Jiggety Jig

To Princeton, to Princeton
Mim/Pop are the greatest.

To wedding, to wedding
catching up on the latest.

To ocean, to ocean
to play with one's kids.

Home again, home again
Gosh, what a gig!

We are home. We are well traveled (whew!). We are happy.
Praising God for the blessings of good friends and a warm home to which to return.
So glad to be back...

Enjoy the few photos from Princeton and the wedding (battery died without charger! Yikes...) (Yes, it's the same dress from Cabo--resourcefulness! :)

The grands at work.

After Mass with beloved Father Thom.

The beautiful bride and dear friend, Jen.Great friends from PU running days.

And we're off...

Again!

The boys and I are hitting the road today on a trek across country.
We'll be wedding, Princeton, and beach hopping with sights of Mimi and Papa and more good Princeton friends along the way!

I will report back when we return a week from Sunday. Whew!!
Let's hope we survive...

Gasperini-Ville Census

The town folk here in Gasperini-Ville came through recently, conducting the yearly census and happened upon something... A very little something! :)

Please note our population has changed and will officially be +1 in early April of 2008!

Yes, the Gasperinis are having another baby!

I can't begin to express my joy at this news (the mama hormones are causing me to tear up as I type!) I will be 7 weeks on Friday and wasn't going to share until we were out of the first trimester, but anyone who knows me, knows I have a very difficult time keeping secrets! :) I'm just too honest, I guess. ;)

And whatever God's plan for this precious baby, I want you all praying through it with me... thick and thin. Right now your prayers for my overwhelming, all-day nausea would be awesome!

God bless and thank you for sharing in our joy...
(ps: we really found out about this little one the day before GG's amazing Army news. Can you imagine my relief the next day? Oh my goodness!!)

Cabo Baby!

WHEW!!

Twist our arms and force us to have an *incredible* time in Mexico... No hay problema. :)

GG and I arrived Tuesday to sunshine, palm trees, cacti, huge waves, and relaxation. Need I say more? We ate well, swam, walked the beach, and laid in beach chairs. No one bothered us, unless to offer another frozen drink. Heaven? Almost. :)

Two days later, we were joined by throngs of friends and family of our friends, Tony and Julie, there to celebrate a beautiful wedding. The best part--Christ was exalted at every opportunity! What a blessing it was to witness this Christian gathering, leading to the Christ-centered nuptials. Gorgeous! GG and I reveled in time with dear friends from our Princeton days... Nothing like great conversation while floating in a pool. Good stuff.

Hope you all enjoyed a blessed week. Hugs and prayers!!

Here are some snapshots of our time...

Gone To Mexico

GG and I are OUTTA here! :) We are off to Mexico tomorrow morning to enjoy a belated 5th wedding anniversary added to a celebratory trip for our friends', Tony and Julie, wedding in Cabo San Lucas. Should be great fun.

I promise ample pictures and updates next Monday. In the meantime, we'll be pool and oceanside, enjoying the *glory* of sleeping in...

Your prayers for our safety and my heart's longing while missing the boys would be so appreciated. They will be in the loving arms of my parents, Gramz and Pappy, and will be suredly having the time of their lives.

Also, in our absence, HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY to our sweet Baby T! He turns ONE on Thursday (yes, we are missing our precious boy's b-day! I already am full of guilt about it!! His party will come the following week...)

Hope you all have a stupendous week. God bless you and miss you!

Daddy Times

Could there be no sweeter sight for a mother?

Nosy neighbors

M and I have been nosy neighbors today, our noses poking through the blinds while we watch a new family move in. I explained to him what was happening even down to the helper guy tying his shoes! Terrible! I used to be so annoyed at people like us...

