Veni, Veni Emmanuel

Today we began the beautiful season of Advent. We will use the next 4 weeks to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ.

I have an Advent calendar to share with Reece. We will prepare for Christmas slowly, first putting out the Advent wreath and candles, then the nativity set, to which we will add the pieces a few at a time. The tree will go up with only lights until Gaudete Sunday, when we will put on all of the ornaments. I'm looking forward to thinking of other ways to celebrate Advent with him.

To get a better idea of what Advent means to Catholics, please read the excerpt below.

From the Roman Missal, 1962:

The liturgical texts used during the four weeks of the season of Advent remind the faithful of the "absence of Christ." The Collects of Advent do not end with "through our Lord Jesus Christ," as during the rest of the year. In a spirit of penance and prayer we await the Mediator, the God-Man, preparing for His coming in the flesh, and also for His second coming as our Judge. The Masses for Advent strike a note of preparation and repentance mingled with joy and hope; hence, although the penitential purple is worn and the Gloria is omitted, the joyous Alleluia is retained. The readings from the Old Testament contained in the Introit, Gradual, Offertory, and Communion of the Masses, taken mostly from the prophecies of Isaias and from the Psalms, give eloquent expression to the longing of all nations for a Redeemer. We are impressed by repeated and urgent appeals to the Messias: "Come, delay no longer." The Lessons from St. Paul urge us to dispose ourselves fittingly for His coming. The Gospels describe the terrors of the Last Judgment, the Second Coming, and tell of the preaching of St. John the Baptist "to prepare the way of the Lord."

In Advent, the Greek Church celebrates particularly the ancestors of Our Lord--all the Patriarchs and Prophets of the Old Testament, but especially Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Latin Church also mentions them often in this period. In the Breviary, many texts are taken from Isaias (Introit of the second Sunday, Communion of the third Sunday).

The idea of Advent is "Prepare you for the coming of Christ." Therefore the very appeals of the Patriarchs and Prophets are put in our mouths in Advent. Prepare for the coming of Christ the Redeemer, who comes to prepare us for His Second Coming as Judge.

When the oracles of the Prophets were fulfilled and the Jews awaited the Messias, John the Baptist left the desert and came to the vicinity of the Jordan, bringing a baptism of penance to prepare souls for the coming of Christ. The world took him to be the Messias, but he replied with the words of Isaias: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare ye the way of the Lord."

During Advent we make straight for Christ the way to the our souls--and behold, our Lord will come at Christmas.

Catching Up

These are the beautiful flowers my little sis and brother-in-law sent for my birthday. They were our perfect Thanksgiving centerpiece. I love them.

A cold front came through Thanksgiving day and brought us some COLD weather. Kelly, Reece and I went for a walk around the block (Reece wanted to go on a nature hike) after dinner, and it was COLD. We had to go back inside and find jackets to wear.

We had such a lovely Thanksgiving. Too much food, lots of family and plenty of love goin' on around here. Mom and Sandi got to meet baby Gina for the first time. Reece, Aubrey and Camryn all looked so cute and were excited by everything going on. When we were at the table, Reece declared, "I love Thanksgiving!"

Sandi cut Aubrey's hair into a little bob, and she looks darling. I had charged my camera battery, but was so busy that day that I didn't take a single picture.

I never ever go shopping on Black Friday, but my sister Sandi is all into it. She was up at 4 AM to go to a sale, and got some great bargains on Christmas gifts for her family. She came by here and I went with her to Macys and The Children's Place later in the morning. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be at Macys, but we had to wait in line for quite awhile to pay at The Children's Place. I got an $80 purse at Macys for $23, and as I was starting to pay for it, Sandi stepped in and bought it for me for my birthday!

Reece spent the night last night and we kept him with us most of the day today. We played all evening yesterday, and all day today. Papa bought him more farm animals and he was very absorbed in them. We watched The Wizard of Oz last night, and Reece was scared at bedtime. He didn't know why he was scared, but I suspect it was a reaction to the wicked witch in the movie. Or those spooky flying monkeys. Right now I'm missing the way he leans against me and puts his little hand on my arm when I'm drawing or cutting something out for him.

Sandi and Mom spent the day at Mom's apartment cleaning and decorating her place for Christmas. I'm looking forward to seeing it tomorrow when we pick Mom up for Mass. Sandi is planning to go home tomorrow. It's been wonderful to have her here. My sisters are such a blessing.

Will You Still Need Me?

Yesterday was my birthday. Can you figure out how old I am? :o)

Here's a hint:

Ron took me out to dinner and told me that yes, indeed, he still loves me. I'm not a huge Beatles fan, but I always liked the line about "grandchildren on your knee, Vera, Chuck and Dave." I always knew grandchildren would make me happy. :o) Ron also gave me a beautiful CD of ancient hymns.

Kelly was here yesterday. She cleaned the powder room and took me to Milberger's. I had mentioned that I wanted to get some mums for the front porch and she got them for me for my birthday. What a honey!

