When I last posted on this site, I'd made an announcement about no longer using this site due to having two sites and my plan was to use the one I've had the longest: my daughter's dedication website. However, since I posted my last post on here (November 25, 2015), I've come to realize, with a little nudge from God (I think) that while my daughter's site was important for me to write on those first several years after losing her, the purpose of the site itself is no longer needed. This … [Read more...]
Happy Birthday Mariana. You’re 15 Today (or you would’ve been :( ) #acfw #lossofchild
I think back to 15 years ago today and my world was about to permanently change. Right now it’s 10:15 a.m., Alaskan time, but in the Chicago area it’s one fifteen in the afternoon. At this point, the doctor had started the Pitocin and I was about three hours into delivering Mariana. I was a little less than six hours away from giving birth to her. She took us from being a two to a three. Our little miracle was coming into the world. Little did we know that only eight-and-a-half short years later … [Read more...]
W is for Water #atozchallenge
Mari and water, a dynamic combination. Mari loved being in, playing in, basically anything to do with in the water. From the time Mari was a baby, she loved to go swimming. My husband's family was always amazed that I could put her in the swimming pool and she had the time of her life. She didn't mind if the water got in her face. She just giggled and had a blast. As most of you know I've been writing a book about what happened with our little girl. In the book there is a dedication section … [Read more...]
R is for Remember #atozchallenge
It's hard not to remember such a remarkable little girl as Mari. I know that I might be a tad bit biased, but I also know how this one little girl touched so many people's lives in ways I never could have imagined. In the two weeks prior to Mari contracting E. coli, she was in a special summer school program as well as a camp for special needs children. She went to summer school Monday through Thursday until around 1pm and then a bus picked her up and took her to camp. On Friday's she got to go … [Read more...]
I’m doing it again this year… A to Z Challenge
Some of you may remember that last year I participated in the A to Z challenge on website. I loved it. Each day of the challenge I dedication the posting to Mari in honor of her memory. This year I've decided to do it for both this website as well as my author website (kristenatunstall.com). My hope is you will join me again this year over the next 30 days as I make my way through the alphabet from A to Z. My hope is that you enjoy this next month as much as I will. To give you a heads up of … [Read more...]
Our website has an addition to the header
I had to share something I'm excited about. Almost a year ago I had a major overhaul of the design of Mari's website redone to give it a fresher, more professional look. At the time when the facelift commenced we were getting ready to move and I didn't really have time to find a picture I thought might look good to add to the header. So the designer installed one with a picture on for the time being until we could get to Alaska and I'd have more time to really find some pictures I thought that … [Read more...]
Been a little absent
I'm sure those of you who have been following me here have noticed I went silent over the month of December. Most might think it was because of the holidays and in particularly Christmas. The thing is, I was looking forward to Christmas; however, Mari's birthday was December 29 and she would have turned fourteen. Man, fourteen years have come and gone since I gave birth to my precious little girl. Fourteen years. I still remember how difficult my pregnancy had been. How giving birth to her had … [Read more...]
Day 132: Double-Edged Sword of the Internet
This is so true. As with so many things, there is the good and the bad side to the Internet. Starting with the obvious is the ability to do research about almost anything. I remember being in my 4th grade class and being told to write a book report on whatever the subject was. So I’d go get the trusty old encyclopedia hardcover book and go to the section with the info I needed. And then of course I’d plagiarize the heck out of that section of the book as I copied down verbatim what it said. Back … [Read more...]
Day 125: Approval
That one little word, approval, can mean so much to someone. To know that someone approves of something you have said or done. It gives you the confidence you might not have had otherwise. I think back on the time during the time when Mari was in the hospital. When she had made it to her fourth and final hospital I was told by one of the nurses about CarePages. She told me it was a way to keep family and friends updated on Mari and how she was doing. I couldn’t wait to get started. We had so … [Read more...]
Missing my writing
Here recently my writing has been on my mind a lot. However, I've been so busy as the new school year has started. I've spent the past couple of month planning out the following school year for my niece/daughter as she is in the 5th grade this year. She is such a bright, smart little girl. She is very young for a 5th grader as she is only 9 and won't turn 10 until the end of October, but you won't know it if you knew how smart she is and how well she handles most of her subjects (history, well … [Read more...]
