Friends – Page 2

Flood-A-Palooza

To say we are overwhelmed is an understatement …

THANK YOU so much to our families and friends for such an incredible night on Friday!! I’m still having a hard time wrapping my head around the whole thing … we are just amazed, not only by the number of people that came out to support us, but by how generous you all are.

To be honest, I don’t feel like we deserve any of it. I know that we haven’t been the most communicative or outgoing people in the last eleven months, and I am just totally blown away by everyone’s seemingly unlimited capacity to give. Even now, days later, I stop and tears fill my eyes because I cannot believe how good people are.

I have no idea how we can adequately thank all of you. Quite simply, you saved us. We will be able to totally refurnish our house and maybe even tuck some money away for a rainy day. How we can ever convey how grateful we are for that?

None of this would have been possible without Kristen and we want to thank her for all of her hard work. I have no idea how she pulled it off, or how she rallied the troops like she did, but we are eternally grateful. We have the best sister and sister-in-law we could ever ask for. She’s the most selfless, loyal and giving person I know, and I wish we could somehow repay her for everything she’s done. We know how lucky we are to have her in our lives and we are so appreciative of her support and love.

At one point during the night, I mentioned to my aunts how sad I was that Brienna wasn’t there with us. It’s been eleven months and I still long for her and miss her more than I can ever describe … As I was talking (and crying – I did a lot of that), I realized something: of course she was there with us. Our entire lives are shaped by her presence and I know in my heart that she too felt all that love. I’m quite sure she was smiling watching us all! It is easier for us to accept all this goodwill if we think of it as being for her … I’m not sure if that makes sense, but I know how much everyone aches for us that Brienna is in Heaven and not here with us. And I know how helpless everyone felt when she died, so as much as this was for Pat and I, it was for her too. She is the most special little girl and every day I thank God for allowing me to be her mother … she has taught and continues to teach me more than I ever could have dreamed.

There is so much more to say, but I don’t know how to say it. So thank you again, for everything. We are beyond blessed and I hope we can somehow, someday appropriately express our gratitude and appreciation!

Love,
Patrick and Laurie

The Weight of Water

As most of you know, Pat and I were displaced by the severe rain and subsequent flooding in RI two weeks ago. Our house was essentially destroyed (the entire basement was flooded and there was over two feet of water on the first floor) but we escaped unscathed and were able to save all of Brienna’s belongings, so we truly feel lucky. It could have been much worse.

flood

We are totally overwhelmed at the outpouring of support we’ve received. I am reminded yet again of the power of family and friends and am so thankful to everyone for their generosity! I truly can’t thank you all enough for your kindness …

On that note, I want to thank Kristen and my friends for ‘running to remember’ Brienna in the New Bedford Half Marathon a few weeks ago. Kristen, Jamie, Jenn and I ran while Andrea, Beth, Jodie (and Sadie!) and Kassi were there to cheer us on! The girls came complete with a sign and when I saw them as I approached the finish line, it took everything I had not to start crying. There certainly was ‘love from above’ and I’m so thankful to everyone for being there to support us!

love from above

While our house is being rebuilt, we’re renting a Bailey-friendly house in Warwick – Pat calls it Bailey’s country house! The house is furnished, and FEMA is helping us with rent, so again, we’re very lucky. We are so thankful for everyone for offering to help us. We truly wouldn’t be able to survive any of this without your love and support. We’re so blessed to have the friends and families that we do and I hope that we can someday repay the kindnesses we’ve received!

A Star is Born

Pat and I received a gift this week and were so touched by the gesture, we wanted to share it with all of you.

My friend Jenn had a star named after Brienna. We received a framed certificate from the International Star Registry with the newest star in the Ursa Major constellation: Brienna Marie Marr. We have the coordinates, a map of where it is and instructions for how best to locate our shining star.

We were totally surprised, are beyond grateful and so touched. The message on the gift read, “whenever you are feeling down, look up at your shining star”. I will indeed … and as we embark on 2010, I will ask you to do the same. I know Brienna is there, watching over all of us.

And as Pat pointed out, I have very good friends … so thank you Jenn. We appreciate it more than you will ever know.

Running to Remember

Just over five months ago, Brienna was in our arms. I look back on that day, and think about how happy we were to finally meet her and yet how sad we were that we also had to say goodbye. At times, it seems like it’s been forever since we cuddled and rocked her … at other times, I can literally feel her in my arms and it feels like just yesterday that she was here.

