Home Sweet Home

John Cornelius White, named after both of our fathers, is home at last. His patron saints are St. John the Baptist, the voice crying out in the dessert to prepare the way of the Lord, and St. Cornelius of Acts Chapter 10, the Gentile baptized by St. Peter to illustrate that God's plan for salvation applies to all people.

Thank you to those who offered prayer support for our family this week. As soon as we requested prayers, John had an immediate turn around. Within hours, his tubes were out and he was breathing completely on his own. We were allowed to start nursing and there was no turning back. Dave navigated the hospital system for our family and advocated for nursing and skin to skin care. My parents were tremendously helpful in caring for Isabella and ensuring that she got to see Mommy as much as possible. My midwife spent a great deal of time with us at the hospital. My friend, Beth, a lactation consultant and RN, talked us through many concerns and kept cheering us on to spend as much time talking and touching John as possible. Our good friend, Regina, offered transportation. Many people were sending us constant text messages to check in. Others called frequently to offer phone support. Thanks to everyone who prayed on our behalf. We know that many, many people were storming heaven with prayers.

People continue to voice concern about the way that we chose to birth our baby. To be clear, what happened with John would have happened if he was born at home or in the hospital. The doctors in the NICU explained to us that 10percent of babies have some kind of difficulty at birth due to a variety of factors that are not always easy to pinpoint. My body went into labor all of its own accord. John's heartbeat was strong and steady throughout. It was not until he was birthed that he had difficulty receiving oxygen. We continue to believe that birth is a completely natural physiological practice. And of course, we are so grateful that the technology our baby ended up needing was available to us when we needed it to be. I am grateful for the strength of my husband who accompanied John on his transport and never left his side until I could get there to be with him.

Here are some pictures we are excited to share from the past few days. We are now at home just enjoying our life together as a family of four. Isabella has been doing great with John, giving him lots of affection. Dave has taken some time off of work and we are just focused on enjoying each other and being there for John and Isabella, as both were put through a great deal this past week. Truly, "...the Lord is kind and merciful..."

Prayer Requests for our Newborn Son

Please pray for our adorable little John Cornelius who was born at home on Monday night. He had to be airlifted to the Morristown NICU as he is having difficulty breathing. Born at just a few days over 37 weeks, it seems his little lungs are not yet fully developed. We just want to bring him home as soon as possible. Dave will post a picture shortly.

Message of November 25, 2009

"Dear children! In this time of grace I call you all to renew prayer in your families. Prepare yourselves with joy for the coming of Jesus. Little children, may your hearts be pure and pleasing, so that love and warmth may flow through you into every heart that is far from His love. Little children, be my extended hands, hands of love for all those who have become lost, who have no more faith and hope. Thank you for having responded to my call."

On the topic of baby's gender...

I came across these words, written by the mother of St. Therese - The Little Flower, when she was expecting a child:

"...But little boy or girl, we must gratefully accept what God sends us, for he knows better than we what we need most."

The book is called The Mother of the Little Flower, written by the sister of St. Therese.

picture taken from Society of the Little Flower

Kitchen Help

We have a professional masher in our home. She specializes in potatoes and bananas. She also lines muffin pans in a very meticulous manner in addition to peeling onions with great efficiency. Fees are negotiable. Phone tele-Bella if interested.

Movin Out

Shortly after Bella turned two, we set up a room for her and she took to it immediately. Everyone warned us that she would never leave our bed after co-sleeping through her initial two years. However, we remained hopeful, after reading Dr. Sears who explains that many toddlers are ready and willing to have their own sleep space at about two years of age. It is certainly nice to have a small home because the bedrooms are only separated by a very short hallway. I'm sure this contributes to feeling safe and secure on both of our parts. Bella seems to enjoy her own space for sleeping and playing, during the day and night. Some nights she wakes up needing mom, but I am ok with that and it seems to be pretty normal. Dave, especially, enjoys when Bella comes in for a morning snuggle on weeekend mornings when he gets to sleep in.

