blessed in the 'Burgh

We are finally back home and mulling over all of the wonderful memories we have of our week-plus trip out east. It was a crazy and exhausting week in many ways, and Mike and I couldn't help but glance at each other and just smile when the kids were having simultaneous loud meltdowns in the van as we drew ever closer to Wisconsin this evening. But after the winter we've just experienced, it was such a gift to be able spend some quality face time with many of our favorite people in the world. There will likely be a lot of "blessings" in these travel posts, but that's just how I was/am feeling-- truly blessed by friends and family. Our trip was scrunched, considering all of the driving, and the fact that we split our time between locations (we slept four different places in eight nights). We only had two days in Pittsburgh (Mike worked from the Pittsburgh office on both Thursday and Friday), so we didn't get to see all of the people we would have liked to see, but I guess that's how things go when you're traveling with four little people who still require naps/quiet time and time is limited. My camera was buried amidst a van-ful of stuff during our first sweet reunion- an early birthday party for one of Jack's dearest buddies, so I'll have to steal some from Sue's blog ;^)) This family. I've known Sue since Jack was a baby, but I feel like we've grown so much as friends just this past year,especially during the time we've been away, perhaps because Sue and I are both introverts and seem to communicate more naturally and openly via email. I think we're both learning how similar we actually are in personality and takes on life. I've been so thankful to have this faith-filled family's wise influence, prayers, and love from a distance. They're a blessing... real keepers. Speaking of keepers... what would we do without this family? It seems they've been around since the beginning. I learned to parent alongside Kaethe-- and our families have weathered so much together over these past 10+ years. Kaethe's phone-calls and emails have also been instrumental in keeping me sane since our move. We can always count on this crew for an exciting (and sometimes last-minute) family sleep-over. They graciously hosted us for two whole nights- a house-full of adults and children (seven girls and Jack and one in the womb). We lucked out that CMU's Spring Carnival happened to be the same weekend we were in town. This was the third or fourth time we've walked through the impressive student-built themed booths with the Wards. Once again, it seemed more of an opportunity for the college girls to show of their new Spring wardrobes than anything else (many of the booths had quite a ways to go towards completion).

Again, I failed to bring my camera, so these phone shots (the second courtesy of Heather) will have to do. While living in Pittsburgh, I felt blessed to be just a cross-town drive to my dear, funny sister, that our kids got to spend time playing with and growing up in close proximity to their cousins. Obviously, they can't do that so often now that we live 600+ miles apart, but hopefully even the infrequent reunions will foster a lasting bond in them. We spent some time at the Oakland library before grabbing lunch at LuLu's Noodles. And what would a get-together with my sister be without ice cream/frozen yogurt? Not even a belly full of noddles and/or babies or sleep deprived kids will stop us. This bond runs deep. Razzy Fresh was only a block away, so we didn't mind if we did.

Though only in Pittsburgh for a short time, what a blessing it was to be able to catch up with these three families. Six months is too long to be separated from people so dear to us. We were bummed to have to say goodbye all over again. Good thing this time, our goodbyes don't have to last us for nearly as long- nor for the duration such a dismal winter! On to Maryland...

killing time

Look at me, blogging in the car. I never thought I'd be so happy to be on our way to Pittsburgh, and then Maryland. To see wonderful people whom we haven't seen for much too long. You Roccos and Wards and Cramers and Michaels and Gilberts, and more. Many of you, it's been more than a half a year, but this winter was the longest winter ever, and it seems like ever so much longer than that.

The kids are all sleeping angels. I love watching them while they sleep in the car. There is something so entirely precious about kids all hunched over, zonked out in the back seat. I tried to wear them out today by taking them to the park before Mike got home from work a little after 6. We had everything packed and cleaned pretty early in the day, and I just wanted to get them out of the house. I'm glad we finally discovered this park, after six months of living there. The thing about moving to Wisconsin well into October is that you don't even know places like this exist, even when they're really close to your house. It was beautiful. The lighting was breathtaking. On our drive out, we had one of the most amazing sunsets, and a huge sky with a backdrop of majestic farms and countryside. I wanted to have Mike take the wheel, but I try not to be too much of a crazy person. At least not to let on, you know? (Mike already knows this.) You can't capture that beauty, anyway.

I feel so blessed right now. So grateful. And I'm sure things will seem pretty surreal when we come over that hill and spot that oh so familiar skyline tomorrow afternoon. We told the kids we'd drive by our old house and stop by the neighbors'. It will be six months to the day that we last said goodbye to that skyline and those hills where we spent more than eleven years making memories, that we drove away with a van full of luggage, cleaning supplies, tears and unknowns. We've come a long way, but it will be so good to be back, if only for a short while.

