Independence Day

Well I know it was yesterday but I wanted to share some adorable pics of the kids from these past few days. E has been in full blown celebration mode and decked out in red white and blue. A was just excited to watch things blow up! :)



She was acting like a drill team girl for these pics! So funny!
Yesterday was so much fun for her and she was so excited for all the baking, crafting, and books about our Independence.



I do think A's biggest joy was riding out to Target with Daddy and watching the fireworks. We had a GREAT view of some from his room in the front of the house. So we pulled up some carpet and watched them from the comfort of air conditioning and avoided the bugs completely! I'm so glad we decided not to brave the crowds...this was oh so much better!



It was sort of sad to be away from all our loved ones, but it was also awe-inspiring to be together as a family unit and start new traditions. This is the first year we've been all together on the 4th since E could walk. Such a blessed celebration.

So today I'm praising God for my children. For my husband. For our life together. And always remembering that our time on this earth is miniscule compared to our time together for all eternity. May our great country always look to its Creator and King as without Him we are nothing.

In Jesus,
Evie

Summer Family update

We are doing well! Here are some tidbits from our summer so far.

These first two are from the weekend of Mike's birthday. E was so defeated that she couldn't blow the birthday horns from the double celebration of daddy and Nana Kay's birthday, but later on that weekend she figured it out! We've NEVER seen her so proud of herself! It was a wonderful lesson in try and try again! :)





These next ones are from the week before PreCana. The kids were having fun together doing puzzles (A is so interested in putting pieces in and out of the box...not really in putting puzzles together). Also the kids colored a sign for our communication talk to congratulate all of the engaged couples.




Here's A being super silly!


These last ones are from today. The kids were having fun attacking daddy in bed.






E is forming more complex sentences and enjoying "reading" books to us. She loves pigtails, puzzles, dressing up and playing kitchen. She'll often put on a fashion show throughout the day wearing at least 6 different items!

A is talking so much and forming two word phrases...hold you, milk please, push button...etc. He is trying so very hard to jump and we think he'll be jumping before E! He has started to love coloring and has recently taken to coloring alongside E. They are playing together so much and this has helped me get my chores accomplished more easily.

Daddy was out of town for a conference in Minnesota and while he enjoyed seeing St. Paul and the Mall of America...we are oh so glad to have him home!!!! A week apart was WAY too long!

I'm keeping busy with homeschool preparations, housekeeping and cake decorating...and am beginning to make lists of supplies and books I'll need for our preschool adventures starting in August.

We want to congratulate Dave and Melissa on the pregnancy!!!!!!!!!! We are also SOOOO excited to be Aunt and Uncle to their new little one!

We love and miss all of our family! Here's hoping this update finds you well.

In His Love

Humility

OH how many lessons I am receiving today. I suppose feeling like an alien in this world is the only way to remember I am made for the next. Praising Jesus today that I know I have little to give Him except all He gives to me.

In His Most Sacred Heart,

Evie

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus continues...

Here are the promised pictures!

We made a construction paper decoration to hang over our dining table with the Saint Margaret Mary prayer I found on another blog.




The kiddos helped me make gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free cut out cookies and I decorated them with dairy free buttercream and marshmallow fondant.



E colored this picture of the Sacred Heart. I actually found it on another blog that gave me the idea for the cookies...all these great homeschool moms with their wonderful ideas for me to borrow! Thanks Ladies!!!!


Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have Mercy On Us!

God Bless,

Evie

Feast of the Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart of Jesus HAVE MERCY on us!

Well, I'm desperately searching for coloring pages of the Sacred Heart and coming up dry. :( Every link I found in the forums is a dead end. I found one picture that doesn't have Jesus as part of it and I'd really like to have one with Him given how young E is...I think she'd better understand it then.

I have a heart shaped cake and I'm hopeful I can turn it into something special for today's feast and I'm going to have E do a craft with construction paper to hang above the dining room table (pictures to come).

I love all the ideas about red tablecloths and candles, but since I have none we'll have to wait and try it next year.

I'm going to do a prayer with the kids before we start the craft and then tonight, as a family, we can do a shortened version of the litany and renew our consecration to the Sacred Heart.

I'll post pictures soon!

God Bless!
Evie

One or two pictures

Here's our little princess all decked out like "Cinderella":



So that's it for now. Just wanted to put this up!

God Bless!

Where did the time go?

