Saturday, December 20, 2008
Now the preggo is all emotional...
I awoke early this morning. When I finally looked at the clock I figured it would be six-ish. 4:05 a.m. Oh, great. My mind wandered and fixated on the girl next door. She's 18, still in school, and she just gave birth on Thursday. The father was 15 (now 16) and the circumstances were such that adoption was rationally the best option. She was almost six months pregnant before anyone else knew. Her pregnancy went to the end before the decision was finally made, but she did decide for adoption.

I can't tell you how I've been affected by this. It's stuck with me since I found out she was pregnant, coincidentally, the same day I found out I was pregnant. Since she gave birth it's been constantly on my mind. We're acquaintances at best, although I'm closer to her mother, but not that close. Still, as I was lying there in bed and thinking about her, and all the other young (and older) women like her, I started forming words to her in my mind. And then the tears started, very slowly, but still enough emotional leakage to cause me puzzlement. Why is this affecting me so?

I got up and came downstairs, determined to put my words to her in a card. I found the perfect card in a box, all delicate and pale, with the words on the front, "Especially for you." The inside was blank and this is what I wrote...

"Dear ________,
I am writing to express my admiration for you and the choice you have made to provide infinite joy to a family that wanted a baby so much. As one who was believed to be infertile for years, and who wanted a child so badly, I believe you have provided the greatest gift one can ever give. God Bless you as your body heals and I pray He grants peace to your soul."

I have no idea how the letter will be received or what state of mind she must be in. But I can only hope that it will be consolation to her that someone admires her, first and foremost, for making the hard choice and giving something more precious than anything on Earth to a couple who wanted it more than anything.

Maybe now I can get some rest.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Preschool Christmas Party
Today was the big party at Emma's preschool. The kids have been making gifts, cards and decorations all month. They made Christmas cookies for the party and the parents sent along other healthier snacks to supplement the cookies. They were assigned names and brought along a $5.00 limit present for a gift exchange. I think my picky eater had about two things on her plate. M attended the party and took pictures and video for me.


Here is the cozy Christmas corner they kids made. M said the whole time they were there they would hear random "meows" from under the tree. He said the kids were a bit distracted by it and kept asking "Is there a real cat in here?"


Emma tends to be ungenerous about giving away perfectly good presents she'd rather keep. For this reason I didn't let her know what she was giving away until the ride to school. At the last minute I decided that better to warn her than have a scene at school. Of course she cried when I told her she was giving away a Polly Pockets. We had to stop in the kitchen in the church and wipe down her face with a wet paper towel. I promised her that someone else would be bringing her a present, but that didn't seem to be any consolation. In this picture she's sitting next to the girl she brought the Polly Pocket (unwillingly) for. They're opening up their presents from the teachers here.


So finally it's Emma's turn to open her present and she gets...a giant Fur Real Friends kitty. Either someone missed the memo about the $5.00 limit or perhaps they were regifting and glad to have someone to pass this along to. Regardless, Emma was one lucky girl.


As you can see, her gift generated some intense interest among her classmates.



You can watch the video of Emma's friend receiving her gift and of Emma opening hers here. (As soon as it's done processing!)

Trout video for Noni
Here you go. If you click through to the Youtube page you can bookmark it.

Thank goodness for preggo brain
It gives me an excuse. Otherwise I might be mortified that I left the house this morning wearing shoes that don't match. Granted, they're both brown suede clogs, but one is plain and dark and the other is lighter, with stitching and a black yoke. This is what I get for not turning on my bedroom light when I get dressed. The funny part is I'm wearing Christmas-y polka dotted socks and was admiring them after I put my shoes on. Yeah, I'm blaming preggo brain for sure.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Decorating her Christmas Tree
We finally got around to decorating Emma's Christmas tree in her room. On Friday she helped decorate my tree at work, on Saturday she helped Noni and Popi decorate their tree, on Sunday she helped us decorate our tree and on Monday she spent the day at Grandma's helping her decorate her tree. And here I thought we were slackers for waiting so late to decorate.


Tree-hugger.



Sunday, December 14, 2008
Just like the pioneers
SpongeBob by candlelight. When we came home from dinner at the Inn we found that our power was out. We were able to entertain Emma thanks to a charged battery in our DVD player travel pack.