Luca's Birth Story!

I took some time, between feedings and naps, to write down some of the details of my labor experience with Gianluca. I recorded it in a word document and did my best to upload it onto my blog. I hope y'all enjoy my retelling of events!

-Harmony

I was NOT about to up the contractions and not take something.

nothing for the gift we had received in our boy!

This is all I have recorded so far! I am still working on our hospital stay after he was born :) I hope you enjoyed reading this. :)

xo

Luca @ 1 Month

So I am posting this a little late! However, over the years that I have been reading the blogs of my friends, I have realized how precious it is to record the stages of a child's life. This is why I have decided that I would like to do this with Luca. So....even though I am almost 18 days late, I still want to recall some of the memories from his first month!

Dearest Luca,

You turned 1 month old on June 30, 2010. Daddy and I have had an amazing time getting to know you and love on you for the past month. The three of us have spent all day and night getting to know each other. Bringing you home from the hospital was one of the most exciting yet scary times in our first month. Daddy and I tried to make sure that you didn't spend too much time crying, or being by yourself. You spent a lot of your first month being held closely by us and by your family!

When you were born you were a little guy, and you still are! You eat a lot, but you aren't gaining a bunch of weight. You saw the Dr. 2 times and both times you had gained just enough weight for the Dr. to not make us give you formula, but not enough to fill out your tiny frame. The Dr. did say though that you took a long time to get rid of your umbilical cord and plastibell! You seemed to want to hang on to all of your parts :) but you finally gave them up! Just in time for us not to get too concerned.

In this first month you have also shown to be a strong baby, who is determined to act older than you really are! You hold your head at 90 degrees, roll over, and like to stand while we hold you! Daddy and I keep trying to remind you that you are only a newborn, but you continue to try and prove us wrong. We truly enjoy your personality coming through your actions and determination. Daddy thinks you might be stubborn like Mommy :)

Well Gianluca.....we have enjoyed our first month being your parents, and look forward to all there is to come! No matter how little sleep we get or how much you cry and fuss, we always enjoying being your Mom and Dad.

Muchos besos mi amor

Mom

Here I am......Blogging Again!

Well here I am again trying to blog about my life and all that God is doing for me and my family! I have gone back and forth about blogging and I feel that it's a great way to help my loved ones stay up to date with the happening of our family. Also, I believe it's a great way to chronicle my journey through life. So.....here I am! Back in the blogging community, and hopefully hear to stay.

Since I have last blogged A LOT has changed in our lives, the biggest being the arrival of our precious son Gianluca. Gianluca came into our lives 2.5 weeks before his due date on May 30, 2010. Today he is officially 5 weeks and 1 day old :) We are so in love with him! I cannot even believe the amount of love I feel for this tiny human being. We know that he is only going to make our lives a million times richer, and more exciting. This experience is worth sharing and I have written a detailed explanation of our "birthing story". I am going to post this story very soon to share with all of you, and I hope that you will enjoy it as much as we do when we look back on that amazing day.

Also, Ceasar is still in school doing great! I was blessed enough to have him stay home this summer with me and Luca. He decided not to take classes for both financial and family reasons. Let me just say, had he not taken the summer off.....I would be crazy tired and would have changed a lot more diapers on my own by now. So I am truly blessed and forever grateful for the gift he has given me by staying home! Simply thinking about returning to work in September and him going back to school makes me sad. I love our little family of three being at home with one another. This time in our lives is priceless, and I cherish every moment.

The pictures below were taken by the AMAZING Melissa Vossler! She helped us capture some of the newest moments of our son's life. Luca was anything but cooperative, however....she was able to get a few great ones :)

Well.....this is the first of many posts to come :) I am glad that I am back, and I can't wait to share our new adventures with you, all of our family and friends. I hope all of you had a save and fabulous fourth of July!

Updating you soon....

Love,

Harmony

Blessings Come.....When You Listen!

This summer I was approached with the possibility of teaching 6th grade. Being that I love and adore my 8th graders, every single year, I didn't really see this being an option. I felt content, happy, and in love with my job. So, why change anything? However, when I took a step back and remembered why I was ultimately there, I remembered it was for a bigger purpose. God wanted me there. But maybe this was God's plan, especially since it felt that a complicated and uncomfortable one. So, I told my principal and good friend, that I would teacher wherever they needed me! I prayed for God to place me where I could do His work. Well, here we are a month later and I am a 6th grade teacher! I LOVE it! I love my new room (that you can check out in the above video), and I already love my kids! I have felt so much more motivated and in love with my job since I became a part of the 6th grade team! It has also helped that I have a team of great teachers to work with this year :) They ROCK!

I am really excited about the adventures that are to come my way this year. I am hoping to accomplish a lot, and to really be a better educator to my cute new 6th grade babies. This summer I had a lot of time off (because of my wonderful husband!), and during that time I set some goals for myself. I really hope to grow a lot as a colleague, teacher, staff member, and team player. I know I have a lot more to learn, and I am just so excited to start!

