The Goings-On

The weather here has been so beautiful lately, even bordering on too hot for this prego mama!

Monday, though, was absolutely perfect, so we took advantage of a teacher inservice day and headed to a local farm with friends of ours.

The boys climbed...

Hiked bamboo forests...
Rested and feasted and harassed some Japanese Koi in beautiful gardens...
And all in all, had a wonderful time with friends!! It was the best!

This was such an upbeat way for us to start off the week. The remaining days have followed smoothly... Daddy traveled Monday and Tuesday, so this outing kept our spirits up and kept mama sane! :)

We're all battling the end of a cold/allergies and I am learning for the first time what poor, poor allergy sufferers have endured all these years. *Praying* so much that this is an end to the cold and not a new ailment brought on by pregnancy. My body is failing me! ;) Fellow moms-of-many have confessed that it was baby #5 who officially broke them physically--oy vey! This along with some other unusual symptoms would confirm it! I'm trying to remain strong.

I also think I've attended my last spin class this week, which left my tail bone so sore for days that I had a painful time sitting. :( Mama is sad to say "goodbye (but we'll see you soon)" to such a good workout. Better to be able to function in real life during these last weeks of pregnancy, right?! I'll get back at it soon enough...

A busy weekend awaits the G's--we have soccer tomorrow, Children's Liturgy and FIRE Sunday, a birthday party for M Sunday afternoon, and hard work on a "Hero of the week" project he has due Monday! I will be joining his class Wed. to talk all things baby as we share more about our family and our soon-to-be newest arrival! Good stuff.

Thanks for tracking with us!

God bless for a wonderful weekend,

At week's end, yet again

It is a rather odd Sunday morning around here, the main reason because the G clan is home rather than at usual Sunday morning church. We attended Mass last night and then enjoyed the Knights of Columbus St. Patrick's Day dinner... It was oodles of fun and the kids seemed to have a good time. Of course, I was without my camera to capture, but rest assured... We had our fill of corned beef, potatoes, soda bread, nuggets and mac and cheese. Geoff and I were so happy with our crew--they were wonderfully behaved and waited patiently as we were one of the last groups to eat. I was managing solo since Daddy was helping to serve, so good behavior was even more important. Mama can only do so much! :)

It was a moment amidst Catholic fellowship where I could truly delight in my kids. Knowing the folks around us celebrated children made it even more heartwarming. The sense of community was palpable, one that I remember craving when we first found out about #5. I just wanted to go to church and be among people who wouldn't judge us and would instead lift us up and encourage us on the journey. That's the beauty of God's kingdom of believers here on earth. I felt that support last night and it was so good. GG and I are really cherishing our church these days.

MG had a fan club by the end of the night; a sweet couple at the end of our table could not get enough of her. She sat beside her brothers, ate nicely, drank lemonade, and played with a "button snake" I keep in my purse. It is a handy craft I made at a moms' club event that involves dexterity, color and shape recognition. All the kids played with it at some point last night--a gem for mothers out there and easy to make!

When it was finally time to go I had to peel myself away from the sweet older ladies who were sharing about their large families and marveling at ours (who were now getting squirrelly as we exceeded bedtime). Time to go for the G's...

A fantastic night and a snapshot into our little world.

Also, real quick, a shameless plug for my Building Cathedral girls and our new blog site over at Patheos. I hadn't mentioned it yet... Thanks all!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

32 weeks report

If all goes well, I have only 5 doc appointments to go after today. That's two more 2-weekers and then 3 one-weekers to the due date. Woo hoo!! Cheers to crossing weeks off our list and getting this baby cooked... I will say, it is amazing how much longer a pregnancy feels the fifth go 'round. GG and I agree this one has felt the longest yet! While we know it's going to be more challenging once the baby is here, I think there is a big part of us that just wants to get 'er done. We know what's coming; we know we can survive it; so let's just do it, already.

I know I'll be singing a different tune in the midst of our baby moon, but I know we'll be fine.

By the grace of our good Lord, though, the baby is healthy and happy, cooking away with delight in my tummy. I will endure all the daily hardships knowing she is going to be strong and lively upon entering the world, sweet angel girl #2!!

Biggest complaints as of 32 weeks: varicosities (I'll leave it that), energy (though a recommitment to my prenatal vitamin has helped a good bit), belly starting to get in the way of life (what can anyone do about this? DEAL!)

BP: 117/74

Weight gain: 26 lbs (+1 from the last appt.; I'm hoping this is a sign things are slowing down on that front; don't tell the doc I ate Chik-fil-A for lunch and then pizza for dinner--yikes! :)

Fundal height (measure of uterus): 31cm (should be 1cm/week) we're a little small, but within the standard deviation

Exercise: spinning on Monday (still can reach the handlebars), swimming tomorrow, elliptical Thurs., spin on Fri (depending on energy levels!)

