A Busy Day!

One day last week, we had quite the busy day.  I had four errands to run, all in the same area of town.  This all took place after we did our morning schoolwork.

1) I went to get some blood work done to follow hcg levels after the miscarriage.  When the lab called my name to come in, all the kids trooped in with me.  The two ladies in there didn't bat an eye and didn't seem annoyed or anything!  If you are ever nervous about getting blood drawn, here's what you should do:  have a bunch of kids with you and make sure one of them is a squirmy toddler whom you have to hold on your lap and keep contained with one arm while they poke your other arm.  I barely even registered that the needle was going in my arm! 

2) I dropped off some 2 pocket folders at Kansans for Life.  They collect them to make information packets, which they hand out to all sorts of groups.  When there are good sales on folders, I always pick up a few extra, and then save them for KFL.  This was my first time dropping them off, though, so I had a lot of them.  I did not want to have to unbuckle Anthony when we got there, so I called them and one of the staff came out and got the folders. 

3) We dropped off some electronics at A Better Choice, the crisis pregnancy center for whom I look at sonograms.  There we did go inside, because I wanted the kids to see their really neat fetal models, The Touch of Life 1st Trimester Set.  After we lost Teresa Marie (this happened when Mary Joseph died, as well), the girls begged to see her.  Well, when the baby dies and then is miscarried weeks later, you can't really distinguish much.  So letting the girls see was out of the question.  It bothered me a little, though, until they got to see the Touch of Life models.  They are detailed, with a life-like feel, and accurate in size.  They have 7, 8, 9, and 10 week babies in a velvet-lined display box.  The kids all got to hold the babies who were Teresa Marie's and Mary Joseph's sizes.  They were enthralled, to say the least.  Anthony kept saying, "Baby!"   I think it really helped the girls, too, and they have quit asking why they couldn't see the baby.  I'm telling you this because the ladies at ABC are so very nice and they would be more than happy to show these or any of their materials to your children. 

4)I took all the kids to the doctor.  Yup, I saved "the best" for last. Three of the kids (Dominic, Anne, and Anthony) got checkups, which I've now decided is the maximum I want to schedule for one trip.  All five of the kids got flu vaccines, luckily 3 of them could get the squirt in the nose, but still 3 of the kids had to get shots.  Unfortunately, Anthony was one of them, and he had to get 5 shots!  He did okay for about the first 15 minutes in the exam room, then he was just mad the rest of the time, because he wanted out of that room!  Everyone checked out fine, except it was something to see all of Anthony's scrapes and scratches, bumps and bruises all at once in the bright light of that room.  He is quite the little boy. 

Dominic got two shots and didn't make a peep, but poor Anne was crying and resisting, and I had to pick her up and put her on the table.  Then she settled down so she could get her one shot in her arm instead of her leg.  (I'm not sure why that is better, but I'll take it!)  Then it was Anthony's turn.  The nurse went out to get another nurse to help, and he just got even more mad waiting in the room.  Then the nurses came in, and in that split second, when I looked away, Anthony head-butted me so hard in my face that it left a mark on his forehead, and I had a spot on my face that was sore for a couple of days.  He was getting in his payback before he got his shots! 

I'm sure the doctor's office was rather glad to see us leave.  We made quite the commotion. 

5) Then we were all very happy to go back home! 

18 Months Old!

Between our miscarriage and the internet outage, I have not been posting a whole lot lately.  I neglected to post something when Anthony turned 18 months old, which happened 10 days ago.  So here is a funny video of him, only 14 seconds long, to make up for it:

Happy Birthday, Dan!

Dan with the kids in the garden.

Today is also the feast of St. Padre Pio, who is the House of Brungardt patron saint.

St. Padre Pio, pray for us!

Lightning Strike!

Early Saturday morning, we were laying in bed, listening to a thunderstorm.  The kids were all still sleeping, until there was a flash of lightning...

CRACK!!!

It was the loudest crack of thunder I've ever heard.  The girls immediately came running from their bedroom and jumped into our bed.  The boys soon followed. 

After a bit, we all got up and we started looking outside to see what was hit.  Nothing seemed immediately apparent.  Eventually we discovered that our internet was not working.  Then I found that the phone was also out, even though the electricity was still on. 

After investigation, we found that our wireless router had gotten fried.  Luckily we did not have our laptop plugged in, so it was okay.  Looking at our surge protector under the kitchen desk, we saw that the top of the kitchen phone plug-in was popped off and the stuff inside had melted a bit.  However, the phones in our bedroom and basement both worked, so we at least still had phone service.

We got a new wireless router and it hooked up okay, but we still did not get any internet.  Living out here in the country, we get our internet through a radio antenna which is mounted on top of our house.  An internet tech support person finally came out here yesterday and checked everything.  The antenna was fine, but the surge protector mounted on the side of the house, through which the cable runs to get into the house, was fried.  He replaced that, and hooray, we have internet access again!  You don't realize how much you use it for all the little things, like checking the grocery ad and the library account and the bank account and so on, until you don't have it. 

But, if you call my home phone, you will not be able to leave a message right now, because our nice phone system with answering machine, and two additional cordless handsets, is out and we haven't replaced it yet. 

I am very thankful that no one got hurt, our house itself wasn't damaged, and nothing too expensive got fried.  And hey, on the bright side, I got a few extra things done without the internet around.  Like cleaning out a certain cabinet in our living room that contains some of the kids' toys and crafts, which was a total disaster.  I don't have all my energy back yet, so I couldn't take full advantage.  And wow, are there a lot of emails to catch up on!

A Vigil Kept

On September 11, 2001, I was on an airplane for the first leg of my journey to Washington D.C.  I had a layover in Atlanta, and as we neared, we began circling and circling endlessly.  We started to wonder what was going on, especially when the pilot came on and merely said there was a delay before we could land.  Then people started getting calls on their cell phones and around me I could hear snatches of one-sided conversations.  "The World Trade Center has been hit!?!"  "A plane crashed into the World Trade Center?!!"  And so on.  We finally landed and everyone got off the plane.  I collected my luggage and was lucky enough to get a voucher for a hotel room.  I took a shuttle to the hotel and got to my room and flipped on the TV.  There I kept vigil all day long, watching the coverage of those horrible, nation-changing events.

Fast forward 10 years and what was I doing on September 11, 2011?  Keeping vigil yet again, only this time for a very different reason.  I was watching and waiting for the birth of my little Teresa Marie, who had died in the womb.   All day long I waited and suffered, not able to leave the house, not able to go to Mass.  Through the night it continued and into the next day.

On Monday, September 12, 2011, the feast of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Teresa Marie Brungardt was born.  Though her soul was already in heaven, we will celebrate September 12 as her birthday. 

Teresa Marie, pray for us!

Celebrating And Mourning A New Little Saint

Yesterday we found out that our newest little baby has died in utero.  I was supposed to be 13 weeks along tomorrow.  The baby measured almost 10 week size.  I have had the feeling for weeks that the baby was a girl, so we have named her Teresa Marie.  Teresa for Blessed Mother Teresa, whose feast day was Monday, and Marie for Mary, Queen of Heaven, whose birthday is tomorrow. 

Mother Teresa is the one who said, "Saying there are too many children is like saying there are too many flowers."  She was a champion for the unborn and for the helpless ones among us, so it seemed very appropriate to use her name. 

When I think of our (now two) little ones in Heaven, I always envision them in the care of Mary, our Mother in Heaven.  Both of our lost babies now carry her name. 

Please pray for our family in this time of sorrow.