Look who's here!

Being born is hard work!

Mr. Ethan Andrew Coy 

graced this world with his presence on

June 27th 2013

at 

4:28 pm

He weighed 8.6 lbs and was 20 1/2 in

He is the most perfect little boy (I might be bias). He has come to fill our life with sleepless nights, wet clothes, extra loads of laundry, and a love that we never knew before. We are beyond thankful for his life and we are enjoying every second we spend watching him in awe!

Birth story coming soon, I need to go feed him! 

Another day, another year

Today completes another year in our life. Probably the most difficult and painful as well as beautiful and precious. You see a year ago today our sweet Evan's spirit was born into the arms of our Jesus and his little body into ours.

A year ago today our God was good because he healed my son. It most certainly took me a while to be thankful for that healing but today I can honestly say my heart thanks God for delivering my baby from earthly suffering even if it meant breaking my heart.

A year ago today I met the most beautiful baby, held him and memorized his face. What a special time we spent together as a family. I would give a lot to be able to spend just a few more minutes with my precious son.

What a year it has been and today I cried nearly as much as I did that day but I wouldn't have it any other way. I am honored to be my Evan's mama. I will always love him and no one will ever take his place in my heart.

 Happy 1st Birthday my dear Son, we love you more than words can express!

Our life in years

I've heard a phrase that says "Every day is the start of a new year". When I first heard this it didn't make much sense but if you think about it for a minute it's the absolute truth.  365 days from today will be April 4th again and 365 days from tomorrow will be April 5th, a year nonetheless. Our life is changed by certain days that we celebrate or remember (depending on the case) every year and that is how we measure life. We measure our life in birthdays. We measure our education in school years. We measure our time in calendar years. We remember loved ones that are no longer with us every year on the date they passed away. We measure our marriage in anniversaries. Well you get the point.

I've been thinking about this because today is our 4 year wedding anniversary and even though at the end of 2012 I wrote a post on what we went through in that year, the "wedding anniversary measure" casts a different light on the same events. It's like a spotlight that points at a different character in the story. In the darkness of the theatre what this one light points at fills me with thankfulness, joy, humbleness, and oh so much love.

I know some men that would've probably walked this walk with as much dignity and integrity as he did, but I also know many others that would've walked away at the first sign of hardship. Not my Bruce. A couple of nights ago we were talking in bed and I thanked him for sticking by me and Evan when everything was so hard and painful he said "I cannot even fathom leaving you because our son was sick or passed away, that's something that never even crossed my mind as an option". Now I don't care how many faults this man has, this statement alone shows something far more important, it shows his heart. Bad habits can be changed, but a heart like this is worth pure gold.

This 4th year of marriage was probably one of the hardest we will ever walk through but I will always remember it as the one that showed my husband's true colors. The year that could have torn us apart but instead brought us closer together. The one God used to strengthen our love for each other and increase our admiration for each other. It wasn't an easy one but it was well worth it and I wouldn't chose anyone else to have lived it with.

Right now sitting in bed, typing these lines I am overwhelmed by love not only my Bruce's love but God's love for me that He would give me such a man for a husband... and now I look forward to what this new year will show me about him. We are writing a whole new chapter in which we live the role of parents of our sweet boy here on earth. I can't wait to fall even deeper in love with the father of my children as I see him interact, teach, and love our son as only he can. What an adventure and what good company I am in! Bring it on!

My gorgeous anniversary flowers!

Life as of late

I've been MIA since the end of February when I wrote my last post. I'm not sure if it's just me or life seems to go by a lot faster lately. It seems like I wake up do a couple of things and it's night again! Anyway, I'm trying to make the best out of these last months before Baby Ethan makes his arrival.

My mom was in town for a couple of weeks, which was a great treat! She cooked authentic Mexican food for me, took me shopping for all things baby and shared in the whole pregnancy experience which is hard them being so far away.

 As I mentioned in my last post I started organizing our house some time ago. I thought I was done or close anyway but then all things baby started invading the house and I realized there's still more to do. Last week I cleaned and organized our closet, it took almost all day and all of my energy for the day. Now I'm working on the kitchen but I'm not too inspired for that one. The space is limited so I'm doing my best to maximize it but I'm not sure I'm doing it right, we'll see how that turns out. Trying to keep only what you truly need is easier said than done for sure!

I've been also working on several projects around the house I will post at least one of them soon, maybe tomorrow. Right now I'll try to get myself out of bed and finish the kitchen.

Contentment is a bautiful thing

This is something I've been thinking about for a while and recently our Pastor talked about it at church.

Before I share about the title I want to say that I know this blog has been mainly about our struggles with babies and what we've been through can make for a very sad blog. I'm not saying this apologetically because even though I have no official followers (that I know of) my desire is that if and when people find my corner of the blogosphere God will use our story to encourage others no matter where they are at in live (as He's used others in my life), because all this pain can't go to waist!

Having said this I feel we are entering a different chapter in our story. It's almost like I can feel it in the air and I think I need to share accordingly. The blogs I follow are mostly of women that although they have lots to offer in many areas the main thing they offer is transparency and that is what has blessed me the most. I am not a perfect Jesus-lover, wife, housewife, mother, crafter, or woman but I belive that sharing with transparency helps us live the life in community God intended for His followers.

con·tent·ment

/kənˈtentmənt/

Noun A state of happiness and satisfaction.

It's been an interesting journey which has helped me (us) put things in perspective and realize what is truly important. We all have dreams, we all want a good life, a big house with a yard, a paid off mortgage, two cars, a good pay check, a good job, more money, and better things. I don't think there is anything wrong with this desires but I do believe the world we live in has put all material things in the center of our lives and maybe without noticing we have allowed it.

