Snowdogs

We got LOTS of snow last night. Because the wind was blowing so hard, the drifts were deep.

So today we took the dogs out to play.

In places, the snow was over a foot deep.
Orsa and Havana race each other to get the ball.
When they lose the ball, Havana just digs for it.

Bella's too good for fetch. She just stands there and looks pretty.

When she's on her game, Havana will even catch snowballs.

It's a Brick House

Well, hello there. Guess what? I have MORE exciting news to share! God just keeps pouring out the blessings.

We found a house! We put an offer on it yesterday, found out this morning that there was a competing offer and found out this afternoon that they accepted our offer!

You guys, this house it BEAUTIFUL. Seriously. I'm still having a hard time grasping the fact that, barring any unforeseen obstacles, in a little over a month it will be our home!

I looked at close to 40 homes over the last few weeks. After so many, all the homes were starting to blur together. At each house we visited, I would have that vague, undefined feeling of "This isn't it." I just couldn't picture us there.

And then we saw this one.

When we visited, the agent was actually having an Open House. We wandered around and right from the beginning, it felt different. I could see us there. I could picture us moving in that day. Chris liked it too, but of couse he was more reserved. (He had to balance out his emotionally-charged, impulsive wife.)

After spending quite a bit of time there, we left and continued to visit homes, but suddenly, we were comparing everything to that house. It became the standard, and nothing else seemed to measure up. So we went back.

The next day, we decided to drive around and scope out the neighborhood. And the Open House was happening again. So ... we stopped by for the third time. This time we started dreaming about where we'd put our furniture. What color we'd paint the walls. Where the dogs could stay.

From there, we met our agent to complete the paperwork for the offer. That was yesterday. As of this evening, we are officially under contract!

I Thought I Had Seen Poverty ...

Chris' time in Kenya is almost done. He'll be home in three days. To be honest, I've never looked forward to something so much in my life. Thursday couldn't come soon enough. Having him gone has been extremely difficult this time around.

I have no idea why. Perhaps my fragile emotional state has something to do with being pregnant.

But when I saw the pictures and read the stories of where they went today, I knew that God had put him on this trip for a purpose. I've traveled with Compassion before and seen poverty, but I've never in my life seen anything like what he saw today.

I'm not sure how I would have reacted to what they experienced today if I had been there. (Especially considering how easily I cry these days.) But I'm so thankful that he was there. Because seeing those photos is heartbreaking. But seeing my husband in that place brings it so much closer to home.

The Mathare Valley should not be real. But it is. Chris was there.

Chris and Lerionga

This photo makes all the time apart worth it.Photo by Ryan Detzel

Giving Birth in Afghanistan

I heard on NPR today that one out of every seven women in Afghanistan die in childbirth. One out of every seven. Can you imagine giving birth with those odds?

Hearing that story made me think about how thankful I am to live in this country.

Buckle Up, Baby!

Heyyyyyy! Where have you been all my life? What's it been ... like two months?!

Well, lots has happened since I last wrote.

I guess the biggest news is that I'm pregnant! I know what you're thinking because it's the first thing everybody asks, and the answer is ... we weren't trying and we weren't not trying. We just ... were. Our baby is due September 17th, so I just passed 12 weeks. We just this week started telling people. We decided to wait to share the news until 12 weeks for two reasons: 1. I have heard that the first three months are the biggest risk of miscarriage, and 2. I don't feel pregnant. At all. After having so many friends get horribly sick throughout their first few months of pregnancy, I just assumed I would have the same experience. So although the test I took told me I was indeed pregnant, I haven't felt any different and until we actually saw the sonogram last week, I wasn't 100% convinced. I guess I'm a lucky one.

As we share the news with people, we're getting more and more excited about it. It took a while for it to sink in. And actually, sometimes I still forget. I guess those days when I forget I'm pregnant are numbered, huh?

Speaking of being pregnant, there must be something in the water at Compassion because every third woman of childbearing age seems to be pregnant. I'm not joking. Pregnancy is very contagious, apparently.

In other news, our house is under contract! We put it on the market a couple months ago and for over a month did not have one single showing. Then, out of the blue, we had a showing, then three showings in one day and then an offer. The inspection is this weekend, and as long as all goes well, we're hoping to close on April 15. And that means we have to get moving on finding a house to buy! This whole coordination of selling and buying a house is complicated and it stresses me out. Thankfully, we have some very good friends who have offered to help us out if we have lag time.

Chris left yesterday for Kenya with a group of bloggers. I'm very glad he got to go on the trip. He loves Kenya and he gets to see Lerionga again. But I have to say, for some reason him being gone on this trip is harder on me than normal. I'm not sure why. But I'm literally counting the days until he's back. (Sheesh. Who am I and what have I done with my independent self?)

Anyway, it's good to be back on the blog. Lots of big things going on in the Giovagnoni household these days. Hold on and buckle your seatbelts! I think we're in for a wild ride.