Projects ahead and behind

Today the "cable guy" comes to set the downstairs up for our computer, TV and phone. That should free up the girls bedroom-to-be and we'll start working on it. Of course, my mom and Ben worked late last night and early this morning to finish painting the room where we're setting all that up. The only problem is that I like the way that room looks much, much better than our living room and am trying to convince Ben of painting it the same colors soon! He is good to me. Our past few nights have been rather long... we are fighting colds, even little Adriana is all stuffed up! Oh well! The days are looking beautiful outside and next week we'll take my mom for a "leaf-watching" drive as she has never seen the fall before. I have so much more to write, but hardly any time or energy, so pray for us, bear with me and don't forget me!

2 months

Adriana is two months old today. Our day began at 4.30 a.m. when two little girls woke up. The "littlest" was happy to nurse and snuggle to go back to sleep while the other one was "done" sleeping. She had her cup of milk and we kept her in bed with us to no avail. Needless to say, she needed more sleep than she got last night (as it seems we all did!). We spent the morning visiting cousins, then we ran errands and didn't make it home until about 3.30 p.m. We were all spent! Want to guess what we did the rest of the afternoon? NAP!!

Ben couldn't resist the "moment"
(notice Elena's "bee-bee" napping with us)

Let photos do for the moment...

*Edit*

When and how did this happen? They are growing so quickly!!! Just about a week and a half ago Elena's fingertips would barely brush the banister of our staris. She couldn't even dream of turning the shower "on". Yesterday I was coming downstais with her and was speechless to see her hold on to the banister without any difficulty. Later on I was giving her a bath and while I turned to get the soap I heard the water running again! Every day she attempts new words that make us guess and scratch our heads while we figure out what she's trying to say. In the meantime, Adriana is happily smiling back at us and starting to "coo" (sp?). I'm afraid to blink and miss something!

I don't really have time to post, so enjoy this pics. while I get back on track!

We learned how to use the fork and knife...

the challenge now is to transfer this wonderful skill

to the table at meal times!

Grateful!

• Grateful for the freedom of worshipping without fear.
• Grateful for having enjoyed amazingly perfect weather for 28 years of my life.
• Grateful for having grown up wrapped in the colors and beauty of Spring.
• Grateful for all the history that paved the way for the establishment of my family and my life.
• Grateful for a country that though not perfect was the wonderful setting of my childhood and part of my adult life.
• Grateful for 185 years of independence!

Can it get any worse?

• Kept reminding myself of a specific date to remember a birthday... the day came and went and I never realized what date it was! So technically, I forgot the birthday!
• Kept telling myself to send a card to a young mother from church that I hadn't seen since before Adriana was born. I wanted to send a note of encouragement to let her know she was in my heart. Sure enough, I stumbled upon her in town!
• Going over all my "decorative" stuff that was put away while I had room to display it I found a wedding gift I was supposed to have sent a year ago!!!
• I still have sitting in my room some souvenirs I brought from Guatemala in January, I haven't mailed them...
• I can't figure out how to make the sewing machine work and now I have all the unfinished nursing blankets I started. These were intended as gifts and some for myself.

Instead of being on top of things I sometimes think things are on top of me! Is it possible to forget something else?

On another note, I am excited to know that very dear friends of ours are expecting their second baby!

A Milestone?

It is public knowledge that I am no baker. It wasn´t exactly a part of my life growing up. I learned how to cook, but save for a couple of cakes here and there that was it. I also come from a home of very picky eaters and where dessert was very rarely on our table. Of course, I married someone who likes to have dessert and I live in a world where everybody bakes for everything. So soon after getting married I was determined: I shall conquer baking! Out of embarrassment I won´t tell you how many batches of cookies have remained uneaten in our home but today I mastered my first batch of brownies made from scratch! I can´t tell you how thrilled I was when we tried them and they actually tasted good! I know, it is silly... but I am happy!

Pics. from camping trip

Bannon and Elena, she took to trying to imitate what he did.

