Happy Birthday Rowan Margaret!

Today would have been Rowan's 9th birthday. We miss you sweet girl. We love you.

And thank you to our friends and family, who have provided so much love and support over the years. We couldn't have done it without you.

Love, Colleen, Bryan and Laurel

The Sibthorp stimulus plan...

Check out what's been goin' on at our house. This week the contractor started work on our new front porch by tearing up our yard and taking out the old porch. It took only a couple of hours and the floor of our porch was gone and an 8 x 18 foot hole was opened up in our front yard.

I managed to salvage a few plants, but not a lot. You'll see them in the makeshift nursery I created in the back yard. I was really glad I had not gotten to that pile of yard waste yet. And I only had about an hours notice to save anything. I guess that's the way it works when the weather is uncooperative and contractors can only work when the weather is good.

Check out my photo album here.

Also, here's an interesting item I saw in yesterday's paper that hit home. It turns out that the car you see Laurel in is America's best selling car. Who knew? Maybe that's why she loves it and insists on sitting in it during all waking hours? And why she wanted to take all her meals in it today? It does come with 2 cup holders. She loves her new car. See photos of her here. And by the way - some assembly required.

New photos of Laurel...

Today I took some photos of our little diva, Laurel Eliza. Wow, does this kid have style. I dug out my old jewelry and she had a field day. Here are some photos to peruse. Enjoy.

We are getting through the days after the loss of Rowan. Today would have been her last day of school for the year. I spoke with her teacher this morning and we talked some about how we missed her and our plans to do some landscaping around the school in her memory - lots of benches and trees. She had quite an impact on her friends at school and has been greatly missed. It was good to catch up with Miss Cathy and hear about her classmates.

We are hoping to have her monument completed this month. Her headstone is in place, but we are waiting for the Angel statue. It will be really beautiful when its complete. She rests in a nicely shaded location - just like she always wanted -no sun in her eyes. I'm looking forward to seeing it completed, but saddened by the completion of this final task. (I suppose I could occupy myself with tormenting the groundskeepers at the cemetery about their lawn mowing skills.)

I have been filling my time with some sewing. I've uploaded a few photos of a quilt I've been hand stitching (all you proficient quilters out there - ignore the mistakes - I did this with no instruction). I've really enjoyed this creative project and have found myself spending more time at the quilt shop near our house (as well as spending some cash there too). Its a very relaxing endeavor. Now I'm on to machine quilting some place mats. I thought I would try out something small. You'll find some samples my work here.

As for the summer, we have lots of plans in the works. Laurel will start parent-and-tot swimming lessons next weekend, running for the whole summer. This kid loves water, and I NEED her to know how to swim, so we're getting an early start. Our niece Sara will be getting married on June 20th. Rowan's birthday is June 29th, for which we will acknowledge, but not sure how yet. There is a Sibthorp family reunion over the 4th we are hoping to attend, In last part of July we will visit Roanoke, VA for a memorial balloon release for Rowan at the Trisomy 18 conference and visit Bryan's Dad who lives there. Its a coincidence that the conference is in their community this year. From there we will travel to Nags Head for a couple of days on the beach. And finally, we are having some serious work done on the exterior of our house. New front porch, siding and a retaining wall.

Thank you all for checking in on us and sending us your good thoughts. We still need them. Everyday is a minuscule amount better, and sadness is replaced by happy memories. Its funny how that happens...

Until my next post, wishing you peace.

~Colleen

P.S. An update on Molly, our dog of 12 years: she's hanging in there. Every week we see a little decline, but for the most part, she's happy to see us, she enjoys barking at the neighborhood kids, and will-on occasion-tree a squirrel. She takes lots of medicine now, including something to control seizures, but she's not ready to leave us yet and she doesn't seem to be in pain. And for that we are grateful.