Thank you all so much for your questions and comments. I truly appreciate each and every one of them. Without further ado, here are your answers:

For Lisa who asked, “I’d love to know how you and Nate picked the name Cecilia for your beautiful daughter, what your favorite hobby is, and more about how you and Nate met (and how you knew he was the one).”

The first one is an easy one, we knew from the start we wanted a saint’s name. We played around with a few and Nate mentioned that he loved the name Cecilia. He remembered it from his attendance at his favorite church, Sts. Philomena and Cecilia, in Brookville, IN. He always made it a point to go to the Latin mass there on the feast day of Christ the King every year and said it was his favorite day of the year. As soon as he said the name Cecilia I loved it. We had two contending names if we had a girl, Maria or Cecilia. He thought Cecilia Marie would be a perfect combination of the two and there you go. Side note – when I was 25 weeks pregnant I decided the middle name of Ann would be better as it had more family ties (my middle name, my mom’s name, his mom’s middle name…) but he told me I “was being a silly pregnant woman and couldn’t be trusted to not keep changing my mind”, so Cecilia Marie it stayed. And it is such a blessing to me that he decided her name.

The second question is a little more difficult. I wish I could say what my favorite hobby was, but at this time I can’t think of a single one. I have lots of hobbies I would like to start, ones I used to enjoy, or ones I wish I was capable of. For instance, I would love to be a great sewer. But right now I’m more of a wannabe sewer. I have lots of things on my list “to sew” but few things actually even started. I also used to enjoy playing soccer a lot, but those days seem to be past now. I suppose for now my favorite hobby would have to be cooking/baking, well at least when I have the energy or Cecilia gives me a free moment!

The last question – how we met and how I knew he was the one – will take a bit more time, thought, and energy into answering. I will plan on answering that soon in its own post, after I have had some time to write it out.

For Tracy who asked, “I would love to know what you enjoy most about being Catholic?”

Oooh, this is a tough one. There are so many things I love about being Catholic! However I would have to say the number one thing is the Eucharist. I love that as Catholics we believe that the Eucharist is the body of Christ and is consecrated every Sunday with all the saints and the angels, in unity with the Church. It brings me an extra comfort now, knowing that at every mass Nate is there celebrating this great mystery with me.

Karen Carlson – Thank you for your inspirational words. “Jesus, I trust in you!”, such true words to remember each and every day.

For Kim C who asked, “If you get a chance, please let us know how they (Nate’s parents) are coping with their grief. Also, do they get to see Cecilia regularly?”

I won’t presume to speak entirely on their behalf, but I will say that they are suffering their own type of sorrow. Like you said, there is a great difference between losing a spouse and losing a child. Now that I am a mother, I can understand this even more. When I lost Nate, I not only lost my best friend, companion, and father of my child, I also lost a vast part of my life, the life I was supposed to share with him, all of our future plans, my home that I had established with him, etc… However, losing a child, you lose a huge part of you as well, your child is a part of you, you created them, you love them more than life itself. To lose that, well I can’t imagine. They are both coping in their own way. I do my best to keep in contact with them. They both live in Pittsburgh but I also have done my best to make sure they can see Cecilia often – I hope she can grow to have great relationships with them and I intend to foster that as best I can. We have made 2 trips to Pittsburgh already since she was born and coincidentally they are both in Indianapolis this week as well.

For ifyoukeeponbelieving who asked, “How you have grown so strong in such a short time from something so inconceivable… How did you manage your new-found reality and what were your notions with grieving?”

By the grace of God. Honestly I think that is my best answer. I pray to God each and every morning and night, that he will lead the way and carry me when I have no strength left. I owe a lot to my family as well, they have given me their strength and shoulders to lean on when I felt I could not go on. Ultimately though, Nate is my inspiration. I know how he lived his life, and I know that there is one path to see him again. I truly hope I can honor his life and his legacy and raise Cecilia to see that as well.

I’m still working on finding this new normal, each day I’m just trying to put one foot in front of the other. In a couple of weeks I will be giving a talk at the parish St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Carmel, IN to a women’s bible study and will be sharing more about this in that talk. Once I have given it, I will post it in the blog.

Karlee Leavell- Thank you for your kind words and sharing a little about yourself as well. It is so nice to get to know you as well. <3

Thank you all again so much for your continued love and support. I hope to update more next week, but in the meantime I have been enjoying just being present with my family and Cecilia. Nate’s family has also been in town this week and my sister was home on fall break. All the while, Cecilia has been growing so big and strong, I can’t believe she’ll be 6 months in a few weeks! It’s amazing how time flies. My, how I love my little pumpkin!

Jennifer Trapuzzano