BUSY WEEKEND!!!!

We had a very busy weekend. Raresh's brother Radu got married this past weekend to Jennifer. It was a beautiful day and a great wedding. Here are a few shots.

Our little flower girl...The lovely bride and her daddy.Here she is in action.

Landon and Charlotte.

Uncle Radu with his little niece.On Sunday, we had the whole family over for some pool fun and BBQ. Here is Charlotte with Kayla and Ally.Then on Monday, we took Charlotte to the Santa Ana zoo. After the zoo, some pool fun.

Father's Day...BUST!

Well...Raresh's father's day pretty much came and went without the big celebrations I had hoped. I wasn't planning anything major but I definitely didn't plan on being sick as a dog all weekend. I wanted to get up early and make him a special breakfast and celebrate what a terrific daddy he is and well...instead, he got up early and made me breakfast and basically took care of Charlotte until he had to go to work later that night. We missed church, we didn't have any special food, it was just a blah weekend. BUT the beauty of my hubby is that he is was content to be at home with us. He isn't a man that expects much or gets easily disappointed. So although, I was sad for the lack of celebrating him---he was okay.

So, I decided that once I feel better and hopefully that will be before our baby gets here---I will find a nice way to celebrate his committment to our family.

Thank you Lord, for a great hubby who is perfectly content even when things don't go as planned and who shows me and Charlotte so much love.

Nothing major..just checking in.

I don't really have anything to say today or anything new to report other than I'm extremely excited at the thought of getting time off when the baby is born. I know the real work begins then...but in a different way. I won't have to deal with the drive or even getting up and getting ready to be at work by 7am. I'll be up way before that but I'll be in my jammies and the best part is I get to have all this time at home with my entire family. Raresh is taking 1 month off. When I was on maternity leave with Charlotte, Raresh took about 3 months off with me. I look back on those months and remember only the good things. Seriously. Of course, I remember being tired and nervous and second guessing decisions but I also remember taking walks with my family, having breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, enjoying the pool, visiting family members in the middle of the week---stuff like that. It was wonderful. THE BEST TIME IN MY LIFE SO FAR! So naturally, since that's all I have to compare it to, I'm really looking forward to that again. I realize it's going to be a little tricky with a newborn and a toddler, but I'm okay with that. Change is never easy but it's going to be okay.

The verse that I'm clinging to right now is this:
Philippians 4:6-7
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

How can I worry about all this change when the Lord is so good in reminding me that He is there and I need to present my requests before him. I've mentioned this before many times, but it's worth mentioning again---I have always been provided for and I know I have no reason to doubt God's care and goodness now.

Thank you Lord for giving me the confidence in this new chapter of life and for always being present in my day.

Baby Ace's shower

This post is a little old but---it's still important to note.

On May 15th my sisters and Rachel threw me an adorable shower for our little man. The theme was Owls and Outdoors. Ace's nursery theme is called Tree Tops and it basically has owls, foxes, squirrels---a really cute outdoorsy look. In fact, the main colors are brown, tan, and green---I see Ace being able to use his dad's military memorabilia for decorations in his room as he gets older. It's going to be so cute to have Raresh pass on those things to him.

Anyway--the shower.--It was beautiful. It was exactly what I wanted. Here are a few photos from the day to give you an idea on how it went.

Fun gifts!!! Thank you everyone!Yummy cupcakes made by my sister-in-law, Maria. Coconut and Cranberry flavors...YUMMY!!!Before any of you say it...let me...

Nice hooter, Linda! I'm too funny! These were the fans Rachel made to help cool off the guests on the nice warm day.There are no words to express how grateful I am to the Lord for giving me another blessing to carry for 9 months. I know I complain and want it over all the time---but the truth is, it's an amazing gift that I can have children and I don't want to diminish how thankful and estatic I am about baby Ace.

Also, to my family and friends who always give me an endless amount of love and support--You truly make me so happy. If I'm pleasant to be around---it's because you guys make life pleasant!!

Love you all!

Baby Ace, I can't wait for you to officially join the family and meet all the wonderful people in Mommy, Daddy, and Charlotte's life!

Memorial Day weekend and some major firsts!!!

Well---it's official, My sweet little baby is no longer a baby. This past weekend marks the first time Charlotte slept in her new big girl room. She did EXCELLENT!

Let me go back. First off, as you all know our little guy will be here in 8 weeks...possibly 7 possibly 9...but either way...we're in single digit weeks now and that is MAJOR. So everyone is giving me advice on transitioning from one child to two. Some advice is very good and very well received and other advice just turns into horror stories which I really don't need to hear about right at this very second, but anyway.

Most people suggested that I move Charlotte into a big girl bed before her brother arrives so that the only major change for her is the baby. So little by little since the beginning of the year, we've been tackling issues that needed to be tackled regarding change for Charlotte so that when brother arrives, the only thing left to adjust to is that now there is another little kid around that mommy and daddy get to love and take care of, too.

First change was getting rid of Charlotte's passy--which happened last year around Thanksgiving. It was not as big a struggle as I thought---but still...glad that's over.

Next up was--when she turned 2, about a month ago---I was determined to get rid of her bottle. I know that most doctors say it has to be gone by 2 years anyway. Well, I figured it won't be too bad since she drinks everything else out of a sippy cup (juice, water etc). The only thing she wanted her bottle for was milk. She would have a full bottle of milk 3-4 times a day. In fact, she loved milk so much that it became her main source of food. So when we took away the bottle on Mother's Day--that pretty much ended her love of milk. But on the bright side my picky eater is eating better. She doesn't have those 4 bottles of milk to fill her little tummy so now...it's all about the food. Still a challenge cause all she wants is otterpops and ice cream---but it's getting better. I've given up the stress of the no milk business and just pray she's getting all she needs from other foods.

The final goal was to move Charlotte in her new room and her new big twin bed. Her old room will remain the nursery and she moved in the spare room. Raresh and I worked really hard to keep the room a secret and make it special for her. Raresh even painted the ceiling with glow in the dark paint and made a beautiful night sky for her. In fact, not only did he randomly put dots on a ceiling BUT the area directly over Charlotte's bed is a replica of the night sky on the night she was born. (How do I know this??? and How did he do this??)--well...the Macgyver that he is, found a website that you can coordinate your exact lattitude and longitude and find the day and year and Viola!!!---they show you what the sky looked like that night including the size of the moon, the visible constellations...etc. So Raresh got a projector, and projected that picture on to the ceiling and got to work. It's absolutely AMAZING. He even put secret little messages in the ceiling for her (a heart and her initials)---so so cute! So, finally the night came and we took her in her room.

Unfortunately you can't see the stars when the lights go out, but it is so cute to hear her reaction. Oh and Luna---means moon and steawa means star.

So, it's been about 4 days and we're still in the bed. Woo hoo! Praise God for another smooth transition.

Next up...potty training! I think I'll wait until she adjusts to brother before I tackle that!