Kristen and I ran the Seacoast Half Marathon today in memory of Brienna. It was a perfect fall day, and the course was beautiful. A good portion of it is along the water, which is where I always feel just a little closer to Brienna. She gave me all the inspiration I needed to finish, and I was so proud to be running in memory of my little girl. I know she was with me every step of the way …

running to remember

I am shocked and touched by how many people expressed interest in the t-shirts we made (the footprints are her actual footprints!) and in coming to NH to cheer us on. We truly have the best family and friends in the world and I am so thankful to them for being there to support us.

Our Cheering Squad!

I also want to say a huge thank you to Kris … she’s been battling a pretty bad knee injury, yet stuck it out anyway. I’m so proud of her and so happy that we ran the race together. She is a good sister, and a great auntie!

laurie and kris at the half

As always, thank you for your love and support. Nothing about Brienna not being here is easy, yet we are so blessed that our family and friends help us remember her and honor her each and every day.

Captain Destructo …

As most of you know, Bailey has quite the personality! She is a little bit crazy (okay, a lot crazy), goofy and incredibly sweet all rolled into one. We love her so much and she keeps us (mostly) sane. One morning a few weeks ago, I woke up to find this:

I was none too pleased, seeing as the laundry was clean, but I suppose I shouldn’t have left it on the floor in the first place! I went downstairs to confront the little nugget and see what further damage she had done, and found her happily chewing on one of my sports bras. She pranced over to me to show me her “prize” and I just didn’t have the heart to get mad at her. She was so proud of herself! I would love to know what goes through her mind … it cracks me up that she threw all the socks on the floor (apparently they just weren’t good enough), and why the laundry has such appeal is beyond me, but we thank God every day that Miss B makes us smile and laugh and reminds us to enjoy the simple things in life!

We also want to say congratulations to proud new parents Amanda and Nick!! Antonia Maya made her fashionably late entrance into the world Saturday, January 17, weighing in at 7 lbs 5 oz, complete with a full head of hair. She is a cutie and we’re looking forward to meeting her!

Our own precious angel remains overwhelmed (as do her parents) at the love and support she continues to receive! We’re so grateful to everyone who’s been so kind to us … this is certainly a challenging time, but knowing we are not alone is so comforting. We have another ultrasound the first week of February and cannot wait to see our little girl again. I think I’m starting to feel her move, which is absolutely amazing and words can’t describe how special it is … the little flutters are something I treasure, and know I’ll hold close to my heart forever … we “talk” every day and I love it. I love knowing that for the time being, she is safe with me … if only I could keep her that way forever, I would.

Babies ‘R Us

As Pat mentioned earlier, several of our friends have recently had babies. Two more babies were born this weekend, so I figured I’d officially welcome them all to the world …

Billy and Erika started things off on October 18, with Emily Margaret. Miss Emily made her parents wait to meet her and was almost two weeks late … the proud new parents say it was all worth it though! We met Emily the day she was born and it’s hard to believe she is over a month old already!!

Debbie, Mike and big brother Ruairi welcomed Tiernan Jude on November 8. Tiernan also made his parents wait, and was a week late arriving to the world! Ruairi was born in London, so it was fun celebrating with little Tiernan born in the good ol’ USA! He is adorable, and looks just like his brother!

Sarah and Andrew next welcomed Miss Abigail Katherine to the world on November 11. Abby was a bit kinder to her parents and only a few days late! We were lucky enough to meet Abby when she was just a few days old, and can’t wait to see her again next weekend!

Michael and Kristen welcomed Lucas Michael to the world on November 28, three days ahead of schedule! Luke and his parents live in Ohio, so we won’t meet him for awhile, but can’t wait until we do – he is such a cutie!

And Jodie and Ricky just welcomed the adorable Miss Sadie Brooks to the world early this morning! Sadie was due December 9. So she arrived 10 days early, much to her parents delight!! I can’t wait to meet her this weekend!!

Next up are Amanda and Nick, set to welcome Miss Antonia Maya into the world on/around January 8!

Congratulations again to all of our friends! We’re so excited for everyone, and are so lucky MiniMarr will have so many of his/her own friends to grow up with!! We’ve got 4 girls and 2 boys already, I wonder what MM will be?! Will things even off and we’ll have a boy? Or will all the boys be outnumbered? And will he/she be late? Or early? It’s hard to believe we have less than 6 months to find out!