The Moores

My tired girl

Two little cousins playing together

wearing the matching fleeces their "Maama" gave them

Pheww!!

Long fun days! Last week we had some family vacation time and went here for a couple days. We "camped" on their cabins with Dad and Mom L. who hosted us in their cabin and with her family who were staying in the next cabin. Then on Friday, we joined our youth group on their outing here. Of course, my mom and I just walked around at our own pace and took Elena to the kiddie rides that she could do, while all of the big guys (my husband included b/c he was one of the chaperones) did all the fast and exciting rides. The whole week was a very welcomed break from the non-routine we have been having, especially because it just happened to be my 6th week after having Adriana. Now, I have been very, very spoiled! My mom has been here really watching over me and making me take it easy these 6 weeks. The way I see it, this past week was the best way to close my "forced vacation". Now I look ahead at a very long list of projects I want to get done but the good news is I can do it myself! I am not required to lay low and take it easy anymore. So hopefully by the end of this week the two apartments will be finally "integrated" and we´ll be completely "spread" out through both floors in more of a house fashion. Home will feel like home!

Final good bys

First of all, before I forget: to all those who have spaces on MSN, the new changes they´ve done to the sites don´t let me leave comments, but do know that I´ve read you and once I figure out how to post comments again I´ll be letting you know.
I can´t tell you just how many times I´ve sat and began writing to be cut short by a baby who wants to nurse again or a little girl that demands my attention, so I´d better be quick this time!

Moving here I find myself constantly coming to terms with the fact that there will be many loved ones and acquaintances that I´ve left behind whom I´ll probably never see again. No final good bys, no seeing them pass on from this life. It is hard... it was hard when I´ve heard about two of my primary school teachers who passed away within a week or so from each other though I hadn´t seen them in years. It was even harder these past few weeks as we waited to hear about my 93-year-old grandmother who has been dealing with pneumonia and going in and out of critical moments that we´ve all thought could´ve been the last. She´s much better now I´m told. But today what lingers in my heart is how hard it is to show my love and support to those left behind by their loved ones.

The mother of a dear uncle passed away yesterday... my brother was kind enough to call us once he got to the funeral home and both my mom and I were able to talk to him. But how do you attempt to bring comfort to someone who can´t see you? How and what do you say when usually it is the warmth of the embrace that soothes? I know he knows we love him. I know he knows we´d be by his side if we could yet we are left with the coldness of a crackling telephone connection that won´t let us see into each other´s eyes or hold in a silent embrace that would speak so much more than words... that is one I didn´t see coming and my how tough it is!!

My little girls

Three + weeks...

It has been a bit over three weeks since we got home. Some days I feel full of energy and projects and ready to take on this place and finally make it "home", some other days I would be the happiest just sleeping! I don't think I'm loosing more sleep than I lost with Elena, the big difference is that I can't bring myself to "sleep when my baby sleeps" as I did the first time around because I have a darling little girl who needs me too and I rather be awake for her than missing out on her day because of catching some z's. So, here I am... trying to make the best of what I have before me, living one day at a time.

On my days of energy nothing seems to phase me, on my tired days anything and everything can. One of the things I find myself dealing with this time is the usual question posed, mostly by strangers: "Is she a good baby?" What is one supposed to answer? "oh, no... she's awful, she wakes me up when I'd like to sleep" Are you kidding me? A baby does what a baby is supposed to do... some sleep a little longer, some cry a little less but I do not think you can label them of "good" or "bad" because of that. Now, I know there is probably nothing ill meant by the question, but it really gets to me... some days more than others. At any rate, regardless how little sleep I may get, regardless how long my baby may cry and regardless how little my babies like slings, swings, carriers and any other contraption designed to hold them while mom does something else, I always think they are a wonderful, awesome blessing and I never grow tired of admiring and loving them... I think I'm biased!

Another before & after

Before...


After... (notice we moved the fridge)
Another angle from the kitchen... (this is were the fridge was originally)
Pardon the mess... we´re still working but you can appreciate the major changes!