Now, for the backlash of this new assignment! I have been working SOOOOO hard! I don't know how I would be getting through this without the grace of God! I have been working 13 hour days at my school, and attending M.A. classes, and taking online classes for my CLAD certificate. So exhausting. I am trying to not lose my sanity, or push my husbands patients. He asks me about 10 times a day when I am coming home :) He is too good to me! But, hopefully before the end of next week I should get organized enough to only work my contractual hours, ha ha! Cross your fingers and say a prayer for me, please!

Time for a Mommy update! She is doing really really well! She has lost 17 pounds during the first week after her surgery. She is already feeling healthier, and motivated to make a positive change for her and my Daddy! Thank you again for your prayers.

I have to go! The family is yelling my name :) It's time to be a good daughter! Love all of you, I will be back again soon.

xox

Harmony Joy

Love Is In The Air

Here is an oldie but goodie! Ceasar and I went to Vegas in November for a day, just to get away and escape life's daily drama's. I love this man so much for his supportive, kind, patient, and loving heart. God could NOT have made a better man for me than him.

After we got married we moved into my parents house for two reasons.
1. Saving money for our home
2. Helping my parents out during my mommy's recovery
This was not only my father's idea, but my husbands also! They both thought that this step/transition would be best for everyone involved. Well, they were both right. But who expects their new hubby to adjust so well to living with their inlaws? I mean, I know my parents are as close to perfect as it gets, but Ceasar made it look so easy. He is so kind! I honestly don't know what I do to deserve such a man!

Everyday I come home from work and this man spoils me. The house is clean, bed is made, and he has paid the bills! He makes me relax, calms my nerves, and listens to my daily drama. Now, I am sure most of you are saying, "Yeah Yeah, you are newly wed, ha!", well you are right, we are, and I am going to eat it up until he says, ENOUGH! I just feel so blessed, and my cup is over flowing so much that I had to share with all of you just how wonderful my husband is to me :)

Tomorrow is my last day without babies in my classroom. This is my first year teaching 6th grade at WMS, and I am very excited! I hope to be the best teacher I can be. I want to stay positive, and I want His light to shine brightly from all I do :) Please say prayers!

I must go now.......I have homework, research, and planning to do :) I will update more soon. Oh, my mommy is recovering quickly, thanks again for all of your kind thoughts and prayers!

xox

Harmony Joy

Educational Growth (& Updates)

When I graduated High School I never saw myself as the type to attend school the complete duration of my life. However, that seems to be exactly what I am doing. I have attended structured educational settings since September of 1987. I have obtained my High School Diploma and my B.A.E.. I am currently one class away from my M.A. in Education, 3 classes away from my Administrative Credential, and 2 classes away from my CTEL Certificate! Wow! A lot of school, right?! Now that these programs are coming to an end I am debating enrolling in the Doctoral program that Point Loma will be offering soon.

Although my motivations may seem clear, I feel that there are MANY reasons for my extended educational excursion. A few of these are;
1. Better myself in my career
2. Earn more money
3. Open the door for more employment opportunities
4. Get out of paying student loans
5. Gain the education and experience needed for future goals
As you can tell there are many diverse reasons for my continued efforts in education. Overall, I enjoy to process, but it can be stressful at times.

Right now I am feeling some stress from the amount of work I will need to accomplish over the next 2 months. I am preparing for a new grade level, taking online courses, taking courses once a week at Point Loma, and trying to stay positive, energetic, and happy! Now don't get me wrong, I know this is all possible with A LOT of prayer and FAITH! I just want to reach these educational goals while juggling personal, marital, relational, and social goals all at the same time!

Phew! That's exhausting just to type :) Please keep me in your prayers, and any encouragement, words, or advice are greatly appreciated.

In other news......

Ceasar and I are thinking about volunteering some of our time. We aren't sure for what organization we want to work with, but we know we both have felt the desire to get out there and serve. I will keep y'all posted on our search.

Ceasar is started school tomorrow! He has torn some ligiments in his right foot that will not allow for him to play soccer :(, so he will be attending ELAC this Fall to start his Gen. Eds. I am so excited for him. We are so blessed to have this opportunity to have close to no bills so that he can pursue the avenues God has for him. God is good!

My Mommy is going in for surgery tomorrow at 9 am. Please keep her in your prayers. I promise to update everyone on her status, but we all have faith in a fast, healthy, and uneventful recovery! We have faith!

I think that's all our news for now :) Love you all for your support! Have a great Sunday.

xox

Harmony Joy

Soul Searching

I know I have already been MIA for a while, but it was for a good cause. I promise! I have been trying to figure out a theme or a purpose for my blog. Something to motivate me to write, share, inspire, and grow through this process of blogging. The even that sparked this thought was Julie and Julia. I feel like Julie, I need something to help keep me motivated in my direction, desires, goals, and dreams. So I thought that there would be a few topics, just to start, that I would write about.

-Professional Goals: My efforts to stay positive at work, and become the BEST for my kids.
-Acting: My continuous journey in the industry
-Educational Growth: My efforts to achieve high education goals
-Family: New adventures of being a Newlywed
-Religion: My relationship with God, and his people

I figured these topics would help give me a focus of my blog. I truly look forward to experiencing and sharing my growth in all of these areas. I will title my posts according to the topics they address. I hope this will prove to be enjoyable for all!

Thanks for reading, caring, sharing, and your love!

xox

Harmony Joy