Blessed Are We!

Dearest Ones,

The days are just flying by and I'm sorry that I've been sooo slack on updating our blog! I'm not sure if many of you saw the blog before this, with little tidbits from our life, but needless to say we've been busy and, as usual, so very peace and joy-filled!

I want to take a moment to reflect on just how blessed we are to, at this point in our lives, have so very little. No, I am not in ANY way looking for pity,  and we are in NO way destitute, but I simply can't help but share how amazing life can be when pennies are being counted. I know many of you know that we've had trouble finding Joe a fulltime job, and with the cost of living here in Australia times have been tight. 5 months ago I had terror in my heart at the thought of being "poor." I was so influenced by all the messages we receive that tell us we simply can't be happy without things and money. I wondered if we had been stupid in our openness to concieving a baby in the midst of all of the uncertainty...and I had moments of doubting whether, in fact, God would provide! I have learned a most valuable and life-long lesson. I never knew how amazing the 2.50 hotdog deal at costco actually tasted until it became our date. I never knew the utter joy of a new pair of socks to workout in, nor the feeling of victory in stretching a very small food budget to feed a very big man! I never knew how much I could come to treasure just "being" instead of "having." I never anticipated how easy it would be to live without my guilty pleasures like magazines and chewing gum. I simply never foresaw the heroic love of my husband in providing for my family and sacrificing his favorite things (like scotch!). I never knew that my best friend in the world could become even more dear to my heart when he is the only thing I have to hold onto. I had never experienced God's incredible Providence, that somehow whenever we need something, it comes through...whenever I feel desperate a package arrives with some money or a meal arrives at the door. I am so grateful that we have had this struggle, and I hope that I never forget it! We are so blessed.

Joe had an absolutely unbelievable first game last weekend, (maybe giving up the scotch is helping him jump higher!). He started the game with a massive dunk, at which the whole crowd went nuts! He played hard the whole game, almost giving me a heart attack multiple times we landed with a loud thump on the floor. He finally scored an incredible fadeaway threepointer from the far right corner of the court to bring the team within one point of the game. Unfortunately they lost by that one point, but Joe walked off that court a total hero. I was SO PROUD! Our little girl kicked the whole game, I think she didn't know quite what to think of all the noise, and of course she probably felt my heart accelerating like crazy too!!  You can keep up with his stats via this link http://www.sportingpulse.com/team_info.cgi?player=Joe+Packard&action=PSTATS&player_id=192311270&client=0-913-15120-151640-14597519

We have named our wee one, and we just love calling her by name. She is LILIANA JOY PACKARD. Her name is Italian and it means lilies, which is the flower of the Eucharist and a symbol of purity. She will be Lyla for short, as Lily is a very popular name at the moment so we want to stay away from that. We are so happy with her name and every day when I look at her picture I can't help but think how perfectly it suits her!

Well, that is all for now! It is a beautiful feast day of the Annunciation here today, I can't believe that it is 9 months until Christmas!! However, Lent and Easter first! We pray you are having a beautiful spring (for those in North American) and autumn (for those here!). We love you and of course pray for you every day, thank you for blessing our lives with your love! xoxo

Emily and baby Liliana

Little Tidbits

Dearest Loved Ones, our lives have been so very busy! I am sorry for not writing more...but we've been thinking about all of our loved ones and missing you so very much. We are very well here! The weather has turned cool and crisp, which makes both of us think of Thanksgiving dinner and pumpkin spice lattes, but that is ok we will adjust ;) It is so nice to sleep with the cool, fresh air blowing in the house.

I think I had better put our updates in bullet form or else you will never have time to read anything!

1. We are having a little GIRL! Yesterday Joe and I had an ultrasound (our first one), and we got to see her sweet little face, hands, feet, spine, legs, arms, even teensy bum. We asked the ultrasound tech. to write her sex down and then we went on a lunch date and opened it together. So much fun! Here is a picture of her recent growth spurt ...as seen through Mama's stomach (for those who havn't seen this pic).

