Year of the Dove

December flew by....it got lost somewhere between hospital stays and a constant state of  worry.
A lost month. A hard month. A beautiful month.

I can say of course before Paloma i felt loved, that i had amazing friendships, that my family loved me. But until Paloma, i can also say that i never knew the depth that came along with each of these. I had never experienced being on the receiving end of more than my fair share of ......awesome.

What Hugo, Ava, Paloma and i felt, the love from family, friends and strangers alike was humbling.... and it felt so good.....

Friends coming to the hospital with food and gifts for Ava, friends that stayed late into the night so that i could laugh and smile, friends that drove a Christmas tree all the way from Florida and stole Ava and i away so that we could have some much needed mommy and Ava time, set to a holiday soundtrack... Santa hat and all.
Strangers who sent gifts for Ava and tokens of their support. Strangers who shared our prayer request and lifted Paloma's name up to the heavens. Strangers whom i have never meant, who love my girl as their own.
And my family.......A cancelled trip to California, a Greyhound bus, the best sister in the world, and my mom....worried about her own baby. Three kids on an airplane to meet their baby cousin, and a sister-in-law that came through big time.
Did i say December got lost?...... I meant December got lived.
And my baby was home for Christmas....and the next day...and the next.....

So today we went with cousins, one whom had never seen the beach, and soaked in the last drop of December....and then said goodbye.

Goodbye to December, and goodbye to the best year of my life.



And i know it's cliche, and i know it's all been said before.....but isn't that what the new year is all about?
And just because i'm not the first to be here, doesn't mean that for me, it's any less profound.....because it is so beautiful really...... this magic we have....... our small lucky package.

Can you see it? Somewhere is those almond eyes.....perfection, beauty, life, worth......love. It's all there, the whole world in her chubby little hand.

And if you knew how those fingers tasted you'd be hooked too.....

I suppose i'll save the rest of the cliches for her birthday.....be ready for it, it will be a love fest:) But first some pics of mama and baby.





Sweet baby love......

So good bye to the year of the Dove. May 2012 bring as many blessings and good fortune as the year before. To all of you reading who have shown us love, thank you, thank you, thank you. We felt every last bit. We soaked it up, we marveled at the beauty of it all ,and we are entering this new year grateful....waiting patiently to pay it forward.

So happy New Year! May it be as lived as December.......