Almost Time

As June arrived, our hearts grew heavy. The people at Tom's work have been supportive, and they have temporarily diverted some of his workload and kept the schedule light expecting him to be out of the office. Yet as we have those empty weekends, there's a nervous energy around the house, knowing what's to come. We've had friends and family checking in, and a few people have brought meals this week as well. Normally sleeping becomes a challenge at the end of a pregnancy (and right after), but this is a new experience.

Throughout the day, Jessica has continually had visits from friends during the days when Tom's at work. On one occasion, Kellyn, who led the church group we participated in last year at St. Paul's (the church closer to our house), visited to chat, and follow up with a prayer request among the group. And Kellyn even brought some flowers to brighten our home.

In the week leading up to Andrew's Birthday, Jessica started having some early labor signs. For the sake of Andrew, whose birthday is (and will be) June 8th, we hoped that God planned to give Caroline a different day. It's a true leap of faith to leave things completely in God's hands, as he could have chosen to give us a sad memory that we would carry every year while trying to celebrate Andrew. Yet maybe God knows what we really need - that we need something to share the date so we don't let it overwhelm us each year.

Thanks to some family, we had a few things ready to go for Saturday, and we were able to have a quick and quiet dinner, with some cake, complete with paper plates and napkins with his favorite cartoon character (Super Why! of the PBS Show). We think the kid just loved having some attention, and this year, we were blessed that we got to share it with him.

While we normally feel at home at church on Sundays, this one was exceptionally tough. As the parish grieves the death of a longtime parishioner, we held our own tears back thinking that this might be Caroline's last mass in St. Mike's. Without us knowing about it, our family's picture was given a special place in the main church, on the Altar dedicated to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. As a family of 6, we stopped for a moment in prayer, before embarking on this week. Even though Caroline receives a piece of Jesus each time Jessica receives communion, we have some hope though that there will be a chance for at least one more time - even if its in the hospital - before Caroline goes to be with Him in heaven.