it's tuesday evening, close to 11:30 pm and i sit in the family room typing away. blogging is cathartic for me, a way to release anxiety and stress from the day. and since i didn't post last night, i have to release stress from yesterday, so i write away tonight. listening to my husband sleeping in our bedroom, and harper occasionally calling out in search of her taggie from her crib before locating it and her thumb and putting herself back to sleep, i recall a phone call i got from my sister yesterday morning. "emily, stephanie just called mom and chris fell on the ice and he's being taken in an ambulance to the hospital." that was all it took for my emotions to flood and my mind to wander to places i didn't want it to go. what i later learned was that chris, my brother in virginia, was walking out to his car and had slipped on some ice hidden underneath the 40+ inches of snow they had received. he hit the crown of his head on the sidewalk/stonewall/pavement, not really sure what exactly. he thinks he blacked out, but can't be certain. he called for his wife, stephanie, who happened to be home. she had flown back from miami the night before, and was probably getting ready for work, but heard him calling for her. i can't imagine how she felt walking out to chris lying on the ground. she called 911, and chris was driven to the er. my mom, sister and i all called each other to see if we could fit any pieces together, and to tell each other how much we loved one another. and then we waited...
harper and i had the day off from school for mid-winter break. having a toddler run around the house in the middle of winter can be exhausting on both sets of nerves, so we packed up and headed to whole foods and to the library. i had to keep my mind off what was going on in virginia, and harper needed some entertainment outside of her usual array of toys. plus, we needed some items for our dinners this week. i sent stephanie a text sometime after i arrived to the grocery store, and she responded that they were waiting for a ct scan in the er.
after our whole foods visit, we ventured to the local library. silly to think that i have only been to the library once in the 5 1/2 years we've lived in this town, and i hadn't yet signed up for a library card or checked out a book. i think the book i attempted to check out last time i was there was skinny bitch, and i felt embarrassed asking the older ladies at the reception desk for it, but i did, and they didn't have it. so, i left, no books or library card in hand. this time, i had a few options to choose, and ended up walking out with all 3, plus 3 for harper. i'm certain i can't read all of them in 30 days, but i'll attempt to. harper loved the puzzle table and tunnels way more than the books, but she indulged me so i could capture a few shots. she loved it, and we will definitely go back.
on our way home, a few blocks from our house, my cell rang and i looked to see it was chris' cell calling. my stomach flipped, and i picked up quickly. it was, in fact, chris himself telling me they were on their way home. he left the er (in about 3 hours no less- now that's quality health care!) with a negative ct scan and 10 staples to the crown of his head. he sounded groggy, but i knew he was semi back to normal when i heard him tell steph not to text while driving. it was a quick call, but one he knew he had to make. i would not take just hearing from my mom or sister that he was ok. i had to hear his voice directly. he's 12 years older than me, and a few hundred miles away, but he's my big brother and he knows that i had to hear it from him. i breathed a huge sigh of relief, and kissed harper a million times before i laid her down for her nap, thankful for the blessings in our life and that our family is being watched over. oh, what a day...
the books we chose today...
how to talk so kids will listen & listen so kids will talk
eat, pray, love
the poisonwood bible (a recommendation from my friend, kellie)
if you give a mouse a cookie
if you give a pig a pancake
someday
~e
whew, it's been a long time since our last blog, hasn't it?! our apologies. harper just keeps us so busy, we barely have time to sleep! so, some updates- harper now has 2 teeth, and is doing great with her eating. she's up to about 3 meals a day, plus snacks, though still gets most of her meals from mommy. she has surpassed sitting, and has moved to the army crawl scooting all around the floor in search of her toys, maximus' toys or things she shouldn't have (we're a little behind on the babyproofing, but she's quickly showing us what we need to put away.) she is babbling away, with sounds of "mama, dada, baba, nana." we love to hear what she has to say! mommy and daddy are still working, and harper is spending her days with nana or aunt heather and uncle tim. other than that, she is growing daily (though still a little peanut!) and will be 9 months old on the 17th of this month. crazy how fast time flies! here are some pictures to catch you up. and we promise, it won't be such a hiatus in the future. til next time... 
