Do you ever get the feeling...

...like you are being watched???



We did, tonight, while Luis and the boys were swimming, this owl flew over us three times...kind of freaked us all out. He called out a few "Hoo, Hoo's", and went on his way toward a neighbor's house. We're not sure if he thought that we were edible, or if he was just overly friendly, but we didn't stick around to see if he would come back. This is the third time we have seen him in our yard at dusk. The first time, i just about jumped out of my skin, as I walked by our satellite dish and saw two huge eyes staring at me about 5 feet away. Good thing we are not superstitious, because I think there are some old wives tales floating around about owls and bad luck!

Night Swimming

It's been a HOT weekend, and we are very thankful for our little pool! Ali, Robbie and Matt came over yesterday for some water fun and Josh and Jonathan loved spending time with their cousins!(of course, I forgot to take pictures!) but here are some from tonight's late, after-dinner swim. Halfway through, Luis banished the squirt guns, as he was on the receiving end of most of the squirting!

Fawn

A neighbor brought over a fawn that he found on the side of the road. We don't know what happened to the mother, so Abuelita Carmen was caring for it until they figured out what to do with it.

Third time's a charm!

Well, our third attempt at a vegetable garden has proven to be worth it! We are already seeing cucumbers and hot peppers growing on our plants, and our watermelon (that we transplanted from the first garden) is thriving! My transplanted oregano is happy, too! Can't wait until we can actually pick veggies for dinner!

27 weeks...today!

I went to the midwife today....lost 2 pounds (overall net gain of 3 pounds so far!)...my iron is low (not really a surprise) and I am borderline with gestational diabetes (just like Mom was with me). Other than up my iron and watch the sugar, all is going well! Lily continues to display her soccer kicks for us...the boys love to watch my stomach jump and roll. I am starting to really feel pregnant now. I can still fit into most of my regular clothes, but they are starting to feel snug. We took a tour of the birthing center, which was nice. Pretty private, and plenty of room for visitors!! :) Officially I have 13 weeks left...but the boys were 1-2 weeks early, so we'll see what happens. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers...time is flying by, and everything is going along smoothly!

Berry overdose

We have been blessed with hundreds of blackberries and, now that our blueberries are beginning to ripen, we have more delicious, nutritious treats to snack on! Jonathan found out (the hard way) the down side of eating too many blackberries in one day. (I don't think I really need to elaborate). We picked a small container of blueberries yesterday, and between our morning cereal and snacks, they are already gone! The boys think they are getting a "sweetie", but little do they realize how good they are for them. Now, if I can just get Jonathan's digestive tract back to normal, we'll be good to go!

Bitten

Yesterday, the boys and I were riding home after church, and I spotted a tiny orange kitten standing on the edge of the road. It had just rained really hard, and the poor little kitten was shivering and meowing, and seemed to be in a state of shock. I was afraid the little kitty would get run over, so I pulled the car off the road, and tried to catch it. Every time I attempted to reach the kitten, it ran under my car! (It was like a bad episode of the Carol Burnett show!) Just then, Luis came driving by (he had to take a friend to run an errand), and he pulled over to see what I was doing. When I told him about the kitten, I could tell he was LESS than thrilled, but humored me (and the kids at this point) in rescuing the poor little kitty. It the process of trying to grab the cat, Luis got bit! We were unable to get the cat, and searched for it for about an hour, but couldn't find it. Long story short, I called the health department and talked to my friend Reahnita (who I used to work with when I worked in environmental health, which included the rabies investigations!!) and she got the process going for Luis to start his rounds of post exposure rabies shots. Boy do I feel like such a heel today! I will NEVER (under any circumstances!) ever stop for an animal again! I already told the kids, if they see something, don't tell me! They say the shots aren't as bad as they used to be...they don't go into the stomach and hurt like the dickens anymore, but still, he has to receive 6 of them! Luis is being a good sport about it, and hasn't even gotten angry (which wouldn't have been me if the tables were turned!) We are off to his MD in a few minutes...UGH!

Galilee by the Sea...

Tonight was the last night of our church's week long Vacation Bible School. The kids had a super time. Here's some pictures-

My Mom reminder

Every morning for the last two weeks, I have walked out of our house, and have been greeted by another gardenia bloom. The fragrance is so heavenly, and each time I see my pretty flowers, I think of my beautiful Mom! It's one of her favorite flowers, and I enjoy the daily reminder of her.

On another note, we picked a bunch of peaches today, and our blueberries are starting to turn, won't be long now!! I love the SC fruit season!

Just for Sarah =)

OK, most of you know I hate pictures of myself, but hey...this is probably the last time I'll be pregnant, so I guess it's in order! Here's me (and Lily) at 6 months along!

Update

I went to see my midwife last week, and she told me that my ultrasound showed that the amnion membrane around the amniotic fluid was lower than it should have been. She was not aware of what causes this. She took me into the U/S room at the center, and she did another ultrasound. Everything looked normal, this time, so that's good. I can't believe I am in the last trimester already. Time has gone by so fast, and I am feeling great! We are all so excited to see Baby Lily. Thanks in advance for your prayers for everything to turn out just as God has planned! Love you all!

One down...three to go...

We went up to Greenville yesterday for Luis to take the first out of four tests for his Pastoral license. Between working 40+ hours and our litttle Spanish ministry in our church, he has managed to find time to study 14 chapters, watch numerous DVD's and complete loads of homework assignments, all while fitting in time for playing baseball with the boys and taking dips in the pool. One thing is for sure, he loves to read, and learn, and that helps him tremendously! He passed the exam with flying colors!! YAY! Then we enjoyed the day in the "mountains" (more like hills, but to two little boys from the lowcountry, any slope is a mountain!). It was nice to get to meet the other students in Luis's class, and the Pastor who is teaching it. They are a group of great people. We are so excited to see what God has in store. For now, he has a rather long road ahead...keep on truckin' Luis!