I will pray for a grandchild for you, too. They're great!! Mine is 2 and of course, smart and adorable!!

"Mine is 2 and of course, smart and adorable!!"...

I am sure gorgeous fits in there as well Bluebird!! You are so fortunate!!!...Sorry to hear that your daughter is sick now too...I bet she is thanking God that she has her Mommy right there with her to give comfort...thanks for your prayers...you are so sweet to me...

Well yeah, he's gorgeous!! Blonde hair, big blue eyes. Doesn't look like me!!
My SIL is taking care of her right now. She did the same for him when he had it 2 nights before Christmas.
I'm guessing you are Catholic, since you mentioned the novena. What's the name of your church?

oh my Gosh...He sounds like an angel!!! Yes...I'm a Catholic...we belong to the Parish of Sts. Peter and Paul in West Chester PA and also are registered members of another parish in New Jersey where we spend alot of time called Maris Stella...in fact...my third child was 12 weeks premature and very sick for awhile after her birth...we were going to name her Catherine but with her rocky start my husband suggested that we name her Marisa after our church down the shore...because our kids were always so healthy and happy at the beach and we thought perhaps this would give her little fragile body a boost...almost as soon as the hopital priest baptized her Marisa she began to gain weight quickly and they removed the feeding tube and she went on to be a healthy, happy little girl...my devotion to our Blessed Mother and to her Mother, St.Anne has been a lifelong way for me...

That's a beautiful story!! My son that had surgery, was also baptized at the hospital. No one thought he'd make it.
I consecrated myself to Mary almost 10 years ago but had been neglecting that. We had a missionary at our church about 3 weeks ago and I have renewed my devotion to her. I am reading Hail, Holy Queen by St. Alphonse Ligouri. I made my first communion on the 50th. anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima. It's so fascinating to study her in relation to the Old Testament. There's a lot there.

BTW - I like the name of your church. My 6 yr old's middle name is Peter and my 8 yr old's middle name is Paul!
Ours is Immaculate Heart of Mary. We have an awesome priest!! I feel so blessed.

There are no young children in our family. Our youngest is 27 and when we have a family celebration there are a total of only 9. I really found myself reminicing this holiday; it was difficult getting in the spirit. My own thought was to not decorate, but after Thanksgiving my sweet husband came in dragging the tree behind him. He not only did that, but started to do his own decorating. At that point, I felt the need to assist. I thank God every day for the wonderful man He brought into my life. LL

Bluebird...I love that 2 of your sons share the name of my Parish..I am going to light a candle for each of them this Sunday...You are lucky to have an "awesome Priest"...our present priest...well...not so awesome...but he is up in years and so we have hope... ...continue to honor Mary our Mother...what a role model she is and such a comfort to us all......

LL...how wonderful for you that you can realize how lucky you are to be married to a "sweet husband"...keep Thanking God for that gift!!!

LuckyLady..I also had a difficult time getting into the Christmas spirit this year.
I made no attempt to put up the tree. My daughter called one day to ask if the tree was up, if not she wanted to open gifts at her house. Days following our conversation, my eldest son 29, unpacks the Christmas boxes and decorates the tree (He has never ever done that before).
God pulled on my heart right then...and filled me with the Christmas spirit.