Introducing.....

Anastasia Therese!

     I want to thank you all SO much for your prayers for this little girl!  Believe it or not, she was born naturally at 3:15 am Easter Sunday morning, exactly 9 hours and 10 minutes after my prayer request! 

 And unsurprisingly, she is such a sweetheart!

 So again, thank you all for your prayers, I am so appreciative of them!

      Life has been pretty crazy around here lately, but I fully intend to get in at least one post about New York while I'm here.  One.  I have so many ideas floating around in my head right now I just need to find a few minutes to write them down!  Please, bear with me, I think you'll like them :)

Talk soon!

 Always,

 ~Emma

Because by Your Holy Cross, You have Redeemed the World

Just a little reflection I wrote last night...

 

     "Today, my dear Lord, is Good Friday.  It was today so many hundreds of years ago that You died on the Cross for the sins of the world, for my sins.  How awesome is it that as You hung there in the acutest of agonies You thought of each one of us, You even thought of me.  With what have I repaid You for this in my meager little life?  With what can I ever hope to repay You?  I have nothing to offer that You have not already given me, nothing to lighten this great debt I owe!  And so I offer the one thing in my power to give You, I offer You myself and all my imperfections.  Take them and refine these imperfections and turn them into deep sentiments of Faith, Hope, and Love.  I offer these gifts to You and place them at the foot of Your Holy Cross to remain there always.  Accept them, my Jesus, and remember me when You come into Your Kingdom!" 

     I have two prayer requests to ask of you all before I go, the first is for my great-uncle, who passed away early this morning from cancer.  He had been away from the Church and Sacraments for much of his adult life, please pray for the repose of his soul.

     And the second is for my sister who is several days overdue expecting my first niece.  It was revealed on an ultrasound this past week that the baby has shifted to a breech position (head up feet down) and unless she shifts into the correct position within the next few days, she may need to be delivered via C-section, emergency C-section if she hasn't shifted prior to the onset of labor.  Please pray for a safe delivery of both mama and baby!  St. Gerard, pray for us!

     Thank you all in advance for your prayers, you have no idea how much we appreciate them!

Always,

~Emma

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Well.... not exactly.  It's more like:

 

On a train though, not a jet plane ;)  I'm going to visit my sister!!!! And wonderful brother-in-law, too, of course!!!!  (I couldn't forget you, Big Brother ;) )  I've been looking forward to this trip for months now but I still can't believe that I'll actually be in the throws of it in just a few days!  Crazy how time flies, huh?

Anyway, so now I'm to the point in travel preparations where seats are booked, arrangements made, and everything appears pretty well set!  Well, with the exception of that one, tiny little detail, so minor it almost isn't worth mentioning.  Which detail? 

 Packing. Joy.

 Granted, I usually don't have an issue with this.  I am usually a pretty light packer, but I don't know exactly how long I will be staying with my dear family this trip, possibly a month or there abouts, so I kinda feel like this:

Ugh.

Okay, so maybe not quite like that, but still!  

I have this continual back and forth going on in my head that looks something like this:

    "Well, it's supposed to be pretty cold in New York still, I should probably bring some layers so I'm nice and toasty."  

"Oh, but it's Spring now! I might get too warm in long sleeves, better pack a couple t-shirts, just to be safe."  

"Good idea!  Better not forget that ballgown, though, I need something to wear if the Queen invites me to tea!"

Sound accurate?

 

 Regardless of all these little worries and stresses involved in traveling though, they aren't the important things.  Nope.  The destination is well worth the journey, and the journey is just the beginning of the adventure!

I just hope I can convince my animals of that...

Always,

~Emma