Back to Life

A family at work today really touched me. Actually, touched is not the right word, amazed fits the scenario more accurately. Their child was diagnosed with cancer very shortly after birth. The majority of the last six months of their life was spent in a hospital room. They (two grown people) slept together on a small vinyl covered couch each night hoping and praying that tomorrow would be the day their baby got a tiny bit better. This is their first baby. 


Unfortunately, their hope was not what moved me about this family. I hear stories like theirs on a weekly basis. It's just part of the job working at a children's hospital. The amazing part came from the parents, as a couple. They were joyous, curious, and kept a sense of humor through such insurmountable pain.  They were calm and relaxed even though their one and only child had just gone through a major operation. But most of all, they were still in love. I've witnessed countless relationships fall apart due to a child's chronic illness. I've seen many parents give up, or at least be so worn down that they resembled only a shell of their former self. It was not the case with this family. They had been through six months of incredible hardship, treatments, doctors, and hospital beds, yet they were still alive and able to love each other. 


These are the days that I realize why I do my job. Why I put myself in a situation where I'm the emotional batting cage of families dealing with an unimaginable amount of stress. Why I miss holidays with my family. It's so maybe, the family I described above can have their first Christmas as a family of three. Above all, it's to remind me that no matter how stressful life gets, I must be grateful.   


Claire

SPEAKING of Ice...

Who knew? The fruity malt beverage gave me the perfect segway into my next post. O and I went to ICE!! at the Gaylord in Grapevine. It was our second annual trip, Charlie Brown themed and let me tell you, it didn't disappoint this holiday spirited chica.  I love Christmas! The family, the presents, the eating, the presents... I enjoy giving as much as I do receiving so don't go all "oh here comes the only child syndrome" on me! ANYWHO back to ICE!! It's nine degrees in this place, the entire thing (even most of the walls) is made of ice, and it is FANTASTIC! If you feel like being a kid again and joining a few kiddos while sliding down the giant slide made of ice, you should check it out. 

Everything here is made out of ICE!!!

Snoopy was always my very favorite, well besides Linus. 

The ice slide. It was pretty intense

O took the butt in the air approach.

I went down so fast it was a blur. Maybe I need to cut back on the Christmas cookies...

I think I'm going to pop in the dvd now. It's never too early for a little Charlie Brown Christmas!


Ciao!
Claire

You just got Iced

The majority of my weekend consisted of trying to avoid the new phenomenon of being "iced." Yes, Smirnoff ICE is making a comeback in another age group besides 15 year old girls. Twenty somethings around the country are discovering new ways to enjoy this carbonated citrusy beverage. Like I said, I spent the weekend trying to avoid these new fangled games and sat quietly in the corner sipping my Coke Zero. Some examples of the shenanigans I innocently witnessed are as follows.

Getting Iced
The principle behind it is to get your friend to find the ICE without them realizing it is there. Such as, hide the ICE in the toilet tank and unhook the latch that makes the toilet flush. When said friend goes to flush the toilet and it doesn't work, he will naturally take the top off the tank to fix the broken handle and what does he find? A nice, cold, bubbly ICE that he must now get down on one knee and drink as quickly as possible.

The moral of the story is, unless you crave the taste of this lovely malt beverage, watch your back. If your purse feels a little more heavy than before, if there is a lump under your pillow, or if you toilet won't flush, tread lightly. You probably just got ICED!!!!


Ciao!
Claire

Christmas come early this year!!

After being faithful PC users for many years (except of course for our iphones... I couldn't tell my head from my you-know-where without my iphone) we've finally crossed over!! 

Please disregard the furry leg paws sprouting from the top of the box. Duke was really excited to get his first iMac.

Merry (early) Christmas Babe! 


Ciao!
Claire

The Thanksgiving Feast for the Food Beast

There's a little issue in my life that O has dubbed the "food beast." Unfortunately, if I'm not fed at regular intervals my blood sugar drops and I become a tiddly bit cranky. But never fear, the Bergmann Thanksgiving feast was here. And a feast it was. 

The Bergmann's hosted 15 people for Thanksgiving this year including my parents. It was great to have everybody together! The night before we moved all the furniture out of their living room so we could all sit at one table. Trust me, it was quite the production, but the end result was fabulous!

The Thanksgiving table

Everyone sitting together, with the Cowboys game on in the background OF COURSE.

 

But enough about the decorations, lets talk about the FOOD! First of all, I am the lucky girl marrying the lucky guy who's Dad is an amazing chef. O's dad is the owner and chef of Cacharel Restaurant (which is absolutely delightful if you're looking for a good French meal) and he never does anything simple or small, let alone Thanksgiving. For example, Mr. Bergmann baked a turkey, smoked a turkey, and then deep fried a turkey. Yep, that's right, three types of turkey!

The men, frying the turkey.

Unfortunately I gobbled up my first course with out taking a picture but I did get a picture of what in my opinion was the star of the meal: The Pumpkin Soup! That's pumpkin soup with coconut cream and cinnamon croutons, delish!! 

Then on to the main meal. I won't bore you with a description of every dish on the plate but lets just say I would have picked the plate up and licked it clean if it were socially acceptable to do such things.

Not only did we stuff our faces with delicious food, we also enjoyed a wonderful leisurely afternoon with family and friends!

My parents and I

Duke's Thanksgiving Bow

Isla and Lea (my future flower girls) made quick friend's with Duke!

 All in all, it was a great Thanksgiving and we had a blast! Even Duke got a little feast of his own.

 Hope you all had a wonderful, food and family-filled holiday!

Ciao!

Claire