Nap Prayer

I wanted something to say to signal to Benjamin that it was time to take a nap and thought it would be nice if it was a prayer too.  So here's what I came up with.  I printed it out and matted it in the colors of his room.
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Dear Jesus,

It’s time to nap, please help me rest,

So that I’m always at my best.

And when I wake, dear Lord I pray,

You bless and guide me through the day.

Amen.

Reflecting on my year and Giving Thanks...

Thanksgiving was, as always, a wonderful time for us.  I remember last thanksgiving being anxious wondering if I may be pregnant.  Wow, how time flies!  It makes me think of everything that's happened to me (and to this family) in the last year...  We found out we were pregnant, I taught middle school religion while I watched my waistline expand beyond all expectation, dealt with morning sickness, ate lots of potatoes and chocolate shakes, went to numerous appointments, unsucessfully tried to keep my ankles from becoming beach balls, walked around the neighborhood listening to "faster, stronger" by kanye in anticipation of being in better shape for labor, going through labor and delivery (life-changing), days in the hospital full of challenges with jaundice, breastfeeding, possible infection prompting monitors, IVs and a lumbar pucture for a 2 day old son; then came going to the pediatric urologist and waking up for night feedings. 

I'm most thankful this year for the life that God has shared with me.  Me of all people has been given the gift of this little person, this little soul that needs cared for and taught- a little one that needs love and has love to give.  I am ever saying those words that came to me in a prayerful way at 4am Aug 6th when the nurses brought Benjamin to me to snuggle because his temp wasn't going back up...  I rested in the hospital bed with Joe's sleepy breathing coming from the corner and the dawn light softly illuminating the twin spires of the Cathedral outside my window, and most of all the feeling of the warm little body moving ever so softly and steadily on my chest with tiny breaths... I couldn't help but just keep repeating.. "Who am I that God should give you to me?"

Home again, home again, jiggety jig...

Phew, it's been awhile since I've posted!  Benjamin and I took quite the vacation to my parents' house this past weekend.  Being that I "stay at home" now I can travel on Thurs and Mon. when the roads are free and the sun is out.  It gets me max time with my family.  I'm there when they come home from work, stay for the weekend and then leave after they leave for work.  I'm blessed to be able to make the trip so often! 

This past visit also included time with my grandmother which is always wonderful.  She is such an example to me.  She's always told me that I'm special... that's something that many people may say, but one look at grandma when she's saying that to you eye-to-eye and you know she truly means it.  Her faith and prayers has been and continues to be a source of inspiration and support.  If I'm half the grandma that she is when I'm a grandma I'll be happy.

You know what, as I typed the above paragraph I started to realize that I could say the same thing about my Nana too.  Her faith is also deep and integral to her life as well as something that makes me admire her.  My gosh I am blessed with amazing women in my life!!! 

So far so good...

We went to see the Pediatric Urologist on Friday last week and got some good news.  Since it appears that the connection between Benjamin's navel and bladder has healed up from the outside (navel) then we'll continue to wait and let it close up.  He'll be on a low dose antibiotic til January when we have an ultrasound to be sure that it has healed up at both ends and there's nothing stuck in between.  I have a feeling that at that point all will be fine, but should it not be healed like the doctor wants then we'll proceed with surgery at that time. :(  Keep those prayers up if you can, they NEVER hurt!

Got to spend some time at my parents' house this weekend- what a joy!  I missed my brothers, but as usual the house was crazy with people anyway.  My cousins' car wouldn't start so we had her, her husband and 13 month old M. on Friday night.  Then another cousin came with my uncle showing up the next day along with open house guests all Saturday afternoon.  My parents are such an inspiration in the "more the merrier," "let us know what you need" kind of ministry.  Their example of patience is why I have any that I do now and the fact that I desire to have more.



so peaceful





On a different note- Ben slept through the night on Friday night- from 8pm to 6:30am!!!  Too bad I was downstairs highlighting my hair with my mom til 2am... so I got a good 4 hours instead of the 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep that Ben got.  I hope he'll do that again sometime soon, I hope it's not just an "at Grandma's house" sort of thing.

Grandpa

First of all, I considered myself blessed to have made it to 27 years old and still had 4 grandparents.  Unfortunately, that is no longer the case.  My mother's father passed away this afternoon after having a massive stroke in the wee morning hours.  Every since I was little it seemed that  3am phone calls always meant that someone had died... it's funny, it only happened a couple of times but when my dad called last night at about 3am (between Ben's feeding times) I knew that something was VERY wrong. 



My mother, father and sister were able to make it down there before he passed which I'm sure was very good for my mom.  I haven't spoken to her since finding all this out and I hope that being in the presence of her mother, sisters and brother is doing wonders for her.  I (and Ben, of course) will go to Loogootee for the wake and funeral which will be early next week. 



He was a great dancer... that's how he met grandma! :)







Things I will tell Benjamin about his great grandfather who died on the day he turned 8 weeks old:

- grandpa prayed... alot.  He had a relationship with Jesus that I feel I will only every hope to have.

- grandpa used to fish and catch 100 in a morning with his buddy Carl, then grandma would fry them up for dinner.  SOOOOOO good.

- grandpa made rosaries for those who needed them... many, many rosaries and prayed the prayer often.

- grandpa had hands that were so strong you could hardly believe it... mom says it's from his work in the gypsum mine (he worked swing shift)

- grandpa prayed for all of his kids and grandkids with extreme passion, him and grandma would get up at 5am to start their prayers for all of us, I remember joining them once when I was really little
- grandpa would talk about meeting grandma and how she had a nice figure :)
- grandpa loved to work in his garden and the yard, this past summer he could be off his oxygen for something like 6 hours at a time at the most... he used this time to get on the riding lawn mower
- grandpa loved... he just loved... with one of the biggest hearts I have ever known



A picture's worth a thousand words



There's so much more I could write but I have to stop myself at some point.  It hasn't really hit me that he's not on this earth anymore.  I'm trying to come to grips with it, going to the wake and funeral will help.  I found myself talking to him today as I might do my patron saint.  I can't be more thankful to have the confidence of my faith at a time like this.  Now we're not physically separated like we were, 6 hours of driving away.  We're a part of the body of Christ and he's present for me in a way that he couldn't be before.  I love thinking that even though he never met Ben on earth he can see him now!  I just stood there looking at Ben sleep and thinking how cute it was with his hands over his head and asked grandpa if he thought it was funny...  You can be sure that I'll be trusting my grandpa as my intercessor for years to come.



Please Pray!

To my family and friends that read my blog, please keep Bonnie, her new baby James, her family and all the medical personnel dealing with James in your fervent prayers.  She's a wonderful woman whom I feel honored to call a friend and really look up to when it comes to this vocation of motherhood. 

James is in desperate need of your prayers, to get the scoop check Bonnie's blog: http://www.learningtobeanewlywed.blogspot.com/