Went a LITTLE Crazy

Okay, so girls are SOOO dangerous to shop for. We've got a gymboree outlet here and I went NUTS. I could have bought the whole store! Oh my gosh, I had to remember she'll only be wearing the outfits for a couple months. I'm REALLY in trouble when she gets to Garin's age and is wearing outfits for much longer!

I bought five 0-3 month outfits and five 3-6 month outfits. Tell me I'm not TOO crazy. ;)

So here are all the cute little outfits I bought yesterday!

And I've replaced my desk chair with a balance ball. I figure it'll help me work on my posture and get that little girl in the right position. Hey, anything to make labor easier, right? September 24th is looking closer and closer!

SO much catching up to do

Story of my life. Well, I've definately been busy lately. B came here for what was supposed to be the holiday weekend before he deployed. We had a wonderful weekend, went to the beach, watched the sunset, played with Garin. Garin and I took him to the airport on Tuesday for his 10:55pm flight and said goodbye. It was very difficult, knowing it would be at least 6 months before I saw him again. Little did I know...

At 2 am I got a call from B telling me he was back at the airport because an hour into the flight something went wrong with the door. Well, I happily went and picked him up at the airport. Since that was the last flight of the day, and it wouldn't be until the next afternoon before another flight was heading out, he missed his deployment flight. His unit got everything figured out and, oh bummer, the next deployment flight wouldn't be for another week! So we got an extra six days together and made the most of it!!! I got to show B most of the island, spent an evening walking around Waikiki together, and got some great ideas for what we'll do when he's home on his 2 weeks R&R.

Here are some of the highlights of our time together:

B & Garin playing on the sand at Bellows Air Station on the eastern side of the island:

These pictures are all from the north west corner of the island - that whole area is without road access, they do a lot of filming there for movies and tv. Jurassic Park was filmed in that area, and much of Lost is filmed around there. We parked the car and hiked a little ways to take some pictures.

Beautiful, isn't it?

B was also in town when I went in for my ultrasound, and to our great joy, we found out that Garin is going to have a little sister! Brianna Alette is due September 24th and is looking to be as beautiful as her brother! Here are the pictures!

Waving Hello!

These pictures are from Kokololio Beach on the northeastern shore area of the island. Amazing what you see just driving around!

My next post I'll talk about saying goodbye...

God bless you, friends!

Two Moms for Mother's Day

What a day. As you may know, my sister and I are living together for the next year while our husbands are off to war. So there are two mothers, five children (six in a few more months), and one house. It's an interesting dynamic. Garin's cousins are Lauren (six), Adam (seven), Nathan (ten), and Austin (eleven).

Needless to say, there's some culture clashing as we test out the territory. Heather and I come from very different household management styles. I like things orderly, clean-as-you-go (aka - pick up after yourself), and clutter-free. She's a little more relaxed. Having four children close in age and moving I think eight times in six years admittedly makes it very hard to keep a system. But then, this is the girl who would pay me five bucks to pick up her room when she was a teenager. =) It's simply a case of different priorities - she doesn't want to be constantly cleaning and she wants her children to take responsibility for their chores. I tend to be more active and if there's something to be done, I do it, and I also want children picking up and doing chores - but I want them to be doing things correctly, not haphazardly.

So of course there's going to have to be some compromising and feeling out what the best system is. I understand that she doesn't want me to be either constantly picking up after her children (and her) or being the "bad guy" and getting after them. But I need to feel like that if I'm not going to do it - it's going to be done. I can't just leave dishes in the sink all day. Just not in my nature. ;-) Plus the whole nesting/pregnancy thing doesn't help matters. Seriously, I'm like the energizer cleaning bunny. If I take a step back, I have to admit, I probably look a little frantic picking up everything all the time. It's probably pretty funny. Me running around in a dress, barefoot, pregnant, washing dishes and folding clothes. Fifties flashback anyone?! I can see how she doesn't want that picture stuck in her three sons heads!

So anyways, it was an interesting mothers day. I talked with "B" on the phone quite a bit today. He was having a rough day. Sundays were always a relaxing day for us - a family day. He misses going to mass with us and playing with Garin. I miss having someone help me herd Garin in mass! But seriously, it's really hard without him.

Garin slept until 6:30 today, which is amazing - he's had a very gradual adjustment to the time change. We snuggled in my bed for a bit and then went downstairs for breakfast (banana, oatmeal & yogurt for both of us), and then played for a while. Then his 9 am nap. We were about 20 minutes late for mass, which I HATE, but I am not willing to wake the sleeping baby from his nap. It's been such a struggle to get the nap routine on track. And unfortunately, there's no other Catholic parishes nearby that I can hit a later mass when it happens. Such is life.