We're still here...

Life is busy yet I'm still "required" to lie low, so all my "to do's" are being accomplished at an amazingly slow pace. I'm not complaining though... I know it is just a season and it will be over sooner than later and I really want to enjoy my newborn!

The kitchen is almost finished. At least everything has been moved down and our meals are being had there. We still need to work on the organizing of everything in and around it and finishing touches to make it feel "mine" but that will probably take a bit of time. One or two details a day is all I have managed so far but I'm happy. I'll post before and after pics soon.

Elena's bangs were getting into her eyes again... I braced myself and came to terms with the fact that we won't be able to have someone experienced, let alone professional, take care of it. So yesterday before giving her a bath I thought I'd try to trim it myself. After all, how hard could it be if I stuck to just trimming very, very little to get it off her eyes. Got myself a pair of sharp scissors (or so I thought), combed her wet bangs and got to it... except I forgot my sweet girl is no lifeless doll and she moved at the wrong time. Well, now my little toddler's bangs are ridiculously short, I feel so badly!!! Oh well, live and learn... if you see her, please don't comment on her bangs, I feel so awful and am still so emotional that you might see me burst into tears at any comment... he,he,he...

Hole in the wall!!

This is one I never thought I´d be happy to say: "We have a hole in the wall!!! Hooray!!"

If you could visualize this, you are standing in front of the "hole in the wall" that connects now the downstairs apartment to the upstairs we´ve been living in. It leads into the main bedroom of the apartment, which we will obviously be loosing but have a vision to turn into a dining room some time in the future. From this standpoint, our main entrance would be to your left and the stairs to go upstairs would be to your right.

And this:

is our very own back porch!!! Hopefully tomorrow we´ll have a "cleaning day" with some wonderful friends who´ll come and help us and if everything goes well, we may be moving the kitchen down as well. That will free up space up here amazingly and will also keep this apartment so much cooler.

We are a happy bunch!

Pics.

Sunday morning...

We went to church this morning. It seemed to me as the most natural thing to do until I was getting off the car and received this comment from a gentleman: "Are you kidding me? You just had a baby!" then he said, "when we had babies my wife would be completely off her feet for over a week or so!" Since I wasn´t planning on engaging in a physical activity per se, I hadn´t seen the need to stay home. Going to church, in my book, engages you in a spiritual activity more than anything. Of course, there are physical expressions that, more likely than not, will accompany your worship and your participation in service, but those aren´t mandatory and you may do without them if you must. I had the choice between sitting in my living room couch by myself this morning lamenting how little I slept last night and having my own pity party or sitting in the sanctuary surrounding myself with worship and the Word. My options made it easy.

Now, I understand that there are times when you absolutely need to stay home and I don´t intend to bring about any condemnation upon those who feel they must stay home at times when I would chose the opposite. We are all "wired" differently, even in the spiritual. In my own personal experience, church is always the last thing I "drop". It is not because I am the Assoc. Pastor´s wife, it is because I benefit from church. Throughout my life, even when I was "just one more face" in a crowd of thousands I have always been ministered to in the corporate setting. God has always spoken to me personally and directly through the Word preached from the altar. I have always found release, healing, and victory through corporate worship. I have witnessed the power of corporate prayer. I have been nurtured spiritually through the Word. During the most difficult and challenging times in my life, I have found God in church. I can still find Him at home, but there is something powerful about the congregation... about meeting with the faithful and pressing into the presence of God together.

So, on a day like today when I finally managed to go to sleep at 6.00 a.m., nursed all night long, and ended up with two little ones on the bed with us in order to be able to sleep a little after 6 the last thing my body wants to do is get up, get ready and get going. But on a day like today when I am so much more vulnerable than ever to find reasons to feel sorry for myself, church will be the very last thing I´ll drop! In the altar I was refreshed, worship reminded me that I am so very blessed and the Word encouraged me to find the rest of the Lord!

