Faith, Hope and Love

In honor of the Royal Wedding, here is a picture of my wedding day!

Easter Blessings

Easter is my favorite holiday.  Not because of all the yummy candy, but because of the season of Lent.  It brings such a renewed spirit and life.  It's my New Year!

This year we started out the day, like many people, going to church.

Me and Baby C

Daddy and Baby C

Baby C with her cousin's Big E and Super C

After church, I hosted my first family holiday!  

We started out with an Easter egg hunt in the backyard.

Big E fills his basket

Super C spys an egg

Even Baby C joined the fun

Throughout the day, Baby C had a great visit with her family members.

Bebe and Baby C

Aunt Tara and Baby C

Grammie with Baby C
and the Lamb from Grandma

After our Easter egg hunt, we had a delicious ham dinner.  And I spied a cute little boy under the dinning room table.

Peek-a-Boo
Baby C's cousin

After dinner we celebrated Super C's birthday with a bunny cake.  And we went swimming!  The day ended with opening our Easter baskets.

Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of hope!

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ!  In His great mercy, He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... 1 Peter 1:3


Did you have a blessed Easter?

Don't Be Afraid, Be Informed - Meningitis

Since our whirlwind with Baby C, I've been going through stages. First it was shock, then fear, then anger and the "Why me and my baby?" phase. Now, I'm in the thankful stage after viewing some of the stories on the following website.

CoMO Inc. :: World Meningitis Day

April 24th is World Meningitis Awareness Day. April 30th is US Meningitis Awareness Day. I don't want to scare you or put fear in your hearts, I want you to be aware of what you can do to protect your children.

I don't know why God chose to save Baby C and completely heal her. She could have easily been taken to Heaven or lost a limb. I do know that she is one special girl and God has great plans for her!

Do you know someone who was affected by Meningitis?  

Yum Yum!

It was a big day for Baby C.  She took her first bites!  Sort of . . .

Yum Yum!

My Little Mermaid

We recently moved into a new home with a pool.  We were so excited to take Baby C swimming for the first time.  This week, Baby C's Grammie bought her a new swimsuit.  And today, daddy took her for a swim.

She really enjoyed her time with daddy in the pool.  Before I know it, she'll be scuba diving! 

My Little Mermaid

A Mother's Prayer

A Mother's Prayer

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day, with little time to stop and pray,

For life's been anything but calm, since You called me to be a mom -

Running errands, matching socks, building dreams with matching blocks,

Cooking, cleaning and finding shoes and other stuff that children lose,

Fitting lids on bottled bugs, wiping tears and giving hugs,

A stack of last week's mail to read - so where's the quiet time I need?

Yet, when I steal a moment, Lord, just at the sink or ironing board,

To ask the blessings of Your grace, I see then, in my small one's face, that You have 

blessed me all the while-

And I stop to kiss... that precious smile.

Source Unknown

Smarty Pants

Yesterday, Baby C turned 4 months old!  It seems more like 7 to Chad and I.  Maybe it was those 28 days she spent in the hospital that felt like eternity.  Despite being hospitalized, tied down to IV's and having to be on antibiotics for so long, Baby C amazes me every day.  

Baby C's PICC line

Even though the doctors were afraid she may have delays or disabilities, she has proven them wrong.  She is healthy and happy.  She will give anyone a BIG smile whenever they talk to her (such a little flirt), she rolls over like nobody's business.  AND SHE IS READING . . .

Baby C reading her favorite book, Winnie the Pooh

YOU GO GIRL!

The Art of Sleeping

How do you get Baby C to sleep?  Just lay her in her daddy's arms.

Just a couple of weeks old

Comforting Baby C before her MRI

Relaxing in her new home

Just being stinkin' cute

At the beach

Snuggly in her jammies

How do your sweet tiny blessings like to sleep?

Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

This prayer brings so much comfort to me.  I used to say it every day when I was in high school.  I can't wait to share it with Baby C.  Do you have a special prayer that you share with your sweet tiny blessings?

The Pacifier! Love it or Hate it?

Before I became a part of the motherhood club, I tended to judge other mommies and their childrearing choices (especially since I was a teacher).  I often said to myself, "I will NEVER do that."  And giving my baby a pacifier was one of them.

There were a couple reasons why I decided Baby C would NOT have a pacifier.  I didn't want her addicted to a pacifier until she was in high school.  And I read that pacifiers delay communication development.  But those of you who know Baby C, you know that communication is not a problem.  She's a talker!

Then my sweet tiny blessing was born . . .

The only thing that seems to calm her down after all else fails, is the pacifier, or what we like to call, her paci.  It is our lifesaver.


And then comes bedtime.  If that paci falls out of her mouth before she is asleep, you bet she will cry for it.  And it always seems to happen just as I get comfy in bed and I'm about to fall asleep.

I can't wait until she finds her thumb.

Do your sweet tiny blessings use a pacifier?  Love it or Hate it?

St. Teresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that
has been given to you....
May you be content knowing you are a child of God....
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.

What not to Expect when you are Unexpectedly Expecting

The day I found out I was expecting, I was in tears.  I wasn't ready to be a mommy.  My husband had just left for Iraq.  How was I going to handle pregnancy without him?  And how was I going to tell him?  Through Instant Message, of course!

Jump ahead 9 months later, it was time to have a baby girl.  The delivery seemed to go pretty smoothly.  There was nothing too out of the ordinary.

Like many new moms, I was having trouble breastfeeding.  Baby C kept losing weight and I was forced to supplement.

Three weeks later, I was admitted back into the hospital and separated from my baby girl.  Turns out, I had placenta left inside of me (that explains the breastfeeding issue).  After the D&C procedure, I returned back to my hospital room where my symptoms worsened.  (I'll spare you the gory details.)  I was diagnosed with an E.Coli Infection.

After being hooked up to machines, attached to I.V.'s, and having a nurse tend to my bathroom emergencies, I remember thinking, "things can't possibly get any worse."

Well, I was so wrong!  Two days later, my mom and mother-in-law came into my room with tears.  That's when I found out the unexpected.  My baby girl was admitted into the hospital with Bacterial Spinal Meningitis from Salmonella.  *Insert loud scream here.


Fast forward through all the fears, tears, pain, guilt and prayers . . . Baby C is my Sweet Tiny Blessing!  

Who is your sweet tiny blessing?