Friday, March 12, 2010

Sunshine and Rain

Chris and I were lucky enough to get away last week as we headed to Arizona to visit my parents.  It was great to see my mom and dad, especially since it had been almost a year since we had seen each other!  Here are some pictures:

A little burst of sunshine over the White Tank Mountains
Hiking in the mountains on a gorgeous day

Taking some pictures out back by the pool (it was still too cold to swim in though)
We had tickets to the White Sox vs. Cubs game on Sunday, but unfortunately it rained ALL day and the game was canceled.  Hence, the umbrella and sad faces in front of the White Sox spring training field... and to make Chris' day worse, we spent the rest of the day shopping :) 

We had a great time visiting and did lots of sight-seeing, shopping, and of course found time to relax.  We both have been pretty busy lately with work and having our bathroom remodeled due to a leak we discovered in December.  So, it was nice to get away for a bit and enjoy some sunshine (and rain) together.  

On another note, as I kind of anticipated, March has been hard.  My due date was March 15th, and I find myself constantly thinking about how things would have been right now had things gone a little bit different 6 months ago.  I know some may think I should be "over it" by now.  In fact, I was kind of hurt by someone who made a comment similar to this.  However, I read a quote recently and it hit the spot:"If you haven't been where i'm coming from, then you don't know where i've been".  I think this is SO true, especially for me.  It's easy to imagine what it would be like.  Maybe you would brush it off and go about your day, or maybe you think it would be the hardest thing ever.  Maybe it brings you to tears just thinking about it.  Whatever your reaction, in my opinion, it's something you can't really grasp until you are faced with it.  I remember thinking "what if" before I miscarried, and somehow thought I had myself prepared for the worst.  But, nothing prepares you for something like this.  Nothing.  It is just something you have to get through as you grieve.  

We are all different, but for me, it takes a lot of help from my spouse, a few understanding loved ones, and much more help from God.  Just because I have depended on God throughout this doesn't mean that it has been easy.  Here is another quote from a book that I recently read about miscarriage/infertility,

 “Healing, I’ve learned, is hidden work.  It’s the touch of God on the tender, raw places of your soul.  It’s something you don’t feel all at once, something you can’t see.  You don’t mark that day on a calendar.  You just look back over the weeks and months and realize you don’t hurt the way you used to.”

God has been working on my heart lately but He still has some work to do :)  If you read this and think of me on Monday, please say a prayer for me.  We miss our baby every day and still think about him/her all the time.  Our little Logan will be on our minds more than ever on that day.  Even though he/she went to heaven months ago, this could have been the day our baby was born into this world.  The day we would celebrate every year for the rest of our lives.  We will still never forget this date, and will celebrate in a bittersweet way, every year. 

"There are things that we don’t want to happen but have to accept, things we don’t want to know but have to learn, and people we can’t live without but have to let go."  Author unknown

 "Be still, and know that I am God."  
~Psalm 46:10~

Monday, March 1, 2010

And the Medal Goes to...

Well, if you didn't get a chance to watch on Friday night, Katherine raced really well and ended up with a Silver medal.  I'm not sure if I enjoyed watching her more or Chris.  It was fun to see how excited he was for her.  He didn't want to go to sleep because he was so excited.  Way to go, Katherine!  You are amazing! Maybe she can teach me how to ice skate sometime.  You know, without falling down every few minutes after finally letting go of the wall :)

Click here to watch:  Katherine Charges to Silver

Here are a few pictures from Christopher's trip to Vancouver 

Chris, Uncle Rick, Chris' dad (hiding in the middle), 
Cousin Nick, and Zach (cousin Emily's husband)


Supporting Katherine in their "Rootin' for Reutter" sweatshirts
(Katherine's parents, grandparents, and the rest of crew)

 
Katherine waiting to skate (#157)

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Fourth Place Finish

In case you didn't get a chance to watch, here is a link to last night's 1500m race and highlights of the entire series. Katherine raced well and came SSOOOOO close to a medal. She qualified in the quarterfinals and semifinals, and then skated even better in the final race (well, in my opinion anyway... I don't really know much about speed skating).   It was a close race and I was sitting on the edge of my seat as I watched at 12:45 this morning (even though I already knew the results)!  She will have another chance at a medal on Wed and Friday of this week when she skates in the 1000m and relay races.  Even if she doesn't get a medal though, what an accomplishment!  Top U.S. speedskater and 4th in the Olympics :)

Women's 1500m Series Highlights:  Click Here
Women's 1500m Final: Click Here

Saturday, February 20, 2010

From Olympics to Broadway?

This clip is from CNN.  Katherine also has a beautiful singing voice and would love to be on Broadway some day.  She sang Amazing Grace at her grandmother's funeral a couple of years ago (also Chris' grandmother) and it was VERY good.

Katherine skates again tonight around 5pm.  I'm not sure when it will be on tv, but probably not for a few hours after that.  If you're planning on watching, it's the 1500m short-track event.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Way to go, Katherine!

I was searching on YouTube tonight and found this video of Katherine.  Thought it was pretty neat.  Katherine set a new U.S. record in the 500m quarterfinals last night.  She ended up placing 7th in the final race.  So obviously she did not get a medal, but she did very well and placed 1st in the U.S.  Her best event is the 1500m which takes place on Saturday.  Chris and some of his family members will be there to watch her (her parents have been there for about a week already).  I'm sure it helps to have people there cheering you on!  I know I would need it at least. :)

Random fact:  Katherine attended the same high school in Illinois at Bonnie Blair (one of her idols)