Trick-o-treating on The Lawn....

After a quick trip to the doctor this afternoon, Savannah was cleared to join hundreds of other children at the University of Virginia's Lawn for trick-o-treating.
Savannah has been battling a runny nose all week, but she woke up this morning looking like someone had socked her in the eye! I was worried that she might have an ear infection or bad case of allergies so I took her to the doctor... and she has a head cold, but nothing more.
I dressed her up in the Hello Kitty witch's costume Aunt Debbie made for her... sans the hat... and the doctors loved it. We actually had several people comment on it before we got to the Lawn.
Pat was able to get off early and join us... and we saw lots and lots of cute children all dressed up in their finest (and not so finest).
Pat didn't watch Savannah very closely (it was pretty hard to watch her and not run over other little children) as she liked to hold pieces of candy while they went from booth to booth.
I had to clear her mouth of several pieces of wrapper.. what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger, right?
We got a nice supply of candy and left before Savannah got too cranky... but I still think she had more energy left than we did! Pat took some of the candy back to his office, but we still have plenty to eat ourselves... just what we don't need.
Here are some pictures of Savannah... I have a few special photos I'm going to post of the most popular children at the Lawn today.

Happy Halloween...

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween. We're taking Savannah to the University of Virginia's infamous "lawn" tomorrow to trick-o-treat. Apparently all of the student groups pass out candy to the children.
It will be good to be out in the crowd and see Savannah running around... she loves to be around people.
I promise to take lots of pictures.
Have a good day!

Our pumpkin...

I wanted to share my first attempt to carve a large pumpkin... this is one of three we got Sunday at the pumpkin patch. I haven't decided if I'll carve the other one... guess I should because what else will we do with it?
Here are a couple of pictures I took tonight after putting Mr. Smiley on the front porch... what do you think?

Making my blog private...

I decided today to make my blog private... to limit those welcomed here to family and friends who mean the most to me.
This has been a year of losses, but it has also been a year of incredible gifts. Losing my Daddy was the hardest things I've had to face, but finding out weeks later that we were having another baby was a blessing that helped ease that pain.
I've learned since his death that although Daddy couldn't read or write, he knew a lot about a person's integrity and what made them tick. I've come to realize he was right about a lot of things that I once thought were just his ramblings.
I walked a hard road to leave my childhood life behind... and after watching my Mama work her fingers to the bones I wanted nothing more than for me and my siblings to have more than that.
Life is about personal decisions... and the time has come for me to make another hard one. It is time to let toxic people, those who literally suck the life out of you, go from my life.
That is why I made this blog private... because I no longer want those people into my life where they can spew their bitter judgments.
This is my favorite poem and I wanted to share it with you... it speaks about several times in my life, including this decision:

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this wish a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost

Registry for Julius...

I've had several people ask me if I would set up a gift registry for Baby Julius... and have hesitated because people were so generous with gifts for Savannah that I didn't want to seem greedy.
Over the weekend, my sister-in-law Debbie and niece Erin said they wanted to throw us a little baby shower in December. Therefore I thought it would probably be a good idea to set a registry up so people could see what we needed... which is far less than the last time since we saved a lot of Savannah's baby things.
You can find our baby registry at Target.com ... just search under Sharon Fitzgerald in Fitzgerald and you should find it. Anyone who likes to shop at WalMart can find the equivalent there, but I'll also create a register on that site as well... directions are the same.
Thanks again for thinking about us... as always, it's wonderful to be so loved.

What a difference a year makes...

I've been itching to compare these photos ever since we planned a trip to the pumpkin patch.
Where has the time gone? Can you believe how fast she's grown already?

Let it go...

Sometimes this is what you must remember when nothing else seems to make sense:

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.

I don't pull this out and use as often as I should, but it's the only thing I can tell myself as I worry about what the future holds.
I used to say this to myself when I left home and made my own way in the world... it carried me to college and then from one newspaper job to another. It went along with me to Arkansas where I met and married Pat and now I have it here with me as we raise Savannah and await Julius' arrival in a few months.
We cannot change our pasts, but can only hope the decisions we make today will carry us in to a better tomorrow. I've always tried to make the best decisions for myself and now for our little family and I'm confident there is a wonderful end to our rainbow.