Remembering Henry and Henry's Blanket Travels to Rome

(Molly)

I have wanted to pen this post for a while as we just passed this six month anniversary of Henry's entrance into Heaven. Some of you know that I've been dealing with a random flare up of tendonitis in my left hand and needless to say, typing has been quite a chore. So, as important as this post is in remembering our darling son, it has taken me a while to complete.

For some time I have desired a permanent memorial of Henry, one that I could see daily, and hopefully even wear, so that I could share him with those I meet. (We do plan to create a memorial for Henry in our new home, but as of now, it's hard to know exactly when that will happen.) After thinking of a few different options, I finally settled on a ring with Henry's birthstone, Tanzanite, with one diamond on either side to symbolize Brendan and me. It's a sturdy setting, so I'm able to wear it all the time, which I love. It has become a constant reminder of his daily presence in our lives, his prayers for our family, and the short, but meaningful life he lived in my womb.

Before Henry's funeral we received some words of wisdom from the parents of some dear friends of ours. They lost a little girl, Mary Elizabeth, many years ago, and they had the foresight to clip off part of the blanket she was wrapped in before being placed in her casket. We loved that idea, so before handing over a gorgeous white blanket to the funeral director, we cut a corner off of the blanket and later had the edges sewn by Brendan's sister. I have slept with that blanket almost every night since. It has served as a great comfort to our family and I love to imagine Henry's perfect self wrapped snuggly in the blanket.

We were recently offered an opportunity to send the blanket with a family friend to Rome so that it could be blessed by Pope Benedict XVI. There is a beautiful story of how Henry's blanket received the Papal Blessing (one that is too long for me to type in my current condition) and we have been very touched by and opportunity to have the blessing of the Vicar of Christ in our home. The friend, who so willingly brought this treasure to Rome, also placed the blanket on the tomb of the great Pope John Paul II which means Henry's blanket is now a third class relic. Over the past six months I have envisioned our son in the presence of Our Lord Jesus, God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and Our Lady. These thoughts have been very comforting to me. Perhaps, though, some of the most beautiful moments in my imagination occur when I envision Henry in Heaven with Pope John Paul II, a man that has so dearly touched my life and inspired our marriage to be what it is today. Brendan and I took the trip to World Youth Day in Rome in 2000 shortly after our engagement and seeing him was one of the most amazing experiences of our life together.

Wow, you guys are fast!

(Brendan)

We have a showing that just was scheduled for this morning from 11:30am-12:30pm! Thanks for your (very effective) prayers, keep them coming -- especially during the time of the showing.

Home sale update

(Brendan)

I'm sure many of you are wondering how the home sale process is going, and so I thought I'd give a brief (graphical) update. Here's a timeline of what has happened since we put our house on the market on 1/16/09 (click to enlarge):

As you can see, we've had a decent amount of showings, and we've dropped our price three times. But it's discouraging that we haven't had an offer yet, and particularly discouraging that our last price drop has not yielded more showings. We're going on three weeks since our last showing, and this lull is despite that fact that we are definitely priced below average compared to similar homes in our area. Foreclosures are still a big problem that's driving down demand for "standard" single-family homes.

Your continued prayers for the sale of our house are certainly appreciated! We know it will happen when God wills, and we also know that having it take this long (and getting a lot less money for our house than we had hoped) is also part of God's plan for us. Just a few more reasons to abandon control to the Lord!

Flip Video, and Eleanor's Art Aptitude

(Brendan)

Molly loves to record video of our kids; there's never a unique moment that she wants to pass by without catching it on camera. We've had this huge, probably 15-year-old camcorder that we've been using for quite a while, and it's not exactly the easiest thing to just whip out on a whim if you want to catch one of those unique moments. In fact, most of the time when Molly says, "We should get this on video, can you get the camcorder?", I just say, "umm... no." It's a hassle. But, I've had my eye on a solution for a few months and finally pulled the trigger and purchased it for Molly's Mother's Day present this year. It's the Flip Mino Camcorder.


