Bowers Blog: Westside Fall Festival 2017 and In Memory of Lauren Pike

I missed putting up a post last night, because I was exhausted from an all day venture of cleaning out/through toys. It is unbelievable the amount of toys my kids can accumulate in a short amount of time. I hate spending an entire Sunday cleaning it all out, but if I don't do it, it makes me crazy. I have a hard time with a big mess. Having children has definitely reigned some of that in on me. I've also had to realize 1. that they are never going to clean up a mess like I prefer it to be cleaned up 2. that the need for everything to be straight is my mental issue, not theirs. I allow them to attempt clean up and praise them for their efforts, then I spend one day a month REALLY cleaning up all the toys, jackets, shoes, Barbies, legos, trucks, books, and any other random item that is shoved somewhere or on the floor for me to trip over. I feel completely cleansed when its over. It's therapy, really.

Prior to the cleaning frenzy, we had our annual Westside Elementary Fall Festival Saturday. I am room mom to both girls classes (not sure how that happened,) and therefore, I was in charge of 2 booths for the festival. My booths were the Pumpkin Pop and Face Painting booths. The day was crazy, because, as expected, Worth was on call.

My parents had to end up helping me set up because I couldn't set up two tents, decorate booths, then be out of there by 8:25am to take Emma and Mack to their soccer games. It was chaotic none the less, but we got to soccer (a little late.) We came back to the festival after soccer, and the kids had a blast with Grandma and Papa while I ran between 2 booths working. Worth even ended up showing up at the end to help us take down.

I have to give credit to Mama for all the pictures, I was not present for any of these activities. I was PTO'in it.

On a sad note, I have to mention that I got some terrible news Saturday morning. My hand therapy mentor and close friend, Marta Brinkley, lost her daughter Friday night due to complications following delivery of her second child. Lauren, Marta's daughter, gave birth to her second child on Wednesday, October 18th at 2:30am. She was discharged home from the hospital on Thursday, and then began to have severe pain and cramping. She was readmitted to the hospital Friday and many things were done to find the source of the pain. After spending time in ICU Friday night, she passed away despite many efforts by physicians and nurses to keep her alive. They ended up finding out that she died from an amniotic fluid embolism. These are extremely rare and typically happen during delivery, not 24+ hours later. The late onset was why the doctors had such a hard time pinpointing what happened. As you can imagine it is a terrible tragedy. Lauren was the only daughter of Marta, and her husband Bill. She was a music teacher at an elementary school in Atlanta. Lauren also leaves behind a young husband, Michael, a 2 year old son, Liam, and her brand new daughter, Emma. Lauren was 31 years old.

I have been deeply disturbed by the whole situation all weekend. My thoughts and prayers are constantly with that family. It's so hard to swallow, and I hurt for my friend Marta. Marta has done so much for me not only in my career but in my spiritual journey as well. I can't imagine what she is going through right now. There is one thing I'm sure of, she will be steadfast in her faith, and God will definitely have her, Bill, Michael, Liam, and Emma wrapped in His peaceful arms. He will see them through this. I have added a link to their care page that lists things Michael needs help with. They had been asking for breast milk, because Lauren had intended to breast feed Emma. That need has been met. There are other small and big opportunities to help this sweet family if you feel led. More than anything, they ask for prayer.

my.lotsahelpinghands.com/community/pikefamily

Here are the fall festival pictures thanks to Serita: