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