It's a...

On Saturday evening we had a few friends over for our gender reveal party. We had so much fun!

I had a lot of fun making some pretty decorations and planning some themed foods. Here's our little spread:

The boy side of the table was pretty funny. We had gummy worm "snakes" and soft pretzel "puppy dog tails" (creativity credit goes to Michael for that one!).

We also served "snails," which turned out pretty cute and were super easy to make! {This recipe plus halved pretzel sticks for antennae.}

Everything nice and sugary sweet was on the girl side of the table. I braved a trip to M&M World in Times Square to get the pink and blue M&M's for these blondies. Yum!

And of course we had to have pink and blue drinks, too. We served raspberry lemonade and Berry Blue Kool-Aid Bursts. Oh my sugar, y'all - those Bursts! I could barely drink half of one it was so sweet! Wowza.

Then it was finally time for the big reveal!

Have you made your final guess? 

I'll give you a second...

Boy or girl?

The answer was found in the cake...

It's a boy!!

We are so happy - overjoyed in fact - to have this little guy in our family. What a gift he already is to us!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...

{Linking up with p, h, f, r - click over for more!}

So thankful to celebrate with you! 

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p,h,f,r & 7QT {no. 32}

Two lovely link-ups {p, h, f, r & 7QT - be sure to visit them for more!} on this very special Friday...

{1}

'Tis the season for Christmas card photo taking, and Michael and I had a friend take a few shots for us yesterday. We got just a little gussied (prettied up, if you will) and headed off to the park. Here are a couple of outtakes:

Have I mentioned how much I love this guy?

Even when he thinks he's very funny and tickles me mid-picture, hence the swinging mistletoe. :)

{2}

We reached the twenty week milestone with Baby No. 2 this week, and we are so very happy. I simply cannot believe we are already halfway through this pregnancy. Next week we (hopefully!!) find out whether we have a little boy or a little girl in there. Any guesses, dear readers? I'd love to hear what you think in the comments.

{3}

Here's my twenty week photo bumpdate in case that informs your boy/girl guess:

{4}

And now for the real...

As you may or may not know, today was our sweet Thomas Gianna's due date. My heart is full of many emotions today...so much has happened in the last nine months. It's all very difficult to express in words. We find our peace in God, which is such a blessing. Michael and I plan to go to Mass together today in remembrance of our first baby. And perhaps we will get a piece of birthday cake, too. To our dear, sweet Thomas Gianna - we love and miss you so. Please pray for us.

{5}

October 31 also means it's the last day to join us in our birthday gift - raising $2,500 for the National Gianna Center for Women. This women's health and fertility care center has been such a gift to us, and we want to give back in honor of our baby. We still have $770 to raise to reach our goal. 

We need your help to make it! I'll let you in on a little something - the $1,730 we raised so far is from twenty donations. That means those are some seriously generous donors! We are so thankful for them! But of course, every donation - no matter the size - is just as valued. Would you consider making a $5 or $10 donation? Maybe the amount you normally spend on a weekend latte (or your treat of choice)? Thank you so, so much for prayerfully considering.

Click here to give >>>

{6}

Michael and I are going on a little babymoon getaway this weekend. We are so looking forward to some fresh air, open skies, and an extra big dose of the outdoors. That is, unless it snows. And according to the forecast it might. You can expect a post on our special trip sometime soon!

{7}
I'm really looking forward to All Saints Day and All Souls Day this weekend. Special feasts which are especially dear to my heart at this moment in my life. I hope yours are blessed, dear readers.

And a happy Halloween to you, too. Wishing you only treats and no tricks!

pretty, happy, funny, real {with an update!}

Happy Thursday! So glad you're here. It's been too long since I've done a {p, h, f, r} post. Delighted to be linking up with Rosie & many more over at Like Mother, Like Daughter.

{pretty & happy}
Have you seen the posts that are a part of Bonnie's awesome Autumn in My Home blog hop? The blog posts are so much fun, and so very lovely. Sharing the beauty of homemaking is such a wonderful idea, so I hope it's okay if I give you a little peek into what autumn in my humble home looks like:

This kind of seasonal decorating brings me so much joy!

