Teresa Marie Day

Two years ago today, we lost our little Teresa Marie.  My heart is sorrowful, thinking of her, but we are celebrating her life today. 

About a year and a half ago, I posted about a book, called After Miscarriage: A Catholic Woman's Companion to Healing and Hope,by Karen Edmisten.  At the time, I had not yet read it, as it had not been officially released.  I just knew it would be good, and I am long overdue talking about it after reading it.  It contains much helpful talk about the different aspects of miscarriages, all from a Catholic perspective.  A lot of the book contains memories and reflections based on the author's personal experience with multiple miscarriages, as well as many beautiful quotes and poems.  There are resources, both for women going through a miscarriage and those who want to know what to do to help a woman in that situation.  Then there are writings from many other women scattered throughout the book.  One of which is yours truly!  A portion of a blog post I wrote a few years ago is on p. 61.  I had forgotten that Mrs. Edmisten had asked my permission to use any of my writings in her book, so I was pleasantly surprised.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to give a woman something after she has a miscarriage, or who wants to learn about what to say or not say, do or not do.  Or if you yourself have suffered a miscarriage, this book will help you to know that you are not alone.

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.