Traditions...

New life has entered our family! My next oldest sister has had her first baby on March 2nd, a girl, whom they named Savannah Marie! She decided to grace us w/her presence 3 weeks early, but she was a healthy 5lbs 15oz and Mom and Dad are head over heals for their sweet bundle of joy! I am so proud of my sister! Labor and delivery is hard, especially the first time around! You are going in blind with no idea what to expect. It's one of those "you have no idea what to expect nor can it be explained" type of events. I love you sis and can't WAIT to squeeze my niece and spoil her rotten the way you spoil my girls!

 

 

 Savannah Marie. 1 day old. Loving this hat!

 

This new life had me thinking even more about my family than I do on a normal basis. Savannah is the 8th grandchild on my side and the first niece to me in 13 1/2 years! My girls are my siblings first nieces in a decade, as the last to be born before Juls was in 1999. I am so excited that Juli, Miriam and Savannah are so close in age and when we get together for YEARS to come, how they will play, grow, learn, scheme, get in trouble and just 'be' together. It made me realize just how important the traditions we establish are in the lives of our little ones. How they will carry these memories with them forever! How they will look forward to them and the rise of excitement as the moment/day approaches. How these traditions could very well shape their lives and help them to realize how loved they are!

  I sat back trying to recall some of my favorite traditions from my childhood and just a few that I came up with are:

• Sunday Mass and then coming home to browse the Sunday ads, read the comics and relax as a family
• Singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out the candles twice. Why do we do this, I don't know. This was a tradition already instilled in my family when I was born (#6 of 6, remember) but it's one of my favorites because in a big family birthdays are your day!
• Christmas morning eggs and bacon! This was big b/c we never had hot breakfast, just a bowl of cereal but on Christmas it was hot! Even bigger was, wait for it, MY DAD MADE IT! ::Gasp:: This is huge! I know some dads do the cooking/baking but this was the ONLY time my dad ever, ever made us food. It was a special day (more many reasons, obviously) and I will always remember it!

I hold these so dear to my heart. I pray that as the years go by, my hubby and I can start (or continue) traditions the girls will savor for the rest of their lives.What are some of your favorite traditions or what traditions have you started in your growing family? Please do share!

Happy Sunday! Don't forget to rest up, another week of Lent starts in the morning! :)