chocolate, chocolate everywhere...

I don't know if your family is anything like mine, but somehow, after any holiday that features candy (Valentine's day, Easter, etc) we have tons of left-over goodies. The Easter basket was still sitting on our counter, and the boys had long since forgotten about it's sweet treasures inside. Even Luis's last two bites of his white chocolate cross were still in there. Normally, the chocolate would call my name, and I would be the one who sneaks a piece here and there. But when I am pregnant, I have this incredible will power to stay away from things that are not healthy for me and/or the baby. (I have to admit, I choose not to exercise that will power when I am not pregnant.) Therefore...the candy has just sat there for weeks. So today, I decided to do something about it. I pulled out the double boiler, and began unwrapping bite sized snickers, and foil eggs. I looked in my snack cabinet, and found some caramel marshmallows that no one was eating. I added a little butter, and a bag of popcorn that just came out of the microwave. I made some mean looking caramel, chocolate, marshmallow popcorn balls. OK, they are probably not as good as the Harry and David popcorn with chunks of chocolate, but hey, they smell fabulous! So far, I have resisted (unless you count the time I licked my fingers after packaging all the balls)....Hopefully I can stay away altogether! The real test will be Josh, who doesn't care much for popcorn. I might have to bring them to the ball game tonight, and have my sisters kids eat them. Even so, I just love experimenting with left overs...it's always an adventure!

whoa, Nellie!

After being the only female species in our home for the past twelve years, I have grown accustom to the amount of testosterone that flows within these four walls on a daily basis. Growing up, I was always the "tomboy" type. My younger sister and I would find more pleasure playing with trucks on the dirt pile in Dad's back yard, than trying to match heels with Barbie's latest fashion. About the only contact we had with dolls of any type, were the poor little ones who became victim to our scissors. We would attempt to turn their long curls into a short, not-so-chic haircuts. After that, they couldn't hold our attention any longer and we would return to the back yard on another adventure. So, you can imagine my surprise finding out that I am 20 weeks away from giving birth to a baby girl.

I have been window shopping (online) just to get a glimpse at what is out there. After all, it's been nearly four years since I had a little one, and all of the baby paraphenalia from Jonathan was donated to various locations in Arizona before we moved. It is as though I have stepped into a different world, complete with lace and frills and bows. I must say, I don't really fit into this dimension yet, but I can slowly feel my estrogen increasing with every click of the mouse. When I shopped for the boys, it was so easy...striped shirt, and shorts...solid button down and church pants...white socks, or if I was feeling daring, maybe tan or even navy. That was that. I didn't have much to choose from...a quarter of the boys sections in most stores was overburdened by the girl's clearance pink foo-foo dresses that wouldn't fit into the already buldging girl racks.
I find myself thinking often about her...she might either be a tough little gal, able to hold her own against two older, full of life brothers, or she'll be our little doll baby, with hats and socks that match her pristine dresses. Most likely, she'll fall somewhere in the middle. It has been nice to not have to worry about circumsision...and trying to come up with another boy's name. I am thinking that maybe she'll be a little less energetic than the boys...but then again, she'll have Luis's genes, too, so probably not. One thing is for sure, if we aren't careful, she's going to be one spoiled little girl! Luis got all teary when he heard Jonathan tell him "I am going to have a little sister" for the first time. On my side of the family, there hasn't been a granddaughter in fourteen years...almost sixteen years since the only girl on Luis's side. I can tell this is going to be an adventure of a lifetime. One that I'll be easing myself into over the next four months.

then along came Liliana...

This last picture are Liliana's feet! Can you see her little toes??!!?? :)



So after a visit to the hospital for my ultrasound today, we found out we are having a girl! I am writing this before even telling Luis, and I can't even imagine his excitement when he gets home and we tell him. Aunt Marybeth, Nani and Papa already know, because I couldn't wait to tell them! At the appointment, Josh and Jonathan went into the room with me. Josh was mesmerized as he watched the screen. He would come over and tell me "I see the head" or I saw the baby's legs". Then, the tech turned to the boys and asked what they were hoping for...and brother or a sister? Josh piped right up and blurted out "A brother!". She turned to Jonathan, and he said "it's OK if it's a brother or a sister". Jonathan and I have been having long talks about how God sends babies, and He send what He thinks each family needs...some girls, and some boys. He had finally gotten over the "it has to be a girl" phase, and would have been happy either way. When the tech told us it was a girl, Jonathan looked at me with excitement and exclaimed "I was hoping it was a girl!" haha...it was so fun to let them be there, and see their baby sister first hand. After the ultrasound, I headed across the street to see my midwife. Josh was showing off the ultrasound pictures, and beaming when he told Leigh and Ana that he was going to have a baby sister. He was not disappointed in the least! In fact, when Ana asked him what he thought about having a baby sister, he told her "I am soooo excited!" I am still amazed, even after having two babies, to see how amazingly God fashions life together. Baby Lily is already so loved, and will be doubly protected by two big brothers, I have no doubt!

and a little child shall lead them...

It was eleven o'clock at night, and Jonathan wandered into our room, unable to sleep. It had been an exhaustive evening last night, and after baseball practice and a meeting following that at church, I was tempted to just tell him to crawl in bed with Luis and I. Somehow I mustered up a bit of energy and walked with him back to his room. As we passed the window in the hall, something caught my eye. A fire was blazing just beyond my brother-in-law's property, and it appeared it was approaching the truck and home of the neighbor down the road. I called Luis, who was already half asleep, to come evaluate the situation. After watching the flames grow for a few seconds, he quickly telephoned his brother, David, and both of them stormed to the neighbor's place. When they got there, the man's truck was already being effected by the laps of fire that were brushing against the passenger door. David ran to the man's house, and banged on the door, but there was no answer. Luis had feared that this man, who is known to be a heavy drinker, may had been intoxicated and fallen asleep inside his truck, but the flames prohibited them for getting close enough to check inside. David ran and got his garden hose (which seemed to stretch longer than I have ever seen it stretch before) and began to douse to flames that were now bubbling the paint on the man's truck. Luis yelled for me to call 911. For what seemed like hours, but was only actually minutes, David and Luis were able to get the fire under control, just before the fire trucks showed up. Jonathan and I were sitting on our front porch, watching all of the flurry of action. The fire department flooded the truck and surrounding area with gallons of water, to ensure that the truck would not ignite. As they were finishing up, the neighbor man emerged from his house, surprised to see all the commotion. Thankfully he had been inside his home, and not in his truck. How he managed to not hear David's banging, Luis and David yelling to each other, the hiss of the cold water on the hot metal and flames, and the arrival of half of the Hampton Fire Department, and Police is beyond me. All I can say is that what could have been a fatal situation, had the truck blown and caught the house on fire, ended up being only some surface damage to the door of the vehicle, thanks to two hero brothers, and a little boy who couldn't sleep.

So many times things happen in the course of our day (or night as it was), that are interruptions that can irritate us. Had I simply told Jonathan to go back to bed on his own, or let him come to bed with us, I would have never seen the flames. All things happen for a reason, of that I am truly convinced. So the next time you are held up in traffic, or forget something and have to turn around and go back home, making you run even more late, remember: Maybe it was God's way of protecting you from some danger that would you have faced, had you been a few minutes earlier. Instead of getting irritated, as I was tempted to do in my state of exhaustion, take time to thank the Lord that He knows exactly how to lead and guide every situation, even if it disrupts our lifestyle and busy schedules.

Scenes from the Family Day/Egg Hunt