ACL and Meniscus Repair Surgery

WE have certainly had our fair share of hospital- arm -bands on around here in the past few weeks. So much so that when Eamon climbed into Daddy's bed yesterday and noticed his name band his eyes got wide and he exclaimed,"The doctor FIXED you!"

Michael is using this convenient machine to augment his recovery. He can't take Ibuprofin to keep swelling down, so the nurse suggested that he use Game Ready to consistently cool his knee for the next few weeks. CIGNA doesn't cover the cost of rental, but I believe it is well worth the $$.

O highly Favored Maid..........

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.

The Feast of Saint Nicholas

Tim came downstairs while Eamon was eating his still-warm bagel
(it's SAT day for Bridget and dearolddad went out to get bagels and put gas in her car)
and told Eamon it was time to check his shoes for chocolate coins. The Dunne eyebrows went ^^ and off they went to dump shoes! LAST year, once Eamon had dumped his own , he ran down the hall to raid the big kids' shoes while they were sleeping! That'll teach to rise and shine!

Ginny would really love just one lick. If I know Eamon, she'll get one before the festivities are over.

Mourning the loss of our Little One

We seem to give them back to Thee, 0 God,
who gavest them to us.
Yet as Thou didst not lose them in giving,
so we do not lose them by their return.
Not as the world giveth, givest Thou, 0 Lover of souls.
What Thou givest, Thou takest not away,
for what is thine is ours also if we are Thine.

And life is eternal and love is immortal,
and death is only an horizon,
and an horizon is nothing, save the limit of our sight.

Lift us up, strong Son of God, that we may see further;
cleanse our eyes that we may see more clearly;
draw us closer to thyself so that we may know ourselves to be
nearer to our loved ones who are with Thee.
And while Thou dost prepare a place for us,
prepare us also for that happy place,
that where Thou art we may be also for evermore. Bede Jarrett

The sonogram on Monday revealed that our baby has no heart beat( her twin never did ) and probably stopped growing around eight weeks gestation. In just thirteen weeks, the whole family has grown very attached to this wee one and we have become accustomed to including her in our plans for the future. As we mourn this loss, I am reminded that all things come from God - even these difficult losses. Even in our grief, I can see that the whole experience of anticipating this baby with excitement will reinforce the sanctity of life for my older children. For me, it renews my gratitude for my six thriving blessings and refreshes my memory that they are not really mine, but His.

We are looking into the "what's next" for this baby and a friend forwarded a terrific website that I think will be very helpful: http://www.innocents.com/shrine.asp. and this one http://www.elizabethministry.com/index.html.

Mourning our loss

In just thirteen weeks, this baby (her twin's heartbeat could never be found) has connected our family in ways that only a baby in utero can - excited expectation, choosing names, planning future events with a baby in mind.