Unto Us A Savior Was Born!

Despite all that is going on in the world and in your world, remember the real reason for the season...the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ... For some, it is a very difficult time of year. Some have lost loved ones, some are battling illnesses, some are in troubled relationships and some may just feel completely hopeless. Next time you are out and about and somebody is unkind to you or rude to you, remember that you don't know what they are going through or what is consuming them. Repay every act (good or bad) with kindness and just see what happens. Make it your mission to brighten the day of all you come in contact with.

It is a time for giving outside of yourself. That could be in the form of your time, your money or your talents. How can you be a blessing to someone in need?

I will never forget the times when I was most in need...I was about 20 years old and going through a very rough time. I needed emotional support and my dear family and friends were there for me. You all know who you are! Countless nights hanging out in restaurants just to get me out of the house, countless days hanging out with me at my house or running errands with me, just to keep my mind off of my then circumstances, not to mention the love that was shown to my baby girl.

More recently, my husband and I were losing our home and had very little income (Alessandro was in the real estate field and we all know what happened there), I was home with a newborn (Luca) and did what I could on the side to help out. Alessandro was working side jobs as well. We didn't know where our grocery money was going to come from, but God did! For almost 6 months, we recieved annonymous envelopes in the mail with varying amounts of money in them. To this day, we have not been able to figure out who it was who sent us the money, but God knows and I know He is blessing them.

We are in a much better position financially now and are "paying it forward".
Maybe someone is on your heart to give to this Christmas. Don't hesitate...be blessed so you can be a blessing and have a Very Merry Christmas!

I Am Going To Post It Note Your Car!!!

Okay, so back when I was in high school, you either got toilet papered, shoe polished, or egg'd if it was someone who disliked you. Have you ever heard of being Post-it noted??? Me neither, until I woke up to find Hailey's car looking like this:

It took Hailey and her friend Taylor at least 30 minutes to remove all of the post it notes. I thought they would have at least written something on them as to send a message, but every single one was blank. I wonder how long it took the culprits to cover "Coney" the blazer with sticky notes! Good, clean fun like that really makes me laugh! 

Not Keeping Up With The Joneses

This time in our history it is so important that everybody take responsibility for their own household finances. It is time for us to stop looking to the right or to the left, checking out what this person has or what that person gave and live within your means. If I can afford to bless a friend with a somewhat pricey gift, I am not doing it so that they give me an equally as expensive gift. We have learned the hard way that credit is not an option in our home. Cash is King! If the cash isn't there, we don't buy it.

I love to give. Giving gifts is so fulfilling to me! Unfortunately, I have been unable to give as much as I would have liked to, but I know that it will soon come to an end and I will be able to give like I never have been able to before! Alessandro and I have been living Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University for about a year now and it has changed our lives. We have gotten creative when it comes to our dates and we have been humbled in other areas of finances.

If our finances are tied up in debt, then how can we be generous. If all we do is work not just full-time, but overtime in order to make ends meet, then how will we have any time left over to serve our community? We asked ourselves these questions and wondered if things would ever change. We agreed that things were not going to change unless we changed our mindset and behavior.

We shaved our budget and simplified life. We are almost completely debt free and will soon be in a position to give more of our time and money to others. How exciting!

This Christmas, remember that a thoughtful gift means more than an expensive gift, but most importantly, remember the reason for the season...the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior.

Luca's Second Birthday!

In celebration of Luca's birthday, I decided to post a journal entry/letter to Luca that I wrote just after his birth.  

