The Worst "End of 2009" Post You've Ever Read

(This is where I'm supposed to write something witty about what 2009 meant to me, and about how it changed me and what I'll remember most.)

(And here is where I'm supposed to write about my hopes and dreams for 2010, my potential resolutions and desires for the year).

(And here is where I tell you that I have a terrible cold and have been laying on the couch all day. I plan to stay here most of the night unless I can convince Aaron to take me out for Mexican food. I mean, if anything is going to clear these sinuses, it's jalepenos.)

Happy New Year. Be well.

I'll Be Home for Christmas

When we were little, my parents used to tell us that they convinced Santa to bring our presents early because we had to go to grandma's in the morning. When I was old enough to drive, I would take my brother and sister to the town nearby on Christmas Eve to purchase carrots* for Rudolph and his friends, and every.single.year. when we arrived home, Santa had already been to our house! On Christmas Eve! We always missed him!

Santa must have known we were going to be busy this year, because he already stopped by. And rumor has it, he told my mom I've been a very good girl this year.



My mom's Christmas tree is full of old ornaments and love. Yes, a Christmas tree can hold love. Love and memories and family.

"Christmas - that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia. Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance - a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved." ~Augusta E. Rundel

For the year we put behind us, I am thankful. I've been happy, and I've been sad. I've been overwhelmed with love and kindness and the friendship of strangers. I've learned things about myself that I'm glad I know, and I've learned things about myself that require a bit of work in the coming year(s). We've loved and we've lost, but we've gained! We've gained Faith and Hope and Love and Trust!

For, we've always had Joy. The Joy that so many only reflect on at this time of year, when it is safe to proclaim that Jesus came to save the world! But I hope that we, that I, will never need a holiday or a season to proclaim that My Joy comes from knowing My Jesus.

Merry Christmas, friends.

xoxo,

Natalie (& Aaron)

{My mom did not buy a defective ornament, there really is an "h" there.}


*{Mom, did you use those carrots, or were they just a prop?}

Pink Thursday for Cora

The Internet has provided a place for us to come, as sisters and brothers and mothers and fathers and friends, to support each other. We shout with jubilation when there is success or happiness! And we cry with each other when there is sadness from miscarriage, divorce, and loss of loved ones. We pray for each other when children are sick and husbands are traveling and mothers are overwhelmed.

Community, please meet Kristine and Sweet Cora. Cora was born on Monday, November 29, 2009 in Fort Wayne, IN and passed away on December 6, 2009. The story of her life and death from her mother's words:

Cora died instantly on my chest while breastfeeding. One hundred percent healthy pregnancy, labor, and delivery. She scored 9s on both Apgar test. We jumped in the car and drove 70 through Decatur to the hospital as soon as I looked down and saw her bloodied face covering my breast. Getting her there within moments of her stopping breathing. She had a heart condition impossible to detect in utero or at birth without special testing.

Cora was meant to teach us something I'm sure of it. She changed my life. Ben and I quit smoking, struggled to prepare financially, took parenting classes, and after she was born watched her in shifts. She was never alone even when sleeping. We were all meant to learn something from her.

Compassion, patience, love.

The service to remember Cora is being held Thursday, December 10, 2009. Cora's family has asked that we join them in wearing PINK to honor Cora's life.

Please link up your posts complete with pictures of you and/or your family wearing Pink. It will mean so much to the family. (Please link directly to your post, not to the main page of your blog. If you need help with this, please email me at nataliejcline at yahoo dot com or leave a message here).

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Christmas is missing something this year. A big round belly, presents to open for "the baby" - it's just not going to be what I thought it was. But it's not going to be terrible, because we have each other, and we have a family that loves and cares for us and hopes the best for us.

And we have our Angel.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. My parents house is warm and always smells like cookies and Christmas and the smell of love. I wish I could bottle it up and keep it all year.

And on Christmas morning, our whole family gathers together in Grandma's little house and we all have to sit on top of each other and try not to dump our plates on each other and on the floor, because the house is so small when it's filled with all that love.

The tree is up and most of the presents are wrapped. The Jessica Simpson Christmas CD is in the CD player in the car, and soon, we will bake cookies.

Christmas is not a day, it is a season. A season that reminds me of Peace, Hope, and Love.

I pray that for you too.