Not too long ago I was not very content with where we are at. I was failing to count our blessings and I was focusing on what I wanted for the future more than all that I have NOW. I just wanted more. So I decided to make some changes. We live in a small two bedroom apartment. We've had a spare bethroom for the past two years so it's been really easy to bring things home and if we don't use them just put them in the storage room spare room. Growing up I remeber we had one of those, one day my mom decided it was time to clean it. It took weeks to go over everything in there! I have a vivid memory of a box that had been sitting there for years and when we opened it there was a pot with dirt in a bag, you never know when you'll need it right? Ever since my biggest fear has been to accumulate so much stuff that I won't even know what I have.

Every time we've moved in the last few years I've made it a point to get rid of anything that isn't been used but somehow I kept buying things that I didn't know where to put! It's amazing how fast a spare room can get out of control. Anyway, after Evan's birth I decided to organize every corner of our house and get rid of anything that wasn't been used (I needed a project). That unfolded a series of unexpected events.

As I cleaned and organized the house felt more and more my own. I realized we really didn't NEED anything and we have more than we NEED. One day I stood in the middle of the living room looking around and thought "I am happy here, this is my home". We had been trying to buy a house but we decided that's not the right move right now and since we decided that I embraced my home and took it upon myself to make the best out of it! This has led me to fing the best way to use what we already have to decorate, come up with inexpensive ways to create more storage space, fill our house with pretty plants and flowers, and only shop for what we truly need or has a specific purpose. I have also been focusing my energy on serving my husband. Cooking more often, keeping a cleaner house, eating dinner at the table, etc.

I cannot tell you how much this change in my perspective has impacted our lives. How good it has been for our marriage, we are happier now than when I was working full time and had more money. We have learned what contentment really is and it is a beautiful thing!

Stick around as I share my projects, my kitchen adventures, and the valuable lessons I've learned from my good friend and mentor S on saving money and living fully.

Our VERY Happy Valentine's Day

Yesterday was a VERY special day. Valentine's is normally not a huge day for us, I mean we do try to have a special dinner or get a little something for each other but it's just not big like Christmas or birthdays. Anyway, yesterday was different, it was a day we both had been looking forward to for about a month. As I said before it was the day after I passed the 20 week mark and when we had an ultrasound scheduled to find out if we're having a little boy or a little lady!

Before I make the big announcement I want to recap our day just because this is sort of our family's diary. If you can't wait or just don't want to read the whole thing feel free to scroll down and enjoy the news!

The day started at about 7:30am maybe earlier. I've been having trouble sleeping so I was up at 6:30 a few minutes later my Valentine got up and left the room so I turned on the movie I didn't finish watching the night before (Ocean's 13, can I just say I love those movies). Bruce came back to the room with a plate of strawberries and Nutella which is my favorite thing on earth right now. All I've been eating for breakfast the past month or so is this delicious idea I found on Pinterest:

Source here

Before you judge me I'm aware it's not the healthiest ever but I use whole grain bread, and I like to tell myself that baby needs carbs (bread), fat (nutella), protein (eggs), and fruit (strawberries) so if you think about it is a pretty balanced breakfast right? rigth? ok maybe not but I LOVE IT!

Anyway, he brought the french toast later with a huge Valentine's balloon

He left the room again and came back with a bottle of chocolate milk. This was sognificant because when we met in Brazil and then were in Chile togehter that's how he would let me know he had been thinking of me!

He left the room one more time and returned with this gorgeous orchid that makes me smile every time I look at it!:

After the movie it was time to get ready and get to our appointment. If you've read some of our story you know that our biggest concern wasn't the sex of our baby but what could be wrong. All kinds of worrisome thoughts crossed our minds during the days leading to yesterday, however when we went into the ultrasound room there was peace.

Bruce was convinced it's a girl and I wanted a boy... are you ready for the news. Let me say first that all of our concerns and worries were cleared. Every organ looks good and is working in perfect order. The heart is perfect and beating at 147 bpm. All the measurements are what they are supposed to beand our due date of July 3rd was confirmed! Are you ready now?

Ok without further ado I give you the big announcement:

Yes, Mr. Evan Matthew is having a baby brother!

For our Spanish speaking family!

We are beyond excited for our little man! I am thankful that God heard and gave me the desire of my heart and I am thrilled that in a few months I will be holding my dear son on this side of Heaven! After the appointment the news were of setting in. The news that we're having a boy, that he's healthy, that we will actually be holding a living baby very soon, that ou life is about to change even more for real! For the first time in a very long time we felt free to be excited, to plan, to talk about the future, to shop for baby, and to get ready for what is coming! It was so liberating and even today sharing the news with our friends and family the day was bright and beautiful.

What a wonderful Valentine's Day, it is one that will be hard to top but I don't have a problem with that and I'm sure Bruce doesn't either!

Review and announcement

Time flew by and just like that 2012 was over then I blinked and February was here. I know this is not the most timely picture but this is how we made the announcement to our friends and family. It also is sort of our 2012 in review, certainly other things happened during the year or did they? It really doesn't feel like it, I mean they must have but when something such as a precious Evan and a new addition happen to you in the same year I don't think you notice much more, I didn't.

When we sent this to our friends and family some didn't quite get it so I'll clarify:

WE ARE PREGNANT AGAIN!

The picture on the left with the three hands is our hands holding our Evan's little one and the ultrasound is the sweet new member of the Coy family! Isn't he PERFECT?

We are 19 weeks and looking forward to Valentine's Day which is the day after we pass the 20 week mark and the day they scheduled my ultrasound when besides seeing our little one again we get to find out if it's a little man or a sweet lady. It cannot come fast enough, update to follow!