In my last post, I shared some of my concerns and the changes we are making because of this pregnancy. Here are some more changes we are making in preparation for our new addition . . . Grocery shopping has already completely changed. I've decided that I want to begin some new habits now so that it will be an easier transition once the baby comes. It used to be that I would take the three kiddos with me and spend an entire morning every two weeks grocery shopping at Winco. Shopping with the children is ...
After the initial thrill of finding out we were going to have another baby, I had about a week of anxiety. I was still very excited and sooo grateful, but also had some fear over another little one joining our home. Many questions began to fill my mind, like where's this new little one going to sleep? What about our car? Am I really going to go grocery shopping with four children in tow? How will I keep on top of the laundry? Will I ever have a clean house again? Do I have what it takes to mother and ho...
So, with all other pregnancies, the longest we ever waited to tell our wonderful news was three days. We aren't very good at keeping secrets. But this time, I had a bit of a harder time believing I was actually pregnant. A couple of days after the first positive test, I took another one just to be sure. Still positive. Whew! But because it had taken us longer to get pregnant this time, I still felt a little nervous about it and wanted to wait longer before announcing our news to all of our friends and fa...
Oh joyous, joyous day! The joy of our risen Jesus and the joy of seeing my family celebrate. The joy of seeing my sons in suits in ties, cuddling with their grandparents, uncle and daddy in Mass. The joy of Veronica in Mass asking to kiss the cross again today as we did two days ago, singing along with the choir, telling everyone "Happy Easter" and telling us this morning at breakfast that "Jesus is alive!" It all brings such joy to my heart. To everyone - Happy Easter! Dying Easter eggs Brun...
I have shared many posts in the past two weeks about discovering each pregnancy and the experience of each birth. When Veronica was born, I wrote a post about that birth experience here. I can scarcely believe that was two years ago! Time moves so quickly. I have really enjoyed the process of writing these posts and reliving those memories. They are each so dear to my heart and I am so happy that I have taken the time to write them all down. Like each of my children, Veronica is a part of me that I kne...
I have been sharing our experiences of finding out we were pregnant with each baby and their births. We waited a bit longer before trying for a third. Adding a baby to your life is always difficult, but I think adjusting to two children has been the hardest change for us so far. (I hope I can still say that a year from now!) When Noah was born, Joshua was a very strong-willed two-year-old. For an entire year, and I am not exaggerating, he threw a tantrum every single morning because he had to get dress...
Happy spring day in Seattle! We enthralled ourselves into the sunshine, enjoying the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium and the park :)
The week that Noah was due, my dear friend Tracy from high school, graciously came to stay with us. This was such a gift because it gave me some adult company during the last, long days of pregnancy as I waited for labor to begin and because we would be able to leave Joshua with her when we went to the hospital. She had one week to be with us and then she had to return to her life. Day after day passed. No baby. My due date came and went. No baby. Four days after the due date, no baby. The day before Tr...
When Joshua was about a year old, we decided to begin trying for another baby. We hadn't originally planned on trying again so soon, but we were so in love with our little boy and wanted to share that love with another baby. Because we had become pregnant within just a few weeks the first time, I assumed that this would be the case again. It wasn't. Having three children now and being pregnant with our fourth, I realize I have absolutely no right to complain about our process of getting pregnant. I did ...
Today is Joshua's eighth birthday! He is our eldest, has been the guinea pig and has taught me more about parenting than anything or anyone else. He and I are alike in so many ways, creating a relationship in which I can lose my temper too easily but also where he can touch my heart in such a real, tangible way. As a tribute to my first love of motherhood, here is the story of his birth . . . On Palm Sunday, the alarm clock went off. We would be driving from Kent up to St. Luke in Shoreline to attend Ma...