Wow. Easter Season is over and I haven't posted since March 19th!?!?! Yikes. My apologies! I'm going to try and keep up again with some pictures of the kids for family to see and begin my adventures in homeschooling with E this fall so...look forward to that! :)

Right now we are in the midst of talk preparations as we are giving a communications talk at Precana this Saturday. Mike is all ready, but given A's neediness this week and last week...and the week before. I'm struggling to get it together. I'm going over it each night and revising. Then hopefully by tomorrow night we can practice it together a few times. And again Friday. I get so nervous doing these things. It's funny because I'm pretty comfortable with it, but I still get nervous. Especially since this is part of Mike's job. Sigh.

Okay. Pictures will be up soon! Prayers for the talk would be appreciated!

God Bless!

Buggin' out

My poor little guy has had a stomach bug and it has been a crazy 24 hours. I think that he's over it, but after a few mistakes feeding him too soon I'm strictly enforcing a rice cake and fluids fast on him today. SIGH. I'm feeling the nausea of it all rolling around in my gut so let's hope it's just a result of witnessing too much uckiness all at once. I really think that a sick mom makes for a dilapidated household. How on earth are things supposed to get done! What am I to do if the urge to vomit hits me right as I'm mid diaper change and he's up on the bed half naked while I run to the toilet to lose my breakfast (or today just plain rice cake and tea)? Oh, what a conundrum!!!

So it is my official ruling that I shall not, will not, be sick with a stomach bug today. No way. I hope.

We've completely let go our Lenten Adventures this week due to the illness and a friend in need earlier in the week. We've managed to continue with our calendar and evening prayer before the kids go to bed, but otherwise I'm feeling a bit out of sorts and need to climb back on the Lent bandwagon.

Today is the Feast of St. Joseph and I was really hoping to be up for braving daily mass with the two kids, but given little man's vomiting around midnight and my tummy feeling like it's doing a very bad cha-cha-cha...it did not happen. Perhaps I'll print out some St. Joseph coloring pictures for my almost 3 year old beauty. I'm sure she'd love that! I thought about making cookies with hammers on them to represent St. Joseph as a carpenter, but alas that did not happen with everything else that has been on our plate.

Happy Solemnity!

In His Wounds,
Evie

Lenten Preparations

I was so excited to get ready for Lent that all of my decorations went up by last night. I got lots of AMAZING ideas from the ladies at the 4real forums, and took some things I already had and added another wreath and some sandy inspirations. Into the desert we go! Here are some pictures:



This is something I've done variations of for all of our marriage, but this year (since we have toddlers) I decided to have all the large nails embedded into the grapevine wreath to prevent any possible injuries. I take my decor apart and reuse it for various seasons so when Lent ends this will become an Easter wreath with flowers. I really love this dark purple but couldn't find anymore of it this year! Oh well...I'll keep looking.


This is a vase I filled part way with sand and then placed in a small grapevine wreath that has purple ribbon (not as dark a shade as I'd like) woven through it. I also added little twigs to be pulled out for "sacrifices" offered during Lent. Again this idea, the sticks in a wreath, I took from several of the 4Real ladies. They mentioned that it can also be done with a bread dough wreath and toothpicks. I thought about using a large grapevine wreath but lately my daughter climbs on the table and I thought this might be less of a temptation.



These are decorative boxes that I like to change with the seasons. I used fake sticks in a vase with small stones. I enjoy using sticks, rocks, dirt, rice and such during Lent. I think the starkness of these decorations is a nice way to be reminded of the stripping away of sins and worldly attachments. The other box has a cloth with some red dye under another mini grapevine wreath. I know it's a little strange, but I like the color red as a reminder of the blood Christ shed on the cross. This is, for me, referencing the cloths used to take him down from the cross. The third box is not shown but generally I put a small crucifix and some purple ribbon. Unfortunately I have not been able to find my small crucifix yet so I may have to make a run to the Catholic bookstore for a new one!

I put purple ribbon on all of our religious statues and crosses/crucifixes. Again an idea I saw on 4Real. Oh how thankful I am to Maggie for showing me this forum!!!

This is a new addition to our kitchen! Now that we have a house I decided to add a wreath to the kitchen to fill a bare spot above the pantry. I'm glad to finally have a use for the swag I bought and never used! Yay!


