qtips and paintin'

lately luca has taken every opportunity to disappear into my bathroom

my clue is the sound of the toilet flushing over and over

qtips are being flushed-- one by one

and now "paintin' wif mommy's paint"

has also been added to his excursions

the first time he did this, mark found him

not knowing where he'd been, i thought he had two black eyes

now i know better, little stinker

a little reflection

i was at Hopkins yesterday

i had the privilege of being with my friend 

while she waited for her husband to endure another brain surgery

every time i walk into that place, 

it breaks me a little

i had hard time sleeping as faces kept coming to mind

of course i was thinking about matt, in severe pain

of the beautiful family waiting for news on why their wife/mom/sister/aunt

had become unresponsive after seeming to be recovering

of the mom, who i casually asked while in line for coffee if she'd had a long day

she looked at me for a second, like you have no idea, then said yes

a minute later she turned to me and said, "today they told me my son is going to die,

and tomorrow they're going to tell me how he'll die"

and so i prayed for dan last night, probably about my age

and the other faces that came to mind

reminders that paradise cannot be found here on earth are welcome

although not comfortable

 

it's a little (big) community there

and the Lord knew what He was doing 

when He put helen there

a sister in suffering to those she meets

but more importantly, she carries the message of HOPE

"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

your life brings honor to Him, friend

beach

we're home from our first ever fedeli family beach camping trip

despite the extreme heat and some sickness, 

i would say it was a success

i sadly took only a few pictures

the boys had such a blast being with their cousins, 

and spent almost all of their time in the water

xan especially loved every part of our "camp out"

he is made for the beach

one more than one occasion he tracked down a surfer to get some tips

or knowing him, he was sharing his own

this kid will talk to anyone

he wore the strap of his boogie board on his ankle 

and carried his board on his head to look the part

 brooke was our guest for few days--

easy going girl that she is, she fit right in

boys, boys, boys...

karl brought behr and jack for the day--

talk about a fireplug this one, but so adorable

a stash of seagull bombs being constructed

 most of the crew (plus a stray on the end)

my only proof that luca was indeed with us

poor guy was sick a good bit of the week, 

and spent lots of time on my lap ("resting wif mom")

i had to laugh at my doctors appointment this morning when they told me

that I should stay inside as much as possible in this heat--

glad they told me that AFTER i spent the last week in the heat 24/7 :)

i didn't realize until we got home just how exhausted i was, 

and spent most of yesterday in bed trying to replenish my body

will this become a tradition?

time will tell...we have our reservation for next year

we'll see if we're man and woman enough to brave the elements with 4 kiddos

my thoughts exactly--

david to me:

if the baby is still so tiny,

why is your belly so big?

{growing}

well, I suppose it's time to go public

considering the spare tire that has attached itself to my midsection grows daily

and i've been in several conversations where eyes wander from my face,

to my midsection

 yes, #4 is on HIS (for the sake of expectations) way!!

(his first pic, taken a few weeks ago)

i am just about to enter my second trimester

and every day so far has felt like a small triumph

it is a true miracle that i have not thrown up one time

--even though i have felt plenty crummy--

it is a HUGE blessing that i do not take lightly

(and possibly has contributed to my faster than normal spare tire growth)

we are all very excited for this new life that is being formed

i can't wait till i'm feeling better, and can begin to create a space

for the newest fedeli

thank you, LORD

Happy 4th!!

sweet summertime cont.

it's been a quiet week at our house,

-just what we all needed-

the boys have been busy building forts, inventing magic tricks, creating recipes,

and watching Wimbledon with me

luca has been happy to have us all accessible and undistracted

last night i came up from the basement to see this...

david is spending the night with the cousins tonight, and xan is spending the night in our room

excitement levels are through the roof

not to be left out--he's ready for the trek down the hall to our bedroom