THERE'S--So Much To Be Thankful For---

So-----tonight we pray for what we know can't be.---- and every day we look for what we still can't see. ---It's up to us to be the"change".and even though the world needs so much more; -----------------There's so much to be thankful for!




Dear Friends
........ Christmas 2009, here at St. Francis Hospital, Mutolere, Uganda--was magical! Much had to do with having Michael with me and equally as much was the sense of what Christmas truly means--the birth of Jesus the Christ!
In this country, if you are a church-go-er, you don't pick which Mass you'll attend: the Midnight Mass (which begins at 10pm Christmas Eve) or the 9 am Christmas Day Mass, you attend both..... and you are glad you did! On Christmas Eve the Nursing students danced traditionally and on Christmas Day the children , in full regalia, danced as well.
.......Michael and I attended both, he dressed in an adorable red one piece jammie outfit with a snowman on the front on Thur Eve, and quite formally in his black pants and red and black vest with a black tie and shoes on Friday.The shoes looked like something my Dad could have worn (ha). He was adorable and I must say, seemed equally as comfortable in either outfit.
.....Lots of wonderful visitors stopped by on Christmas Day to enjoy homemade chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate! Sadly Michael became ill and slept the afternoon away with Patricia, the daughter of Sr. Vastina,a dear friend, looking over him ,while I, with the help of Florida and Hedwig went to the Pediatric Ward to play Santa Claus.
......Well, not that it was my intention, but I looked a bit more like Santa than I had anticipated, as I wanted to buy a traditional Ugandan dress, and as red and as ornate as it was, it made me look way over the 10lbs the camera adds (ha). But, none the less, the women were impressed that I was wearing one of their style dresses and I felt quite at home .
.....In the photo's you'll see mostly me and Michael (can you imagine; I first started caring for him exactly two years ago as a 5lb (2+1/4kg) 5 mo old baby and now he is 22 lb (10kg) 2 year old toddler! * Also several pictures of Santa-Marie handing out gifts to the children. Happily there were enough to even give their visiting siblings a little gift, as well.You'll see my friend Hedwig, Sr. Vastina, Florida (the 14 year old daughter of my friend Maria Goretti), as well as Maria herself adorned all in pink for a photo shoot I did of her, in an effort to pick up her spirits and hopefully her immune system. So far, it has been successful. Also numerous babies at risk and their Mom's, with a shot of Barton and the AIDS orphan he fell in love with, Judith.
.......The slide show ends with a lovely photo of a Nursing student who was graduating, wearing traditional garb, all aglow in candle-light.
......There is, indeed, so much to be thankful for...Uganda...2009
----------------------------------Marie
* Thank you , again, to all the dear people :friends and friends of friends, who sent dolls and little cars and coloring books and crayons ect. If you look, you may just recognize something you sent yourself. Special thanks to Kim Gossin and her boyfriend who sent me a bag filled with little stocking with cars or candy in them.
......I received this envelope in the mail on Dec 24th, the one year anniversary of sharing dinner with Phyllis and John Gossin, daughter Kim and son Sean. Receiving this envelope the day prior to distributing the gifts in Peds was so fortuitous, as I did not have enough "boy" gifts and the little cars did the trick. In fact receiving this envelope on the 24th, exactly one year after sharing a surprise birthday dinner for Phyllis at the Rose Tree Inn, near Media, PA (one of my all time favorite restaurants +memories to go with it) was a gift in itself.

Enjoy my first ever Video/Slide show entitled "So Much to be thankful For"
. ----------Here are the words , which were not only sung by Josh Groban but written as well.

There is so much to Be Thankful For

---------------------------------------------

Somedays we forget to look around us.

Somedays we can't see the joy that surrounds us.

So caught up inside ourselves

We take what we should give

So--tonight we pray for--what we know can't be

And--today we look for--what we still can't see.

It's up to us to be the Change

Even though we all can do much more.

There's so much to be thankful for.

Each of us must find our truth

So long overdo.

Look beyond ourselves, there's so much sorrow.

It's way too late to say---I'll cry tomorrow

So-- for tonight we pray for what we know can be

And--everyday we hope for what we still can't see.

It's up to us to be the Change

Even though the world needs so much more.

There's so much to be thankful for!

Even with our differences, there's a place we all connect.

Each of us can find each others Light