Subject: Happy New Year

Hello to you all,
I hope the holidays were both happy and memorable for all of you.
We had a very special holiday this year.  As I told you before Christmas, we had a neighbor surprising us each night with a gift and story following along with the Twelve Days of Christmas. We didn't know who was surprising us each night till the twelfth day. I had to grab the kids each evening as the door bell rang so they wouldn't catch them too soon.  We also were so very touched and are still enjoying our beautiful Angel Christmas Tree.  I recently found out that the Angel Tree was put together by some teachers and mothers from the school the children go to. Those ornaments will always have a very special meaning for all of us as the years go by.

On Christmas Eve Day I has just hung the lights on our tree, the kids were hanging ornaments and I was still trying to wrap last minute gifts for my sisters and parents.  I was running out of time and Stephen was ill upstairs.  I was feeling bad that I hadn't even thought of what we might be doing for dinner when the doorbell rang. A neighbor who was having a dinner party, made an extra dish for us
and brought a warm bread and vegetable-cheese dish.  I laughed and
said, "I was just feeling bad about not having dinner."  It is so amazing, I have so many stories like this.  They are as simple as a
phone call when I'm having a real bad day, or a hug just when I need
one, or someone watching Natalia as I walk Jacob up to school.
Sometimes it blows me away at how perfect the timing is and I can
only thank God for all of the support in so many ways.

On New Year's Eve I had two cousins come over and stay the night
with Jacqueline and Nicolas.  At about 10pm I gathered the kids in
and told them we were going to say the Rosary to end the year and
pray for the Pope, the unborn babies, our Teachers, Priests, and families who have been so supportive.  My nephew was not at all
happy with this idea.   I assured him it would only be a half hour or so and it would be fun if we did the Scripture Rosary because then it was the Nativity story.  My nephew was on the verge of tears and I was beginning to think maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all. Well,  half way into the Rosary two of the kids wanted to cut out the scripture part and just get through the Hail Mary's. That was fine with me and when we finished, to my surprise, two of the kids took off and it was my 10 year old nephew and Jacqueline that wanted to stay and finish the scripture readings so they had the complete story.  I was so glad we ended the year with a prayer.

Natalia had another painful infection over the holidays but it has cleared up now and she has had a terrific week.  This last week she
has begun to hold her head up more, smile more and even giggle a bit as we play.  She is even pushing up on her legs from time to time. This month we are going to see the cleft palate Doctor and she will have a hearing test at the end of the month.  She has been very
sweet this last Tuesday, Wednesday and today.  I am sure now that
her normal demeanor is not the constant crying that we endured in
her first few months.  I am so glad!!!!!

We are still praying for her hearing, eyes, heart, kidney and just the whole Trisomy 13 abnormalities thing!  She also still has a pain of some sort when she is in the car seat or infant seat.  I am so praying that the Doctors will be able to find some reason for her discomfort when she is in that position.  She  is 10 1/2 lbs. and gaining. Hooray!

Thank you all again for your continued prayers as she is still here, blessing our lives everyday. I have been thinking a lot about that
survivor party I mentioned in the last letter.  I have a few ideas on how we can make a fun old fashioned potluck picnic with all of you who have helped us with your prayers.  As spring passes I will get more creative with some fun ideas for that day. I checked my calendar and her 1st birthday is on a Saturday, August 25th. (Don't
forget to mark it.)  As for now, I'm still getting the Christmas decorations down and trying to plan two January Birthday parties,
Jacqueline (11) and Jacob's (5).

God Bless You All, Thank you for your continued support and prayers.

Love, ThereseAnn
--------------------

Subject: 12 days of Christmas-Can't remember if I sent this to you.

My cousin sent me this, thought you might like to see where The
Twelve Days of Christmas song started.

Have a great weekend.  Love, ThereseAnn

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What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially that partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas? Today I found out!
 
 From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not allowed to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning; the surface meaning, plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality, which the children could remember.
 
The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
 
Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
 
Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
 
The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
 
The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of
the Old Testament.
 
The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
 
Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy
Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution,
Leadership, and Mercy.
 
The eight maids a milking were the eight beatitudes.
 
Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy,
Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness,
Self-control.
 
The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
 
Eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
 
Twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.
 
So there is your history lesson for today. I found this interesting and
creative, and now I know how this "very strange" song became a Beautiful
Christmas Carol.