Happy New Year

2007 is near!
O, let us spread good cheer
Throughout the year.

Here's hoping the New Year brings you great joy! :-)

Just what does Auld Lang Syne mean anyway?

"Auld Lang Syne"

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne ?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll get your pint mug !
And surely I’ll get mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have run about the hills,
and pulled the daisies fine;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-friendly draught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

1 in 2... or 3 in 5 ?

Last Monday we attended a bereaved parents service hosted by the Grief & Loss Center of RMH. They are in about the 20th year of holding this event. The gentle words that were spoken about our babies and our feelings brought back the emotions like our m/c happened weeks ago instead of months. We took an ornament that read "Hope" and placed it on the tree there in memory of our baby. We did not name her but I had a feeling it was a girl. If you are at RMH and would like to see the bereaved parents' tree, it is in the Treatment Center. It was comforting in a way to be able to see faces of others who have also lost babies from miscarriage or still birth (since the support group has not been meeting). We spoke to a family who had 2 living boys with them and the mother had experienced 4 miscarriages. They attend the service every year.

Since then, I started researching more statistics about miscarriage, because I started to realize how many miscarriages seem to happen in the first pregnancy. I already knew that 1 in 5 or possibly 1 in 3 pregnancies end in miscarriage. (Could be as high as 40% because many happen early, even before a positive pregnancy test, many times without the woman knowing she was pregnant.) But a startling 50%-60% of first pregnancies end in miscarriage, which includes the estimate of women who don't know they were pregnant. That number comes from http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art12024.asp. And according to HopeXchange: "approximately 90% of women who have had one miscarriage, go on to have a normal pregnancy and a healthy baby next time." Yes, this is good news!

But a lesson here: Be armed with this knowledge, but please, don't quote statistics to someone who has had a recent loss. While it's common, statistically it is most likely not common for her or the couple you know. In time they may take some comfort in their own way in the numbers. Let them ask the questions in their own time. Everyone grieves in different ways and different time frames. When it's fresh, they most need you to acknowledge her individual loss, not everyone else's.

Recent Happenings

OK, time for an update... Jason has been very busy at work with projects... and another project... and, oh yeah, we can ask Jason to do this project too! All due yesterday, right?!?

Paige helped train a friend's horse a couple of weeks ago and got an awesome riding lesson from her at the same time. It was so fun to teach the horse and to be learning too!!!! Only the second time someone had been on Kiari. More training for her to come, maybe tomorrow.

Indy & Razor are well, though we suspect Razor has fairly profound hip dysplasia. This is a very common problem in the Labrador Retriever and is so sad when the popular breeds are literally "overbred" and create even more health problems.

And we are still TTC (that's cyber for trying to conceive). God willing, this time next year maybe we'll have one more with us "at home for the holidays!"

~ Merry Christmas ~