Kelly's Korner ... Meet Shea

Resurrecting the old blog to write a post about one of my dearest friends. This is going to be short and sweet. Shea!! Shea is in her early 30's, smart, kind, and fun! She lives in Dallas, Texas. Shea is active and has the only/best dog on the planet that I love. Most importantly Shea lives for Jesus. She is constantly growing in faith and sharing His love with others. She is simply amazing and I pray God continues to guide her life in happiness and love. Shea would like to meet someone Christ centered, who lives for the Lord as she does. Anyone interested may email me at rita1857@yahoo.com.

FELIZ NAVIDAD!

I was reminded by my lovely Aunt Faye that I had not blogged in a while. Here is my Christmas gift to you, Aunt Faye!

We are doing well and I am still round and jolly! As my nephew said, "you look like you swallowed a basketball!" I imagine that if one really did match that accomplishment the physical feeling of swallowing a basketball would be the same as being 35 weeks pregnant. I am still working a ridiculous amount and have roughly 250 hours left to complete. I am not uncomfortable but my very long baby has run out of room in my little torso and causing me some rib problems. We begin my weekly appointments next week so baby could come anytime in January. It needs to be February because of my work schedule but who knows when BG will debut.

We are both working the next two days but will be able to attend midnight mass at our church. It's quite a spectacle and we really enjoyed it last year. Otherwise it is bittersweet being without family on Christmas but thanks to Skype we can see my parents and nephews.

Here are a few pics of our tiny tree and decorations. I am quite suspicious of the pile of gifts Patrick left for me and the baby that he did not follow our rule of not spending more than 30 dollars. But then again we don't mind being spoiled!


Basketball belly at 35 weeks


BG's winterized stroller!


Stockings hung with care no where near a fireplace!



Tiny Tiger Tree


Hope you all will enjoy a happy holiday season! Love you all!

New Room For New Roomie

BEFORE


AFTER


Today we set up BG's new space. Its Patrick's office/nursery. We had a surprise shower thrown by Rita's work friends and now have a lot of things for BG. We were so surprised and excited by the shower, it was a fun day. Now BG has more stuff than we do! And yes that is a horse you see in BG's room. One of the animal lovers at the shower said she could not leave the store without it. It neighs and moves its head and tail. We kinda love it. The armoire has a detroit tiger themed diaper cake on it, thats the bear you see. It was quite a site too! What nice Michigan friends we have. We know BG will love it here too!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Belly!

Summer seems like a blur. If we see temps in the 70's again it will be a miracle, but it hasn't been too cold... YET! I am in the 6 month of pregnancy and finally am starting to feel pregnant and not just chubby. As you can see we have a beautiful child growing in there. We do not want to find out the sex and the technician did not show us anything so we have no idea! So fun! We will likely have some from of Andrew in the name if its a boy to honor my amazing grandfather that just passed. Girl names are still on the table. Any suggestions are welcome.

We had a little babymoon just recently. We went to Canada for one day and then headed to northern Michigan. We stayed at an amazing beach side resort in Petoskey and ventured out to Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Island. The hotel was great and we had breakfast and dinner on our balcony while listening to the waves almost everyday. We laid in hammocks on the beach and just relaxed in the amazing setting. We went to Mackinac Island which is only reachable by Ferry in the summer and Ice Bridges in the winter. Yes ... ice bridges, SCARY! It is illegal to have motorized transportation there so you get around either by foot, bike, or horse/carriage. It was touristy but the several hour bike ride (yes its safe while pregnant) around the island was probably one of the most amazing and beautiful things we have ever done/seen together. We (including BG) loved it. Our last stop was in famous Frankenmuth which is a german town that is known for its "chicken dinners". Let's just say we were the youngest people at lunch by about 50 years. The chicken was good, the sides were made or people with dental issues. But is was fun/funny nonetheless.

We are back to the grind and both working a lot now. We are less tentative about the long season of cold because the end nears we will hopefully have a beautiful and healthy snow baby. Below is the pics of our trip, one of my grandfather, and one of the boys when they visited. Their trip was so fun but I had far too many pics to download. We can't wait to go home in November and are hopeful that we will have the opportunity to do so.

Hope you all enjoy the pics and have a happy FALL!

Summer Fun!

It has been a busy summer for us. We have had a ton of fun and done lots of things. My camera would catch fire each time I took a flash photo so I apologize for the delay in picture posting. Camera is now fixed and we have lots of pictures to share.

The summer began with lots of golf and a beautiful weather season. It has only been hot about 1 week but otherwise very mild. We have been to 2 concerts, Coldplay and Billy Joel/Elton John. We had terrible seats to the Billy/Elton concert but because of a seating snafu at the venue they moved us to 5th row center stage on the floor. It was great to see two legends so close. The Coldplay concert was at an outdoor venue and we had a great time. It got a little chilly near the end but it was fun.

We also went to Chicago this summer. I had a conference and Patrick and his friend Jodi tagged along. The conference was fantastic and we had a blast enjoying the city without all the snow like last time! We also came home and had a few days off. We went to the DIA (detroit institute of arts) and saw a great mural painted by Diego Rivera in the beginning of the auto age. It was cool.

Finally we just rounded out a FANTASTIC weekend to celebrate my 30th birthday. My college pals, parents, and a PA school friend came in for the party and stayed the weekend. It was a great weekend and I feel so blessed!

Enjoy the pictures! We will have a gaggle of Gonzales' visit us in a few weeks and we are SO excited. I will have many pictures from that trip. Happy Summer!

