Big News

So if you follow the regular happenings in our lives, you know we recently moved again. We’ve been looking forward to this move for quite some time. The girls especially have been excited about the move back to a house for the simple fact that they are free to run and jump and stomp without hearing the hiss of Mom & Dad’s “Ssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! So now we are in a house again and they are free to be loud. It’s wonderful. And once the torrents of rain cease and the sun begins to beat upon the concrete, we will slather ourselves with toxin free sun block and spend hours out back in our pool! I am foreseeing some really great naps this summer. We spent many hours and days at the apartment community pool last year. It was never enough for the girls. We enrolled both girls in swim lessons during the spring and summer. It was an incredible pay off to see them progress during that time. Now they are fantastic swimmers and will have lots of opportunities to continue their skills with (and without) more instruction.
The move really was our big news until we found out my sister Hannah was on her way to California for a surprise visit! That was fun and exciting! She had fun surprising Mateja (who didn’t recognize her until she said something) and her good friend Jenn. It was a short visit since she had to get back to China to start her new job as a Professor at an International Business University. Very exciting! She knew before heading to California that we were in the midst of a move. As per usual she rolled up her sleeves and helped me pack and wrap and purge and juggle the kids.
AND (more big news) she even brought birthday gifts for our SIX year old! Can you believe our green eyed girl is six years old? Technically because of the leap year thing her birthday isn’t on the calendar, but we celebrated on Sunday the 28th of February and will have a little party with her close friends sometime in March. We’ve had lots of planning to do for all of the festivities around here. And we’ve had to purchase new furniture to fill space in this house since we got rid of all of our furniture before we moved into the tiny apartment. It’s been fun and exhausting. I don’t know how I would have managed if Hannah hadn’t been here in all of her awesome sister-ness because that’s when the biggest news of all surfaced: Nathan and I found out that we are pregnant again!
So we are now preparing for another person to join our family at the end of September. Nathan and I are very happy. Our happiness pales in comparison to the excitement our girls are sharing. They are convinced that they will be having a baby brother. My brother Jared and his wife are expecting a baby boy this summer. It would be pretty cool if we had a boy too. Arielle is particularly excited because this will be the first time she experiences being a “BIG sister” like Mateja. There is lots of baby buzz in our home. I am doing well other than the steady bouts of nausea that hassle me daily and the exhaustion which levels me every other day. That should all end in a few weeks though and being in the new house is certainly adding sunshine (literally) to my perspective. Ari is back in preschool two full days each week while Mateja and I work through home school.
Our lives are about to change in a major way all over again. I think I have one box of baby things left from the girls (some blankets and booties and onesies) but I have NO baby furniture or other paraphernalia (actually I did keep the breast pump – sorry – TMI?). So we really will be starting all over again. It’s exciting and a little daunting. I feel confident though. Nathan and I are a great team and we’ve got mad love for each other which keeps growing! Yay! He’s really the hero of this household. The girls couldn’t have a better Daddy nor could I have a better husband. We’re a blessed family in every aspect and it just keeps getting BETTER! Life is beautiful.