Souviens-toi

I meant to post this earlier and I'm glad that I got a few reminders. I chose to use the words to a French hymn called Souviens-toi for the paintings in Lily's room. I first became familiar with the song my freshman year in college. It always struck me as a beautiful lullaby and I knew that someday I would like to do something with it. While the paintings certainly could be better, I'm happy with them. I love having these words on Lily's wall. I only had room to use the first verse, but I love them all.

The following is the hymn written out in French followed by a rather good translation. It is set to music by Antonin Dvorak.

Souviens-toi, mon enfant
Souviens-toi, mon enfant: Tes parents divins
te serraient dans leurs bras, ce temps ne’st pas loin.
Aujourd’hui, tu es là, présent merveilleux,
ton regard brille encore du reflet des cieux.
Parle-moi, mon enfant, de ces lieux bénis
car pour toi est léger le voile d’oubli.

Souviens-toi, mon enfant des bois, des cités.
Pouvons-nous ici-bas les imaginer?
Et le ciel jusqu’au soir, est-il rose ou gris?
Le soleil attend-il la neige ou la pluie?
Conte-moi, mon enfant, la couleur des prés
et le chant des oiseaux d’un monde oublié.

Souviens-toi, mon enfant : A l’aube des temps,
nous étions des amis jouant dans le vent.
Puis un jour, dans la joie nous avons choisi
d’accepter du Seigneur le grand plan de vie.
Ce soir-là, mon enfant, nous avons promis
par l’amour, par la foi, d’être réunis.

Remember, My Child
Remember, my child : not long ago,
your divine parents held you in their arms.
Today you are here, marvelously present.
Your gaze still shines with the reflection of heaven.
Talk to me, my child, about that blessed place,
because for you the veil is still thin.

Remember, my child, the forests, the cities.
Can we down here imagine them?
And the night sky, is it rosy or gray?
Is the sun waiting for snow or rain?
Describe to me, my child, the color of the meadows
and the birdsongs of a forgotten world.

Remember, my child: at the dawn of time,
we were friends playing in the wind.
Then one day in joy we chose to accept
the Lord’s grand plan of life.
That night, my child, we promised
through love, and through faith, to be reunited.

Baby & Nursery Update

I have been asked by several people to give an update on our little girl. First I guess that I just actually post the name that we have decided on. Last Fall, before we even knew that we were expecting, Tyson and I randomly started talking about names. He decided at that time that he loved the name Lily. The conversation ended there and then, in January when we found out that we were expecting a girl, we had to start up the conversation again. Tyson was still very stuck on the name Lily and right away started calling her that. Ann is my mother-in-law's name and also my twin sister's middle name so it seemed like the perfect choice. So, we settled on Lily Ann.

Alright, an update. This last week I hit the 30 week mark so we are over 3/4 of the way there! According to my doctor all is proceeding just perfectly. We had a problem earlier with my AFI level being low, but after increasing my daily water intake from 2 liters to over 3 per day everything is looking good. I'm also getting to the point of being very tired again, but I'm pretty sure that I can make it through. We don't have that much longer to wait.

Also, I am finally completely finished with Lily's room. I always thought that it was silly that people made such a big deal of decorating a nursery and such. However, I have pretty much gone all out. I don't know when I changed my mind about this, but I certainly did. In my defense, I did most of the work myself so it didn't cost me very much at all.

My first project was her bedding which was finished a while ago. I just finished the paintings on the wall today.

Again, had you asked me 6 months ago I would have said that the nursery letters were a little silly, but then sometime his December I decided that I had to have them so that was another little project. I found the dresser on Craigslist for $30 and brought it home and painted it. I thought that was a pretty good deal.

This was our big purchase and Tyson's way of spoiling me. He bought me this fantastic rocking chair and ottoman. The only problem is that he likes it a little too much, I have to fight him for it sometimes.

Counting Down to May

Okay, so I know that we are having a baby in May, but that isn't what I am talking about.

Today the weather was great! Tyson finished up the fence around our garden today. I have four trays full of starts that have come up. I can not wait until May when it is finally warm enough to plant this years garden and I can plant all of these flowers that I have ready to go. We also need to reseed a few patches in the grass, and in a few weeks we can finally do that. Winter needs to disappear and Spring needs to come and stay!

When we moved into our home last April we didn't have much time to do a lot outside. There were just too many projects inside that needed out attention first. Well, upstairs is done and Tyson has a good start on the basement so this year we get to focus on outside! I can hardly wait! Oh, and having Lily in May will be great too!

First Sign of Spring!

Okay, so yesterday Tyson and I were pulling into our driveway when I noticed it. Our bulbs are starting to come up! Last fall we planted about 275 bulbs and they are starting to appear! I can't wait when the crocus actually starts to bloom. I know, silly simple pleasures, but it brings me hope that this gloomy weather will end and the warm weather is on its way.

Being a Pet Parent

I'm not usually one to consider a pet as a full fledged member of the family. We had several dogs and cats growing up and while I loved most of them, they weren't really family members to me.
This last weekend Oscar, our 7 1/2 month old puppy started acting like something was wrong. He stopped eating and drinking and was very lethargic. Well, yesterday we took him to the vet. Thank heaven we did, he had a solid and sharp obstruction in his bowel that was blocking everything. So, yesterday evening Oscar went in for surgery and according to the vet he came through just fine. He did well last night and during the day so at 4:00 this afternoon we finally got to go pick him up and bring him home. It was so odd, leaving my little guy there. He was so happy and sweet, like he always is, and I felt like I was abandoning him. I hated the idea of leaving him. We went to dinner and I could not get my mind off him. I have been so worried. And at the time I was just worried about leaving him at the vet overnight, not the surgery. We had been told that the surgery wouldn't be until the morning. It was actually nice to get the vets call last night telling me that the surgery was already done and that he was waking up before I even had time to really worry about it. Still, our home felt so empty and we could not have been more excited to have him home.
Anyway, my point is, I don't know when this happened to me. When did this dog become a child to me rather than just another pet? I couldn't say when it happened or how. All that I know is that it did.