Quote From a 3 Year Old

"Mom, I don't feel so good."

"Really? What hurts?"
"I hurt my feelings."
(He now collapses dramatically on the couch.)

Still Here...

Sorry for the sad lack of posting! I am suffering from the worst case of "mental constipation" to date. I'm gonna do it, I know I shouldn't...but....I am blaming this on hormones. What else can I say?

Ahh, if it were only this easy....

I'm Outta Here!

Not really, but I am leaving Thursday morning for a 5 day vacation to New York City!! My lovely friend Misty and I have been talking about celebrating our 30th birthdays with a bang for quite some time now. So we are headed off to New York to do some sightseeing and some eating and some shopping. It is our first time to the Big Apple so it will all be very exciting. We will be staying here. Very posh! We will be seeing this. We will be visiting here and here. Both places I have dreamed of visiting for years! Oh, and we have reservations for dinner here and here. All just a taste of our itinerary for the weekend...
Meanwhile, back on the home front, Seth will be staying home with the boys for 5 whole days. Not that he really needs a reminder, but I do think it will open that door of appreciation just a little wider for the Momma who has had to do it multiple times over the last few years...
Seth's such a great Daddy, I don't really have any worries about leaving. I just know that is a whole heck of a lot of testosterone for 5 days! Yow!!

We have a Name

Today the baby was named by his/her big brother, Eli. And the name is........Shrimpy. Because he/she looks like this at 9 weeks-

Shrimpy has been kicking Mommy's booty. I don't have the time or the energy to deal with pregnancy sickness but he/she doesn't seem to take this into consideration. It has not been fun. I have to be honest- I don't really enjoy being pregnant. Since this is my third go-around, I guess I feel brave enough to say it out loud. There are parts of it that are fun (i.e. the ultrasounds, the kicking, and the baby at the end) but overall, pregnancy has not been kind to me. I am just looking forward to that day when Shrimpy lets me feel a little "normal" again.

"I'm Fwee!"

Says the boy who had a birthday yesterday.

"I want a guitaw, a keyboard, and dwums." This was the birthday boy's list this year. He managed to get 2 out of 3...not bad, not bad! The "dwums" will be saved for a later date since big brother has been asking for a set for about 3 years now. (Which will most likely be happening this Christmas...Mommy is trying to type this without wincing.)
It was a nice, quiet day. But from the excitement-producing soprano notes reached by Josiah's voice all day, you would have thought we spent the day at Disney!

Caution: Curvy Road Ahead

From the very beginning, our family's "straight and narrow" path has had some interesting curves, twists, and turns. The Lord has always kept us on our toes and we would not have it any other way! I have become settled in the fact that I believe He created Seth and me to love adventure, to not live the 9-5 existence, to always look ahead with hope that something new might be on the horizon. This has been a little more of a stretch for me than for Seth. To love the unknown. I love adventure as long as there is a handy list to go with!
We have had a new "curve" in our road this year. At first, it actually felt like a sharp right turn that knocked me off my balance. But now as some time has passed, the first jolt has mellowed out to yet another Macchi adventure. Friends, I am pregnant. Yes, it was a total surprise and No, it was not planned. (At least by us.)
And yes, we are still planning an adoption. I hope that answers all of your initial questions. I will be posting more on this subject. But for now, this is just the happy announcement of LIFE.........

Sweet Boys

I have been a mom for some years now. Every once in a while it still kind of freaks me out that there are 2 people on this earth who will always know me as "Mom". There are still times when, for a split second, I look for my own mom when one of the boys calls for me. Even weirder? When the boys ask me a question and I hear myself say, "Go ask your Dad". But I just have to say- I love my boys! They are kind to each other (okay, maybe not all the time. maybe about 70 percent of the time.). And they are kind to others. Something I fully appreciate!
A couple of days ago, I walked outside. I turned to come in and this is what I saw. Can you blame me for running for my camera?

Sorry, I couldn't decide which one I liked the best. So there you go.

Meet My Friends

This is Clyde. How do I describe Clyde? Clyde is like that big, gangly kid in your class who doesn't quite know his own strength yet. The one who is sweet yet would never pass up any opportunity to play that practical joke on you. You can't help it but he actually becomes your favorite because he's so funny and you know he won't take things too far. Yes, this is Clyde.

(Doesn't he look mischievous?)

Aaand this...is Solo. I actually imagine Solo with a British accent. He is such a gentleman. Solo is my friend's horse. She is guiding me through Natural Horsemanship training and is generously letting me learn with him. He is much older than Clyde so he carries himself quite differently. He and I have quickly become buddies, even more so when I have a pocket full of cookies!

Mama is Down

I repeat. Mama is down. Best flu remedy around here? Well, isn't it obvious? Tigger and the warm-up puppy, of course!

On loan from a very sweet and very concerned 6 year old boy.

