It helps me to remember that some of the world’s poor were my neighbors, my seatmates at church, visitors to my porch, children in my son Michael’s preschool class. They were my neighbors in Honduras; they are my friends’ neighbors in Bosnia, Gaza and the West Bank, and Rwanda. They have also been my neighboors on the south side of Chicago, in Medford, MA, and in South Bend.

It helps me to remember that “the poor” aren’t a nameless, faceless group of people, but rather my friends, neighbors, and people whom I love. We are called to act justly and to live in solidarity with the poor, to make decisions that bear in mind how the fruits of that decision will affect the least among us. We are called to support those in positions of power who have an even greater ability to help the poor - and we are asked to hold them accountable to their responsibility to the poor. 

President-elect Obama will have historic opportunities to bring hope and dignity to millions currently suffering from poverty and preventable diseases, such as malaria and HIV/AIDS.

We can make a difference by showing our support for an inaugural affirmation of Obama’s pledge to fight poverty and preventable diseases worldwide, and for an FY2010 Presidential budget request that puts the U.S. on track to meet Obama’s historic commitments to the world’s poorest people.

I just took action with ONE and you can too, here:

http://www.one.org/inauguration/

• Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) issued their annual CCFC Guide to Commercial-Free Holidays with “tips for resisting holiday hype.” CCFC is a great organization that strives to have children of all ages grow up without so much commercial influence. 
• Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment (TRUCE) is a national group of educators deeply concerned about how children’s entertainment and toys are affecting the play and behavior of children in our classrooms. They have an annual toy action guide that “help adults promote children’s creative and constructive play by making informed choices about toys, and by working with others at home, school, and in the community to promote positive play and toys.”
• Healthytoys.org tests and rates toys for the presence of dangerous chemicals such as cadmium, chlorine, lead, arsenic, bromine and mercury. They have a search engine so you can search for your child’s toys and see how healthy they are (or aren’t). 
• Finally, KIDS in Danger issues, among other things, handy lists of recalled children’s products. You can subscribe to their monthly email, as well as learn about pending/passed legislation to help keep our children safe and healthy.

Maggie thought the cake was a funny texture but worth trying - she sat with Emma (Erika’s mom) who was patient and enjoyed the whole process - not even that messy!

Hanging out in the built-in bookcases in Papa’s new study…

Outdoor snowy fun

Maggie has become quite a fan of sitting on Michael’s lap, either to read a story or to watch a show. 

In November we celebrated our friend’s 5th birthday. Her mom graciously let ALL the kids help make the cake:

She’s a super-nice mom with lots of patience. She even had story-time for all the kids!

The cutest part of the birthday sleepover was the little kids at breakfast…

A miscarriage is a loss that is hard to mark for many couples - some had not even shared the news before the loss occurred, leaving them the choice of either sharing both the pregnancy and the loss in the same breath, or of never sharing the loss at all. Some are able to mark the loss with a burial, a memorial service, or another physical marker of the loss - while others whose losses occur very early, such as ours, are left with no physical reminders of the baby who was lost.  Friends and family are often at a loss as to how to respond to and support those who have had a loss during pregnancy, birth or early infancy, and may not understand that a pregnancy known for even a few hours is a pregnancy valued and a child loved, and thus a loss to be mourned.  Yet support comes, as it has to us, in often surprising ways - an unexpected card, an email, a hug from someone I don’t even know at my parents’ church.  It comes from friends who have also lost babies, babies I never even knew existed, friends who choose to share their pain in hope of easing mine. It comes in the form of online friends with shared experiences, in the form of articles written by women who know my pain.

There are a few articles I’d like to share -  I know I’ve written on our loss, as has Michael-John, but it’s always good to hear it from another perspective.  This article  is from the New York Times on one woman’s experience with a loss. A second  looks at ways several women mourn their losses. This third, also from Mothering, is another woman’s experience. They are tough to read, but may give some insight into the process. They will hopefully give you more understanding of miscarriage, or help you remember you are not alone, as they have done for me. Most importantly, I hope they give you the courage to tell someone who’s had a loss, “I’m sorry.”

Thank you all again for your love and support, for your condolences and prayers. I/We rely on them, and will continue to as the months go on.

Our friend Anne, of the Watson Highlands, coaches an under-6 team just north of us in Michigan, and invited Michael to fill in for the rest of the season for a youngster who just couldn’t bring himself to stop wandering and actually play.  So here he is, in all his green-team glory (first pic: third from left; second pic: second from goal):

One rainy practice night we had a beautiful double rainbow (lighter one is above darker one)…

…and what I learned is that at the end of the rainbow is a soccer field!

If you look carefully at the end of each rainbow, it touches down onto the field.

Seriously, I’m asking for a soccer mom t-shirt for Christmas.