For Mom- Grandma NUT!

Here is the sonogram photo from yesterday. See her cute little nose....

Decade in Review: 2008-2010

I was trying to review the last ten years of our lives. I somehow got these out of order. They are in three posts, but a bit backwards. I get my computer skills from my mother. Which isn't saying much.......

2008



We found out right after Marc got home from Iraq that we were pregnant again. YEAH! We also found out that our plans to leave the Army were not as appealing as going to England for three years with the Army. We quickly signed up for three more years with the Army. We started to make plans and get ready to take our family to England. In the midst of all the planning, we had a horrible week. I got really sick, I wrecked our car, and I had a miscarriage at 12 weeks. Luckily, we were too busy to wallow in sadness. We were in England less than three months after we even knew we could go. The boys both started school and got to wear matching uniforms.

2009



This last year was really quite boring. We just tried to settle in and get used to a new country, a new house and being together as a family. We spent lots of time watching movies together and just enjoying each others company. Marc and I are continually entertained by Giovanni and Sergio. They are really funny and not afraid to let you know what they are thinking.

2010





I know that this year is not over yet, it has hardly started. We do know at least one thing that will happen this year. After a really scary start to this pregnancy, we are having a girl at the beginning of May. We couldn't be more excited to finally have another baby. Sofia Rae DeLuca will be a welcome addition to our family. Marc and I will have been married ten years at Christmas time and plan on taking the whole family on a trip to Italy....we will see how this year turns out.

Decade in Review: 2004-2007

2004 might possibly be my least favorite year of the last ten, even over the 15 months Marc was in Iraq. We moved to California in the beginning of the year. I quickly found out I was pregnant again. Marc was in school ALL DAY. He woke up at 4AM and went to work out with the Army. He would sometimes come home for a quick shower and breakfast. He was at school/work until about 6PM. He would eat a quick dinner with us or would take his dinner into his office to do homework. We had to be in bed by 8PM because of his schedule. It was probably good to go to bed so early because Giovanni NEVER slept past 6AM the whole time I was pregnant. In fact the last three months he woke me up at 5AM because daylight savings time never works on his body. We BARELY survived that year...but at least we got our happy Sergio at the end.

2005



We moved to El Paso and I soon started to call it HELL Paso. Although I did not like it at first, I grew to LOVE it and would even consider retirement there, (don't tell Marc, he still HATES it.) It was dry and barren, but there is something to be said for a climate where you can send your children out to play any time of day at any time of the year. The only thing I don't miss is the WIND.....

2006



We knew deployment was inevitable. Marc spent most of the beginning of the year gone to training to prepare to deploy. He deployed just after Halloween. It was hard to say goodbye, but I think that ignorance was bliss. We had no idea what to expect and we just tried to keep moving forward.

2007



Marc was gone the whole year. It was difficult. He ended up doing something much more dangerous than the desk job we were expecting. He did learn how to wash his clothes in a box lined with a garbage bag. (Which is what he is doing in this photo.) I prayed, payed our tithing and just kept busy. Our church family became our family. I took many trips to visit family to break up the time, but we made El Paso our home. We came to love the small zoo, and most of the drive-thru workers in our area knew me personally from our many meals eaten out. I hated to cook for one adult, so we often, and by often I mean, OFTEN ate at restaurants. Marc survived both emotionally and physically. His worst injury was from running into the latrine door in the dark. He still has a scar. We are permanently changed from these 15 months but I don't think we would take them away if we could. We are better for our service.

Decade in Review: 2000-2003

I stole this idea from my good friend Kim. We have actually had quite an eventful decade considering that I think our lives are quite boring..........

2000


I spent most of the year on my mission in Uruguay. It was a life changing experience. I will definitely never take flushing toilets for granted. This picture is of one of my favorite Guayans. Susana is quite a lady. She made us earn her trust, and we laughed alot together.


I got home from my mission just in time for BYU fall semester. Marc had taken a semester off and so we both returned to Provo at about the same time. Hanging out as friends soon turned into a short engagement and a Christmas wedding. Best decision of his life........


2001



Marc and I quickly settled into married life, and by settled, I mean somewhat scratched and clawed. We often describe our personalities as a "back fire" aggrement. In forest fires they build small back fires to contain the other fire. Marc and I are both firey personalities, but we definitely contain each other well. We went to Italy for a month in the summer of 2001. It was a great trip.

2002



Giovanni was born in the fall of 2002. It was fun to become a mother, but I really enjoyed watching Marc become a father. Marc also graduated this year from BYU and we moved to Seattle right before our second anniversary.

2003



We moved in with Marc's parents and Marc worked while we really prayed about our future. We decided to join the Army. We stayed with his parents until all of his training was done and we would move to Monterey, California. Giovanni went from a tiny baby to a VERY active toddler. He loved to hide inside this bookcase.

Life derails you...

This picture was taken less than six months after Marc got home from Iraq. It was Fourth of July 2008. We were in front of the White Sands National Park, which I highly recommend, if you are ever in that area. We spent the day sledding on the soft white sand and then went into Alamogordo for fireworks that night. It is one of my favorite memories.
Now that I have two years distance on the 15 month deployment, I can look back on it with less emotion. I have been thinking lately about how it changed me, Marc and our family. I know that none of us will ever be the same.
I was talking to Julie, my mother-in-law, the other day about how I used to be so good about remembering birthdays and sending thank you cards. She asked me what happened and all I could think of was, "Marc went to Iraq." I know we came out stronger, braver and better for our service, but I often wonder what bits of ourselves we lost.
I have said before that I know, I can see in Marc's eyes, that he is different. I just forget that sometimes, so am I. I didn't see the horrors of war, and because of people like Marc, I probably never will. But I cannot help thinking of what parts of self I may have lost. I had such plans for my future when I didn't have any life experiences, or kids. Now I understand that life itself derails our plans. The key is to just have enough faith that God knows what he is doing with us.
I may not be who I thought that I would be at 32 and a half, but progress is something. I have moved forward.

between you and God...

I just found this amazing quote on someone else's blog. Had to have it. Need to read it daily and live it...

"People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years creating and building, others could destroy overnight. Create and build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give the world the best you have anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."
--Mother Teresa

It's a GRIL....

I mean, IT'S A GIRL!!! Sergio has told me all along that I need to have a girl because I am "out of numbers." Translation- out numbered. Tonight he told me that I am half way to being "in numbers." If this little girl entertains us half as much as the two crazy boys we already have, we are in for quite a lifetime...

Christmas 2009

We didn't officially have a "white Christmas." It snowed a couple of days before and it stuck around a bit. I forced Marc out with the boys in the snow. Marc is TERRIFIED of being cold, so it took him about 30 minutes to get decked out in all the warm weather and waterproof gear the Army has issued him. Then they had a great time on the trampoline.
We got the boys a couple of science experiments for gifts and they thought that the coolest part was the safety goggles. We also watched a lot of movies and snuggled on the couch. The boys particularly loved "The Three Amigos". After it was done, they went and dressed up as the three amigos. They got their bathrobes for coats, beach hats for sombreros and each had guns and a horse. It was really entertaining as they ran through the house shouting and shooting.