Rainy Days but Happy Days!

Hello dear friends and family, from a very chilly Melbourne. As I write the rain is falling down and I sit bundled in our living room with the heater keeping me warm.

So, what’s the news from Melbourne? Besides the chilly weather that makes us not want to get out of bed each morning, we are doing very well and of course are very happy. Can I just take a moment to rave about my amazing husband? He has picked up yet another job here in Melbourne. Working at a warehouse 8 hours a day certainly isn’t glamorous and is so far from Joe’s dream job, but he doesn’t complain!  He is also still working night shifts at the gym and coaching, as well as playing basketball. I am just so amazed by his selflessness, the fact that he would sacrifice so much to support me as I study and to support our family as we anticipate Liliana’s arrival. I am so excited for the day when he finally gets a job he loves and when he doesn’t have to work 50+ hours a week. For now, we just count our blessings J

The little lady is growing and growing! We had our 28 week check up two days ago, and everything looks wonderful. She is active and spends much more time head down now, which makes my ribs one of her favorite things to explore with her feet. I love it though; those little kicks are a sign of a healthy and growing baby. Here are some recent pictures (at 28.5 weeks)…12 weeks left, WOW!

Joe’s basketball team continues to struggle to get a win in. With injuries crippling the team and various other difficult circumstances surrounding them, I am proud of the men but feel so bad that their morale is taking such a beating! Joe, of course, continues to play his heart out on the court, although I think I am getting used to seeing him skid across the floor and take beating on the court. Not to mention, he dishes it out as well, and almost every game finishes with 4 or 5 fouls.

We had some surprising news when Joe’s work visa was denied by the Australian government. Although, it is all starting to make sense as we follow the news and hear more about how the government is cracking down on the granting of work visas in order to lower unemployment rates here in Australia. So, it is time for us to re-evaluate, as Joe will be illegal in Australia at the end of September….good thing we love being spontaneous and we also fully believe that God reveals His plans for our life in beautiful and mysterious ways. More on that soon!

Well, I suppose that is all for now! I wish I could thrill you all with stories of daring adventures and exciting travel. Instead, we live an exceedingly low key life, as we strive to make ends meet and provide a little bit for our future. However, coming on ten months of marriage I can tell you that I am more passionately in love, happier, and more secure than I have ever been. With most things in our lives (waaaaay) up in the air, our marriage stays grounded in love for God, our baby girl, and each other. Joe is my rock and my prince. I am the luckiest woman alive, and in that senseI feel like I am still living my very own fairy tale. Praise God!

We miss you every day. We miss the smells of spring in Texas and Calgary, we miss Canmore and bonfires in Joe’s backyard, we miss hugging our mamas and dads, and the ability to just call anytime, but we persevere!  We love you!

xoxo

How can I love You even more than this?

Dearest ones, how are you today? You are going to have to excuse me for being cheesy and romantic. I just can't help it, maybe a little bit of pregnancy hormones, but I think more than anything you can blame my cheese on my ever growing gratitude for my dearest hubby.

The other day during class break I was having a discussion with my professor about the new trend, transhumanism, which professes the aim to make immortality possible for those who are genetically perfect (which they propose to do through eugenic manipulation). Someone asked, have they thought about what it means to never die? About how meaningless life would become when it just stretched on and on?  I agree, I can’t imagine knowing that this life would last forever, it would be so....bleak?

However, there is one reason why I can’t fathom physical death…and that is the immense love I have for my husband. We’ve only been married ten months and yet some nights I lie in bed unable to sleep because I can’t stand the thought of being separated from him eventually. It is the one reason getting older and the passage of time is so frightening to me! He is everything to me!! I truly ache for him when we've been apart half a day...he is my dearest beloved and my best friend. When I expressed this to my professor he only smiled, and told me that my love would only grow, that my spouse would only become more important to me, and my anticipation of one day being separated from him would become more and more painful! I can’t imagine!!!! Dr. Cooper said that he knows the death of his wife (if she dies before him) will be the certain death of a part of himself. Bernard, a class mate, said the same…that his attachment to his wife is only more intense than it has ever been (they’ve been married 30 years or so!). 

Anyhow, my heart gets tight in my chest when I think about how I love my husband. It is almost painful to love someone so much, yet he and our love is most sublime gift my life has brought to me. I know that many of you feel that way, and yet it is one of those things that simply can’t be described until it is experienced. Oh if only I could live forever only so I could love my Joe forever! I suppose that is reason in itself to love him as deeply, fully, and selflessly every day, so that I can never look back and wish I’d used the gift of time better. Speaking of looking back, I’ve been looking at old pics lately, so I thought I’d put some up from the very beginning of our relationship!

