The week following Thanksgiving became a difficult one.  My wife Carol suffered a miscarriage of our little one.  Our baby probably stopped developing at about five or six weeks along.  The doctor did not see the baby during the ultrasound.  While this was difficult physically for Carol and emotionally for both of us we are very happy to know that our little one is in heaven.  The brief life of our little one still brought us much excitement and happiness.  We found out that miscarriage is very common with a first pregnancy.  We hope and pray that our next pregnancy will be carried to term. 

Mike

Hi everyone,

It has been a while since I have written a personal blog.  I have been busy keeping everyone updated about events in the Catholic church, in the news, and such.  Now it is time to let everyone know that my wife Carol and I are expecting our very own first child.  2009 has been such a wonderful year.  Carol and I were married on August 1st, 2009.  We have been blessed by God to find each other.  Carol and I are now expecting our first child.  Our "little one" is now about 8 weeks along in the womb.  We are reading along each week in a book which tells us what to expect both for Carol as the mother and for our pre-born child.  It is amazing to read all of the things that are happening with our child each week.  In that last couple of weeks the heart has started to beat and the brain in developing at over 100 cells per minute.  Our baby is now about the size of a green olive.  I has been fun to read how the baby started out so very tiny and then grew to the size of a blueberry, then a raspberry, and now is the size of a green olive at 8 weeks.  Being it is still the first trimester my wife has gone through changes in appetite and then recently a change in sensitivity to smells.  My wife does get very tired as fatigue is very normal during this time period.  Her body is going through changes in hormones as the body adjusts to the new life contained within her.  Yesterday we were decorating the house for Christmas along with the help of my brother Jeff.  It was really nice to put out our Advent wreath, place some Nativity scenes, and hang up some Christmas lights.  We are preparing to celebrate Christmas as a married couple for the very first time.  I remember back to all the Christmastimes that I spent & shared with my family growing up and I wonder what it will be like for our "little one" when he or she is old enough to enjoy Christmas with us.   We told Carol's family and also my family this past week at Thanksgiving the exciting news that we are expecting a child.  It will be my mom's first grandchild and her parent's first great-grandchild.  We pray that our baby is developing normally and that all is going well with the pregnancy.  Carol and I have been enjoying our marriage very much and we are very thankful for the blessings God has given us this year.  I believe that we are blessed because we have kept our faith in God and His church as the primary focus in our lives.  In living out our faith it helps us to love and serve each other which leads to great happiness.  As selfishness leads to unhappiness in a relationship, sacrifice and self-giving leads to great happiness.  Anyway as our "little one" continues to grow and develop I will try to post more blogs about our "little one".  In the meanwhile you can click below for music video of "Precious Unborn Child" by Margo B. Smith.  I like how she refers to "my little one" during the song.  God bless you all during this time of Thanksgiving and as we enter Advent awaiting the arrival of Jesus as a "little one" at Christmas. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGyNfWxEvgY

Mike

Interview with Robb and Robin Worthlin, the Massachusetts parents who courageously decided to fight the system after teachers began teaching second graders about gay marriage in public schools.