Tree

The tree as we work on the "Rough Draft"

For those who are interested in the Tree we are working on, I am including the dedication we wrote for the registration, along with the brief description of the tree. The title of our entry is "First Christmas" although I'm checking to see if we can add "Miracles" to the end. I feel the way this is coming together is truly one of those Miracles I wrote about in the dedication! And in case you aren't familiar with the Festival of Trees, it is an event where trees are decorated and donated, then auctioned off to earn money for the Children's Hospital where both Dominic and Bridget were cared for until their deaths. The Young Women (youth in our Congregation) submitted a beautiful entry in honor of Dominic in 2002, and we also want to do something beautiful for Bridget to remember her and to help our community at the same time. You can go to the Festival of Trees website for more information.

Anyone who still wants to help just let me know what you want to do. We have a PayPal link to the right where you can donate with any major credit card, or using your own PayPal account. We still need to purchase things like floral wire, a tree topper, glitter spray, spray to make all the items non-flammable, about 6 small dolls to put on the tree, material for a tree skirt and matching quilt, some small silver heart ornaments, hardware for making the tree more stable, etc. We will be meeting in just a couple of weeks to put this all together, so we need to get all these things soon!

Thanks so much to all those who have already made generous contributions! We have already been able to acquire things like lights, ribbon, snowflake ornaments, etc. And we are so grateful to all those who are generously working to pull it together to make a beautiful entry in honor of Bridget. Thanks to everyone who has been offering to help! And also I am very grateful to IKEA for being so very generous to donate the crib! I feel all these kindnesses are truly miracles to make all the difference in the final presentation of our entry!

I used some of our Christmas letters from the past two years to help express the feelings we want to convey in our tribute to Bridget. Here is our dedication and description for our entry-

In Loving Memory of Bridget Lucille (18 July 2007 - 15 Sep 2007)

“Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.” (CS Lewis)

"Mortality is but a stepping-stone to a more glorious existence in the future. The sorrow of death is softened with the promise of the Resurrection. There would be no Christmas if there were no Easter." (Hinckley)

Bridget's unexpected death at 2 months of age prevented us from sharing the Christmas season with her. She has an older brother who died exactly six years and one day before she did, when he was 5 months old. We didn't have the opportunity to share the Christmas season with him, either. Even with the grief we have, we try to carry on in the everyday tasks and joys of life.

It is a beacon of Hope to know that He whose birth we celebrate at this time of year is known to be ”a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3), and yet He is still the Promise and source of Peace– “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you” (John 14:27) Often, it has been through kindnesses of others that we have felt His tender mercies. They may not always be the ones we ask for, but Miracles still exist. Through small and simple kindnesses we are all able to witness and grant miracles.

In the halls of the hospital, during a particularly challenging day, a quote taped up by the hospital’s Chaplain offered insight:

“What if the healing of the world utterly depends on the ten thousand invisible kindnesses we offer simply and quietly throughout the pilgrimage of each human life?” (Wayne Muller)

During the Christmas season, there seems to be an atmosphere that awakens something in us. Merrill J. Bateman wrote of it as “A Season for Angels”. In reflecting over the years, and the Miracles we have had of being sustained through some intensely difficult days, while also being able to feel incredible heights of joy, we see that it is through others that we have known miracles. Bateman’s reminder seems so fitting: “...miracles during this Christmas season require our faith and works. As we sing the hymns of Christmas and speak of angels sent to earth to witness the Savior’s birth in the meridian of time, may we rise to the occasion and minister to those in need in our day. ..may we, as angels of mercy, minister to other families and to those in need”

Our kindnesses, perhaps “small letters”, can add to the story– the True story, of the greatest miracle of all– the Resurrection of He who was born in a stable. Again, “There would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter. The babe Jesus of Bethlehem would be but another baby without the redeeming Christ of Gethsemane and Calvary, and the triumphant fact of the Resurrection. “ (Hinckley)

We hope that our Tree will radiate the love and the joy that we experienced with our sweet newborn daughter, Bridget. A love and joy that, surely, the infant Christ Child's mother Mary felt on that very First Christmas. We miss our little one dearly, but feel hopeful that because there was the First Christmas that we will be reunited.

As we’ve reflected on our memories throughout the years, we have concluded that our favorite memories are those which are to come– what lies beyond time, one eternal round. With an eternal vision, we can remember all that is to come as well as all that was in the past, even more clearly than we even know the present. Our mortal measure of time is a veil to what lies ahead, but the Spirit can pierce that veil and reveal the Truth of all things.

The greatest gifts of this season are not the kinds you buy in stores, but those that are stored up in the Glory of the days to come. The gifts we unwrap now will pale as we are wrapped in the significance of the birth of our Savior and His gifts of His life and redemption from death– as we are one day wrapped in immortal robes and reunited again with all our loved ones. This is our greatest Christmas "memory", our greatest Hope. That there will still be a time when we are able to celebrate with Bridget, the First Christmas.

This is the description on our registration to give you an idea of what we're doing:

4.5ft pre-lit tree decorated with pinks, white, and silver. We will be donating all of the new items we had purchased for Bridget before her unexpected death. There will be A LOT of layette items, a breast pump, crib bedding, A CRIB!, Boppy pillow, Boppy bouncy chair, etc. in addition to the tree. The tree name is in reference to "baby girl's first Christmas" but also to the First Christmas. We are working on a quilted tree skirt and a matching baby quilt as well. The tree will be decorated with "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments, ribbon, and other accenting ornaments and lights.

Thanks again to all who have been helping us with this First Christmas Miracle! I will post an update when we get everything put together. Expect some amazing pictures!