The Best Christmas of My Life....

December 21, 1967...after 9 years of marriage, and at age 27, this little angel was placed in my arms. *VBS* And she was an angel. A happy baby with a beautiful smile and almost NO hair. She had been born Sept. 1st of that year, and wasn't ready for placement until mid December. You know how the clouds can open on a gloomy day, and one perfect ray of sunshine streams down? Right where it is needed the most...*VBS* Her arrival was like that. She had been 7 pounds at birth, and arrived home with us at about 12 pounds. A nice size for Daddy to feel comfortable.
We had seen her at the Agency on the 20th, then the director drove out to our rural county and filed the papers on our behalf. That way we could pick her up on the 21st, and have her for Christmas. We got her on a Thursday, the last day of school for the kids was Friday the 22nd. Dear Ex was a teacher then, and I had been secretary to the Superintendent. I actually left the job for the last time to head to the agency and pick up our baby. What was I thinking??? LOL..I was no more prepared to be a stay-at-home Mom, and a new mother, than the man in the moon. I think those first few weeks both the baby and I cried an equal amount.
Friday morning found me at school with my precious angel to share her with all our friends and students. She easily was in every classroom for a few minutes. But it was great fun, and filled me with joy to show her off and share her with people who cared about her dad and I.
Christmas Eve was Sunday, and found her upper respitatory congestion worse, and me bleary eyed from lack of sleep and from worry about her. I think we have one very miserable picture from Christmas day. Her in the infant seat(remember those?), crying, my looking like the living dead and off in the background a HUGE basket of unfolded diapers. What had we gotten ourselves into could very well be the caption. I'm sure most first-time moms can relate...LOL It did get better with time, altho much of those first months are a blur. My mom died in Feb. of 1968 in Wisconsin. We left Michigan in a blizzard and literally followed a snow plow north, across the U.P. and into northern WI. Probably one of the most miserable trips of my lifetime. Mom was only 52 when she died of congestive heart failure, without ever having seen her first grandchild. Life can be cruel as well as marvelous.
I have pictures to document most of those hard first months, a new baby and coping with grief. Other the pics, I would have very few memories of those first 6 months. Time does heal things...and I am no exception. She crawled early, had her first tooth at 5 months, stood at 7 months and could crawl up our stairway way before we were ready for it..*S*

She was and is my Christmas angel. A heart stealer, as in this picture(I think she was 6 months at that time) and my pride and joy and my sunshine all of the months and years since. A very Merry Christmas my PPB...*VBS* Love ya, Mommer's xoxoxox