Pregnancy, New Niece

It has been a while since i have been able to blog. There has been so much going on that keeping up with everything has been exhausting. The months of May and June filled up so quickly, there has barely been time to breathe let alone take time to do anything around the house. I had a monday off in June to take a girlfriend to a surgery. Her husband is a long haul trucker and so i told her i would take her to the surg and sit with her for the day. Fortunately, her sweet husband surprised her and came home early to take care of her. It was so sweet. I got the day off. Usually i get fridays off but i moved my days around. Good thing, this particular day Brenda went to work and just could not do it for the day. Laura works at Subway in one part of Caldwell and Brenda works at the other. Brenda needed to leave work so they called Laura into work for her. I drove Laura over there and as soon as Brenda saw me that was the end, so i took her home to sleep. She was so worn out. She hadnt slept the night before very well and was feeling really huge that day. So i took a photo and sent it to her hubby to tell him all was well. She slept for a few hours, while her brothers waited patiently for her to wake up. Pregnancy is sometimes not fun, not fun at all. 

She has about 5 weeks left and is ready to be done i am sure, but she is being very patient. I know its hard but she is doing great. 

Speaking of pregnancy and babies. My brother and his wife had a baby a few weeks ago. I was so excited last year to be able to go to Boston and see my brother Darryll get married to beautiful Amy. Meeting her was amazing. For the small amount of time I met her face to face, I was impressed at her ability to be so connecting and loving. I wish I could be more like her. Somewhere in the family line that kind of loving compassion stuff just didnt come down to me. I try but it doesnt always work. We found out a month or so later that she was pregnant and they requested to not have it known on social media. So i just kept the news within our family. 

Let me go  back a bit though, i never guessed that my big brother would have children, or get married. He has dated quite a few wonderful women in my lifetime whom i have met and loved. D is a very quiet man, when he speaks usually its meaningful. His sense of humor is so dry the ocean would dry up if he kept being funny for too long. I discovered when i visited family in England/Scotland last year that he tends to be a lot like my granddad Thomson. I saw some younger photos of my granddad and D looks strikingly like Granddad. D has always been someone i have looked up to. We dont see eye to eye often but he is very kind and understanding about my family, my husband and the way we raise our children. I think deep down he has always just wanted what is the best for me, and i for him. I just love him, he is the best big brother i could have asked for. 

Fast forward and Ms Amy had a beautiful baby girl a few days before Fathers Day. 

This was the first photo we got, poor Amy looked exhausted. I did not envy her position as i looked at this photo i thought, damned a cesarean section was the result? Damned. I found out later she had endured quite a long labor some 40 hours and sweet pea would not budge so the drs took better measures and brought her into the world. 

Now i said my brother is a man of few words....wait maybe i didnt, he doesnt talk much, his extent of wishing me happy birthday is a text with this...hbd....makes me chuckle every year, but i love it. Literally, the photo of Amy and the baby was what we got for a day or so with no name...so guessing was what we did....i sent a photo back of my boys excited to meet the new little in our family. 

I finally got to chat a bit with Amy and she sounded exhausted and annoyed at the whole endeavor, which i told her i agreed with. She was not comfortable or happy about all of the people interfering with her and the baby but at the same time she was so impressed with herself. She put in so much hard work to get this sweet bundle here. I am not one to give much advise unless specifically asked, so i just said let the nurses take her and rest, rest, rest, rest. She had been through the war and needs to recover. I told her let D take the baby and drink water and rest. Everything from here on out is a learning process and just take it one day at a time. 

That being said please meet Ms. Clara Thomson Fernald. Clara is the name of Amys Grandmother who apparently was an amazing woman. Strong and amazing...i would love to be named after someone like that. Thomson is our mothers maiden name.(also a strong and amazing womans name)...

This is my brother Darryll holding his precious jewel. I am still in awe when i see this photo. I know i have photos of him holding my babies, but this one takes the cake for me. The joy in his life over the past 2 years is amazing i am sure. I am sure he still cant believe he is a parent.  The best part about this photo for me? The fact that i can see my mothers gentle face in him looking at that girl. It takes my breath away.

This one is by far my favorite of the bunch right now with all 3 of them. Amy looks amazing, tired but amazing. D still has that face of unbelief...its fun...

Just when I thought my heartstrings were tight and nothing could make my tear up any more, Amy sent me this photo. Here is my brother with is girl, just loving her. I wonder if he feels about her the way I felt when my babies were born. I think often of the closeness he had with mom. He may not think this but i do, Ms. Clara went directly from moms hands to his in one instant when she was born. I am a firm believer that my mother has played with my children before they came here, that she sent them here with knowledge of her. I think she should have the right to hold them and love on the as well as my parents here on the earth. Maybe that is too far fetched for D and Amy but for me it makes me happy. It makes my heart full to know that Malcolm and Mom got to hold Clara, play with her, talk to her and love her before she came here. Speaking of Malcolm, Ms. Clara has a sweet Fernald mouth that makes me chuckle, that little mouth is a mix of all of my brothers. 

It takes a great man to become a father, i have always thought my brother is a great man....i would say he has become greater. A new part of you opens when you become a parent, now lets watch. They are going to be amazing parents, they have wonderful people who have become family around them. It will be so fun to watch. I love them both so much, and Ms.Clara. I cannot wait to actually see her. Here is to me making another trip sometime? who knows? 

Until then, my brother has become a father, I am becoming a grandmother...its kind of a weird year.