Sweet one, meet Family

Eli, my Sweet P, welcome to our family. Our family loves to love. So, be excited my sweet, you're in for tons of kisses, snuggles, OoOos and Aaaas, kind words, loving acts of service, and with God's grace, so many more ways of loves sweet expressions. All your grandparents, Auntie, and Uncles were ready to meet you when you were born. Everyone was excited and filled with Joy upon meeting you, as they were with your older brother (who, by the way, wanted to hold you the moment he saw you). Here are some photos of those precious moments.

Big brother just wanting to hold and hug you.

Uncle Aaron and Rebekah.

You with Papa, Yaya, and Auntie Hailey.

Here your mama is with your Uncle Mychael and you.

Papa Ram and Nana.

Papa Wooley and Nonna.

And here you are, my precious. Love you tons!

Thank you for blessing us all with the gift of you and giving us the opportunity to learn more about love.

"Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting." ~Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Sweet P's Birthday

²⁷ This is the child for which I was praying, and Yahweh has granted me what I asked of him.²⁸ Now I make him over to Yahweh for the whole of his life. He is made over to Yahweh.' They then worshipped Yahweh there. -Samuel 1:27-28

Our new sweet was born! He was healthy, precious, and all the wonderful snuggles, cuddles, and baby smells a sweet baby boy comes with. And yes, Sweet P is a boy! Surprise! So many thought we were for sure having a sweet baby girl this time, but God had other plans in mind for us. I'm so excited to see our sons grow together and enjoy their love and boyish fun! Joseph is the sweetest big brother offering sweet kisses whenever he can. Even though he has snuck in a few smacks for his little brother he has definitely outweighed any mal-attempts with kisses, hugs, and a helping hand. He has been so patient and good for this recovering-from-a-cesarean mama.

Our little family cannot be more excited to have Eli with us. It's such a beautiful gift to be able to see our family grow from two to four. The years and our Lord have been so good to us. We couldn't be more grateful for this precious life that has been gifted us from Above. I'll write more about Eli's birth story in another post, but know for now, I am doing my best to figure out life with two under two; meanwhile, being good to myself while I heal.

Thank you, everyone, for the gift and blessing of your prayers. They have been heard in so many ways, which I will be sure to share. We have felt covered in your loving and prayerful words since the day we knew how and when our little Eli would make himself known to us.

Blessed Mother, continue to pray for our little family.

"At every occurrence we should say: Dominus est. It is the Lord; and in all circumstances we should find a gift from God: we should consider creatures as very feeble instruments in the hands of an Almighty Worker, and we should recognize without difficulty that nothing is lacking to us that God’s constant care leads Him to give us each instant what is suited to us." -Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade

Happy Due Date, Sweet P

Happiest due date, to our Sweet P. We love you and are so excited to see and hold you! To know if you are a boy or a girl! To call and know you by name! For you to meet your big brother and for your big brother to meet you! For you to meet us! To bring you home! To snuggle with you! To shower you with kisses and love! For you to meet your grandparents, uncles, aunts, and so many more who are anxious to know and meet you!

Sweetest one, we are ready when you are. We're praying. We have been praying. We love you dearly, and are so thankful for the gift of you.

For a stalk to grow or a flower to open there must be time that cannot be forced; nine months must go by for the birth of a human child; to write a book or compose music often years must be dedicated to patient research ...To find the mystery there must be patience, interior purification, silence, waiting....-Blessed John Paul II

St. John Bosco, pray for us.
St. Gianna Beretta Molla, pray for us.
St. Therese of Lisieux, pray for us.
St. Gerard Majella, pray for us.
Blessed John Paul II, pray for us.
Dearest Holy Family, pray for us.

"Good will, strengthened by the grace of God, will produce marvelous results. Yet, in order to succeed we must try hard to know and to feel the beauty of virtue and the joy that is in store for those who serve a loving God."- St. John Bosco

Happy Feast of St. John Bosco, patron saint of our youth.

St. John Bosco, pray for us!

So in love...

...with my sweet son. The big brother to our Sweet P. Our son who will be a wonderful big brother and who is always ready to share smiles, giggles, joy, energy, snuggles, hugs, love, and so much more.

Sweet gift, I love you. I love you so much. Thank you for all that your are.

St. John Bosco, pray for our little growing family.

38 weeks + 1 day

We had beautiful weather this weekend. So, today, we decided it was a perfect day for a stroll in the park. Bigfoot enjoyed his new bike as well as slides and sticks. And, GeekMan and I enjoyed our time with our oldest and each other.

Sweet P you will soon be joining us! It's so hard to believe we are already in week 39. Sweet one, you and your brother have been wearing me out! And, I know I have another thing coming once you are in my arms and no longer in my womb, but I am doing my best to soak up this lovely time we have together as well as the time I have with your big brother.

I love you both so much and can't wait for you all to grow together!

HNY

Once again, this mama managed to be sick bringing in the new year! I ended up catching the flu at 35 weeks preggo - who does that??! I wouldn't wish it on anyone. The flu without baby in womb is tough enough!

We rung in the new year by going to a nice dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant called Besa's (thankfully the meds ha me feeling mostly better by this point). Food was delicious as always! We returned home after dinner, opting for ice cream from our freezer rather than a nearby ice cream place. It was pretty cold and rainy out so we figured home was best. Once we were we arrived we started up our home videos from 2012. I'm starting to really enjoy this newly found tradition that all started since I was sick last year too. Joseph joined for awhile and then went to bed for a peaceful night. Meanwhile, I continued to be sick and my husband continued to be amazing.

We came to find that 2012 was all about our sweet gift we have in Joseph. After enjoying the videos, I got excited thinking about Joseph sharing video time with his little brother or sister who will be here in just a few short weeks!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Christmas was Merry and White

"Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices." - St. Teresa of Avila

Be Little

The day will come when you no longer fit inside my lap to read books with me,
So today, be little, and read with me.
Some day your arms will be far too big to barely surround my neck in a hug,
So today, be little, and hug me small.
Some day my hand will fit inside of yours,
So today, be little, and let me hold your hand.

One day you will not need my help as much,
So today, be little, and let me help you do what you cannot.
Some day, you will grow up and move on and move out,
So today, be little, and stay with me.

-Christine Kasper



Thank you, Christine for putting a mama's heart into such sweet words!