howdy everyone. i've been out of town at my parents' house pretending to be a child again. it didn't work, but at least they cooked.

Naomi- what an amazing gift from your mom to Ethan and your future children.
CeCe- i'm no good at reading charts, but i'm hoping that was an egg and you caught it!!
Anthony's mom- so glad AF finally arrived. such a mixed bag, though. when i finally got mine, i just wanted to go back in time so badly and have Yeti back inside me and alive. i thought my mind would break with the attempt to bend time backwards. big hugs.
Katiegirl-glad your mil let you know how much Nathaniel means to her too. a little love and support goes such a long way. Do tell your well-meaning friend to back off. you need to grieve, and the only thing others can do is to let you do it and be present. if she must try to "fix" well, then she needs to back off for a time.
Ellie- so sorry you are facing your due date and the christmas with your brother's child as "first grandchild" sounds utterly painful. i avoided my SIL & her baby like the plague for that reason. i'm just not willing to cope with that pain right now.
TM- your words are exactly right -- part of grieving is jealousy and sadness at other people's joy. there is no way around it, even if we are not the "type" of people to feel jealousy and who typically enjoy other people's good news. the only way through is to allow those feelings even if we don't want to accept them.

i wish all of our christmases could have been just as we wished they were. it was a trying, horrible time where nothing was right and comfort was far away. here's hoping that 2008 is a better year in every possible way for each and every one of us. big hugs, xxoom