She picked up the turkey she ordered and stashed it in my fridge. It looks delicious! Josh is also making a brisket, since the turkey is not as large as usual, and we all love to have leftovers. Mmm, brisket! Mmm, smoked turkey!

I received birthday wishes from all of my kids yesterday. Jason called while we were at dinner to wish me a happy birthday, and Josh brought Reece over to spend the night and they both wished me happy birthday when they came in. Reece wanted to know where the cake was. :o) He can't imagine a birthday without birthday cake. I told him we would have my birthday cake on Thanksgiving.

Oh wow, I'm sitting here writing about my birthday and the doorbell just rang. There was a flower delivery man on the porch. My sister and BIL sent me flowers! How sweet. Thank you, Mike and Johnnie! They are gorgeous.

My sister Sandi is at Mom's. They are making pies today. I haven't seen her yet. They had gone to get some lunch when Ron and I stopped by there on the way back from the hospital earlier, so we just left Mom's meds and came on home. I'll see her tomorrow.

I had an appointment for an echocardiogram this morning, to see if the chemo did any damage to my heart. I'm thinking no damage. :o) It is interesting to see your heart working on the computer screen.

Okay, I'd better get off the computer and get something done around here. If I don't get back before tomorrow, I wish you a blessed Thanksgiving!

Mass, Mass, T-Day, Grands and The Dentist

We had a lovely weekend. Went to Mass twice on Sunday, once at noon and then again at 6 PM. Both were sung Latin Masses. We are so blessed. :o) Fr. K celebrates an occasional TLM, and this time we were able to go. We took Mom to our regular noon Mass, then Ron and I went to the one at 6 PM as well. It was wonderful to see Fr. K. There was a coffee and donut hour afterward, and we met a few more members of the Latin Mass community. The Mass was at an older church near downtown that we had never visited. One of my favorite things is discovering new "old" Catholic churches.

In between Masses, we took Mom to lunch, then I went to Josh's and stayed with the kids while he and Cyrise went grocery shopping. Aubrey and Camryn were napping when I got there, but Gina was wide awake. I got to give her the rest of her bottle and hold her. She went to sleep, and I played with Reece with PlayDoh. He had me making lots of seagulls and turkeys. We had a whole flock of blue PlayDoh turkeys. :o) The little girls woke up just before their parents came home.

Josh and Cyrise got some of my groceries for Thanksgiving for me. I'm making the cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a Black Russian cake. Kelly is bringing macque choux and dirty rice stuffing. Cyrise is making her yummy green beans. Sandi and Mom are bringing pies. I have some sweet potatoes I may toss into the oven, and Ron wants some kind of salad. Kelly ordered a smoked turkey, which we'll pick up tomorrow.

We had a change of plans, and Kelly came to clean and decorate my house for Thanksgiving today instead of over the weekend. It's always nice to have her here, and she did a lot of work! Thank you, Kel; I love you!

I took Mom to the dentist this morning. She will be getting new partials in a few weeks. They took the impressions today. They are going to remake her top partial as well as making her a bottom one. The top one has never fit properly, so there will be no charge for the replacement. Mom and I love her dentist's assistant, Jennifer. She is always so sweet to Mom (and to me). The dentist is nice, but very quiet and rather aloof. It's Jennifer that keeps us going back to him.

Counting Blessings

The week has flown by. Ron is already home from Colorado.

We'll have 12 or 13 here for Thanksgiving dinner next week.

Baby Gina is doing well. Josh said she is waking at night to be fed, and eating well. I didn't see her today.

My blood sugar is doing something weird. It's usually high, but lately has been low (for me). Makes me feel a little dizzy. I've stopped the insulin and the Janumet, and it's still low. It would be amazing if I don't have diabetes any longer.

It got down to 34 degrees here last night, but warmed up nicely today. It won't be that cold tonight (or anytime over the next week).

I'm still bald, but the fuzz on my head seems to be getting a little fuzzier, and my eyebrows and lashes seem to be coming back a bit.

Kelly is coming over this weekend to help me "clean and decorate the house for Thanksgiving." She is a sweetheart.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday Chitchat

Busy week.

Tuesday I dropped Ron off at the airport, then I was at the hospital for about an hour with Gina. I took her car seat in for the car seat test they do before releasing the babies from the NICU. Gina slept while I was there, but I loved just being there with her and watching her sleep--the lull before the storm. :o)

I stayed with the kids Tuesday evening while Josh and Cyrise went up to see her. Then I was there again yesterday morning while they went to bring her home. Kelly came over, so we were all there waiting when they got back.

After holding the baby for awhile, Kelly and I left to go have a late lunch at Olive Garden, then we went to Gran's. Teddy was so excited to see Kelly. He and Gran were out for a walk when we drove up, and when he realized it was Kelly he nearly pulled Gran off her feet trying to get to her.