Finally here are my "homeschooling" items for Lent. We will be doing Holy Heroes Lenten Adventures as well as putting stickers on this calendar I made. This is our first year doing a Lenten calendar so I'm excited to see how she responds (she's 3 soon). Also I'm going to have her color and decorate this Alleluia card and we will hide it tonight. Then on Easter morning they can "hunt" for the Alleluia card as well as their Easter eggs.

The calendar has purple on all of the days of fasting/abstinence and yellow outlining on every Sunday during Lent. Then I did Good Friday in red and illustrated a few Lenten symbols. I think I'm looking forward to the day she makes her own calendar...I did this about 4 times before getting a version that met my high artistic standards...LOL!

Have a great Fat Tuesday! Let the Lenten adventure BEGIN!

In Jesus,
Evie

Passionate Love

I'm currently reading Christopher West's book 'Heaven's Song'. I think it would make a good book study for a Catholic Women's group. I would LOVE to have time to sit and reflect on the questions at the end of each chapter, but sadly this morning was interrupted by my lovely children right as I began my "reflection time". The joys of motherhood! I know our Lord sees these struggles. I am passionately in Love with Him. Now I just need to work on showing it!! As Valentine's Day decorations will soon go up in our household (I finally convinced my hubby that they should be up the month before V-day and the week of...) my mind is on love and things passionate. I realized (while reading West's book) that this year for Valentine's Day I need to reignite that passion I have for serving God with the gifts He has graciously given to me. That, as a lover woos a beloved, I need to so abundantly shower our Lord with my Love. Sooo determining the little ways (St. Therese) I can do that and the ways He is (luckily) guiding me to shower Him is the part I am trying to figure out.

Also I'm reexamining my Heart Day decor...much of it is ridden with cheesiness and kitsch. Perhaps, in a little dream world, I will afford to upgrade to something more classy...but for now I think I just need to edit what I have and make it work! Perhaps I will just print a few of my favorite quotes and frame them...and on that note I have finally narrowed down the quotes I want to use this Lent for our banner (yet to be made) and a framed scripture for the wall.

They are...


“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires…” Galatians 5:24

AND the ever famous Isaiah 52:4-5 passage:

"...it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, While we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed."

There's a lot to this passage, but this is perhaps the most key part.

Today my goal is to live out this passionate love for my God who gave Himself for me to live. And to continue to live out gentleness in this new year.

All Glory to God!

Endings and Preparations

The Christmas Season is almost over and I'm a little sad that our poor, unwatered Christmas tree didn't make it to the end of the week. SIGH. I suppose I should be happy the giant beacon of lights, chokeable objects and temptation is out of the house and no longer calling to my two toddlers. Yet I find myself sad. Christmas isn't over yet! Christmas without a tree is a little sad. But, Praise the Lord it's not all about the tree...the presents...and the lights...it's just really about Jesus. I'm thanking him this Christmas for that special moment in time that has allowed us to make beautiful family memories over the years. After all, if Jesus hadn't been born in a stable, laid in a manger, and visited by angels, shepherds and wise men we wouldn't have a reason to celebrate this special time of year.

So we're coming to an ending in the Liturgical season, but my mind has already jumped to some upcoming events...my anniversary (5 years on Saturday) steadily approaches...Valentine's day is almost here (I can't help but be a big sap when it comes to this romantic holiday...I'll find a way to incorporate Catholic stuff into it too!) and last and certainly not least...(drumroll please) LENT is soon upon us! Woot!

I must say that I'm uber excited to try out some stuff during Lent with my 2 year old (soon to be three year old). Hopefully some of it will stick in her little mind. This is the year of starting traditions and these ones seem most important. I read somewhere (forgive my forgetfulness) that there are no store displays for Lent, no presents to be opened...no reminders of the season...yet it is perhaps the most important time of year for us as Catholics. After all this is the time we return to Him who loves us more than life itself. "Return to me with all your heart"

So I'm seeking out ideas for Lenten "decor". I have a few things already (mostly home grown from trips to Michaels) and my list of must haves and must create(when able to afford) is as follows:

Alleluia Card (to hide as Lent begins...probably just have the kids color it and remake it every year)
Lenten/Easter Banner
Stations plaques/cards
Sorrowful mysteries wreath/hanging plaque
Crown of thorns wreath plaque
http://www.rosary-religious-inspirational-gifts.com/crown-of-thorns-wreath-plaque-p-190.html

Faith wall plaque
http://www.ewtnreligiouscatalogue.com/FAITH+WALL+PLAQUE/cid=506/page_no=5/edp_no=15765/shop.axd/ProductDetails

Service wall plaque
http://www.ewtnreligiouscatalogue.com/SERVICE+WALL+PLAQUE/cid=506/page_no=5/edp_no=15764/shop.axd/ProductDetails

Lenten journey map/calendar (either desert path or Lamb with cotton balls...thanks to all the 4real ladies for these ideas!)