Here we come, Pittsburgh! We've missed you so.

Can't have one without the others...

Jack's "Lego Castle" The taxes are mailed (thank you, Sweet, for pulling an almost-all-nighter- the first year we actually owe, and quite a bit. We no longer qualify for child deductions :^(), the kitty is delivered to the pet lodge, the kids and I actually finished packing and schooling and the kids are now out taking in that phenomenal sunshine. I'm enjoying a bowl of Rocky Road in peace, but I couldn't help documenting their morning sweetness.

Sweetness, sweetness

(jamming to The Smiths this morning) Ready to go to Mimi and PopPop's! (and all prior destinations)

bell pepper {18 weeks}

I'm a little melancholic not to be going through prenatal care with TMC (The Midwife Center) this time around- the same exceptional midwife there was coincidentally on call to deliver all three of our girls, and I had become so familiar and comfortable with her. But since we haven't found a way to make a Pittsburgh birth happen, I polled our homeschool group, and we were given abounding feedback for prenatal care in the area. One obstetrician (Jill) came very highly recommended by several moms, and since she "specializes" in natural and water birth and is pro-NFP/large family (she even said she's basically a midwife with a medical degree), I decided to make an appointment with her. I wasn't disappointed. She was SO personable and seemed like a perfect fit from the get-go. She assured me that unless she was on vacation, she would be the one delivering our baby-- reassuring, as that's often not the case with doctors who see a large volume of clients (and Jill is particularly sought-after). The only drawback is that the clinic is east of Madison, and the drive to appointments is nearly an hour. It's mostly country roads and hardly any traffic, but still-- it's a trek. The drive to the hospital where we would deliver should be less than 40 minutes, so at least that's a little closer.

The birthing center in Madison, where Jill birthed her own two girls (the older named Iris), recently closed due to HMO issues, and while we considered a homebirth, the idea of four little people within earshot in the midst of labor (and my deliveries have only gotten louder and louder) did not seem like anything I wanted to be a part of. Some people wish for their kids to have front-row seats at their labors and deliveries. All I can say is NO THANKS. I didn't care for the horde of nurses and such who filed into the room when the time came for Jack to be born, and Jill assured me that we would just pretend the hospital staff wasn't there and the birth would be as I wished, with as few or as many people in the room. I appreciated being discharged from TMC to the familiarity and restfulness of our home only 4-7 hours after our girls' births, but I'm not sure I'd use "restful" to describe the state of our house any more. I'm digging the thought of a peaceful multi-day recovery in a hospital. Sign me up!

(sorry for the blurriness) 18 weeks with number five (apparently, the little guy is the size of a bell pepper).

From the beginning of this pregnancy, I thought that it was most akin to Jack's, but not wanting to get my hopes up about anything (yes, we would have been thrilled to see a healthy boy or girl, though the idea of Jack with a brother seemed especially dear), I still told myself it was a girl. But as we found out at our ultrasound last week, there was a reason this one has been and continues to be like Jack's. My boys'(!) pregnancies have been the only ones I haven't thrown up. Similarly, they've been the only ones I've had an appetite. I've been ravenous at times and have actually gained weight (like 8 pounds!), as was the case with Jack's. With the girls', I lost weight in the beginning and didn't start to gain any until around close to 20 weeks. I feel like I popped out a lot faster this time, though I'm pretty sure I feel that way with each one. I still haven't broken into the maternity bin (I wear maternity shirts most of the time anyway because I have a long torso). Soon...

a 30th birthday wish for my love

Mike and I get to tag-team it into our 30s this month. We've had a happening 20s, that's for sure. We got engaged, married, started living together (in that order), graduated from college, had a baby boy, were confirmed into the Catholic Church, bought a house, had a baby girl, switched jobs, had two more baby girls, moved to Wisconsin, made a baby boy and did a bunch of other stuff in between- made new friends, switched jobs, experienced joys, disappointments, laughter, tears... Kind of amazing how much you can cram into ten years but how fast it flies by at the same time.

I couldn't have handpicked a better partner in life to go through all of this with, or a more dedicated and loving father for my kids. I may be partial, but he's kind of the best-- extremely generous and selfless, always thinking and praying about the good of our family and how to better lead us, tender-hearted, responsible, sensible (a little more than I'd like sometimes ;^)), good lookin'... I'm anxious to see what the next ten years holds with this amazing, sacrificial and Godly man.

Happy birthday, and I love you, my Sweet One. I always will. Thanks for test-riding the 30's before I join you in a couple of weeks! Even if they are filled with flat tires, I'll be blessed to be riding alongside of you.

Little Mikey. Look at that face.