Head is down, baby is active, heartbeat is strong...

Keep on, keepin' on,

The Latest from T

Our T has been churning out some sweet and funny quotables lately...

We've been without daddy for two nights while he attended a conference in NC. This broke T's Daddy-loving heart something fierce. At bedtime the other night...

T: I wish Daddy were here.

B: Yeah, me too, buddy.

T: It's hard being without somebody in your life.

(So true, so sweet, little man!)

And then last night as we prepared to read our Lenten Jesus Tree story, I showed T the felt "ornament" for the day, which was a set of footprints on water...

B: Can you guess what today's story is going to be about?

T: Yeah, it's about that guy who walked on water.

B: 'That guy'? Who's 'that guy'?

T: I don't know, some guy.

B: If you had to make a guess about which guy would walk on water, who would you choose?

T: (quizzical) Jesus?

LOL--This just totally cracked me up. Love my T! :)

Here's hoping "that guy" reaches you today and touches your heart in some particular way.

God bless,

Field Trip!

I've yet to be able to volunteer for any of M's field trips since he started elementary school last year. It is the blessing and curse of being a mama hen with little chickadees in tow. Today, though, (thanks to docent Mimi taking the littlest two on a "Mimi adventure" to the art museum) I was able to accompany M's class to a local farm set in the 1860's. What a fun leap back into history...

Gray-hatted M taking in the horse. See if you can spot him in the rest of the photos...

M and I were buddies the whole time--how I love being able to love on him one-on-one. We both enjoyed the animals the most and got a kick out of a sheep rubbing his bum on the fence. (How old am I? :) Never too old to have a good laugh! Mama even got to hold a baby lamb. I figure I've got a baby in belly, why not a baby in arms too?! What a joy to hold that sweet little angel.

Mama in my own personal heaven. Why did none of the other mothers volunteer?? Oh well, more lamb for me!

M and his classmates got to see a corn shucker in action, old farmhouse and well, participate in coffee grinding and an old-fashioned fire drill... It was all too cute. We both had a great time!

Blessings from our farm to yours,

Snow Day

When you look out and see this in Virginia...You get a lot of this...
And a lot of these...

It's a snow day!

We've been hard at work since...

The boys are now in and the fires have been stoked...

Promises to be a wonderful, restful, snowy kind of day.

God bless,

Slow Sunday

The boys and Papa, ready to see the 3D Mummy show at the art museum!

It is truly lovely when weekends happen without a whole lot going on our little world. We've had quite a few of these lately, which has been just the ticket to relaxation. Next Saturday all of that will change with the start of soccer for M and T... Until then, though, we're reveling in the hum-drum of wonderful weekend life. It is good for me--I'm definitely finding myself slowing down a bit, but still trying to keep up with my busy family!

Sunday status:

*Mass and Children's Liturgy teaching accomplished,

*M and T off to the art museum to see a mummy exhibition with Mim/Pop,

*eggs and veggie scramble in belly,

*MG down for a nap...

Soon it's off to the grocery store to stock up for my meals for the week. Have I told you how much my weekly meal plan saves me?? I have been meal-planning since back in our Army days, inspired by my friend, Sarah! Thank you, Sarah!! It is a godsend of organization.

Add to that my newest love of Pinterest!!! and I am inspired to try some new creations for our family. I have them organized on boards and will continue to experiment with new recipes that all look AMAZING! We've tried a few and they've been really good... Love Pinterest. If you're not on, let me know and I'll invite you. We can be Pinterest friends. ;)

M and T should be arriving back soon and will immerse in Legos and Ninjago and whatever else they have stored up in their little brains. M and I will tackle piano, commencing practice for the week. It is my least favorite day for piano because it is always the most challenging for him and most trying for mama's patience. Good things come to those who practice. And they do. Come Tuesday, he's golden, but Sunday... well, Sunday is another story that we just have to get through.

My reward is later tonight GG and I are going out on a long-standing date with friends of ours from church. They are wonderful and we so enjoy communing with them... sharing faith and family and life, in general. It promises to be a wonderful evening--invigorating for our marriage, for sure.

So that's that in the Sunday world of the G's. I promise to get a prego pic up here soon. Trust me, my belly is nicely round. I think I'm bigger than I have been in the past, but it's hard to tell. I think I just always feel big at this time. Doc says I'm measuring right on and my blood pressure and weight are good. I head in every other week to appointments now, so I'll be back again next week.

God bless you all as you enjoy this Lord's Day,