I'm still madly searching for more Easter ideas. If anyone has any links or ideas PLEASE send them to me. I have a hard time finding religious Easter stuff that I like beyond the cross with the easter lily or the draped fabric. We don't do bunnies but I'd love a Resurrection Lamb somewhere...or maybe that should go on the Easter banner...hmmmm. Can you tell I'm brainstorming as I type? :)

We did Holy heroes, Advent Adventures (www.holyheroes.com) during Advent and I'm also UBER-EXCITED for the Lenten Adventure! I think (at the very least) my oldest will get a sense of preparation for Easter. Hopefully it will be a special time for her! And for us all!

Praise God for His Church and these Holy Seasons!

Merry Christmas ;)

Evie

Remembering my uncle

My uncle passed away in April of this year and it is hard to believe it has already been 5 months since the funeral and my trip to Kansas. His birthday is tomorrow and I can't help but reflect on him, his life, and the gift his presence is to me even now. I have no idea how to feel about his birthday, but given I never really celebrated it much during his life I now feel the need to celebrate it following his death. I have a great deal of difficulty keeping up with birthdays as well as just about everything else that is involved in household upkeeping. I think perhaps, as the woman in the relationship, it is often left to me to send cards and remember these special days, but it is funny that (as good as my memory is) I'm awful at actually following through on card sending and gift giving. I guess I'm more of a face to face kind of person. I wish I had been more consistent with cards for extended family members and I'm hoping to improve on this once our mailbox is down a driveway instead of across the apartment complex. Anyway...I'm sure my Uncle knows that even though I didn't send him birthday cards that I loved him and still do. Soo if you read this know that just b/c I didn't send a card doesn't mean I didn't think of you and pray for you.

A toast to my uncle, to his joy in life and his love for others! Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Happy New Year!

I cannot belive it is already 2008! My family went through a lot between then end of 2006 to the end of 2007.

Here's a run down...

Dec. 06 my paternal Grandma passed away Christmas Eve Day
New years 07 my maternal Grandma had a stroke and went to the ER
Jan. 07 we moved and struggled to make ends meet
March 07 E started to show signs of dehydration/poor health
March 07 Pregnant with baby #2
May 07 Finally sold our 1st home
Summer 07 childhood dog was put to sleep
August 07 E started Physical Therapy and I was put on bedrest for preterm contractions
September 07 E finally walked! Hubby started a second job at Target.
October 07 In and out of the hospital with false water breaking/contractions
Dec. 07 A born and my Uncle diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer
Jan. 08 Hubby is quitting his job at Target!

I guess after reading over all of this I am surprised that we survived it. BUT I know it is only by the grace of God that we did. All Praise and Glory to Him from whom all blessings flow!

A is one month old! Time has flown by!

Here are some pics...