It Has Begun

The trucking of children from practice to practice. The Saturday morning games. Yep, you guessed it. Elijah joined a soccer league. His first team sports experience. Practice began this last Wednesday and his first game was this morning. A very unorganized, chaotic almost 2 hour (when all was said and done....the actual game was 45 minutes) soccer game on an early Saturday morn. Every mom's dream, right? Better still, it was in the gym of a local school. We do things right around here...indoor soccer leagues!
Elijah was adorable. He was nervous so there was a lot of quirky shirt twisting and fumbling. (Good thing there wasn't any grass to pick at, huh Mom?) But he warmed up pretty quickly. You know, I've always known my son is a pretty big kid but today it was more than obvious. He stands about a head taller than all of his teammates. I guess I'd better keep feeding him his Wheaties!
They did great. In fact, they won. We're pretty sure the score was 5-1. It's kind of hard to keep track in the middle of pure chaos.
Elijah's biggest fan was, of course, his little brother. We heard "Go Eli" a few times from the munchkin man. His turn is still a few years away. Thank God!
So, there you have it. The beginning of the end. I see a future of endless practices, stinky shorts, deadly socks, and adrenaline-filled games.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Please excuse the quality of the pictures. I am going to attempt to use the "sports setting" next Saturday. Maybe that will save me from all the blurriness...

Drumroll Please....

Exciting news in our little world. We have begun a new blog specifically for our adoption process. Another blog for you to check =) I posted the link on my sidebar. Hope you enjoy!!

Togetherness

When Seth and I got married, our friend gave a tidbit of wisdom that has stuck with us over the years. "May you know the joy of togetherness". I can honestly say that through our ups and downs, this is something we have guarded. Our joy of being together. These last couple of months, we haven't had much of a chance to be together. So the joy started dwindling slowly but surely.
This last weekend we remedied this by going away for the night. We booked a room here.
In the Castaway Isle suite. Who doesn't like their bed in a boat stuck in a tree? We had dinner here. And then played here.

Looks like we got that joy back after all.

Long Overdue

The boys and I had a great time in South Carolina with my parents. My grandma even came to visit from Ohio. It was really special to see her and for the boys to meet their great-grandma for the first time. I'll let the slideshow do the rest of the talking for me.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Home

Seth is due to land within the hour. His first flight to Kansas City was cancelled because of the ice that is currently being dumped over Missouri. Somehow they are keeping the runways clear. Yah!
We get to see each other for less than 24 hours before we all part ways. The boys and I will be in South Carolina for the next week visiting my parents. Seth will be in Philadelphia working on a show.
Posting will be non-existent for the next week with the promise of pictures and stories from our visit with Nana and Grandad...

Peace Out.

Mistah Jones!

I had my doubts. All of these "old man" comebacks were beginning to disturb me. Okay, mostly Mr. Stallone's comebacks. Indiana Jones? Could Harrison Ford really pull it off? Well, we shall see come May 22nd. In the meantime, this trailer does give a bit of hope!

I Love Technology....

I finally did it. I set up a blog reader feed. It was so much easier that I expected it to be....just typed in all the sites I frequent and Voila!! It lets me know who has written anything new, so I don't have to check their site every time I am on the computer, wondering if they have any new posts. It even shows me new posts on Craigslist, something I am shamelessly addicted to.
So, go ahead, try it. If I can do it, so can you!!

What is This World Coming To??

I know there is a huge attack on marriages, family, children, etc. But this article just made me ill! They make it sound like they are doing an act of service....ugh.

By the way,

Happy Valentines Day!!

Go give that "someone" a special hug....you know you want to =)

Grateful

I just want to write a quick note to say how much I appreciate my husband. He works SO hard (since last Sunday, he has worked about 100 hours...no joke!). He doesn't do it because he has an inner drive competing to be the best. He works hard because he loves the Lord and desires to walk in His will. He works because he loves his family with all of his heart. I watch his heart break a little more each time he is called to be out of town, away from his boys....who happen to adore him.
We know this is just for a season and we all feel God's grace as we are walking through it. We know that he is called to a ripe mission field. So we wait, longing to see fruition of seeds planted. We understand that is why he is where he is. Not to necessarily become a better audio engineer but to keep sowing in hope of that one day when one of his co-workers comes to him and says, "What must I do??". It's worth it, isn't it?

What I Did Last Night

I ate this.

Traditional Ethiopian fare. Two words- SO GOOD!
Maybe Seth can take me on my birthday to the lake for an Ethiopian picnic??

Snow IS Fun

As much as I complain about the cold, relentless winters of Missouri, I do have to admit that I really enjoy the snow. At least the first snow. This Christmas when all the Macchi clan came to visit, we were blessed with a beautiful blanket of white. Here are some pictures from our snowball fight!!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.