"I  suppose I will just start from the beginning. We found out we were pregnant with you one day in April and we were so excited. I wrapped up a t-shirt that said "Daddy is My Hero" on it and gave it to Daddy. That is how I told him you were coming. He was so excited, jumping up and down all over the room, if you can imagine that!  I loved being pregnant with you. Feeling you move inside of me gave me such comfort. I loved getting acquainted with you while you were still in my womb. I remember you teasing Daddy...I would say to him "Babe, he's kicking!", and he would put his hand on my belly and you would immediately stop moving. Then, one day, Daddy kissed my belly and you punched him right in the lips! You were are playful then as you are now! Labor was long. I won't go into the details because it is all in the Labor Summary from Dena, our doula. I will say that there were moments that I did not think I was going to make it. You were so high and I was dilating so slowly. I had made up my mind that I did not want any augmentation of pain medication for so many reasons. Daddy was my hero during labor. He stood strong and encouraged me. He was right there with me every step of the way without weakening. I am going to try to explain how I felt when I first held you in my arms. I say "try" because it is difficult to put into words all that I felt in my heart. I was holding my son, finally meeting you and exploring your face. You had beautiful, big, dark eyes, and you looked so much like your Daddy. You still do! You had big hands, like my Grandpa Karam, beautiful olive skin and lots of dark hair. You were 8 pounds and 11 ounces, and 21 inches long. Your head was perfectly round…oh, you were so adorably handsome and worth every minute of labor. It was the most incredible feeling and I was so thankful to the Lord, my God for blessing us and entrusting us with you."

We had a small cake and ice cream party for Luca tonight. It was like a whirlwind with the kids there! Most were not of an age where you could plan any activities, so it was just jumping and running around and loud play!  Below are some photos. He loves to have friends come over to play. After opening each gift, he gave hugs and said his thank you's. He is starting to talk more and more, repeating words...time to start censoring and spelling!

Olivia and Luca

Michael

In this photo: Olivia, Luca and Isabella. Isabella made Luca his own special cookie with his name on it!

Luca actually blew out his own candles! So cute. 

 

He enjoyed every taste of icing!

Hailey and Nora with the birthday boy!

In this photo: Luca, Isabella, Olivia, Michael Gowans and Michael Stipp. There were a few other children there, but we couldn't get them to pose for the camera. 

St. Louis

I am still alive! I was so busy getting ready to go on our trip to St. Louis to visit family, then I was so busy on our trip, and I have finally settled back in from our trip! Who knew that it would be so much work traveling with two kids under the age of 2!


Here is a snapshot of what the plane ride was like with Luca...

If you take a look to the right of the photo, you will see Hailey ducking her head in complete embarrassment!




Anyhow, after that experience and the experience on the plane ride back, who knows when we will attempt such a trip again! Nora of course, was just a sweet angel!
On the way back, at one point the flight attendant stopped and asked me if I knew what the problem with Luca was..."maybe his ears are hurting" he said...my emotionless response (at that point I felt numb!) was "frankly, he is just throwing a tantrum..." Fifteen minutes later, he was sleeping and I was thanking God!

We were greeted at the airport by Gino and Linda, Alessandro's brother and sister, and then Alessandro's dad surprised us with a huge Italian feast at his house! That man can cook! We ate too well the entire trip and our waistlines probably show it.

It was freezing in St. Louis! Our thinned out blood is not used to that kind of cold. Luca is not used to wearing so much clothing and he wasn't a fan at first! Here he is with his Uncle Sal...so upset...he looked like Ralphie from the movie A Christmas Story!

Once we got him outside, he was happy as can be playing with his cousins!

 

Nora was all bundled up and passed out while we went for a walk in Sal and Josephine's subdivision.

Alessandro and I stayed in the same room at his dad's house with Luca and Nora. This made for a complicated bedtime routine and lack of sleep. It was interesting with the two kids, to say the least.

Luca and Nora with Nono Alu

This is one of the only pictures I have with Hailey in it. She left early and spent a lot of time doing her make-up work for school.

Nora and Aunt Linda

We also celebrated Luca's 2nd birthday while we were there. He was more interested in his cake than he was in the gifts!

One night, we bundled up and got on a wagon ride to see some Christmas lights. It was so much fun! The kids loved it. Hailey had already gone home to Phoenix, so she missed it. I really missed having her with us.

 

 

Here are all of Luca's cousins from left to right: Noah, Sal Jr., Dominic and you are familiar with the other two!

Our time was not all go, go, go! Hailey and I did manage to sneak away with Josephine for some manicures and pampering with Paula! Alessandro kept the little ones and we indulged! If you live in the St. Louis area, or you are planning on visiting, an appointment with Paula is a must! She is so lively and made sure that every minute of the hour and a half that we had with her was spent being pampered. All three of us were having some kind of wonderful treatment the entire time! She is a one woman outfit and she does it all! A true treasure she is. I need to find one of her here in Phoenix.

Her contact information is:

Seriously, she is an amazing woman!