A's Birth Story

A’s labor was a long and confusing process if we count the numerous false alarms and various trips to the hospital starting back with preterm contractions at 25 weeks. Then into the hospital at 34 weeks with more contractions that dissipated by the time I was on the monitors…then again at 35 weeks with gushing fluids. AND another time at 36 weeks with what we seemed certain was a “different” gush that meant my water had broken. Again and again these were all false alarms and each time I was sent home with less confidence in my ability to detect what was going on with my body. I began to fear that I would not “know” when labor was upon me. The contractions continued coming on/off from 36 weeks until he was born.
At 40 weeks and 6 days my OB had scheduled me for an induction based on “big baby” reasoning. I was okay with it thinking things would happen before then…when nothing did and my induction date was 24 hours away I panicked. I went to the chiropractor and an acupuncturist trying to get things moving. I called my OB and explained my uncertainty about induction and he agreed to postpone it until I was 41 weeks and 5 days.
At 41 weeks and 1 day (Nov. 30th) my body started “cleansing” and I had more contractions all day long that were (in my mind) possibly still just prodromal labor. They seemed more consistent and didn’t disappear, but weren’t coming in any specific pattern and I couldn’t time them. My MIL came the next day to help with E since I figured that if things stayed the same (with all the trips to the bathroom and the contractions) I would be in no shape to manage on my own with my hubby working that Saturday. The contractions continued all Saturday and seemed to be more consistent about 5-7 minutes apart and lasting varying amounts of time. But still nothing was picking up and I was not about to say “this is it” as I’d been there so many times during this pregnancy and each time was wrong. I nested like a mad woman all day Saturday in spite of my discomfort and managed to get all of my Advent decorations up and finished a few last minute things I had wanted organized before A was born. That night my mom and dad drove up since my mom decided that even if this wasn’t “it” they wanted to be here just in case it was…and it’s a good thing they did!
That night my mom took me to Publix and Target to walk around and hopefully help get things moving. I had a few harder and longer contractions while I was walking around and they were coming a little closer together 2-4 minutes apart. But they were still easily managed and I was sure active labor was not upon me yet. When we got home from Target I was so tired and all I wanted was to lie down. I went to bed hoping that if this was “it” I wouldn’t have much longer to go. Around 3 a.m. I woke up to a hard contraction. I knew this was it…finally! I woke up my hubby, my mom and dad and my MIL and informed them the time had come and could they please clear the living room as that is where I wanted to labor for as long as possible. My dad went and laid down with E so she wouldn’t be alone when she woke up and my mom and MIL helped get things ready for me in the living room. My parents had a blown up air mattress in the living room and we left it there as I had been instructed by my doula to try and labor lying down on my side as long as I could since it was so early in the morning. I tried this with my hubby holding me and found I didn’t like it. So I got up and tried some other positions but really couldn’t get comfortable. The contractions were coming 3 minutes apart consistently for the first hour and quickly picked up to 2 minutes apart by the second hour. I wasn’t timing them and preferred not to know how far apart they were. I had a bunch of ideas for how I wanted to labor but in the end I wound up back on the bed lying on my side with counter pressure on my low back moaning or humming through each contraction. This was the only way I could manage them and stay focused. Apparently my doula had told them to call her when I started vocalizing through contractions and I started doing it about an hour after we talked to her. They called her and told her I was vocalizing and she asked them to time how long my contractions were lasting. My mom told me later that I scared them because right after this the contractions were 2 minutes apart and lasting almost 2 minutes long. There seemed to me to be very little time between them at all and I had one toward the end of this part of the labor that nothing I did seemed to help me cope. I got frustrated with my mom at this point as she was trying to help stay focused and in control and later on we figured out this was me hitting transition. Shortly after getting irritated with my mom and screeching for someone to continue applying pressure to my low back I vomited several times.

We called the doula again (who was on her way to the apartment) and she advised we head to the hospital based on my vomiting and the 2 minute long contractions I had entered into. At this point I began to feel sort of outside of my body. They told me it was time to go to the hospital and I was unable to even question the command. I just put my shoes on and headed out the door. Getting off of the bed and walking was excruciating. For some reason it felt better on my side. It took me awhile to get down the stairs as I had to stop for some intense contractions. Of course at this point it was all intense! I got into the car and knew immediately why every woman abhors riding in a car during hard labor. I propped myself at an angle and gripped the handle to keep from sitting fully on the seat as that caused even more pain. My poor hubby was flipping out at this point and I think he was certain that the baby would be born in the car. He drove excessively fast and looked at me with concern whenever I started humming and moaning. Again this continued to be the best way for me to manage the pain (maybe because of all the vocal training I did in college for Theatre…lol). He actually called the Police and wanted to tell them we would be running red lights…they thought I was giving birth in the background or something b/c they put him through to the fire department!! It was like something out of movie. I started feeling pressure when we were halfway there and it worried us both since there was (in our minds) no way of knowing if my water had already broken or not since my “gushing” had continued throughout the end of the pregnancy and in the days leading up to labor.

