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Monday, March 25, 2013

It's A Girl!

Welcome to the world Emma Judith Allen! It is my pleasure to announce the birth of Emma Judith Allen, born March 24th, 2013. She is the most perfect little bundle of joy, weighing 8 pounds 4 ounces hard to believe since T's baby bump was so small! Mom and baby are doing extremely well and Daddy is very proud. We are all overjoyed and are already smothering Emma with love and kisses. She is the most beautiful little girl and we are so blessed. Since we didn't know the sex of the baby, we had to rush out today to make sure that our niece would be the best dressed little munchkin on the block!


 
 
 
We Love You Emma.
Love S & K

Thursday, March 21, 2013

It's A Birthday (But No Baby Yet)

I've wanted to write this post all day, but haven't out of fear that everyone receving it would think that Baby has come. Well he/she has not yet come, and we are all anxiously awaiting said arrival. K, K & I cannot wait to become aunties and I know that T has waited her whole life to become a mama. Well... hang in there T, because Baby will be here any day now. 

The reason for this post is that it happens to be a very special day: K's birthday. Seeing as Mama H and Dad aren't home, we didn't do a blowout celebration, or shower her with gifts (or give her the gift she wanted which was a new niece or nephew)... we did have a small dinner to celebrate her day. 


As anyone who reads this blog already knows, my sisters and I are extremely close... in fact, they are my best friends. We share everything... whether good or bad... but, most importantly, we support one another. Whether they come to me with happy news, or sad news, I know that they know I will be there to share in the good... and cry during the bad. I will listen without judgement, be happy without jealousy, and be protective when I need to be. The same way they would do for me. What it all comes down to, is that there is no one in this world who knows you better than your sisters. No one has been through what we have been through... but us.


For as long as I can remember, K has been there to protect her little sisters, to listen without judgement, and to love us as hard as her strong little heart would allow. And soon (hopefully) there will be a new addition to our family that will find his/her own little spot in her heart as well. She will love the new baby as fiercely as she loves every single member of her family.

So... on this very special night... I want to wish her a very Happy Birthday and tell her that I hope this year is nothing short of spectacular. She deserves no less than that.  She is the best big sister you could ever ask for and we love her. Plain and simple. 






Never stop being you K. 
Much Love,
Your LSF

Friday, March 8, 2013

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine


When I announced that I had decided to spend my Spring Break overseas as a chaperon for 41 fifteen and sixteen year –olds, an overwhelming number of people told me (in short) that I was crazy; “You’ll regret it. You’re going to be exhausted. Europe is beautiful but it’s not THAT worth it.”

We left on February 27th, our flight was at 8pm (but thanks to a snow storm we sat in the plane for 2 hours & finally took off at 10 pm.) We landed somewhere in the vicinity of 10 am Paris time immediately set off on a tour of Paris (Notre Dame Basilica, the Seine River etc) and arrived back at our hotel around 10 pm. The routine of 5:30am wake ups, all-day tours and late returns continued for the entire 9 days- including our final day which saw zero hours of sleep the previous night, two flights and a 4 hour layover before arriving home- I did the math, 32 hours without sleep!  

The final verdict: I would not have changed even ONE moment for the world! On top of visiting some of the world’s most beautiful cities and seeing some of the most treasured pieces of art/ fascinating ruins I also had the opportunity and pleasure of getting to know a phenomenal group of young adults (I was going to say kids but was corrected by them constantly while away ha ha ha!)

Some of my favorite moments from the trip include the following:
  •       One of our boys, a quiet, insecure young man spent his whole trip (and all of his money) searching for the perfect gifts for each of his family members, soccer team scarves to be exact for his younger brother. On our final day in Rome, he was wearing an “Italia” scarf and I said “Great, you've found all of the scarves for your brother.” Instead, he explained to me that this one was not for his brother but rather having seen him spend all of his time and money on everyone else, the “popular girls” on the trip had all pitched in and bought him the scarf so he could have a souvenir from the trip.
  •      When asked “What was your favorite part of the trip?” A simple question. A grade 11 girl explained to me the following: “High school has not been easy for me. I don’t have a lot of friends and I got the idea that not a lot of people actually like me. But this whole trip has redefined my memories of high school.”
  •      Hour 10 of our trip home, one of our “less popular” girls had hot coffee spilled on her lap. Before I could get out of my seat to try to rectify the problem the one of most popular guy on the trip, a jock, got out of his seat, went back to the washroom, returned wearing basketball shorts. He had the sweatpants he had been wearing in hand and was offering them to the “geeky girl” he had probably never spoken to prior to this trip.