 2. My incredible husband has been very busy! He picked up someone's shifts while they are on vacation, thus meaning that he works most days from 6:00 am until 9:30 pm (some days he has a break!). I am just so blessed to have him. For those of you who know Joe, you know how much he likes his sleep. 4:30 am is quite the sacrifice!

3. However, I suppose the mantra "work hard, play hard" could apply to us also! We have been so lucky to meet friends who take such good care of us. We have had dinner with the Hudec family (currently expecting identical twins!), been on a lovely hike out to King Lake with Joe's manager, and even found time for pizza picnics and beer bong (just the two of us) on Saturday night. Also, we went to The Belgian Beer Cafe in St. Kilda with Joe's basketball team. He is playing with such a great group of men and I think we both left there feeling super grateful! Finally, we even made it into the state library on a Saturday to take a look at a children's book illustration exhibit. It was fascinating! Here are some pictures of our trip to the city and beer pong date night. 

 My Handsome Hubby in front of the state Library...this is on Swanston Street in downtown Melbourne!

 I told you his muscles were getting big! How good lookin' is my man? I am a lucky woman! Joe won...even though I was playing with apple juice/soda water. GOSH!

Delicious! Thanks Gin for the Table cloth/picnic blanket...great shower gift!

Anyhow, I should sign off as I am in the library trying to get some school work done. It is difficult now that there is so much cute girl clothes to look at online! Must. Focus. We love you dear friends and loved ones. We miss you and pray for you every day. I hope you are all having a beautiful start to Lent, what a gorgeous and hope-filled season.  XOXO

(AND THE LITTLE LADY)

The Resident Athlete

So, all three of us in our house are growing right now...just in all different directions! The other day Joe walked out of the bedroom wearing his long sleeve undershirt that we'd bought last year and he was literally bursting out of it in the bicep/chest/back area. With an appalled look he wondered "what has happened to my shirt, did someone do laundry recently?" Oh, WOE IS YOU, I wanted to shout, your muscles are just getting tooooo big for all of your shirts. (Not to mention, who do you think I am? I never shrink your clothes!) He stands in front of the mirror lamenting that his shirts don't fit, while I lament at the same time but it is  not my biceps that are bulging! I truly do not lament, because I don't resent a single ounce of growth on the part of our wee one, but I do agonize over just how to clothe my new shape :) We had a good laugh about our growing pains. Little One has grown the most (proportionally) as he or she is now the size of a 6 inch or so sweet potato. We heard the sweet and strong heart beat the other day, and our wonderful doctor laughed over just how much the baby was moving around, we had to keep re-locating the heart beat! "We've got a little track star in there", Joe said!

Anyhow, I don't have much time to write more, but I wanted to post some recent pictures of Joe playing basketball (for all of his fans out there) :) Mama and Papa Packard (and Grandparents in California also) I'm thinking especially of you!

Look at that intense face!

Shootin' a free throw!

Hang time!

My man can JUMP!

Life is great for us! We have lots of challenges, but most of all we laugh sooo much! I am just so in love with my husband and despite all of his hard work and the frustrations of the job search, he is still so very romantic and thoughtful. We are reading a wonderful book right now called, "Parenting with Grace." We just finished a chapter on relating styles and we learned so much more about each other and our different needs based on our relating style. My dear Beloved has a kinesthetic relating style (or touch) while I am visual, which explained alot! Needless to say I am sooo thankful for these wonderful Catholic thinkers who aid us in our path to holiness and a joy-filled marriage, and help us understand each others "quirks".

If you want to keep up with Joe's team you can check out this link. Their first game is on March 19th and he is starting! Go Eagles!! http://www.sportingpulse.com/comp_info.cgi?a=ROUND&round=-1&client=1-913-0-151640-0&pool=-1

We love you, our dear ones. We pray for you always, especially those of you who may have extra suffering in your lives right now. We miss you so very much and can't wait to be home and close one day soon! XOXO

(AND THE LITTLE BEAR)