Strike one!

The Kentucky Derby has come and gone, and nobody is richer because of it. Matt's horse injured his leg before the race, Zach's horse was too slow and Alex's horse ... well let's just say he suffered some type of eye injury.

But that's OK, because this weekend is the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown. Below, you'll find the horses who have entered, including Mine That Bird, who won the Kentucky Derby. Good luck ... and say a prayer for Alex's old horse.

1. Big Drama 20/1
2. Mine That Bird 7/2
3. Musket Man 8/1
4. Luv Gov 30/1
5. Friesen Fire 8/1
6. Terrain 25/1
7. Papa Clem 8/1
8. General Quarters 9/1
9. Pioneerof The Nile 6/1
10. Flying Private 20/1
11. Take The Points 22/1
12. Tone It Down 35/1
13. Rachel Alexandra 3/2

We also wanted to wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to ADRI! We love you and even love talking to you on the phone. Especially when you sing to us. We hope you like your present and we miss you!!!!!!!

It's race time!!

Ladies and gentlemen, it's that time of year again. You mean Grandpa Severo's everlasting quest to make his grass green?

No. Not that (We all know how that will end up).

There's a big horse race coming up. That's right, the Kentucky Derby is Saturday, kicking off an exciting month of horse racing. As you might remember, Zachary was the big winner in last year's Kentucky Derby, as Big Brown ... also the nickname for Zachary's underwear ... pulled out the victory. Who's going to win? Your guess is as good as mine.

Please choose one of the following horses by Friday, and I will bet $5 on your horse to win the race. If he wins, you win the money. It's as simple as that. Good luck and choose wisely.

1. West Side Bernie 30-1
2. Musket Man 20-1
3. Mr. Hot Stuff 30-1
4. Advice 30-1
5. Hold Me Back 15-1
6. Friesan Fire 5-1
7. Papa Clem 20-1
8. Mine That Bird 50-1
9. Join In The Dance 50-1
10. Regal Ransom 30-1
11. Chocolate Candy 20-1
12. General Quarters 20-1
13. I Want Revenge 3-1
14. Atomic Rain 50-1
15. Dunkirk 4-1
16. Pioneer of the Nile 4-1
17. Summer Bird 50-1
18. Nowhere to Hide 50-1
19. Desert Party 15-1
20. Flying Private 50-1

Spring Fling

Last week I went to Temple and San Antonio to visit friends. It was hard to be in Texas and not see family. I had a great time anyways and can't wait to go back. Two of my closest friends from PA school are pregnant and we celebrated with baby showers. The first two days in Temple were RAINY! But by the time I got to San Antonio the weather was amazing! I was 40 when I left so I appreciated it very much. I had a great time with my PA friends and celebrating their pending mommyhood.

I also got to spend a few days with my old college pals and celebrate FIESTA in San Antonio. We had SO much fun. I made them do everything outside all day long because the weather was so nice. We ate, drank, watched bands, and walked around all day. It was fabulous.

The weather here has perked up. It was 80 and slightly rainy all weekend. We are back to 60's and rainy but its at least an up swing. I am so ready for summer I can't stand it. Patrick and I find so many excuses to be outside (his-golf mine- ice cream on a patio!) and are really enjoying the spring weather.

Here is a slideshow of my recent adventures. I also threw in the latest pics of my niece and nephews. Ian is getting so BIG! He is just delicious! Enjoy!

HAPPY BrrrrrTHDAY!

We celebrated Patrick's 31st birthday Monday by attending a Tigers game. It was 39 degrees and WINDY! I wore 3 shirts and a sweatshirt, 2 pairs of tights and jeans, Ugg boots and the fancy version of a "snuggie" that my MIL gave me. I was still miserable. The usher let us move to better seats because our seats were in the wind tunnel and it even knocked over my hot chocolate. I was also the only person in the stadium with a blanket. There were a lot of crying kids though! We also missed getting a free Cabrera bobblehead. Patrick was upset. We had fun anyway and later went to eat with friends.

Patrick got some cool gifts from me and our friends and we really had a great day.




Patrick's favorite gift.... SHOCKERS!!!!

It was cold enough to see our breath. Couldn't quite capture on the camera!

WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE!?!?!?!?


Easter was also great - we went to a Vigil that was a little lengthy but inspiring. Our church is so beautiful and the baptisms were moving and funny. The priest would dump so much water on the people and mostly when we got to the "Holy Spirit". It was a nice service. When we left it felt about 25 degrees. I really am ready for summer! I think spring has passed us over.



EASTER SERVICE PICS

HOPE EVERYONE IS WELL! :)

THANKS FOR ALL THE BIRTHDAY WISHES AND CARDS!

Bienvenidos IAN!!!!!!!

Yesterday we got nephew #5 - IAN LUIS GONZALES!! His brother Alex told us his name was Bob, "bobby" would be his nickname. He told us about 10 times that BOB is the name of the new baby, but for now we will call him Ian. Alex also wanted us to be reminded that despite there being a new baby boy in the family BOTH his grandmothers call HIM baby boy. Oh Alex! We are so excited and can't wait to meet and spoil the new little guy. Well ... let's just say he wasn't exactly little. He came in a little over 9 pounds and according to Grandma Mae he is a big boy but cute! I am hoping we get to see pictures of him soon but until then this is what I imagine he looks like...




Welcome to the family Ian!!!!!! We love you already.