Her little desk is simply a snack table and child sized chair. The personalized quilt hanging over her bed was a gift from her Aunt Pat when Bella was just a baby. And the bookshelf was a yard sale purchase from Grandma. The comforter was mine from my days at Fordham - yes, I loved pink flowers in grad school. The only item we bought for the room was the princess carpet at Home Goods for $12. Just trying to make the point, that children's rooms can be cute, comfortable, and economical. If you noticed, she is enjoying a queen sized bed, only because that is what we happened to have. In a couple more years, she may find herself pressed for space when baby White moves in:)

Yes, that's a bare bottom on Bella if you looked closely. The picture was taken in the warmer weather:)

Maryland Visit

Isabella was happy to receive lots of affection from her Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop this past weekend. She was sad to leave and even asked if they could come home with us. She even got to spend some time with her cute older cousin Crystal whom Isabella resembles in looks and sass. (I will get a picture of the two girls together up as soon as Dave comes home - he has the pics on his phone). Crystal gave her a very special baby bath doll which Isabella is enjoying caring for. Mommy liked it too until the doll "peed" all over the floor when Mommy took it out of the bath tub. Daddy got the doll set up for Isabella and conveniently forgot to mention the pee hole!

College Bound

Isabella is hard at work at her little desk wearing her University of Scranton sweatshirt. She seems to be highly motivated at such a young age. Her Papa must have given her the "work hard so you can get a scholarship" speech when no one was around.

One of those weeks

You know you've had a rough week when the underwear you are trying to put on are pink with Dora and rainbows *sigh*.

Fast and Furious

Isabella hit a big milestone this week, pedaling her trike around the .33 mile loop at the park - twice. Her unbelieving daddy nearly got run over when he was trying to video this latest triumph. Thankfully, no one was injured:) For those inquiring minds, yes, she has been napping really well!

Farewell Linzertart

My only sister departs today for Belgium as part of a 2 year commitment to Estee Lauder. We are going to miss her terribly. Hopefully, Skype will be able to compensate for our daily phone chats and weekend visits. We wish her much happiness as she begins this latest endeavor. And we only ask for Belgian chocolates on return visits home. Well, that, and my usual Estee Lauder make up requests:)

Love you, Linds!

"These boots are made for walking...

...and that's just what they'll do. One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you."

Just Plain Silly

Some of us are working hard to prepare for baby White's arrival while some of us are hardly working. Bella is enjoying many silly moments while mommy sorts through her former baby clothes, sporting items that no longer fit her and insisting on squeezing her big girl feet into very tiny shoes. She is also enjoying squeezing herself into other items as well:)

Bushkill Falls

This was truly a wonderful day trip. We initially opted for the "popular" hike at the Falls, but decided to continue up a longer one when the "popular" trail was nearly ending. Isabella ended up tiring out, so Dave carried her some of the way. Had we stuck to the initial hike, she would have made it through on her own as that toddler energy and independent spirit of doing it herself were completely in tow! We describe it as a strenuous hike as there are many sets of stairs to climb. However, as you can see from the pictures, the views made it all worthwhile. The day brought lots of memories back for Dave and I as hikes like this were weekly occurences for us when we were living in the Pacific Northwest. That was back in the day, though, when we were at our fitness prime! For a pregnant mama and an over the hill dad, let me assure you, that we still held our own. Take note that these trails are not stroller friendly - an Ergo is a good alternative and some of the points are fairly high. Bushkill Falls also offers picnic grounds, a children's park, and paddle boating (must be over age 3).

Isabella Upside Down Cake

Daddy was playing with Isa on a rainy day...and this is what happened.

You know you're really pregnant when...

you look down and can't see your toes:)

you have to think about how you will get up from a sitting position:)

your husband just smiles when you note that you are getting really big:)

those maternity underwear you just bought are starting to cut off your circulation:)

Red is the color of love

and I am so in love with this little one!

Deal of the Week - Money Saving Tip

I needed to purchase 2x as much fruit for the week as usual, since we were making an apple and a peach pie for our friend Fran's annual Labor Day picnic. I knew that "seconds" for apples and peaches were great for pies since they are usually very ripe, but I took a chance on it for our weekly eating fruit too. Needless to say, I walked away with twice the amount of fruit that I usually buy for the exact same price. Take a look at these peaches - let me assure you that they taste as perfect as they look! These "seconds" were indeed first rate!

Chicken Piccata

Here is a link to the amazing recipe I happened to find on the Internet and it turned out awesome. Locally grown peppers (in every color) were only 99 cents/lb this week at our favorite farm so I made sure to bring some home for dinner. I had never made Chicken Piccata before and we absolutely loved it. We are going low on the grains over here and so I just served it as is and it was still a hit. If you want to make the meat stretch for more servings, you can serve it atop brown rice, pasta, or crusty Italian bread. Just added it to my recipe list this morning as a good dinner option. The prep time is really minimal. And, I did want to mention, that I followed the recipe loosely, mostly out of laziness and indifference (my blog readers already know this about me because I RARELY follow a recipe exactly). So, I can say that it is very forgiving. Seriously, what dish with garlic, olive oil, lemon, and butter is not delicious???!!!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pepper-Chicken-Piccata/Detail.aspx

The Sue-Prise Party

My dear friend, Sue, celebrated a special b-day this year. Her husband threw her what he called a "Sue-Prise" party and she was indeed surprised! This was an amazing feat because Sue knows EVERYTHING. He hosted a fantastic party and we had a great time. Isabella is friendly with their son, Ryan, and the two entertained each other for most of the afternoon. Since parting is such sweet sorrow, Ryan and Isabella ended the afternoon with a very sweet kiss, which, unfortunately, I was not able to get on camera.

