Thursday, August 18, 2011

Home

Almost exactly twelve years ago I was moving with my parents to a new town.  It was the summer before my senior year and I agreed to pick up and move two weeks before the beginning of my last year in high school.  I was finally going to be a senior at the high school I had grown up in.  I had been waiting for this day for YEARS!  I loved my friends and my school.  My parents certainly would have understood if I had said no.  They would have found a way to let me stay behind and finish with my friends, or they would’ve passed up on the opportunities they had waited 20 years to come along (If I haven’t mentioned this yet, I have amazing parents who really would do anything for anyone of us).  Even with all of those reasons, all of the outs I could have taken, and all the chances they gave me to stay, something urged me to go.  I can’t explain it to you now.  It was one of the easiest decisions I have ever made.  That doesn’t mean it wasn’t difficult to leave, I was wrecked with the heaviness of one hundred goodbyes.  At no point, however, did I waiver on my choice.   
If you had asked me on that day if I thought I was about to meet the man I would fall in love with, marry, (and twelve years later) be expecting my first child with, I would have laughed.  If you had told me that one day I would make this place MY home, that my husband and I would plant seeds and grow roots here so deep that we could not imagine life anywhere else, I certainly would not have believed it.  The tri-cities was NOT my home.  Yakima was NOT my home.  The move from one to the next was just the first step out the door and into the real world.  I wanted to be on my own, far away, and free.  

Typical baby in the family, I was just dying to grow up.

This isn’t a small town but there is a slow peace to life here.  The home we live in is our home, built the year we were married.  Some people find the fanciest hotel room in town for their wedding night, but we wanted to go home together.  So we did.  We were a new family in our new home on the day of our wedding.  The significance of that choice sinks in more and more these days.  Soon our family will change again.  We will be bringing home another new DoValle.  Up those same steps, through that same door, and into our home and it will be his first home as well.  During these warm summer evenings, I sit on the couch reading through my maternity books and looking at my two handsome men (Ricardo and Poncy, of course) and I feel the kind of freedom I used to dream of when I first moved to this town.  Ricardo and I have already shared so many adventures together both here in our home town and traveling all over.  It is with so much joy that we anticipate the next adventure in our lives together.  

Wishing each of you a long, lazy, lingering end to a beautiful summer. . .

Happy Summer!

I hope you are all enjoying your summer as much as we are!  Here are a few updates on our happenings...

First, our happy little jumping bean is a BOY!  Like the DoValle's don't already have enough of THOSE, right?!  Of course, had it gone the other way the same could be said for the Ebys.  :)  We would've been thrilled either way, but we are SO glad to finally know what this little acrobat is so we can start planning AND picking a name.  And if I haven't dropped enough hints yet, let me spell it out for you - This kid is a MOVER!  He tosses and turns, kicks and flips, day and night.  He is blessedly small right now, so it's more of a joy than a pain for me but I know those days are coming.  So here are some stats on the little man.  He is about one foot in length and around 8 ounces which puts him in the 60th percentile.  At our gender ultrasound the technician said his brain, lungs, heart, and everything else look perfect and he is doing very well.  She even said he has the cutest face she's seen, but I suspect she tells all the moms and dads that.  So here is our little man...

18 weeks

18 weeks 3D :P
Ricardo and I also took a few trips at the beginning of the summer.  First, we flew down to Hawaii (the big island) for a MUCH NEEDED vacation.  The intention was to celebrate my graduation with a good helping of mai tais, but alas.  :)  We turned it in to a fabulous babymoon instead.  Then Ricardo took a trip with his friends to New Orleans while I went to Las Vegas with my parents and Kristin.  We had a great time!! Pics to come, some day.  We also sold my Bug!  :(  Tough day for me, but I REALLY love my new baby friendly mom-mobile!  Other than that, we've been going through the house room by room purging ourselves of the clutter we've built up over the years in order to make room for baby boy DoValle.  We've got the crib built and in place as well as the dresser/changing table but there is still a lot of work to do before that room can really be called a nursery.

I'm feeling great but getting BIG.  I feel like this baby sprouted overnight. Sleep is getting to be a bit challenging but so far this has been such an easy pregnancy I just can't complain.  We are enjoying each stage of expecting, all while looking forward to meeting this little man.  I have to say, we are also looking forward to another Husky football season.  I will be at every game as long as this body and baby will allow.  :)

12 weeks pregnant

18 weeks pregnant

My boys <3
As always, we are looking forward to another fall season!  Many blessings!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

The plus side.

(Written the week after Easter Sunday)

Last week did NOT start off well for me, however the weekend ended beautifully. We had an amazing Easter Sunday with our families. I love all the traditions that we share but mostly I just love experiencing holidays with Ricardo.

Unfortunately, I got hit HARD with a cold at the beginning of the week. As busy as my school and work weeks usually are, this was really poor timing. THEN my work computer was compromised and our Help Desk had to drop my network connection and take my desktop to be completely wiped and restored. It never comes back the same. This all happened the day before PACQ, the system I do 90% of my work in, was to be pulled off the network for updating. So yesterday, I was in an all out requisition BLITZ and I ended up turning 13 purchase requisitions around in one day. No small feat in my world. Nothing too exciting for yours, I'm afraid. :)

But, on the plus side...

The Bombers are doing incredibly well. They finished out their season undefeated at home and at the top of the pack in their conference. They also won the District Championship in an NAIL biter.  At the all-conference meeting six of our guys received 1st Team All-Conference awards, two of them received 2nd Team All-Conference awards, AND Eric Thomas was voted League MVP AND Octavio (Ricardo's Dad) received the Coach of the Year award.  Pretty amazing.  Not a group of guys out there that deserves it more, either.  This team has that something that coaches DREAM about and it truly makes this a beautiful game.

Also on the plus side...

Graduation is just ?? short days, and 20 LONG pages of a research project, away. I am SO ready for this day to come. I can't wait to have that degree in hand and be moving forward with my career an my life! The next day we will be on our way, first class style, to Hawaii for a much anticipated vacation together.

FINALLY, on the plus side...

Wait...

Have you ever seen what the plus side looks like?

Did you know there is an actual IMAGE of what the plus side looks like?

I'm going to show you.



+...



+...



 Ricardo

+

Trish



Ricardo




Trish



:)



Want to see the WHOLE plus side?

Had you guessed it?  WE HADN'T! 

We are indeed!

Updated May 25th!

We just finished up our fist visit with Dr. Bahnmiller.  We got to see baby, hear baby's heart beat, and we found out that this little lady/little man will be gracing us with her/his blessed presence THIS YEAR!

Introducing Baby DoValle!