We grew up with the nosiest of neighbors. We couldn't step foot out of the house without a phone call from across the street asking what we were up to! There would have been no chance of my sister and I ever throwing a party in my parents' absence bc of these neighbors (not that we would have anyway!) We would have been discovered immediately! lol

And now I'm becoming that person... :) and dragging my son into it. :)

Nosy neighbors can be good, though, as I think back to my WONDERFUL Fort Carson neighbors and dear friends. I would know every morning when Sarah and Sally were awake by their open blinds facing our house (our secret bat signal, as we called it!). When Sarah went into labor, the blinds stayed closed. We knew something was up and rushed to the hospital. I loved being a nosy friend then. It was all for the good.

Hope your weekends have gotten off to a brilliant start! God bless...

(And thanks to Ryan and S for your awesome responses to Thursday's post--if you haven't checked out their comments, please do. So wonderfully insightful regarding prayer! Thank you!)

Prayer visited.

So often I find myself not wanting to overwhelm God in prayer; not wanting to bother him with too many requests for silly, trivial things in my day-to-day.

[I laugh thinking of Mimi being on St. Anthony's "Do Not Disturb" list because of her overwhelming prayers for lost items (she has made this joke before--quite funny!)]

And then there are other times, like throughout this Army appeal, when I hesitated to ask God for my deepest desires because I didn't want my faith to hinge on Him answering my requests the way I wanted. I wanted to be happy with whatever outcome God granted/allowed and know He'd be there for me.

Why did I hesitate? Why do I lack faith?

Because I've seen prayer without desired results--a young father dying of brain cancer, a baby passing due to developmental complications, a wife suffering the loss of her husband in combat. These experiences have grieved me so; have caused me to question God's presence, the effectiveness of prayer, my purpose here on earth.

I have struggled.

And surely will continue to struggle with this concept of prayer; this amazing, overwhelming, and powerful concept that only God understands and my feeble mind cannot.

Yet here we are in smalltown Gasperini-Ville and I know we've been blessed by BIG answered prayers. We've been given our deepest desires, well beyond what we were requesting.

And I'm brought again to my knees in prayer and thankfulness...

while, of course, making sure to remind The Big Man that my faith did not require such blessings.

I am so silly sometimes. He's the God of the Universe, after all.

Thank goodness the salvation of the world does not hinge on my understanding of prayer.

Thank goodness for God's amazing grace.

Thank goodness.

Sleep tightly, dear friends. Prayers for you tonight. God bless.

And happy birthday to

UNCLE C!! The BIG 26!!

We rejoice with the world the day you were born...
and sorry we missed you today for a personal birthday greeting!
Hope it was great!!

Happy Birthday to you?

At breakfast this morning, M felt it important to sing "Happy Birthday" to all the members of our family... one by one. He included uncles, dogs, etc. Papa, you'll be thrilled to know you were the choice for the first song. Mimi, you were second. :)

Sweet little (growing) big boy.

To-Don't List

GG and I reveled today in all the things we DON'T have to accomplish because of the appeal success. Praise God for our list of DON'Ts!!! :)

To-Don't:
*Cancel football tickets
*Cancel tuition and plan for reimbursement of government loans (yikes!!)
*Reserve a large U-Haul truck and temporary storage facility in OH for the family to move goods.
*Cancel current housing.
*Reserve hotel rooms at various Army locations during GG's training.
*Break out the old Army equipment/clothing and begin shining.
*Cancel trip to Mexico (there would have been crocodile-sized tears on that one!)
*Cancel trip to the NJ shore with friends (also tears there!)
*Plan for every worst-case scenario--update Power of Attorney, Wills, etc. (Double Yuck!)
*Cry a lot--in sadness, fear, worry, etc.
*Cling a lot (though we are doing so in happiness these days!)

I'm so glad this is a list we won't have to accomplish! Instead we get to love, organize, plan (with God's help), hope, dream, arrange, vacation, revel, and enjoy good friends and family. God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.

May God bless you today! Rejoice in your To-Don't lists!!

Sorting and such

We have been feverishly unpacking since arriving yesterday back to IN Gasperini-Ville headquarters.

How in the world does one family have so much stuff?