It's super small, super light, easy to use (just a few buttons), records up to 60 minutes of video, and makes it easy to save and share videos. It's even darn cheap for a camcorder. For any techies out there, it's also purely flash-based memory so there are no moving parts and reliability should be off-the-charts better than any standard camcorder that uses tapes or discs (or a hard drive). Speaking of how easy it is to save and share videos, it has an integrated USB connector so you just plug it into your computer and save videos.
From there you can post videos to the web or burn to DVD easily with the software that is included on the device. You can also string together multiple clips into a "movie" very easily.

There are, of course, downsides to a simple, small design. There is no zoom to speak of, which is probably the biggest downside. There is a 2X digital zoom that you can use, but it just enlarges the digital picture and it ends up kind of blurry. There also isn't any image stabilization technology, so if you are walking or moving the picture can get a little bumpy. All-in-all though, for our needs it's a 95%-of-the-time camcorder. I would only use our old one for a concert or show that our kids are in, where you might need to record more than 60 minutes of video in one sitting and you'd need the optical zoom.

Molly has already used the "Flip" quite a bit to record the daily travails of our kids, and I've enjoyed watching the clips when I get home from work. This will also be a handy device for when we (God willing... please!) start construction and we can record construction progress videos and post them here on the blog.

As an example of a couple videos taken with the "Flip," we have our young Eleanor (3) showing off her art memorization skills. She and our older kids participated in the "Art Challenge" in our parish homeschool group. The kids had a lot of fun and really got into it. It wasn't our plan to have Eleanor particpate (as you'll see Molly explain in the video), but she would have none of that! Oh, and as a humerous note regarding Eleanor's enunciation in the video, Molly had instructed her to speak "slowly and clearly," and Eleanor chose to take that very seriously :-)

Molly and I take turns going on "dates" with each of the kids as special one-on-one time, and just today it was Eleanor's turn to go on a date with me. And she chose for her date to go to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts! Since Eleanor enjoyed the Art Challenge so much, I thought this would be a good idea even though she's so young. As you'll see, she had a great time. This video shows how the software included on the Flip can be used to string together multiple clips into one movie (even with a title at the beginning). Enjoy!

In Honor of Doctor Brendan Early Koop, PhD.

(Molly)

• Number of years since study for PhD began: 5
• Number of doctoral courses completed: 6
• Final Grade Point Average: 3.89
• Number of children born since PhD studies began: 3
• Number of journal articles read: 500
• Number of hours spent doing research: 500
• Number of porous electrodes built: 100
• Number of leads built in Puerto Rico: 35
• Number of lab dogs sacrificed for the cause: 16
• Number of pages in the dissertation entitled: "Creation and in vivo evaluation of a porous electrode for pacing in a coronary vein: an assessment of the potential for improved electrical performance and chronic stability of coronary venous pacing leads": 200
• Number of professors on doctoral committee: 4
• Number of hours spent writing thesis: 800
• Number of purchased bottles of Men's Under Eye Cream to reduce puffiness: 1
• Number of cans of Full Throttle consumed: 500
• Number of cans of Coke consumed before and after Full Throttle was discovered: impossible to estimate
• Number of Caribou Mochas, extra hot, with an extra shot of espresso consumed during Lent when Coke and Full Throttle were off limits: 100
• Number of dollars spent on said energy drinks: I refuse to estimate!
• Cavities filled: 1
• Number of hairs lost: Zero!
• Sleep Number: 35
• Number of interns mentored: 1
• Number of dollars spent in this process by Boston Scientific for tuition and research: over $100,000
• Number of dollars yet to be earned by Boston Scientific because of the success of a potential new product: Millions!

Congratulations, honey! I am so proud of you! And I'm glad to have you back!

Friday, May 8, 2009 - A Great Day!

(Brendan)

Me in the University of Minnesota doctoral cap and gown, on the steps of the Northrop Auditorium


The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) hood


The Northrop Mall before the ceremony


Molly sneaked down and got a pic after the awarding of the degrees


Me and Clara (who, of course, was so good the whole day... and so excited!)


