Thankful for...

S I S T E R S

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I hope everyone had a very blessed Thanksgiving. Our's was extra special this year because we found out that our little Sophia will be having a baby sister!!! So, surprise... i am expecting! I'm about 21 weeks now and thrilled to find out that we are having another girl!

These past few months have been quite a difficult one... we had a miscarriage over the summer and then a few short weeks later found out we conceived again! It was a total shocker and the back to back pregnancies have been very hard for me physically and emotionally. But, now that I'm half way done with this pregnancy... I am starting to feel the strength and excitement of sharing with you and the whole world of our new bundle of love that will be joining our family.

We actually never found out the gender when we were expecting Sophia and it was such a THRILL finding out after 2 hours of pushing and labor.. but with this baby I felt that I really needed to find out. Its been such a long journey getting here...and I just wanted to feel a bit more connected with this beloved unborn. I was nervous it would take away from the birthday, but it really hasn't. It fact, there's been a smile on my face from when the ultrasound technician told me 'its a girl' that hasn't left my face.

I secretly wanted another girl so badly. I reallllly wanted to give Sophia a sister more than anything. Since I don't have a sister and am totally envious whenever I see other girlfriends that have sisters... i really wanted this for Sophia... something i never had. So YES, I'm having ANOTHER GIRL and I CAN'T WAIT to see the love and hate relationship these girls will have together.

gold hearted gum giver

Sophia's newest obsession is chewing gum. She can pretty much sit there all day, unwrapping gum, sticking a new piece in her mouth.. feel content until the flavor is gone...and then of course unwrap and put in a new piece. So, when I was planning on our long flight to and back to the East Coast, I surprised my little girl with a whole packet of gum in her backpack. (you should have seen how big her little eyes got when she discovered the whole packet was her's!) and she was content for the rest of the flight. She may have gone through a whole packet of gum in 5 hours, but she was happy. So.. we were happy.

but..i just wanted to share another gum story that happened the other night that warmed my heart..and made my heart grow a little bit bigger. Sophia had 2 pieces of gum in her hand..she gave one piece to her dad and then I asked her for the other piece. She realized she wanted to give me some gum..but felt so conflicted inside because she only had 1 piece in her hand. She held it for a few seconds, and then gave it to me. (and i really didn't want the gum, i was just testing her...yes i'm a mean mom). But, it made me realize the charity in Sophia's heart...and in return I gave her a whole packet. which then of course she just grabbed one piece and gave the packet back to me. She never stops to amaze me. That evening, I realized she is even more like her loving father. My mother-in-law always said to me that her son is one of those guys that would give his shirt off his back to someone who didn't have one and needed it. And its true, for as long as i've known him he is this way.. and i love that my daughter is this way too.

life

i have been totally m.i.a from this blog. needless to say... we've been busy traveling. We spent pretty much all of october and beginnings of November on the east coast. we enjoyed every bit of fall foliage, cold weather, hot apple cider, pumpkin farms, warm clothes, even a day of snow and everything fall-ish (is that even a word?) Everyday was breathtaking, waking up in the country.. hearing nothing but nature.

We spent a day in Washington, DC. Went to the eastern market flea... had the best pizza at Seventh Hill Pizzeria.

This is our favorite dairy farm. Broome's Dairy!

We even got to visit our Alma Mater! Franciscan University of Steubenville. It was surreal being back on campus, now married.. and to bring our daughter!

This girl loves to fly. She is not like her mother. And I love that about her.