Some other highlights:
The Louvre- Paris, France

San Gimignano, Italy

Colosseum- Rome, Italy

Piazza Del Duomo, Mlian, Italy

Eiffel Tower- Paris, France
Pompeii, Italy
Hall of Mirrors, Versailles


Sistine Chapel- Vatican City
*No, I didn't not disobey and take a photo, this is thanks to Google image*
MEGA HIGHLIGHT: Being one of the FINAL groups to be granted access to the Sistine Chapel before it was closed to the public so they could begin the preparations for the Papal Conclave- AMAZING!

Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t get up every morning to go to work; I get up and get to do what I LOVE (and just happen to get paid for it.) More often than not when there is talk of teens, there are negative connotations or less popular feelings towards them but let me tell you, there are some incredibly intelligent, compassionate, empathetic, interesting young people out there and I feel absolutely blessed to have had the chance to spend my spring break with them... and the surroundings weren't bad either :)

xoxoxox
With love,

K

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Today We Celebrated

I tried to get a post up earlier this morning but for one reason after another, I was pulled away from my computer and distracted by work. Now, just after 10 pm and less than 2 hours short of being late, I can finally post what I had been wanting to all day...

Birthdays come once a year and on that one day, we get to celebrate the person and wish them well for the year ahead. Today was the youngest `lifeofthree` sister`s birthday and so for my family and I, today was a special day.

As I sit here trying to find the perfect words to describe just how I feel about her, it all comes down to the following no matter which way I put it: I am lucky for the friendship that we have, I am thankful for all the time we get to spend together, I love that we laugh the way we do when we are together, I am grateful for the support that she gives me, I am proud of the woman she has become, I value that I can share so much of my life with her and I can only hope that my child has a sibling as amazing as she is...



...because my life is a whole lot more fun with my sister next to me.

Happy Birthday Sara! Hoping your day was as wonderful as you are!!

xxoo

T

Monday, March 4, 2013

Wiser

As I sit here writing... less than one hour before my 26th birthday... I am filled with many different emotions. So much has happened in the past year, that it is sometimes hard to swallow and is the reason for the tear in my eye and the ball in my throat. This is where I was exactly one year ago...





This photo was taken the day before my 25th birthday in Nassau in the Bahamas. Looking back I realize that, despite the hardness my family and I had experience over the past few years... we had no idea what was in store for us in the upcoming year.


I look back at my 25 year old self and I want to warn her about the hard times she is about to experience. I wish I could tell her how good things are.... how she should appreciate how happy she is in this moment. I want to tell her that she should smile more... stress less... and tell her family every single day how much she loves them, because this is the year she would realize just how fragile life truly is. 


This year was the year I met Prince Harry, the year my sister surprised me and took us to Bermuda, the year I rekindled friendships, the year we survived an actually hurricane and decided to be a better person. This is also the year where K got engaged to D and T & B announced that they are expecting making me an aunt for the very first time.  

But.... what comes up must come down... and this is also the year that we lost our beloved Grandpa George and found our lives turned upside down when our Mama had to be moved to the states for treatment. 



I felt at times that my heart had been ripped out, that my world was falling apart and that I wouldn't be able to handle the pain I was feeling. It was terrible and heartbreaking and extremely hard all rolled into one overwhelming package... no bow. I sometimes wondered how we were going to get through our days... but we did.... as always... as a family.


Now, looking back, it seems silly that I thought I wouldn't be able to make it through... but sometimes life is so hard to face. You can't always see the forest through all the trees... or something like that. I had my bad days, but things always get better when you are surrounded by people you love and who love you. 


Losing our Grandpa was one of the hardest days of my life. Not a day will go by that I won't think of my Grandpa and miss him. Not a day will go by that I won't wonder if he is up there looking down on us. Not a day will go by that I won't wish I could speak to him, ask his advice... wonder if he is proud of me. 



Similarly, not a day will go by that I don't realize how blessed I am to have my mother here with me. Not a day will go by that I won't realize how much she means to me... how much it means to me to have her here loving me, supporting me, and guiding me through life. For anyone who hasn't been through what we have been through... take it from me... you will only realize how much your mother means to you when you come close to losing her. 



So... now that I am 10 minutes away from my 26th year... I hope that I have grown. I hope that I have learned. I hope that I have become a better sister, a better daughter, a better person. I hope learn to fully appreciate life and all the gifts I have been given. I hope to that my love for my family and friends continues to grow. I hope to be more patient, less stressed, more compassionate, less angry. I know this is a tall order to fill... but I feel like I can do it. After all we've been through as a family... I owe it to someone to push myself to be all of these things... and that person may be myself.


Be kind.... be happy... be true. 

Kisses from the birthday girl. 


With love,
S