Long time no Blog

I have not blogged in forever! It's just that so much has been going on, I feel like I'm backlogged. Kind of like my email inbox- i never bother to clean that thing out because I have so much LITERAL paperwork and STUFF to constantly go through and clean out, in a 1200 sq. foot home with soon-to-be 4 kids, that WHY would I waste my time cleaning out my email inbox??? So now it is up to 2000 some mails just in the Inbox.

So here's the brief lowdown on what's been up since Christmas and being sick, etc.

Trip to TX for Jonathan's wedding: For 2 weeks Robbie put a data plan on my phone so I actually had GPS and email/internet on my phone! Since Robbie had to spend a lot of time doing groomsmen activities I was on my own in Houston with the kids, so I used my GPS lady to tell me how to get around the city to places like the Houston Zoo (really fun besides Sam's blowout poop!) and Marty's house where we were staying. Barbara and I attended a bridal brunch for the bride-to-be. I had a very stressful and exhgausting time getting through the rehearsal, Latin rite Mass and reception with the kids and being so pregnant and Robbie being part of the bridal party. The kids had SOOO much fun at the reception dancing! I want to try to post the video we took! There was a LOT of drama between Kelly and Marty and Robbie surrounding Kelly & Clint's divorce and all the craziness. It was enough stress to almost give me a breakdown. We got to see my friend Jenny and her new baby on the way home, which was a highlight.

We got back, our washing machine promptly broke, Robbie took the kids sledding and Jimmy hit the back of his head on a shed that was at the bottom of the snowhill and cracked it open and needed 4 staples put in at the ER. He had the staples out 10 days later and he was such a trooper. Robbie was crying when he got them put in he was so proud of Jimmy. :)

I experienced a nesting overdrive and took 2 whole weeks to declutter the house, including the dreaded back of the basement. :) Sammy is at a really fun stage - I tell Robbie some days I feel like I can't even stand it, seeing his cute smiling face all day! He still naps in the morning, from 9-11 or 12! We got a new front loading washer and dryer using our Home Depot Credit card that had a zero balance and now it is getting paid off by R's business partner to make up for a glitch in his pay/ a bonus he was supposed to get. They are awesome, they fit SO much more, use SO much less water and electricity and the clothes come out cleaner too. Best of all, the KIDS can use it now and they put their own loads through! It is so intuitive to they with the "play" buttons and digital controls on the front of the machine where they can reach. I even cleaned out a little travel size shampoo bottle to keep their own small and easy to squirt supply of detergent - they are so diligent about pouring it in only up to the "normal" line for a load. :)

At Church, they are doing an evangelization project which includes having small faith sharing groups and they asked Robbie and I to lead a group so we attended a small group ourselves with the other leaders to experience it first and then had an all day training session one weekend and the first small group at our house started with the beginning of Lent, two weeks ago. It has been a really amazing experience so far and we've really enjoyed being in the group and gotten to know some great people from the parish more in depth. We really had no idea what we were doing/ getting into facilitating one of these, but it has turned out to be such an experience of growth!! We feel very blessed by our group and we're really looking forward to continuing the discussions. Several members seem to be at a real crossroads of faith where they want to deepen their faith and are hoping this will give them that springboard, so it feels like a real responsibility, although we have to just keep in mind that it is up to the Holy Spirit not us; we are just here to provide the means or meeting place so to speak.

I was asked by Barbara's teacher to paint a mural in their classroom, so I took a weekend and a couple more days to do that. I will post photos next!

Now i am anxiously awaiting the birth of our little one, ANY TIME now!! This Wednesday at the Dr. I was already 3 cm. dilated and 80-90% effaced! O.K. I need to stop with the long posts- I probably should have split this one up into separate ones...Oh well, it was a catchup post!