March Madness

So Joe's title for this month is March Madness. Seems fitting and I hope that it carries out to be more positive than it sounds. ;-) Things have been changing alot lately and a very fervent pace. We moved to Laguna Hills for many reasons and are almost finished settling into a lovely 2 bedroom apartment. We visited good old Biola University, had a wedding shower or two ;-), and are busy working and getting ready for Eli's arrival. Joe says that we must be almost parents because we've been spending our evenings putting together things for our child like a playpen, stroller, crib, and changing table. I don't think our doing so will change for quite a while. I am aware that life is going to change dramatically in about 6 short weeks but even with the evidence very clear on my middle, it is still hard to believe. Hard to believe we will be welcoming a new member into our family, and yet it's very, very exciting. I can't wait for Joe to be a dad. I am confident that he will be a fantastic one. ;-)

Content

"I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation."

It's odd. With everything going on right now it would seem that knowing me I would be frazzled. It would seem I would be worried or anxious about being 10 weeks away from giving birth, moving next week, leaving a job I love, figuring out how to be my husband's assistant, living 45 minute away from my job, and so much more, but I'm not. For some reason, if I were to describe the last few months, I would use the words "content, at peace, satisfied."

So why is this? How can I go from a situation with less change and less turmoil to one with more and yet feel so much more at peace now? I've been thinking about that lately.

I think it has a lot to do with my mental state. I feel like mentally I have been taking deep breathes. When I start to worry or think about my situation or the problems that might come up, I mentally take a step back and examine it from a variety of lenses. How will this impact me a year from now? How else could I look at this situation? How is this situation being viewed from the lens of the person I'm struggling with right now? Does this really matter?

Oftentimes, I find that the things that cause me so much mental anguish, shouldn't.

Lay your burdens at the cross. Such a darn, difficult thing to accomplish. I've been working on living out this verse for the past 24 years. I hope that maybe, possibly I've taken one small step toward understanding what God wants in regards to worry... don't. ;-)

I heard one time that worry and stress are indicators of our lack of faith in God. That really bothered me at the time because I worried and stressed a lot, but it makes sense to me now. When our mind is free from worry and stress, it is able to dwell on the more important, like making the most of the precious thirty minutes you have to spend with your husband or best friend or new baby. I hope that once I have Eli I will continue in this frame of mind. ;-)

Active Eli

Eli's becoming quite active. He is kicking and twirling and diving. It is my second favorite thing in the world right now to sit and feel him move. Even when I am alone, I feel like I have company because he's very much alive in there. I wonder what he's thinking and if he's ever trying to get my attention about something. It was fun because at our last ultrasound when the technician would put the wand on top of him he would put up his little hands and push up like he didn't appreciate being squished any more than he already was. ;-) I wonder if he's doing the same thing when I rub my belly. I definitely understand now why pregnant women enjoy rubbing their bellies. It's an amazing thing. I marvel at how anyone who has ever been pregnant can be pro abortion. Once they start moving in there, it is a DAILY reminder of how there is a very much alive human being inside them who very much deserves a chance at life. Pray as I continue to do that everything with Eli's transition into the world would be a smooth one because we already love him very much. ;-)

My Daily Bread

Sorry to those who read my blog. I promise to get better. I'm sure once I have a newborn baby to tend to I'll have tons more time to write on my blog...right. ;-)

Life has been good. I daily pinch myself to check and make sure that this life I'm currently living is real. I have everything I could need and want and SO much MORE!! ;-) The one sadness of my life is living out in the boonies in a small one bedroom because I didn't want to be isolated and I really wanted Eli to be able to have a room of his own, for all our sake. ;-) But that sadness will be resolved in 5 short weeks. We'll be moving again, we are pretty much making it a science, to Laguna Hills into a beautiful 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment complete with a yard, plentiful walking/stroller trails, an amazing location to everything including our church ;-) and all the latest convienances, and Eli not only gets his own room but his own bathroom as well. Depending on how long we stay there it will come in handy when he starts potty training. ;-)

Pregnancy is an amazing thing. I live my life and my belly continues to grow, wow! Everything has been progressing normally so far, and at each one of my doctor's appointments there has been no red flags or concerns, which considering my history I am SOOO thankful for. I definitely never dreamed everything would go so well, but don't forget to pray for the growing Gallucci family because people continue to tell me that I am just about to enter the most difficult road, the dreaded third trimester. Da, da, da, da... As I have thus far I am planning on focusing on one day at a time, getting through Monday joyfully and successfully before setting my sights to Tuesday, especially regarding work. I love my job very much, but it is easy to start getting worried about whether or not I'll be able to make it until 3 weeks before the baby's born, which is the plan. We shall see, but just as Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us TODAY our DAILY bread." And another one of my favorites, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Blessings!! ;-)

Merry Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas to our friends and family!

