32 Candles

For DAIN that is. Today is his official birthday - and I created the 3rd piece of his set of birthday artwork since D's arrival. (Look in February 2010 and February 2009 posts for pics of the previous art pieces).
Here it is - I think I like this one the best...



And here's D and Dain at his birthday dinner on Saturday night. I have this picture on each of the 3 years since D's arrival as well.

Blizz

We had a blizzard - - in case you've been living under a rock and didn't hear about it. There was an ungodly amount of snow - so of course we couldn't resist taking D out in it - even though he has no snowpants and no boots. We just wanted to get some pictures with him and the drifts and piles.
We ended up with some cute pics. Of course, Batman and Flash made the pictures as well...

Wherever D is...

"I wanted you more than you'll ever know...so I sent love to follow wherever you go"

This is the opening line to the tear-jerking, adorable book that we bought for D for Valentine's Day.
I try to find him books with the theme of the holiday there, yet not strong enough that they have to be put away with decorations because they are clearly a Valentine's/Easter/Thanksgiving book. This year's Valentine's gift was no exception. And this book is perfect...except it makes me cry when I read it.

Check it out. It's an amazing book by the same author/illustrator that wrote "On the Night You Were Born" and "It's Time to Sleep My Love". Nancy Tillman uses animal images, almost like watercolors in most of her books - and the illustrations with the children in this particular book are so lifelike and beautiful they seem to jump off the page. The writing itself, of course, is amazing as well.

With lines like "And if someday you're lonely, or someday you're sad, or you strike out at baseball, or think you've been bad...just lift up your face, feel the wind in your hair. That's me, my sweet baby, my love is right there", I bet you're crying too.

Happy Valentine's Day to my sweetheart baby, D.

March of Dimes - March for Babies

You may have noticed the little icon that I added on your right...that's because the March of Dimes March for Babies is coming up in April - and once again I'll be participating.

D was a preemie - born at 34 weeks. We were lucky - he was relatively fine. He spent a week in the Special Care/NICU getting bigger and healthier. It was the hardest week of my life. It brings tears to my eyes remembering him in his isolette, and seeing him having a Bradying episode the day before he was to be released. I still to this day can't imagine what it must be like to be handed your baby after you deliver, and get to keep them in the room with you. I hope to someday know. But for now - I realize how much I learned from D's birth - and how much I learned about myself during those first two months of hauling an apnea monitor with me and my newborn everywhere we went.

I love the idea of the March for Babies - raising money for the prevention and awareness regarding premature births. I loved participating last year. Dain, D and I completed the more than 6 mile trek and had a great time. This year it's only 3.2 miles I believe - and we would love to have you join us to walk, or would appreciate any/all donations (though please do not feel obligated). I simply am happy to share the news about this amazing organization and this great event.

Support it!

Did you ever realize that you can go online find out if you have a sex offender in your neighborhood? Many people do this before they buy a house or just randomly to find out what's going on in their area. However - there's no public registry to know if there's a convicted murderer next door to you.

As of 12/31/10 Illinois had 3166 inmates in custody for first degree murder with a sentence date prior to 6/19/98 and as of 12/31/10 we had 528 inmates on parole/MSR for first degree murder with a sentence date prior to 6/19/98. These inmates are or will be eligible for early release because they were sentenced before the truth-in-sentencing laws.
‘Andrea’s Law’ (House Bill 263) - named honor of Dain's cousin who was killed by her ex-boyfriend, a man who was released from prison after only serving 12 years of his sentence - would require these perpetrators to be registered on a murderer’s registry list for 10 years following their release.

Please take a moment if you are an IL resident - click the link below and find out your local IL State Representative. If you then Google them you can probably find an e-mail address. Take a moment to send a quick e-mail or drop a letter in the mail to encourage them to support "Andrea's Law" (HB263).

CLICK HERE TO FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE

I'm also pasting in a sample letter, provided by one of the thousands of members of the facebook online group to support Andrea's memory, that you can use make it easier!

Date

Dear Representative_________,

I am writing you in hopes that you will support "Andrea's Law," House Bill 263. When hearing about this proposed legislation on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, I was surprised to find out that the State of Illinois did not have a murderer registry list. I am aware of the sexual offender/ child murderer registry list in Illinois, and as a concerned member of your district, I would like to extend my support of the legislation that was filed by Dennis Robelletti (R-Elmhurst).

Andrea's Law was proposed due to the national media coverage surrounding Andrea Faye Will's murder, February 3, 1998, and the release of her murderer, Justin Boulay, last November 16, 2010. Justin Boulay, her ex-boyfriend strangled her with a telephone cord. Boulay was charged with First Degree Murder and sentenced to 24 years in prison. Because he murdered Andrea before the Truth in Sentencing Act was passed in June, 1998, Boulay only had to serve half of his 24 year sentence (for time off for good behavior).

As of 12/31/10, Illinois had 3166 inmates in custody for first degree murder with a sentence date prior to 6/19/98 and as of 12/31/10, we had 528 inmates on parole/MSR for first degree murder with a sentence date prior to 6/19/98. These inmates are or will be eligible for early release. ‘Andrea’s Law’ – House Bill 263 would require these perpetrators to be registered on a murderer’s registry list for 10 years following their release.

As a concerned and law-abiding citizen of Illinois, I urge you to support this legislation. When armed with this information, citizens and local police officials will be armed with the information needed to keep their communities safe.

Sincerely,


We all have a right to know who's living in our neighborhood...