Annie’s Birth

Annie’s Birth June 14, 2012

Dear friends,

First, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kind words and fervent prayers throughout the past months, and especially over the past couple of days. As we have said to many people, Tuesday was a beautiful day for our family, and now we have begun the hard work of healing.

Anastasia Rose was born at 2:13 pm on June 12th, and weighed in at 3 lbs, 12 oz, measuring 16 inches long. She lived for a couple of minutes, just long enough for Ed to baptize her and for us to spend some precious moments feeling the warmth of her breath and the beating of her heart. She was a beautiful little girl, with the same nose as her brother and sisters, a dimple in her chin like her brother and daddy, dark wisps of hair, long fingers, and dainty little feet. We cherished every moment with her, and were so proud to introduce her to all of her visitors.

Saying good-bye the next morning was truly heartbreaking, although we were blessed to be able to hand Annie to our wonderful palliative team coordinator, Kristie, who has walked with us through this process. She cried with us, and we knew that when we were placing Annie from our arms into Kristie’s that she was in good hands. Our last moments holding Annie were unforgettable, and as I know all of you can imagine, we would do anything just to feel the weight of her in our arms again.

This picture makes me smile - Maria is checking out the medical equipment, Christopher is playing on someone's I-Phone, and Caroline just wants to love on Annie - a microcosm of their personalities

There is so much to say, but for now, I am going to let the pictures tell the story. We miss Annie so much, and are doing our best to grieve well and to help our children do the same, each in his or her own way. Praise God that we are all sleeping well, and that we have plenty of time to muddle through this journey together as a family. We are so blessed, and will be forever grateful for the chance to meet Annie Rose and share her life with the world.

Mother Mary, Mystical Rose, pray for us! Lucy Rose and Annie Rose, pray for us!


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