single, with all the whims and flights of fancy that go with that are over.   That selflessness, sacrifice, and focus are the new watchwords. 

I have spent long hours marveling at how the twists, turns, and forks in the DGMS road have lead us all to this place.  I may be in this hotel room alone, Wendi may be in her hospital room alone, but none of us are truly alone. 

Your presence is here.  And I am forever grateful, as I know Wendi is, and I am certain - down to the bone - that Toni is here, watching, and smiling.

Namaste. 

Babies In a Holding Pattern

As I updated via Facebook, Wendi has been admitted tonight to deal with some thyroid issues and a fever.  Hopefully they can get her numbers in line over the next few days and we will have some babies soon.  (Babies' heartbeats are nice and strong.)

I will update again after I see her Tuesday at the hospital.

 

Baby Update

The Csection has been pushed back to 7pm tonight.  Picking up Wendi at 430p to go to hospital and get checked in!

And The DGMS Family Keeps Growing...

I will be leaving bright and early Monday morning to head to Dallas to be with Wendi as the twins make their way into the world.  I'll take pictures and update via FB as I can.

I'm also happy to report the birth times out with Lori and Steven renewing their wedding vows Tuesday night, so expect a full report on those festivities as well.

In the meantime, I would love to come back to an inbox brimming with pictures from the families helped by our Namaste Fund this Christmas!  Send them this way!

And please be sending all your positive love and light towards Dallas on Monday at 4pm.  Our family is about to get bigger.  :O)

What Child Is This?

Stories of abuse, abandonment, and murder of our most defenseless are not uncommon.  Reports are daily, coming from all corners of the country, all parts of the globe.  The sad fact is that becoming a parent is all too easy, and the job of parenting all too difficult.

And innocent children pay the price for the selfishness, hedonism, idiocy, anger, and cruelty of those who should be caring for them selflessly.

Also all too common are stories of abandonment.  Babies left to die - most do - by thoughtless, frightened, callous egg or sperm donors.  (And no, I do not cut slack for them by inserting the word "frightened."  I don't care how scared you are of repercussions, ditching a newborn life in a dumpster, port-o-potty, or high school trash can is unforgivable.)

That's why this story is so special.  It is the exception, not the devastating rule. 

Friday morning, as the world indulged in last minute shopping, sang along to Christmas carols on the radio, and children counted down the minutes to bedtime and Santa's arrival, a child was born.

A little girl.

Her mother, already having three children, made a decision.  Rather than abandoning the child to die, cleaned her, fed her, and then availing herself of California's Safe Haven law, walked to a nearby fire station and turned her over to the fire fighters inside.

And I applaud her actions.  

I also tear up at how hard that decision must have been.  

Her every action showed she cared deeply about the life she had brought into this world.  The fire fighters acknowledged, "She was still a little red, so she was fairly new. Well-nourished, well-cared for."

And she did not just drop the infant and immediately leave.  She stayed and went through the procedures with the authorities on hand - receiving a matching ID bracelet to her daughter's, furnishing information, learning her rights in the process (she has 14 days to change her mind).

The baby was taken to a local hospital where she was checked and cared for by staff.  When Noel, the nickname given her by fire fighters - is released, she will enter the foster care and adoption system where she will hopefully be welcomed into a home full of love and security.

The two things her birth mother insured she had from the very beginning.

Given how messed up are this world and the people in it, how many stories of neglect and horror fill the news each day, I thank this woman for her Christmas "miracle" and the reminder to us all that good people still outnumber the bad.

May her aching heart find comfort in choosing the road less traveled.  For Noel, her decision will make all the difference.