Meet My New Best Friend

That's right, on my kitchen windown sill, in all of its glory, sits my new best friend. If you knew help helpful and hard-working and brilliant this creation was, you would want a friend like this too. Perhaps, even better than the 12 cup capacity, even better than the slicing blades, even better than the dough blade, was the cost. Most large efficient food processors retail from $200-$300, I stumbled across this at Kohl's clearance and cleared it for $70. Don't go running out to your local Kohl's, though, to find them, they are last year's model and as such, are a limited find. Unfortunately you can not even get it online. If you can't find one, you are welcome to visit mine, although, you will probably leave feeling insanely jealous:)

My tiny reliable mini prep food processor burned out a few weeks ago. It was the perfect excuse to upgrade to a larger capacity option with more features. I found it at my local Kohl's, as it was the floor model. Unfortunately, it was missing a blade, so after lots of research, the closest one I could get was an hour's drive away. Thank God for fearless friends, because my childhoood friend, Krista, accompanied me on the trip which involved the NJ roads that I absolutely despise. In the end, even my husband agreed that it was worth all the trouble. Cheesecakes, homemade pie crusts, pesto, blended soups, tomato purees, smoothies, juliened veggies, chopped nuts,tuna and chicken salds, here I come - in 12 cup capacity!

A is for Apple and Angels

Get in on the fun! We are loosely following Elizabeth Foss' Alphabet Path www.elizabethfoss.com to familiarize ourselves with letters. This past week, the official start of school, opened with the letter A. We posted a large "A" in our living room and after 3 days, Isabella is now identifying it as A. She sings the alphabet song really well so now it's time to give her a visual symbol for what she is singing.

I happen to be a big fan of rote learning, or repeated exposure, for some concepts, especially numbers and letters. I am brand new to the fields of motherhood and early education. Let's see where we end up!

Cast Your Vote

I am not computer savvy enough to figure out how to create a poll on my blog...so, if you are interested, we'd love to hear what you think the baby's gender will be. The stakes can get pretty high around here so let's just keep it all in good fun on the blog.

During the last pregnancy Nana Sacco bet Papa Sullivan $100 that the baby would be a girl. It's hard to say what ever happened to that money. Of course, it depends on who you ask.

My mother in law, a retired nurse, conducts a "very official" test where she dangles a pin from a string over the pregnant belly to determine the gender.

Dave and Isabella insist that the baby is a girl. So, I guess it depends on where or who you put your trust.

As for me, the pregnant mama who carries the little one and delights in every little movement, I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA AND LOVE NOT KNOWING! IT IS ONE OF THE BEST SURPRISES FOR ME:)

Taking the Two's in Stride and Style

When Everything Adds Up

How fitting that right after I stumbled upon the Manager's Sale of fresh mozzarella at the grocery store, my friend, Regina, greeted me with 2 perfectly ripened tomatoes from her grandfather's garden. They were indeed the best tomatoes we've had all season. And, as if fresh mozz and juicy tomatoes weren't enough - my basil plant finally came to life this week! Don't you just love when everything adds up - no wondering about what to make for dinner in this circumstance. Serve this up with toasted garlic bread and a sauteed green before the summer comes to an end.

Woodstock Concert this Sunday 8/30

Join us at the American Legion Hall-Sunday, Aug. 30th from 1-7. Bring the whole family for fun, music and more.
posted by dave

25 Cent Slices

Hackettstown's favorite pizzeria is celebrating its 39th year in business by giving away slices for 25 cents. If you are local, make sure to get it on the celebration which ends Sunday. Mama's Cafe Baci really does make an excellent pizza and they treat their customers wonderfully by always offering a complimentary glass of free wine with your dinner :) Talk about a cheap date!

http://mamascafebaci.com/

Happy 2nd Birthday to Our Isabella Teresa

We remember the day you were born and are grateful for the happiness you continue to bring our way.