Belly Button Sweat :)

That's right, you read it correctly, belly.button.sweat. We have now reached the stage in Liliana's growth and development that her mama's belly button has become very flat. It is not an innie, it is not an outie, it is just straight across. For that very reason, I get a circle of sweat where my flat belly button is every time that I work out. We joke that Liliana is working hard too, thats her little armpit sweating. If anything pregnancy is verrrry good for humility!

I came across a beautiful quote the other day about pregnancy, so beautiful that I thought I'd share with you all. I know that every single mom, grandma, great-grandma out there will identify with it!

"Pregnancy is itself a symbol of deep hospitality. It is the giving of one's body to the life of another. It is a sharing of all that we have, our cell structure, our bloodstream our food, our oxygen. It is saying 'welcome' with every breath and every heartbeat. And for many others that welcome is given irrespective of the demands made on one's own comfort, health or ease of life. For the demands of this hospitality are greater than almost any of our own. And the growing fetus is made to know that here is love, here are warm lodgings, here is a place of safety. In hiding and in quiet the miraculous growth can take place."

Elaine Storkey

It is Holy Week, almost Easter! I can hardly believe it!!! Do you have anything special planned, our dear loved ones? It is always so hard being away from family during beautiful celebrations such as this, but Joe and I have been invited to Easter lunch and to a bbq on Easter Saturday, so we will be very well taken care of!

I'll leave you with a beautiful Matt Maher Song, to contemplate His sacrifice for us this week. We must remember that anything we have been through, He has suffered already for us! Pain, rejection, loneliness, fear...we should run to His arms.

We love you, our dear ones, and we miss you so deeply. We often lie in bed at night and day-dream about the next time we get to see you, and then we write down all of the things we can't wait to do with you and show you.

Have a beautiful Holy Week! xoxoxo

Speaking of Babies...

Hello dearest ones, it's that time again! I've got my orange juice at MacDonald's and am finally sitting down to write a little update. My darling husband is at work, oh how I love him, he works so hard for us! Did you all know he ended up with black eyes two weeks ago? Here is a picture of the night it happened. Unfortunately we never got a picture the next day, he looked quite shocking. Doubly unfortunately he kept telling people that his wife was trying to put him in line. NOT TRUE! Haha, I think very few believed him. It was actually a very nasty basketball game...hard to watch for the preggo wife in the stands!

Still SOOOOOO dashing if I do say so myself!

Anywho, as those of you who have been pregnant before probably know, it is hard to think of little else! Especially now that our sweet Liliana's kicks are sooo strong and often, I am constantly day dreaming about our beautiful little girl. She is well over a pound now, and large and in charge! We received some glorious packages from Auntie Libby and Auntie Ciara, who both put so much heart and love into sending things for her. I'm not going to lie, I have unpacked and refolded her drawer about 4 times now just to look at the cuteness! We are about due for a new picture, but for thos of you who aren't on facebook, here is a picture at 23 weeks.



Here we are at a Sorrento beach, thanks to Joe's great boss who played host and tour guide for us!

 Anyhow, it is an interesting experience because, as it becomes undeniable that I'm pregnant, more and more people get brave about asking about the circumstances of her conception! Most assume she was a "mistake," or a "shock" or a "mishap." There are those who assume that her conception was a contraceptive failure, and others who assume that her conception was a natural family planning failure, but almost NONE who assume that she is a result of our decision to be open to new life in our marriage! People cautiously asked, "so, is this pregnancy a GOOD thing?"  I do not feel the need to defend our family, because I truly don't care what people think, but I do want people to know that a) natural family planning (nfp)works perfectly, and b) part of Catholic marriage is the month to month discernment process of what God wants for our marriage in this moment. Joe and I both felt very strongly that if, at any point, we were putting ourselves in a position that we had to delay pregnancy for selfish reasons than we wanted to change that, because we didn't see any other serious or grave reasons for postponing pregnancy. Thank the good Lord, because now we have this beautiful little one who we love more than anything and can't wait to meet. So, to all of those curious types, she is here because God had a marvelous plan for her life, and we are so excited to cooperate with Him.

In other, less serious news, Joe's team is down 2 losses to 1 win in their season, so they are seriously looking for a win tomorrow! With two of their most senior and "scoring" players missing, it is going to be an intense game. I better put on lots of deodorant :)

 Well, our loved ones, that is all for now. We are seriously missing my side of the family who are celebrating Nanny and Papa's 50th wedding anniversary with a trip to the Holy Land.  Please keep them and their safety in your prayers! We love you all and miss you so very much, the autumn leaves are falling here in Melbourne, I hope the green grass is starting to poke through for you in North America.

Love always, xoxoxo

And little Liliana!