Remembering Georgia

Thank you to all of you that have sent messages via email, facebook, telephone, etc. To those of you that lit candles, let go of balloons bought some lilies or simply took a moment to sit quietly we are truly grateful. In the end, we had a great couple of days away.

We headed south once more, just to Grand Forks, the same place that we escaped to after the funeral last year. We spent our 48 hours swimming, hanging out, eating and yes, cashing in on the great deals thanks to a strong dollar. While I know that this doesn't exactly sound like a quiet time for reflection it was the perfect way for us to enjoy some time as a family. As most of you know, since losing Georgia we have worked even harder to make our family time a top priority. The girls had a blast going down the water slides over and over and over again. Even 'Big Mama' hung out in the Lazy River and took in a couple of slides the last morning. There was lots of laughter and very few tears.

On Wednesday night at dinner we raised our glasses and toasted our Georgie and our growing family. While Maya is still too young to understand what an anniversary is, Calla has no trouble grasping the concept. She can even tell us what she was doing last year on the day that Georgia died. We have also had our digital picture frame playing the slide show from the funeral last year for the last couple of weeks. It has allowed all of us our own private moments to sit and watch some of our favorite times with Georgia. We will now slowly start adding new pictures but plan on keeping the digital photos focused on Georgia so that the girls will continue to have at least some clear memories.

In the end, we know that we did well because we all returned home not just having survived a painful anniversary but having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Maya started crying because she didn't want to leave and even last night at supper time asked if we could go back. We have promised the girls the we will take them back some time after Aria arrives. Maya immediately said that she can't wait to take her down the waterslide! : ) Prepare yourself baby! You have a couple of big sisters waiting to show you what life is all about!

While we continue to miss our Georgia Lily every day, we also continue to remember all that she has taught us. In one year we have come a long way and are committed to the idea of living well, always honoring the memory of such a precious life.

Love to you all,

Kristen