It sure has been an eventful, terrific year for the Gallucci family. We started out 2009 with a bang spending the night on the streets of Pasadena to watch the Rosebowl Parade. The first few months were terrific. I was Joe’s secretary with his Cutco business. Check out www.mycutcorep.com/JoeGallucci to view his website. In February, Joe participated in the Lake Perris triathalon and did a great job! In March, we celebrated our second wedding anniversary in Big Bear. Mid May, Joe decided that a career change was in order. He started working for a company called PayJunction, a credit card processing company with a unique way to accept credit cards (in store, website, and/or cell phone). If you want to learn more, take a look at Joe's website It’s really interesting, and there’s even a cool movie to watch. ;-) The summer was lovely, filled with a trip to beautiful Colorado for a vacation with the Hollins and another trip to picturesque Oregon for a Gallucci family wedding. I spent the better part of 2008-2009 writing my first Young Adult novel. It was finished in August and debuted on www.amazon.com. It’s called My Darkness, it’s about spiritual warfare, and it’s a great read. Search “My Darkness Hayley” on Amazon to buy your copy! ;-) I started a brand new job at the end of August at Stoneybrooke Elementary School. I’m an assistant teacher working with a junior kindergarten class and the school’s math lab and science lab. I love it! Not long after starting school, our family received terrific news. We were going to have a baby! Hayley is currently five months pregnant with our first child, a boy we decided to name Eli Rocco Gallucci. Baby Eli and I have both been doing great so far. In November we still had not had enough adventure so we decided to rent out our condo in Mission Viejo and move to a small cabin in the Cleveland National Forest. After the move, Thanksgiving was spent with family and a relaxing trip to Tahoe with the Hollins.

We are earnestly awaiting a very special and memorable 2010 with even more exciting adjustments and changes as we welcome Eli on or around April 21^st ;-).

Many blessings to you and your family!! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! ;-)

Love,

Joe, Hayley, and baby Eli

This blessed me. Merry Christmas!! ;-)

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her
toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got
arthritis too. That's love.'
Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and
they go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries
without making them give you any of theirs.'
Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before
giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'
Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you
still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'
Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening
presents and listen.'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you
hate,'
Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a boy you like his shirt, then he wears it
everyday.'
Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still
friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at
all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'
Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is
handsomer than Robert Redford.'
Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone
all day.'
Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old
clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'
Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars
come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's
gross.'
Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you
mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'
Jessica - age 8

And the final one

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an
elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's
yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy
said,

'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

Updates

Sorry, again, for not writing recently. I've lost my computer connection in the lab after school and until a few days ago we were a one computer household, which mean that Joe was on the computer for work or we were spending time together. Enough excuses... I'm back and because Joe recently purchased a netbook for his business we are now a 2 computer household. Got to love technology.

Life has been really good lately. We had a more than splendid Thanksgiving break. We headed straight to Lake Tahoe with my hubby, fam, and sister's boyfriend. We had an amazing time in a breathtakingly fabulous snow resort. It had snowed the day before we arrived so our world was white. We were surprised continually how cold it really was outside and were thankful for all the layers we had brought with us. I had a blast on the trip. We ate really well, watched Blindside, Roo, Joe and David went snowboarding, shopped, relaxed, watched movies, had snowball fights, played the legendary Twilight game ;-), and so much more. I definitely didn't want to go home. It was amazingly beautiful and refreshing and wonderful to get away from work and the day to day for awhile.

The good news is that we got back late Wednesday night, and the next day was Thanksgiving. We had a very chill day and then spent Thanksgiving evening with all our family: my family, Joe's family, David's family, and more. ;-) It was a great time.

The day after Thanksgiving we did brave the stores in Lake Elsinore for a little shopping. We got a laptop, a few pregnancy outfit essentials, and a few other things.

Saturday was spent registering for baby Eli, so much fun but we were wiped when it was all over. We also had dinner with Joe's fam, gma, uncle, and great aunt. Yummy food, again. ;-) On Sunday we did errands and took care of business.

So life is good. The pregnancy has been terrific so far, for which I am soooo thankful. No major issues. I've been feeling great! Definitely enjoying the blessed 2nd trimester. ;-)