An Ode to An Ornament

For a sentimental, knick-knack loving person like me, ornaments are treasures.  They tell a multitude of stories.  Ornaments' greatest advantage, however, is that they come out once a year.  I don't have to find a place for them on my crowded shelf.  (can you tell we have been purging junk lately?  But I digress.

Last year, I wrote a post about how ornaments tell stories. This year, I wanted to share a few more ornaments.  But one ornament especially relates to the Advent Prayer Buddy effort that the IF bloggers have done every year.  In Christmas 2009, my then-Prayer Buddy, In All Things Good/DC Baby sent me this charming woven ornament from Africa:

Inside, she wrote a prayer (I think it is the Christmas novena?) asking God to grant me a child.  Not only was I thrilled to add the first ornament from the continent of Africa to our tree, the prayer touched me greatly.  You see, 2009 was not on my list of good years.  In fact, on New Year's Eve, I enthusiastically bid farewell to 2009.  The year held many crosses: a death in the family, ending of a job, numerous IF medications with no relief in sight, facing the prospect of losing weight for an adoption, the loss of our pastor... Let's just say hope was in short supply.  I looked at that ornament wondering if there was any hope left.

Turns out, 2010 became a year of hope. A nice amount of pounds melted away (I've since gained them back!).  Just as I neared my adoption goal weight, we found out a baby had miraculously shown up in my belly.  I had an incredible 4th grade class.  A new pastor came to our parish.

And to boot, my prayer buddy also became pregnant in 2010.  In fact, we had our babies within a couple weeks of each other.

Today, this little red basket ornament symbolizes that hope remains in the darkest of places.  Especially when I don't see it.  The ornament will forever have a place on our tree.  I think it will keep me grounded, lest I ever forget the Christmases past.  The ones where my heart ached.  Or (without sounding too dismal), the Christmases in the future that may seem darker: I particularly think of my friend J, whose father was diagnosed with terminal cancer mere weeks ago and will celebrate his last Christmas.

Christmas 2011 is a bright beacon in the Petals home: we gratefully celebrate KB's first year of life and welcome our families from both coasts to celebrate.  Two lovely ladies in the SHE group are celebrating magnificent Christmases as well: after 12 years, has become pregnant; the other sweet friend K will make merry with her 2 twin boys, born earlier this year (her first 3 babies are in heaven).

I keep looking at the ornament on the tree, knowing that with the help of God's grace, the love and support of my husband, family, and friends, I survived a dark year.  Should another dark year come again in the future, I hope that ornament reminds me to find HOPE, because it will always have a special place on our tree.



P.S.  My Advent prayer buddy from last year gave me an exquisite mug plus fragrant coffee beans from these monks.  Their coffee is sanctifyingly awesome!

Telling a Story With Ornaments

Still behind. Our Christmas tree, sans ornaments, is STILL up in our living room. Oh well, that’s how we roll! Anyway, this post has been floating in my head since the beginning of December!


Ornaments tell a story. For that reason, ornaments are one of my favorite gifts to receive from family and friends. I’m a sucker for mementos anyway (just ask my husband or mom). Ornaments make wonderful mementos, pulled out of boxes year after year, attached to some memory: a new house, a trip to Notr.e Da.me for a football game, etc.

I still have ornaments from my days as a high school youth minister, an elementary school student, or even a preschooler (don’t worry, I’ll spare you the latter). My husband still has the plush Tig.ger ornament I gave him the first Christmas we began dating. I also have many childhood ornaments, including a plush velvet stocking from one of my early Christmases. Since starting a family (which began on our wedding day, not the day we became pregnant), the ornaments have also told a story:

First Christmas together, 2006:

Last year (December 2009) I decided to make an ornament to remember my journey (at the time) towards adoption. I even chose the South Korean flag colors as the background. While painting the ornament with fellow blogger Molly, I thought about holding a sweet Korean baby in my arms the following Christmas.

That same year, the IF blogsphere began a prayer buddy effort. My Advent Prayer buddy was In All Things Good, who also started a blog called D.C. Baby. She sent me this beautiful hand woven basket ornament from somewhere in Africa. Inside, she enclosed a handwritten note containing a prayer asking God to send me a child.

2009 came, thankfully, to an end. 2010 arrived and became one of the most exciting years of my life. Around mid-December, I finally hung the ornaments on the tree, which was a miraculous feat to perform with a newborn in the house. After waiting so long, this was the first ornament that went on the tree:

I also loved this ornament at the mall:

Not surprisingly, the “waiting for baby” ornament hung nearby. I plan to arrange those two ornaments likewise next year. The “waiting” ornaments will always remain a powerful reminder of the long journey it took for KB to come into our lives. Perhaps in a future Christmas she will understand their story. I think infertility should never be forgotten. Amid the whirlwind of KB’s arrival, the ornaments became a powerful memory of sorrowful days past that now point to the gift known as Katie Beth. As an added bonus, my Advent prayer buddy gave birth to her baby boy 2 weeks after KB.

I don’t know what additional ornaments we will have on the tree in December 2011. But I know the story will continue…

I'm Dreaming of a Warm(er) Christmas...

Greetings from the Left Coast! We made it here just in time to miss a snowstorm. My hubby and I have enjoyed walking around the city sans jackets and spending time with family and friends.

I'm amazed at the large amount of big announcements lately. We arrived here on Friday and already I have heard of a couple engagements and a few pregnancies. *sigh* I had hoped that by now we would have an adoption announcement of our own. But God has His own ways of doing things. A good friend reminded me today about the need to trust Him no matter what (easier said than done). The pain and longing that I endure now will only make the child's coming even more sweet and worth it.

On a lighter note, my dear husband came up with a little prank for my parents' backyard. They have a St. Joseph statue that has become buried in ivy over the years. Well, we were worried that St. Joe couldn't breathe, so the photo below shows how we took care of it. :)

P.S. My dear IF friends (online and IRL), I'm so grateful for your continued support, encouragement, and especially empathy.