Another quick one...

Let's see... it has been exactly one week and I could write very long about my week but I'll summarize it for you in a few highlights and pics.

• Came home on Monday

• Have enjoyed the most wonderful variety of fabulous meals. What a blessing to have a church family!

• Tuesday, while enjoying a great dinner we were all sitting at the table. Most of us eating and one tiny one nursing =0) Ben was opening the bottle of hot sauce to add to his meal and when he opened the bottle it shot a squirt of hot sauce straight in Elena's face. Now, luckily it was on the side of her head, part of her cheek and her ear, but knowing how hot that sauce was chaos broke loose! I had a nursing baby on my lap and couldn't really move fast enough; my mom was trapped between the table and the wall so her reaction was hindered as well. Ben rushed to get her and tried to start cleaning it off in the kitchen sink. The whole thing got Elena startled and, sure enough, she rubbed her eye! Next thing you know, nursing baby was quickly released into "Pita's" (Elena's name for my mom) arms and Papi and Elena were under the shower as we tried to flush the stuff off her eye. It was quite an ordeal but we calmed her (and ourselves) down and the meal was too good to not go back to it (thanks Maureen!).

• I feel like I've been nursing 23 hours a day and only managed 10 minutes of sleep!

• Elena is so sweet to her little sister! We are so blessed to see such a loving attitude towards her as so many changes have been happening. It is so wonderful to see them together and realize how much Elena has grown and now fills the hat of "big sister".

• Today, our downstairs apartment has been vacated and we are ready to move in! Tomorrow I'll walk the place writing a list of all the cleaning that needs to be done and hopefully recruit the help of some friends who have kindly offered their time for a cleaning day this week. Ben has begun to evaluate the opening of the wall/doorway to connect both apartments and we are looking forward to moving our living areas down there ASAP... it is so much cooler down there and just having the added space will also give us a sense of freshness and feel most definitely cooler!

Off to try to get some rest! Once again, I´m having problems with the posting of pics. I don´t know why, but my time here now is too limited to try to figure it out... sorry, I´ll try again later!

A new family...

We are home! After the longest imaginable "first stage" of labor, the rest of it went pretty quickly. We arrived at the hospital with contractions every 3 to 5 minutes at 4 p.m. By 6 p.m. I didn´t want to leave the tub as contractions were almost a minute apart. Now considering my first experience (8 hours of "transition"), that didn´t necessarily stroke me as good news. However, our nurse came in with the news that my doctor was there and was offering to examine me and, if everything was ok, go ahead and break my water. Everything was good and perfect, water was broken at around 7 p.m. and Adriana saw the light at 7.30 p.m.! I´ll post more later but thought you might enjoy a few more pics.

First pictures as a Family...

I meant to post more pics. but, as it is, it has already taken me a day to manage to upload these two... Sorry... will try later!

She has arrived!

Adriana Hope Levendusky
7/22/2006
7 pounds, 4 ounces
18.5 inches

All is well with mom and baby!

- Ben

Not here yet...

Our baby, that is... as you all know, my due date was on Monday and we're still counting days. I'm at peace, though, at least as much as I can be considering how hard it is to live normal life with such an impending event! But I am learning and eager to "walk the line". I'm not trying to undermine the challenges of being "in-labor-but-not-really". I can't deny the challenges of having contractions on and off and wondering if this "bout" of contractions will finally kick things into high gear and going to bed just to wake up later and realize that "we're still here". However, I don't want to walk through this aimless and hopelessly feeling sorry for myself and the overall discomfort I face. I know that He has a reason for everything and I so much want to grasp everything there is in this process to draw me closer to Him. I have learned so much of His love through the love of those around me from my husband and my mom to everyone at church. Everyone has been so gracious and supportive. We haven't had to cook a meal for the past couple days as people are already bringing us food. As eager as I am to meet this little person I don't want to rush the process God is using to make me grow. I will continue to update you as I am able to do and soon enough you'll hear the news!