When I was pregnant I started thinking of all these traditions I wanted to start for our new family.  I didn’t want Christmas to be just about gifts but I wanted our baby to really understand what the meaning of Christmas really was.  I plan on buying a tiny crib and everyday during Advent adding a little hay.  Each day when we add hay we will say a special little prayer and say something we are thankful for that day.  On Christmas, we will add the baby Jesus to the crib and sing Happy Birthday.  I want Mary Rene to understand that everyday during the Advent season we are preparing our hearts for the Lord.  Hence the hay. 

I just need to buy the crib.  And I guess some hay too.  Oh and the baby Jesus as well.

Here is a picture of my pathetic Advent wreath.  Last year I bought the wreath and candle holder but never got around to buying the candles.  I told myself that I had plenty of time to purchase the candles before the 2008 season.  Well, it is here and there are no candles.  I got the prayers all typed out and we are ready to pray; we just don’t have a candle to light.

What are your traditions for the Advent season?

Is it just me or does she look drunk on my milk?

On another note, Mary Rene has developed the need to suck.  Most infants have this right from the start but she is just now getting it.  It wouldn’t be a bad thing if she would take a pacifier!  What does she like to suck?  My shoulder, her hand, her blanket or my boob.  We did some ultimate extreme nursing yesterday.  She just didn’t want to let go.  Hopefully today will be different.

My right boob is starting to hurt again.  I thought after the first six weeks this would be a walk in the park?

Jenny and Ed fell in love and got married three years ago.  Frank was Ed’s best man and I was Jenny’s maid of honor.

Two years ago, Ed was Frank’s best man and Jenny was my matron of honor in our wedding.

And the rest is history.

But back to why I am writing this post in the first place.  After we had Mary Rene, Jenny & Ed got our group of friends together and organized meals for us.  Most of our friends gave money to Jenny and she went out and bought gift certificates for various restaurants.  It was very helpful in those first few weeks because cooking was the last thing on our minds.

But that’s not all.  Along with all the gift cards, Jenny & Ed said they would cook us meals for eight Wednesdays.  Yes I said eight.  Last night was our last meal and just like all the rest it was delicious.  Jenny is an amazing cook-Ed is a lucky man. 

Words alone cannot express how grateful we are for this generous gift.  Knowing that one night of the week we didn’t have to worry about a meal has been very nice.  They went above and beyond the call of friendship.  We will be forever grateful for this priceless gift.

But it is more then just the meals that they provided.  They provided us with much needed support during these early weeks.  They not only filled our bellies but they filled our hearts.  We truly are blessed to have them in our lives.

Yesterday while we were at the mall Frank noticed that nobody was in line to see Santa.  We figured this would be a good opportunity to visit him since there was no line.  But Mary Rene was dressed in pink overalls-not an ideal outfit for your first time visiting Santa.  So we ran into Gymboree and bought her a little red dress.  But she had no tights and no shoes.  Oh well.  She looks cute anyways.

Our sweet child of God is 9 weeks young today!  I love this picture because it shows her adorable chubby cheeks.  She is such a beauty.

Each day she becomes more and more alert and is being more playful.  After her morning feeding (usually 6 a.m.) she is awake for a good hour and likes to play and laugh.  Then she will yawn and that’s my cue to pick her up.  Within seconds her eyes are closed and I can put her back to sleep for another hour or two.

(knock on wood, knock on wood)  Mary Rene has been going to bed by 10 p.m. every night and staying asleep until 5 or 6.  This past week, I started to nurse her lying down and when she is done she will go right to bed!  I just hope she keeps this up.

Frank is off work today so we are going to the mall to do some window shopping.  Mary Rene loves being in the stroller and looking around.  She is a curious little girl.

I’ve been smelling her precious little head all day because it still smells like the oil Father blessed her with at the beginning of Mass.  It is a nice reminder of how important today is in her life.  Today her life begins!  And now it is up to Frank and me to keep this day going for the rest of her life. 

This picture was taken right after she was baptized when we were bringing up the gifts.  It almost looks like she is saying, “yeah,  you know it.  I’m a child of God ya all.”  I love the look on her face.

Oh, and her dress.  WOW!  Tena Hartung, owner of Creatively Yours, did such an amazing job.  If you are in the St. Louis area and need a custom made dress give her a call.

This is a picture of the baptism bonnet and dress I wore 29 years ago.

This beading is the base of my wedding dress.

And here is the gorgeous result.  Tena took the train from my wedding dress and made Mary Rene’s entire dress out of the fabric from the train and then added my beaded base to Mary Rene’s dress.  The top of Mary Rene’s dress is from the top of my baptismal gown (it is hard to tell from the picture but they are little crosses.)  And Mary Rene is wearing my bonnet. 

Welcome to the Catholic Church my precious little angel.  May all your days be filled with God’s love and mercy.  May you never feel alone and always feel God’s presence in your life.  We pray that you will find comfort in the Lord and always, always, have faith in Him and His church.  We thank God daily for your life and we are so blessed to be your parents.

It almost is a double negative when you say “survived an abortion.”  When an abortion is meant to kill but you can survive.  I guess that just shows you how cruel and unusual some of the abortion procedures can be.  Even though the Born Alive Infant Protection Act was passed in 2002 there are still clinics that practice this type of abortion.  It was recently noted that a Planned Parenthood Clinic in the east coast was still performing this method.  Some babies who are meant to be aborted actually come out alive.  There is no statistic showing how many survive and are still alive today to talk about it.  And there is no statistic that shows how many survive but die shortly after because they are not cared for properly.

How scary does that sound?