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5 Year Anniversary

20 Apr 2004 by

Yesterday was my 5 year anniversary of my confirmation! What an exciting day it was for me to reflect on what our good Lord has done in my life. April 19, 1999, I was confirmed at the University Catholic Center, Sharon Ann Catherine (after St. Catherine of Sienna). I’ve come a long way baby! But I have a long way to go. I wonder what the next five years will have in store for me.

Since I have your attention, I would like to ask for some prayers. I’ve taken on a parttime position coordinating the Gabriel Project Life Center. Don’t worry, this does not take me away from Therese. Our little silent witness comes along whereever I go. And I mostly get to work from home.
So we’re opening up 6 days per week (from only Wednesdays and Saturdays). We’re still looking to staff a couple of positions. Please, please, please, pray that we get the staff we need and that clients will come! It’s very difficult to operate on a skim non-profit budget.

Therese is getting heavier and more adorable everyday. Check out the new pictures of her on the gallery.

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Indifference

28 Mar 2004 by

When Jesus came to Golgotha they hanged Him on a tree,
They drave great nails through hands and feet, and made a Calvary;
They crowned Him with a crown of thorns, red were His wounds and deep,
For those were crude and cruel days, and human flesh was cheap.

When Jesus came to Birmingham they simply passed Him by,
They never hurt a hair of Him, they only let Him die;
For men had grown more tender, and they would not give Him pain,
They only just passed down the street, and left Him in the rain.

Still Jesus cried, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do,”
And still it rained the wintry rain that drenched Him through and through;
The crowds went home and left the streets without a soul to see,
And Jesus crouched against a wall and cried for Calvary.

Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy (1883-1929)

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Satan’s 2-for-1 Deal

22 Mar 2004 by

Yesterday I had the pleasure of listening to Monsignor Phillilp Rielly speak about his success in sidewalk counseling at abortion clinics. Monsignor Rielly is founder of the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants and his peaceful prayerful methods have closed some 22 abortion clinics.

One of the things his said struck me yesterday as something we often forget. You see, Monsignor Reilly will not approach a person until AFTER they come out of the clinic. He says as they go in, they really don’t care what you have to say, but after they come out, they have no qualms about speaking to a sidewalk counselor. When we claim to be pro-life he says, we must be pro-life for all eternity. Look at this way. If a woman has an abortion, the baby’s soul will go to heaven. Although the baby has undergone a great physical evil, it has committed no moral evil and will go straight to our Heavenly Father. On the other hand, the baby’s mother, father, and whoever else had a hand in the death of the child have not only committed a great physical evil but also a great moral evil. Satan will sacrifice the soul of the child for the souls of the two parents for after an abortion, those souls are his!

This is why post abortion counseling is so crucial. Yes, we must PRAY PRAY PRAY for the life of the child. But we must not forget the souls lost after that henious act. We must also pray and welcome the healing of the child’s parents (grandparents, etc.).

Monsignor Rielly reminded us that Jesus had to die for people to believe. And so, may the parents of God’s precious infants come to believe in the mercy and healing of our Lord.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for us!

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St. Patty’s Day Update

17 Mar 2004 by

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Having a “mixed” marriage allows us to expand the number of holidays we celebrate. It’s awesome!

Yes, we know it’s been a while since we’ve updated you on all the happenings. But nothing too exciting has been afoot. Mom Gretencord reminded us we needed to add more pictures. So if you visit the gallery you’ll find some new pictures of our little flower, plus some bonus pictures of our snowman adventure on the snow day in February.

We were in San Antonio a couple of weeks ago celebrating Mom Lozano’s birthday. It was a lot of fun to have the whole family there. I remarked to Adam that this was the first birthday in a long time for my mom that actually felt like a birthday. She had a cake WITH a candle and even presents to open! I can’t remember the last time she or my dad had all these elements as part of their birthday celebration.

Speaking of birthdays, Therese celebrated her two month birthday yesterday with five vaccination shots! She did remarkabley well. I was expecting far more tears. She weighs 11 lbs 5 oz placing her in the 75th percentile. This also means she’ll be growing out of her 0-3 month clothes soon. She is also a nice average 22.5 inches long. Therese has been so active this past week. She has started cooing and smiling. Play time is so much more interesting!

Just some final happy birthday wishes to:
Katrina Gretencord, Feb 27
Mom Lozano, March 5
Mike Guerrero, March 8

Until the next entry, God love you!