We got to the hospital around 5:30am and they wanted me to pee in a cup…HA! That was not happening. I changed into a gown and was strapped onto the monitors I stayed on the bed for the remainder of my time in the hospital, but Praise God there wasn’t far to go. I think if I gotten up and moved around the baby would have come before my doctor arrived! So this was probably a good thing! They were asking me all these stupid questions that they should have already had the answers to from my 4 previous trips to the hospital and I was trying to answer them between my fast and hard contractions. Thank goodness my hubby arrived soon after parking the car and was able to answer some of them for me.
They checked me and I was 8 cm!!!! Hoorah! I had done it! I was thrilled to be that far along, but not really in a place of celebrating…lol. They said my water had not broken…go figure…it was tremendously ironic…if it had broken they think I would have had the baby in the car! They wanted to break it, but my doula said that there was a chance things would move too fast if they did this before my doctor arrived so I declined. I was sooo ready to be done and vomited again when I hit 9 cm. I began feeling lots of pressure and they informed me I was complete. My wonderful hubby had been amazing to me during this part of the labor. Whenever the doula reminded me to look into his eyes he would tell me how great I was doing and how much he loved me. This really helped me stay focused. My doctor finally arrived and I asked them to please break my water to move things along. There was meconium in it so I was informed I wouldn’t be able to hold him right away. After they broke it the contractions slowed to a halt for awhile until the baby dropped further down to get them going again. Pushing seemed impossible to me and I informed my doula and hubby that I didn’t think I could do it. She was great and looked me in the eyes and said I’d made it this far and I could push my baby out. She brought out some fabric with a knot in it and she pulled on one end and I pulled the other and pushed with each contraction. This immediately moved things along and everyone began to praise my pushing and I regained confidence that I could push him out. I didn’t really feel the ring of fire the way many women describe it, but what I felt reminded me of the burning I have had when I have a bladder infection…maybe that sounds strange but I don’t know any other way to describe it. For me this was the best part. The unproductive pushing was the most frustrating of it all, but once the pushing was going well I really was glad to be in that stage and ready to have him out. It only lasted 45 minutes but it really felt much longer to me. When his head was out the doctor was worried about his shoulders not fitting so he had me keep pushing instead of slowing down. Then he was out! I felt instant relief! They took him and checked him over really well b/c of the meconium, but he was fine! My hubby held him while they stitched me up. 2 small tears; same as with E. We were both over the moon to get to hold him immediately as we weren’t able to enjoy E since she was rushed to the NICU. I was able to hold him in the delivery room and nurse him there before they took him to be checked.
The entire experience was very healing for me. I really wanted to labor naturally and I am so glad I was able to do it! I think it is the one thing that I can honestly say I am proud of myself for doing…something that really was worth all the trouble and something I want to do again next time!

ALSO, thanks to this experience and our AMAZING doula, my hubby has decided that next time we can have a birthing center birth with a midwife!!!! Hooray!!!!





Daddy and son


One tired mom and her handsome son...


E loves holding her little brother and likes to point out where his eye, nose, and mouth are! :)

1 Day Left

Sooo tomorrow is not only Thanksgiving Day but also our due date! Baby is due to be born any minute now...if only someone would let him in on this fact! We are getting ready to host family for Thanksgiving since we can't travel due to my being 40 weeks pregnant. It should be fun!

We are super excited that we now have a doula to work with and anxious for labor to start on its own. If nothing happens by Wednesday the 28th the OB has decided to go ahead and induce. We are praying that we can avoid induction! I'm going to the chiropractor on Monday if nothing happens by then. There is a "go into labor" adjustment that will hopefully help him move down and out...so to speak.

Please keep us in your prayers as our "birthing" day approaches! I'll post a 40 week picture tomorrow if he hangs out until then! :)

God Bless,
Evie

38 weeks today

So I've made it to 38 weeks. I really can't believe it! I'm so thankful for all of the prayers we have received that have helped us get to this point! Of course now I am so very ready for this baby to be born! I keep hoping I'll go to sleep and wake up in labor! BUT nothing yet. Here is a picture of me today. I thought now that I'm so close to the end I should try and take pictures more regularly as this pregnancy is almost over. Plus sometimes from week to week at this point...the belly gets exponentially bigger by the day! You'll have to excuse the poor quality of the picture...our mirror hasn't been windexed in awhile and I'm not great with a camera!





And here's a pic of E all bundled up! It's getting colder here! YAY!

Pictures

E in her FSU dress! Go Noles! She did the chop for the first time this weekend!


Eating, eyes closed!


In her pumpkin bib!


Our little giraffe drinking her "milk"...soymilk that is!

36 week picture

Here is a picture of Evie at 36 weeks pregnant...rounded out ALL OVER!

Long time no post

Well the long and short of it is that after a stint without paychecks Mike was offered a job in another city. E celebrated her first birthday while we struggled from then until September with her eating and physical development she is now on track for a normal toddler! She started walking at 17 and a half months and is now saying several words: bye-bye, night-night, daddy, mama, more, and baby.