Reece spent the night last night. We did a little shopping at WalMart. I got him a new jacket and a Toy Story game. It took him a long time to decide what kind of toy he wanted. :o) We picked up a few groceries and a frozen pizza for dinner, came home and spent the rest of the evening playing and having fun.

We stopped at Academy and got him some new sneakers before we went to Gran's today. I was helping him put his old ones on, and they were just too tight. He didn't really want to shop for shoes at Academy. He wanted to know where the toys were! :o)

When I took Reece home, I stayed for a little while to hold baby Gina. The little girls are delighted with her, but went about their business while I was there without paying much attention to her. Reece is so used to having baby sisters around that he just rolls with the flow. It's amazing how a new baby is integrated into a family so easily.

Thank you all for your prayers for Gina, her mommy and the family!

Monday ChitChat

We've been busier than usual with grandkids, since Gina is still in the hospital, and Ron and I stay with the kids whenever Josh and Cyrise go to see her.

Gina is doing great, has gained back all her weight, wakes to eat every 3 to 4 hours, and is eating even more than they require. She nurses well, too. I'm praying she will be home in the next day or two.

The extra time in the hospital has given Cyrise a bit more time to prepare for Gina's homecoming. We've washed two large bags of little girl baby clothes. It seems like a lot, but not when you remember that little babies often have to be changed several times a day. We still need to get the car seat cleaned and the cover washed. We got her a little support cushion that fits into the seat.

She will sleep in a bassinet for awhile. The kids are still trying to work out sleeping arrangements in their two bedroom house. They have a twin bed and crib in the kid's bedroom, but now they need a trundle or bunk bed.

Do you remember the mandolin that Ron got me for Christmas last year? It was a kit he ordered from a company he sometime uses for his woodworking tools. It was put aside and out of mind after my cancer diagnosis, but Ron recently got it out and started working on it again.

It didn't take him very long at all to get it finished (he still wants to put some coats of wax on it), and I'm so happy with it! It will take me some time to learn to play it, but I can tune it and have learned a few chords. I still need a strap and some picks. It's easy for me to pick out melodies on it, but learning to play chords is new to me. I also have a bit of arthritis in my fingers, so I don't know how much that is going to slow me down. So far it hasn't bothered me much.

Thursday With The Grands

We've had the kids every afternoon this week while Josh and Cyrise go to the hospital to be with Gina. Yesterday we took them outside to play.

Camryn and Aubrey in the grass. I had to make them sit down in order to have time to snap a picture before they started moving around again.





Here they are sitting in a chair together. I love how Aubs has her arm around Cammy.

Reece wanted to go up on the second story deck, so Papa took him up there. Here he is, looking down at his little sisters in the grass. :o)



I'm glad Papa had a couple of days off for the Veteran's Day holiday.

Aubrey had a throw-herself-down-on-the-floor-screaming-and-crying fit when we brought them inside. She loves playing outside.


Ron and I went to see Gina last night. She was wide awake and alert when we got there, and hungry! The nurse gave her a bottle of breast milk and she downed all 25 cc's in record time, with a little stop to burp. She is having absolutely no trouble drinking, and I hope she will be able to come home in a day or two.

Papa held her for awhile, then I held her. Once again she had the hiccups after eating. Although she was awake for over an hour, she hardly cried at all, but just looked around and made cute faces.

Gina Meets Gramma and Papa

Ron and I saw Gina last night in the NICU. She is doing well.

I asked her nurse if he thought she would be able to come home this weekend, and he said that it would depend on how well she is eating.

They are giving her three feedings a day through her feeding tube, and then she gets a bottle several times a day.

I held her while he was giving her a tube feeding, and he had me give her a pacifier to suck on while her little tummy got full. He said they want her to associate the sucking with her full tummy.

After her feeding she got the hiccups. She was awake when we got there, and stayed awake the whole time we were there until I finally gave her to Ron. After only a couple of minutes in his arms, Gina totally relaxed, stopped hiccuping and fell asleep. He's got the magic touch. :o)

I got to change her diaper and dress her in a little onesie while we were there. She is so very tiny, but perfectly formed. I loved looking at her little fingers and her ears. She has lots of dark hair. She looks like all of our babies; they all resemble one another as newborns.

I can hardly wait to hold this little one in my arms again!

Update on Gina

Baby Gina was doing so well, but this morning they put her on a feeding tube. The nurse told Cyrise that she "just wasn't eating well." :o( So she will be in the NICU at least until this weekend, instead of coming home tomorrow as we had hoped.

Cyrise spent the night in Labor and Delivery because of her blood pressure. They put her on medication for that, and she's doing better. I think that being at home and getting some rest will help. She was unable to sleep at the hospital, even with meds. The kids were happy to see her today.

Prayers for Gina, Cyrise and the family will be much appreciated. Thanks!

PS: They decided on a middle name. She is Gina Sharon. :o)