Halloween and All Saints Day, 2021

Busy weekend . . . 

We almost entirely kept Thomas out of public buildings in order to reduce chances he'd pick up any kind of bug before going into surgery, but the weekend swirled around us.

John (14) made homemade bagels . . . 

On Saturday we had beautiful photos taken of our family . . . here is a sneak peek!

On Sunday, we took Thomas to the courtyard at church to get a blessing from our priest before his upcoming surgery. (No pics, but it was lovely.)

The Latin choir of which our girls are members sang at the Mass.

For three nights in a row, Chris was busy driving and chaperoning the oldest two kiddos to a semi-formal dance, a girls' party, and then a co-ed party . . . very wholesome, with focus on religion and on good, old-fashioned fun!

On Sunday night, I took the four youngest trick-or-treating. Eighty homes out of the 500 in our neighborhood participated in the Teal Pumpkin Project, which puts out non-food treats for kids who cannot partake of the candy for any reason. What a generous outpouring!

Knight in shining armor

A lion

Mickey Mouse

Martha Washington

I commingled all the children's candy haul and set up a system so that when they are allowed to have a piece (e.g., after a meal), they have to pray for the repose of a soul before they enjoy the treat.

Thomas was so pleased to have a couple of pieces of no-sugar candy today before he will have to go two to three days without any nutrition at all, and then resume tube feedings but be NPO (no food by mouth) for probably two more days.

Having witnessed Thomas in his hospital bed for two long months while he was entirely NPO, this is an upcoming suffering that weighs on my heart.

Today was All Saints Day . . . We finished our novena for Thomas . . . The children's godmommy arrived for a few days to help keep the house running as smoothly as possible . . . and John baked a cheesecake for this feast day!

Before bed, I bathed Thomas so he would be a shiny, clean boy when we hand him over to the doctors. I set my jaw, brushed away my tears, and used every technique I know to avoid being overcome by strong memories of when I bathed him last November 17, on the eve of his big surgery. At the time I didn't know how I would manage to be away from all my other children for the anticipated five whole days, my having never even spent one night away from the whole brood. 

Instead Thomas lived in that hospital for 132 days, more than two months passed before we could hold him again, and it was about three months before he experienced more than a cleansing with baby wipes.

Thank you for your prayers.