When I cheered on the baseball and not the basketball bleachers :) Such a handsome baseball player he is!

The first time Joe joined our family in Hawaii...such fun hiking!

The very first picture ever taken of us...at our friend Zac's birthday at the good old "Sugar Shack" in Dallas!



Cheering for the Mavs during playoffs....too bad they weren't doing as well then as they are now! Look at that Handsome shaved head....

'SIGH'

Oh a completely different note, the spiders have gone away with the cold but I may be scarred for life because today there was a cockroach that crawled into my hot chocolate while I wasn’t looking. It took a while for me to recover from that scare! He is now down the toilette, followed by lots of bleach so he doesn’t come back up and surprise one of us. Ewwww!

That’s all for today, dear loved ones…just the musings of a deeply in love wife, and a deeply grateful lady.  We miss you, of course! I know I say that every time I write but it is SO TRUE.  Long distance hugs from Melbourne to all of you, please know that we hold you close in our prayers.

xoxo

Letter to Liliana

My Dearest Little Lady,

Well, Mother's day is coming up, our first Mother's day of many to come. I am excited for this one, that I get to spend so close with you, feeling you move and grow in my belly. I think it is a very lucky first Mother's day to have! There are so many things happening, so very quickly now that you and I are in our third trimester. I can't believe that your beautiful birth day is 3 months away. Oh how I can't wait to meet you and hold you, and kiss your cute little nose.

You are getting very big now! I can't bend over to put my socks or shoes on, and if I try you always remind me with a fiesty little kick that you are there and don't like being squished.

You like to spend most of your time very low in my belly and with what seems to be your back pressed up against me. Often Daddy and I can make out the shape of your little body, and then it looks like you are trying to escape straight through my belly button when you start moving around and making all sorts of odd shapes out of my abdomen.

You really hurt my back these days, upper and lower! I have lots of pain in my ribs, maybe because you are crowding my lungs? I don't know, and I'll probably never know as you won't be able to tell me when you are finally in our arms! Daddy has become a hero doing lots of the house work and taking care of me, because sometimes the only relief is to put my feet up with a hot pack.

You MUST be growing because Mommy is soooo hungry. I usually wake up in the night and my stomach is growling away. You make me want to eat lots of sweets, especially first thing in the morning. Who knew Easter Eggs tasted so good before real eggs?

You seem to move and kick more than you sleep. It is so cute when you get the hiccups, and lots of times you start moving if we are playing music. You always move when Daddy talks to you through Mommy's belly button, and when he puts his cheek against you, you like to give him a little kick and let him know you are there.

Yesterday I saw/felt either a little foot or a little knee sticking out on the left side, it was so cute and I keep imagining what your little feet will look like! Will they be long and skinny like your daddy's?

I have dreams of you alot, and in my dreams I get to hold you. You always have lots of dark hair!! To tell you the truth, you always look alot like me in my newborn pictures, maybe because it is hard to imagine a perfect little person that is a combination of your daddy and me. It is just so amazing!

On that last note, I really hope you get your daddy's gorgeous hands and fingers. If you do, not only will you be an amazing athlete but you could be a fabulous musician. Oh, the opportunities are endless!

Mommy and Daddy are still living in Australia. It's been a really big challenge, and to tell you the truth you are the brightest light in our lives right now. Even though it's hard to make ends meet, we can't imaging not having you in our lives, you make everything worth it!

I am really hoping that you are born before Daddy's last basketball game (July 31), even though your "guess date" is August 1. I just want you to "see" him play!! He is such a hero, you are going to be soooo proud of your daddy, and you are going to feel so safe whenever he is with you.

You seem pretty stubborn, much more like me than like daddy. I don't know how possible it is to tell personality in the womb, but you seem to be pretty assertive in there! Oh dear, what have I gotten myself into? Hopefully your daddy, who is cool as a cucumber, can rub off on you a little bit.

Oh, and by the way I have been doing lots of work to prepare for your beautiful birthday. Mommy is learning hypnobabies, in the hopes that your birthday is beautiful and peaceful. I want you to come in the world in a peaceful and gentle way. I wouldn't mind if you cooperated with me :)

Well my sweet Liliana Joy, that's all for now! I love you so much, thank you for being my daughter...I feel like the luckiest lady in the world to be celebrating her first mother's day as your mama! Keep growing big and strong!!!

xoxo...... Mama