It's a BOY!!!

 IT'S A BOY!!! We are thrilled and feeling so blessed! Little Nathan Andrew, we can't wait to meet and hold you!!

       

*Photos by Fabiane Photography - more from this shoot coming soon!

We had our ultrasound appointment this past Wednesday, the 23rd, and I must admit I was a little anxious for the news. I really wanted to find out whether this little one was a boy a girl so we could start calling him or her by name and I could start preparing all the little things we'd need before the arrival. I was nervous that we wouldn't be able to find out, and while many parents are able to prepare without knowing, I just wanted to KNOW.

Jon was able to leave work early so we could go to my 2:30 appointment together. We were so excited to finally be able to find out. So many speculations, but now we'd be able to see! Ever since the beginning of this pregnancy, I think it's safe to say that 85-90% of people who told me what they thought said it was going to be a girl. And I must admit that I was leaning towards the girl side too. Even my grandma, who rarely gets these things wrong was sure it was a girl. But sure enough, the evidence is there that it is definitely NOT a girl!

We patiently waited as our sonographer measured different parts of the baby, until she finally got the image and said, "So you guys wanted to find out right?" and there it was, she didn't have to say it but she did, "It's a boy! Good thing you guys wanted to know because it would've been hard for me to hide this one!" Jon and I just looked at each other in shock and started laughing! Of course we were happy with the news, but with so many people guessing girl, I guess that's what we were expecting! The sonographer went on to continue her job and we got to see all of his ten little fingers and ten little toes. We are so thankful to God for this healthy little boy, who is right on track with his development.

Here are some of the pictures from the ultrasound...

3-D image of face

Profile of face

His little feet!

If you're wondering about the name Nathan Andrew, we had chosen this name for a boy... actually since before I knew I was pregnant. Nathan is part of JoNATHAN which both mean "Gift of God". Andrew is for the "A" in my name, we liked the way it sounded together and that it means "manly and courageous". Also, as an unplanned bonus, his cousin Leo's middle name is "Andres" which has the same meaning as Andrew. Speaking of the two, can't wait to see them playing together! Yay for boy cousins not even a year apart!!!

-Angie

Reflections on a Devastating Game

As I lay here, reflecting on the most devastating World Cup game in history, I couldn't help but notice all the life lessons that relate here. It may be silly to some of you, I know soccer is just a game, but to those who take this game to heart, maybe you can join me in these reflections. What I write here are only my non-sport expert opinions and I'm not looking to make excuses for the loss nor bash the team. I'm simply stating what I've seen and my interpretation of it.

It's no question the Brazilian team this World Cup was not as strong as the team has been in the past. They were, in my opinion, too dependent on the star player and kind of all over the place- not working as a team at all. We were fortunate enough to go as far as we did, but unfortunately couldn't follow through to the finals. It wasn't just any loss, but an embarrassing record breaking loss. I do recognize, however, that the team had a lot of pressure on them. They were in their home country, and it was almost as if winning this cup would save their country. They didn't want to let their people down and then to add to all the pressure their star player and team captain were unable to play the semi finals. The team wasn't as prepared as they should've been and this loss is the result of it.

The most embarrassing of it all was reading how people were reacting on social media. People bashing the team out of spite because of their own country's loss, and even Brazilians losing the pride of their country over one bad (REALLY bad) game. At the end of the day, it is what it is- a game. One team wins and the other loses, but they both deserve respect for making it as far as they did.

After a lot of thought, these are a few life lessons I thought of...

Be prepared
- In life, unprecedented things happen and you always have to be prepared for it: You have a savings account even though you have a steady job just in case something happens to you or your job, when planning you make a plan B or C in case plan A doesn't work out, in sports you train how defend when your opponents attack, and in your walk of faith you learn to be prepared for when trials and temptations come your way.

Don't depend on the past
- It's one thing to be proud of what you've accomplished in the past but it's another to depend on it. We need to constantly be improving ourselves, do more, and work harder. If you find yourself constantly pointing to past accomplishments, ask yourself what have you been doing recently. As a teacher I need to constantly be learning more, reading more and improving myself as an educator. As a Christian I need to constantly check where my relationship with Christ is right now, and how have I reflected the love of God every day.

Learn from your mistakes
- Don't be a sore loser. In life you win and you lose. You make embarrassing mistakes you wish you could go back and change, but the greatest people are those who learn from their mistakes. You learn and you grow and you keep trying until you get it right. As humans we constantly mess up. We sin, we disappoint, we fall short, but we should always be trying to better ourselves, growing each time we fall.

Learn to take criticism
- Part of growing and learning from your mistakes is learning to take criticism. Our natural tendency is to defend ourselves, but sometimes we need to hear it- we need an outside point of view in order to see what we can't see ourselves. Just as in art, critiquing helps an artist master his or her techniques, in life hearing the hard stuff helps us better ourselves.

Depend on others
- As humans we were designed to be dependent on other people. We need family, community, friends, co-workers in order to function. A community works together in order to survive, a team works together to accomplish a goal, and above all things we are dependent on God. Living independently just doesn't work. You need others to help you when you fail, to pick you up when you fall, and to encourage you to get up and try again.

Don't depend on others
- Although this statement seems to contradict the one above, I mean something different by it. As Christians we can't let our faith and relationship with God be dependent on the "rocks" in our lives. It's great to have friends who are strong in faith, have great leaders in our lives, and listen to great messages or read great devotionals, but my relationship with God is solely dependent on me seeking him on my own. It's easy to follow someone's else's bandwagon, but it's important to have your own quiet time/personal worship in order to have that close relationship with God.


I apologize for the lengthy post, but these thoughts were spinning in my head and I just had to get them down. May someone be blessed by it.

- Angie

Hello July

Although I was very aware of what month we are in (and even updated my office calendar last night) I was taken by surprise when one of my emails this morning was titled "Happy 1/2 Year!" How has half of the year gone already??? With a baby due early December, that only gives me like 5 months! [Side note: let's take a moment to recognize that pregnancy lasts more like ten months than nine. 40 weeks divided by 4 weeks in a month equals 10, and I'll be halfway there in just 2 weeks!!!]




Back to July. This month is a pretty exciting one for my hubby and me.

1) We go on Vacation to California!!!

2) July 12th is our 8 year Anniversary!!!

3) We find out (hopefully) whether we're having a BOY or GIRL!!!


I will definitely be blogging about our California adventures (especially now that we bought a new camera for pictures) and Baby Brito's big gender reveal!


Happy Summer!
-Mrs. Brito <3