Today's mass was good - it is pentacost sunday. The readins were: Acts 2:1-11; Psalms 104: 1, 24, 29-31, 34; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13; and John 20:19-23. I find myself wanting to do a closer study of Acts - it's been such a long time since I've really read it. What an amazing time in the church's history. Can you imagine how it much have felt, to be receiving the Holy Spirit in such a physical manner - seeing the tongues of flame and realizing you could understand everything, no matter what language you spoke?! Despite all the persecution, the church really grew. And the reading in John was when Jesus first appeared to the disciples - on ressurection Sunday. They were at their lowest point, wondering what to do next. What a change! In just a few short weeks these men and women went from fearful followers hiding in a room thinking that their savior was gone, to being passionate and fearless professors of the Good News! Certainly Christ changed these men.

My prayer today is that I will have the pentacost passion for serving God. 1 Corinthians speaks of how there are many parts, but we all serve one God, and one Holy Spirit runs through us. I know I have the Spirit of God in me, and he has called me for a great and wonderful purpose.

And this mother's day, I know I have the greatest purpose. Right now I have two lives given to my care to raise for God's glory. As I watch my son grow and discover the world, and feel the life within me begin to move, I know that God has given me a very awsome responsibility - to help shape and mold these lives to know and serve him.

I always thought I understood a mother's (and parent's) love. I though I knew what love is. But only when I became a parent did I really start to understand God's love for us. When I hold that little boy in my arms, and kiss his head, I would give the world for him. He's so incredibly precious to me. I've never known love like that, even in the greatest stretch of my imagination. My appreciation for God's love for ME, has really become truer as I start to understand what unconditional - agape - love really is. It really is humbling.

Eclectic thoughts today, I know. But hey, this is what life is really about. And isn't it amazing? God bless you, my friends.

Starting from Scratch

Wow - so there's been SO much going on in our lives lately! I started a new blog from scratch (some of you probably wondered why the other one got wiped out - LONG story). Basically I'm just focusing on Garin and I since my dear husband doesn't like to have any personal information on the web. =) So hence, no last names and nothing about what he's up to. But lots about Garin and I! Which is probably all you're looking for anyways. ;)

So it's been a WILD ride the last few months! We started out our cross-country trip after packing up our house in February intending to visit lots of friends and family. We got a few weeks into the traveling and my husband's job timing got changed, so we had to make some adjustments. And Garin decided that he was sick and tired of traveling (literally, we drove out to California - for the second time in less than a month - and he was running a 102 fever). It was WAY too much car seat time for him. We realized it was a little much to expect him to survive another 6 weeks of driving and visiting, so I decided to head on out to Hawaii instead of finishing my visits.

I was REALLY bummed about that - I hadn't gotten the chance to visit my dad and my friends Carolynn and Alicia like I planned. =( But if there's one thing you learn about being a parent - it's flexibility!!

So boo-hoo, now I'm in Hawaii! It's been a pretty wild ride. I'm living with my sister and her four children while our men are away, so there's always some excitement! It's REALLY good for both of us though. It's tough enough being alone - I'm so glad we have each other to help and support!

And especially with the biggest news! Garin is getting a little brother or sister sometime in September! We think... I have my first appointment with the doctor tomorrow - I'm REALLY hoping to get into the midwife program here, but it really depends on if they have slots open. Hopefully she'll be able to narrow down my due date a little. Our ultrasound isn't scheduled until June 2nd! I'm so impatient! I'm really excited to find out if we're having a boy or girl! Because I'm ready to start shopping!! lol

So that's pretty much the big update - packed as short as I could make it! I promise next time they'll be more pictures and less words!

Meanwhile, I'll share some pictures of our trip to the beach. I LOVE Hawaii! My little guy is going to look like such a tan little surfer dude by the time we leave!

Our Little Surfer Dude with his hair blowing in the wind!

Yeah, that's right, I built this castle.

This next sequence of pictures is HYSTERICAL!!! At least I think so! =)

Let's see what my cousins are doing...

Whoa!

Hmm, maybe I'll just lay here for a while and watch the waves...

That just cracks me up!

My favorite picture!!

Now THAT was fun!

Alright, that's it for now! I'm sure I'll have many more pictures in the weeks and months to come!