We are so happy that she is doing so well!

We found out that we were expecting #2 early this year and he (it's a boy!) is due in less than 3 weeks! I told you it had been a while...so life has changed a lot in the past year!

This pregnancy has been rough! Preterm contractions at 25 weeks, partial bedrest for Evie from then on, more contractions at 32 weeks, fluid gushing at 34 and 36 weeks (which we thought was the water breaking) and now the inevitable wait for the end of the journey and the beginning of life with "two". We found out that all the loss of fluid may be caused by a weakness in the top of the amniotic sac causing slight tearing where fluid collects and then rushes out. Apparently this type of tear reheals easily and isn't an infection risk. It has been very confusing and frustrating. Well, in spite of the drama we are soooo very ready to meet our son.

Other than that Mike is working a 2nd job to help us catch up from last year's difficulties and is tired a lot from working upwards of 60-65 hours a week between working for the Dioceses and working evenings/weekends at Target. We are so blessed to have made it to this point and are excited for the upcoming Advent Season.

Many blessings!

Stoked About Nintendo's New Console. Ser-Wii-ously.

With the election come and gone, it is difficult for me to say that I'm as enthusiastic about its outcome than I had been in my last post. As I wait for the dust to settle and the smoke to clear, I thought it best to post about something entirely different in the interim: Nintendo's new video game console.

The Nintendo Wii (pronounced "we") is set to be released in six days and will be the greatest Nintendo console ever released - nay, the greatest console ever released by any company. Period.

I say this in all seriousness as I was raised on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) of the 80s and have made video gaming a "hobby" ever since. Unfortunately, I have become terribly bored with video games as of late. Every year the industry is watered down with titles like "Shoot A Lot of Freakin' Aliens 9" or the 300th installment of Madden. Consumers are being asked to shell out $300+ every five years to play the exact same game we've been playing for the past 20 years simply because of graphical enhancements.

I came to fully realize this two weeks ago when I saw the new game Gears of War on an Xbox 360 stand in the mall. Initially, I was in awe of its beauty (the graphics are absolutely outstanding). But, after watching an individual in front of me play the game for several minutes I was bored out of my mind and headed home. I then proceeded to plug in my old NES and have a blast with Super Mario Brothers 3.

The Nintendo Wii will revolutionize the gaming industry for several reasons. It does not possesses the graphical power of the Xbox 360 or that of the mind-boggling, psuedo-thermonuclear-device that is the Playstation 3 but it has one of the greatest innovations in gaming history: a controller that senses a full range of 3-Dimentional motion in space. For example, to play tennis, you simply swing the controller (shaped like a small television remote) just as you would a tennis racket. In fact, you can put spin on the ball by simply twisting the remote as you swing. In the new Zelda, you swing the remote to slash away at enemies and even use the remote as a pointer in shooting games to aim your gun. It may not sound like a big deal, but everyone who has played a game as graphically inept as "Wii Sports" cannot stop talking about how incredibly fun it is to play.

Another exciting feature is the ability to play games from every Nintendo console ever made, as well as some Sega Genesis games. For a minimal fee - like with iTunes - I can download games like Ice Hockey for the original NES, Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo or even Super Mario 64 that was released for the Nintendo 64 and play them on the Wii. In effect, Nintendo is not simply making available to the public their new generation of games, they are releasing their entire catalog of games over the past 20+ years.

While there are still a host of other features yet to be mentioned, the most exciting for me is online connectivity. Games that I have had a blast playing with friends and family when I come to visit, such as Mario Party and Super Smash Brothers, can now be played over the internet, thereby rendering distance constraints irrelevant. This means I could call up Mel, Eric, Yoj, etc. across the country and be like "Hey, you wanna' play Mario Party?" and they'd all be like "Fo' Shizzle!"

Seriously.

Because Mario Party and Smash Bros. are fan favorites within the fam and extended fam (shout out to the D's!), I've included links to some videos of the upcoming renditions of these titles. Some of the mini-games for Mario Party in particular look incredibly fun with the new controller:

Mario Party 8 videos

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Note: The picture at the top is a photoshopped rendition of Homestar Runner, a web-based comic character, accompanied by a Wii remote and its "nunchuck" attachment. Homestar Runner pronounces the word "Seriously" in the same manner as the phonetic spelling of "Seri-Wii-ously" and it was my lame attempt at wit.