But you'd be so proud of me. Today I rid my life of 4 (yes, four) bags of relatively unused, cluttering life items (mostly clothes). Pretty darn good for this, here, packrat. I am continuously impressed by families who maintain a very simple existence... Though I pale in comparison, today marked a step in the right direction.

I've often made the analogy of life being like an vacation. The less you bring along, the less you have to worry about and lug around. I find there's nothing like having a light, rolling suitcase that lifts easily onto the scanner and fits snugly into the overhead bin. It is the BEST to wear everything I've packed and be completely prepared. Wouldn't it be great to have a similar approach to life? Less stuff and more peace.

Oh, to dream... :)

In the meantime, here are few snapshots from our final VA days and venture west. God bless.

Date night for the "kids"

Trainy Times at the mallOne last Camp Papa
Sweet T with his Great Grandma
Melts a mother's heart
Did I say melting?

Free, baby!

In my anguish I cried to the LORD,

and he answered by setting me free.

Psalm 118: 5

God bless you on this Lord's Day.

Special thanks to Jess, a dear friend, who passed along this verse.

So apropos. Love it!!

What I love about my families.

As we trek westward to bring an end to our long and joyous summer, I am especially grateful for our families, who continuously stand by us through the thick and thin. They are the BEST! Here are a few reasons why I love them so...

For the G's in Virginia
*I love their energy and zest for adventure every day.
*I love the amazing smells that are always coming from the kitchen.
*I love their unabashed generosity and selflessness, always looking out for the good of the family.
*I love how much they delight in my boys!
*I love that the fridge is stocked with Diet-Coke. My kind of people. :)
*I love their ability to laugh and find humor in the day-to-day.
*I love their encouragement and absolute LOVE. They are wonderful! Miss you, Mimi and Papa!

For my peeps in Ohio
*I love that there's always someone with whom to talk. And gosh, I love to chat! (My dad used to take a separate car to church in order to allow us, women, the chance to socialize all we liked.)
*I love that a precious gathering involves someone showing another a new type of sit-up. Who are we? :)
*I love that my parents are my biggest fans. They help remind me that I am (still) a precious child of God.
*I love reveling in my sister's children; and seeing my children enjoy cousins.
*I love knowing family is valued above all else and that being together is always a reason to celebrate.
*I love that hugs and kisses are a given.

Full of love for my family today. Can you tell I'm still gushing over GG's news? It really is going to take awhile for this euphoria to fade... Not such a bad problem to have, I suppose. [In the meantime, I'm sorry you'll have to put up with a super sunny version of my normally happy self. My swim teammates used to cringe seeing my smiling face for 5am practices. Sorry! :)]

God bless you for a great weekend!

Dancin' with the Lord

Glory to God in the Highest

Sing, Glory to God

Glory to God in the Highest

And peace to His people on earth.

We are continuing to sing praises here in Gasperini-Ville. Just like our smiles, they will surely be around for awhile. And peace will be too. For where you find praise, you can also find peace.

What a foreign thing peace is to us, busy, worrying creatures. Just today I found myself fretting over a silly detail. STOP. Praises. Peace.

And while we continue to praise in a time of great blessing, I want to believe with all my heart that we would still have been praising had there been bad news. God is good in the good and the bad. He has been present from day one last November. He will continue to be present throughout today and tomorrow.

I am slowly grasping all of this in my mind and then heart. It may take awhile...

But in the meantime, Gasperini-Ville is in full dance and song, rejoicing with our Lord in His provision. And as a friend reminded me, God is dancing and singing right along with us (don't parents just delight in giving their children gifts? Boy has he gifted us!)

In fact, our dancing has carried over to joyous packing as we leave VA tomorrow to head back to the midwest and the third year of law school (Is this really happening? Pinch me again!) I will report in from the road. Thank you for walking, sprinting, praying, aching, crying, rejoicing through this life with us.

God bless you.

Pinch me

I awoke today feeling as if yesterday was a very joyous dream... only to realize it was a dream, come true! It is going to take awhile for this smile to rub off. Thank you for rejoicing with us.