Remembering Briana

Six weeks ago today we made a new friend, an eternal friend. Her name is Briana. We met her about eight hours after she helped bring our little Asha so lovingly into this world. Although only a few years into her practice, Briana was a gifted midwife. She possessed such love, strength, wisdom, and sensitivity. She was to be one of the brilliant women we hoped to surround Asha with as she grew into womanhood. But things do not always happen as we expect them to: Briana tragically died in a car accident this past Saturday. We heard the news Easter morning. Our hope in the resurrection was of great comfort, but we grieve in knowing that we will no longer have the privilege of walking this mortal path with her. She lives on in those of us who knew her, and, in a special way, in those to whom she gave safe passage into this world. Twenty-eight years seem so few for one such as her, but we are grateful nonetheless for the time we shared.

For an absolutely beautiful tribute to Briana, read this poem by her dear friend Missy.

Here's the four of us at Fern Midwifery for Asha's one-week checkup.

Beautiful Briana weighing Asha at her two-week checkup

completely and utterly in love

asha looks adorable
i look like peter pan, when he was 14 yrs old:)

who knows? maybe she'll follow the path
of the redds and find those two little fingers!

i've seen really cute ways to document growth
and age ~ this is not one of them, but i tried!
each month i will lay her next to jon's barca scarf
so you can see how long she is and how edible her little legs are!
(she should still be wearing newborn
diapers, but i was too lazy/cheap to go buy more,
so we opened the size 1 pack we had...it's a little big)

this has to be one of my favorite things ever:
when i scoop the water up toward her neck, she
opens her mouth and tries to catch it!
she loves, loves, loves bath time. she recently
graduated to bathing in the regular bath tub.

jon has been amazing.
he is in love with our little calabaza (pumpkin)
asha loves bossa nova (super rich, jazzy brazilian music) and
jon is convinced she's going to make him a bomb bossa nova singer!

she 'turned' 5 weeks on tuesday
she has brought us joy unspeakable
we adore this little scout.

she is the answer to the question in moroni 7
miracles have not ceased!

Our family of three in NC!

Here's the nursery! In case you're wondering, that is the painting from Em's Facebook profile pic. The artist agreed to repaint it when I shared our story. It was a surprise motherhood gift (thank you, Howingtons, for hanging it). Actually there's a whole lot be to thankful for in this pic: a newly-restored dresser compliments of Emily Richards (and Em); a gorgeous crib gifted to us by a group of friends and the ring-leader herself, Janet Weed; and some beautiful bumper pads and a skirt from Alisha and MauraLee. Not to be forgotten in all this is the soccer-ball rug, one of the many takeaways from an amazing year teaching 1st grade at Glendale. So much to be thankful for!

Some of my colleagues and a couple of students decorated my office. The door was also covered in pink with a banner that reads "It's a girl." I've been feeling a lot of love from everyone on campus. I'm going to leave everything as long as I can. The celebration goes on. . .

Our first walk in our "Bob" stroller. Between our Graco car seat style (called "Lowery") and our stroller, both our dads are getting some representation. Gotta love it!

We figured the Sunday stroll would put little Asha fast asleep, when we peered down, however, she was as bright-eyed as ever. Love that girl!

Her first flower: un clavel rojo (a red carnation).

Homeword Bound

Here we are at the airport with our perfect little Asha and our newest best friend, Ashley (hermanadre extraordinaria). The smiles tell something of the miraculous three weeks we shared; a time never to be forgotten, a story worthy of a thousand and one tellings.

An epic flight to Utah, a glorious return to North Carolina. She who eats and sleeps like a champ, also flies likes one. It was a smooth trip home for the three of us.

We left with a couple of bags. We returned with, well, a little bit more. Thanks to everyone for the many gifts, especially the outpouring of love, goodwill, and support.