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Portfolio Redesign

01 Mar 2004 by

Adam has completed a redesign of his Web portfolio. The primary reason for the new site is to better faciliate updates through Movable Type. I have to admit, through a little trickery and a bit -o- php scripting, it worked out quite well. The new design also complements the look and feel of this site. Feel free to take a look.

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Weighing at 10 lbs 4oz…

28 Feb 2004 by

Miss Thérèse Marie went to the doctor on Thursday. She had a couple of episodes we were concerned about–we’ll leave out the gorey details. But we left the doc’s office with a perscription for a medication for acid reflux. It seems to be helping. She’s not crying for hours on end (and I’m not exagerating about that). She also has not spit up as much. On my end, I’ve tried to systematically cut out anything that might upset the Princess’ tummy. We’ve slept quite well the last two night.

I also learned a little trick about sleeping babies. Their REM cycles are opposite of adults. Adults will go through 4 stages…the last being the REM cycle and the deepest sleep. Infants REM first and it’s the lightest sleep–so they are likely to wake up if you put them down within the first few minutes after they doze off. All this is very interesting and has resulted in a baby sleeping in her crib again instead of mommy and daddy’s arms or in our bed.

Well, baby fussiness calls…until the next revelation. May you have a prayerful Lent!

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Therese Update

02 Feb 2004 by

Well, Therese had her two week well check today. She’s doing great. Thank you all for your prayers. She has surpassed her birth weight. She now weighs 8 lbs 6 oz! Assuming she doesn’t get any bad germs withiin the next 6 weeks, her next doctor’s appointment will be her 2 month well-check. Then they start all the vaccinations.

Mom and Dad Gretencord are in town this week visiting and getting to know their new (and first) grandchild. Grandparents are a God send!

I woke up yesterday and turned to Adam and said, “We survived another night.” Everyone asks how things are going…and we’re still adjusting. I went from religiously getting 8 hours of continuous sleep a night to much less than that. I had a lot of fears being a new mom and having little experience with babies. But I have to admit all those people who said, “By the second week, you’ll know–and you’ll know your baby better than anyone else,” were right. God gave us this natural instinct to care for our children and through a lot of amazing grace–it kicks in just when you need it.

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Fighting Jaundice

21 Jan 2004 by

UPDATE: Thérèse’s bilirubin count has gone down and the doctor has taken her off the phototherapy. Thanks for all your prayers!

Having a new baby in the family has certainly brought forth it’s challenges and difficulties. We’re in the midst of bearing a few crosses with little Thérèse.

Like the vast majority of newborns, Thérèse developed jaundice. However in her case, there is an issue of ABO incompatibility. Her bloodtype is not the same as her mother’s. When the bilirubin count reached a significantly high level, our pediatrician thought it best to take an aggressive measure and place Thérèse on Phototherapy.

Thankfully, this can be done in the comfort of our own home. The baby wears a wrap around herself that gives off ultraviolet rays (photo) that will help break down the excessive red blood cells. After one day, it’s beginning to work. We’ll have one more blood test on Friday to see if she needs to continue the treatment.

More photos have been added to the Thérèse album.

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Baby G is Born!

18 Jan 2004 by

Baby G is a girl! Thérèse Marie Gretencord was born to us on Friday, January 16, 2004 at 10:58am CST. She weighed 7 lbs 9oz and measured 19 3/4 inches long. Mother and baby are doing fine. Sharon would later like to give the details on the birth experience after she has time to heal. To make a long story short, it would be very difficult to ask for a more perfect birth story. We were incredibly blessed with a birth with no complications and much loving support from all our family and friends. Thank you all for your prayers and all that you have done, and will do, for us.

On a related note, please pray for Sharon and Thérèse. Breastfeeding is very challenging for new mothers and requires a tremendous amount of patience.

Be sure to view our photo album highlighting the special event.

Category: Family  4 Comments

New Photo Gallery

18 Jan 2004 by

A new photo gallery has been added to better improve the process of getting pictures out to our family and friends. I decided to go with Coppermine for its ease of installation, clean code, decent support community and abundant features. Two things it is lacking, which I will later find means to implement, is video support and and hook up to a third party photo printer such as Shutterfly.com for those of you would like to order your own prints.

Category: Site Updates  3 Comments
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