The Birthday Post!!

Therese Marie Dawson is 1 year old!


Cast and all, we celebrated at our house. At her 1 year check up, she is 75th in height and 50th in weight. Our lively, hysterical, curious, snuggle-bug ate her cupcake like she was at afternoon tea. No mess, no fuss, just polite snacking (not very Dawson-like).

She sleeps all night (I mention this because John Paul wasn't even close on his 1st birthday), naps well, eats anything... unless she doesn't want to, in which case, she looks you dead in the eye and throws it on the floor. Her favorite things to do are to read books (or just the first two pages), suck on my fingers/daddy's fingers/anyone's fingers, flirt with men, mess with John Paul (she's a professional), and put whatever is in her hands into her mouth. She can say the following words (ish): Mama, Daddy, John Paul, wuf wuf, meow, balloon, ball, flower, baby, read.

She is a treasured, sacred gift, and we have cherished her first year of life. Praise God!


Eating her cake like an English lady


Posing with her godparents - Pete and Julia Dawson


The birthday girl!!

Today...

The church celebrates when Mary said, "yes" and God became a man.



I was discussing this with our friend Father Nathan one day. I said something like, "God is so all powerful that He could have done it a different way. He didn't HAVE to bring God to earth through a woman." Father Nathan's response was something like, "But THIS is what He chose to do. Who are we to think that there could/should have been a different or a better way." I understand that THIS is why the Catholic church boasts of her HONORING Mary and her "yes" to God. Not just because God could have done it another way and this is a nice gesture on the part of a nice lady, but that GOD DID CHOOSE to bring God to earth in the way. His plans far out weigh ours, do they not?

And the added bonus of today is that even though it is lent, it falls on a Friday and is a solemnity, so even in the middle of Lent, we get to celebrate! And celebrate I will... with a nap!

Sick Days...

I returned from a fantastic weekend of serving on an ACTS retreat team and did not come home alone.

I stayed up way to late most nights playing with friends... friends who were quite sick.

I came home with all symptoms of the flu except the fever (so grateful for that little detail). David continued his super dad/husband duties and took care of all of us while allowing me to take my two and three naps a day!

Yesterday as David prepared to take Therese in for her 1 year check up (I should add here that we had not been seeing our regular pediatrician for her broken leg, so this was going to be his first encounter with the cast). David entered the living room and found John Paul curled up in a ball asleep on the couch (at 10:30am) with a fever. All four of us pile into the car (2 of the 4 of us with something like the flu) and went to the doc.

Today I only needed one nap, and I feel a little better, John Paul is in good spirits but with quite a fever despite motrin. We are praying that God heal John Paul and spare Therese and David.

On a deeper note, this has been quite a penance for Lent, and David and I have discussed that we much prefer the penances He gives us than the ones we make up ourselves. This we are to simply pray for the grace to respond... uh... graciously and offer up our sufferings until He is ready to take it away. May His will be done.

Give me a second...

1) I have not yet posted a lick about our precious treasure Therese turning 1, but that is all coming. I was on staff for a retreat all weekend... a little fatigued (which means I will be weepy for some time- bare with me, family).

2) As most of you know, David and I met, courted-ish, became engaged, and returned with John Paul to work at Camp Kahdalea/Chosatonga in North Carolina... here is the latest promotional video. Enjoy!

It was just a limp...

Last Monday we were all playing outside... she fell and seemed to take a while to recover. Later that night we were with a friend who is a pediatrician (thanks Adrienne) and she checked her out and gave a recommendation for an X-ray if it wasn't better. Hip X-ray Tuesday morning - nothing.

Therese continued to limp but still desired to walk with our help (like always). Yesterday (Ash Wednesday... who appropriate) David suggested that we take her back because she was not improving (she was walking with her little left foot turned way out). X-ray of the left leg and foot - fractured tibia!!

Crazy, huh? Who knew her little bone was broken clean through all that time!??!

So... one month starts now.



She can crawl, but we are not to let her pull up, cruise or put weight on it... good luck - she is 4 days away from her first birthday. Pray for a swift recovery. She looks great, and treats her cast like a toy. She's such a trooper.