Molly, Clara, and me


Me and my parents


A classic shot by the Northrop columns

*Sigh*...

(Brendan)

Beware THIS MAN, he is incorrigible!

From www.TheFreeDictionary.com -

in-cor-ri-gi-ble
adj.
1. Incapable of being corrected or reformed.
2. Firmly rooted, ineradicable.
3. Difficult or impossible to control or manage.
n.
1. One that cannot be corrected or reformed.


You all will remember this recent post.

By way of update, here was the situation at 7:30pm this evening:

Max is single-handedly providing his own economic stimulus package for the French eyeglasses industry. I hope they appreciate it.

Mentally exhausted...

(Brendan)

Thanks for all of those who have said a prayer for me over the past weeks as I finish my PhD. This morning (from 10:00am-12:00pm) was my doctoral thesis defense at the University of Minnesota... and I passed!

Christ is risen! Happy Easter!

(Brendan)

The artwork below is done by, Anthony Visco, a friend of mine. He has an updated website, here, that is worth checking out. The piece below is one of 20 that he did for each of mysteries of the rosary on the Rosary Walk at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse, WI.

Rejoice! Our Lord has risen!

The Resurrection
Anthony Visco

Remembering A Life Lived

(Molly)

Today, April 7, marks one year since we first learned that Henry's life had begun. I can remember it all so clearly. I was SURE I was pregnant, but I made myself wait to confirm because I was busy with the details of our parish's Mother-Daughter Tea. (A wonderful event which I've been blessed to coordinate for the last few years, but one that takes a huge amount of my time each spring.) I wanted to be able to focus on one thing at a time.

For some reason, I've never looked at the results of a pregnancy test before Brendan. I always just leave it on the counter and send Brendan in there to find out the result. We were so excited to be expecting our fifth child and the kids were, too!

So, this day is bitter-sweet for us. We rejoice in the life that Henry lived and we are confident that his life had purpose. His soul was created to glorify our Heavenly Father and although the life he lived was short, he has brought many souls into a deeper relationship with our Lord.

We have suffered greatly in the last few months, but we recognize a deep peace in our hearts. The most difficult times are those that come unexpectedly. Certain events are sure to be difficult and I can usually prepare myself for those moments. I'm never prepared, however, to break down while I'm scrubbing the kitchen floor because I suddenly remember that my life has changed. I can't build myself up for a moment when I might see the Baby Wash sitting on the side of the bathtub, that Baby Wash I bought just before Thanksgiving in preparation for the new baby.

In the past week I came across a beautiful prayer that I wanted to share with our readers. The words of this prayer speak so eloquently the way we feel in our hearts.

This Holy Week, we unite our sufferings with the Passion of Christ. We pray for comfort from Our Lady who truly knows our deep sorrow as she watched her Son die with the weight of the world on His shoulders.

Prayer for a Parent Whose Child Has Died

Mysterious Lord of Life and Death, a very part of my life has died in the death of my child. My soul is weighed down with sorrow and bears the wound of a lifelong scar. Send to me Your angel of consolation for the pain is heavy and deep.

Come to my aid, Lord of Mercy, for I lack the power of the holy parent, Abraham, who was willing, in obedience to Your command, to sacrifice to You his beloved son, Isaac.

Lord God, You who are also a parent surely know my pain at the loss of my beloved child, Henry Blaise, who has been taken from my side by death.

Do not take my tears and sorrow as a sign of my unbelief that all who have died in Your love are resurrected to eternal life in You, but, rather, see in these tears a sign of my great love for my child.

As I held him in the embrace of love, may You, his Divine Parent, hold him close to Your heart forever.

Help me, Lord, for I do not seek to understand the why of this mystery of death as much as I desire to accept it in a holy way and to be healed and once again whole.

Support me, my Lord and God, and wrap me in Your gentle love as I attempt to carry this bitter cross as Your Son, Jesus, carried the cross which You gave to Him.

Amen.