{funny}
Yesterday I reached an exciting pregnancy milestone, friends: On my commute home from work someone offered me their seat on the subway train. (For those of you who may be new around here, it might be helpful to know that I live in New York City.) His kindness was much appreciated, I must say! I guess I must be starting to show a little more obviously these days. Of course, the person who offered me his seat was an elderly gentleman with a cane! I wouldn't take his seat, since he appeared to need it more than me, but when the young woman next to him noticed what was going on, she offered me her seat, which prompted the gentleman next to her to stand up and offer his seat as well. As the train announcement says, "Courtesy is contagious, and it begins with you!" :)

{real}
And now for the update: A week ago today, I posted about our birthday gift for our first child, Thomas Gianna, who is now in heaven. Here's a little graphic to show how things are progressing:

{$2,335 to go. Please join us!}

First and foremost, we are so very grateful for the gifts we have received. Thank you, thank you, thank you to those who have given. 

As you can see, we still have a long way to go! Would you consider joining us? Or sharing this opportunity with your friends? Every little bit helps! We so appreciate your time, and your prayerful support, too.

Wishing you a beautiful and blessed October day...

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{p,h,f,r}, holy week & an invitation

This week I have taken note of the pretty, happy, funny & real goings on in my life.

Linking up at Like Mother, Like Daughter.

{pretty}

Isn't this tulip beautiful? These vibrant purple tulips I received were a welcome sight to my eyes as I spent time inside resting. They are just so joyful!

{happy}

There's something so friendly about daffodils, don't you think? We had a few mornings filled with sunshine this week (before a dusting of snow, but let's not talk about that). Being outside with the warmth of the sun on my back...breathing the fresh air...blessings.

{funny}

{These snapdragons have nothing to do with my funny story. But I like them.}

Michael and I went to confession at our church on Monday evening. After praying for a while, I went into the confessional (the door was open & the light was on inside). I closed the door behind me, knelt down in front of the screen and went through my entire confession. After I confessed my sins, I waited for the priest to say something...but...silence. Maybe he was thinking about what I said? More silence. "Hello?" I said. Nope. Nothing. I had just confessed to an empty room! Oh goodness, it was funny. A little practice round for me! Ha!

May I just say something, though: I am so grateful for the gift of this sacrament. I never went to confession very often growing up, but Michael helped encourage me to go again in recent years, and while I'm always a little nervous beforehand, nothing compares with the peace of God's mercy and forgiveness. I found this blog post on Confession to be accessible and helpful.

{real}

And just like that it's Holy Thursday. In some ways this Lent seems to have been difficult and long, and in some ways it seems to have quickly passed. The past month has been quite a blur. I am thankful for these upcoming holy days, and in a special way today, for the great gift of the Eucharist. There is nothing like the healing power of Jesus. I was especially grateful to receive on Palm Sunday after being physically unable for a few weeks. Thank you so much for your prayers!

And now, I have an invitation for you!

I wanted to invite each of you to pray with me. From April 20-28, I will be praying a novena to ask St. Gianna, patron saint of mothers and unborn children, to pray for us. For any non-Catholic readers out there, as Catholics we believe in the Communion of Saints. We ask the saints to pray for us and with us, just as you might ask your mom or your brother to pray for you and with you. Whether you are Catholic or not, for a more in-depth understanding, I recommend reading this great post.

While I have gotten to know more about St. Gianna's beautiful witness since my miscarriage, I think we can all relate to her and learn from her life. I'll be posting the novena prayers here daily along with some other posts. I hope you'll join me in prayer, and please invite your friends to join us, too! We will start the novena on Sunday so we can finish on St. Gianna's feast day, Monday, April 28.

As always, thanks for being here. Have a blessed weekend!

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{Wedding Mass picture in Holy Thursday graphic by A Thousand Words Photography. Graphic design by me.}

my love's birthday

Love alert...this post is full of love for my husband...some may consider it a little mushy...

you have been warned! :)

I love birthday celebrations, and Tuesday was my husband Michael's special day. It was such a joy

for me to be able to celebrate the gift he is in my life.

He requested a carrot cake, and I think it turned out rather pretty.

I plan on sharing the recipes I used for the cake and the frosting soon. It was delicious!

 We had a few friends over for a little party.

My sweet man was looking pretty joyful as we sang him "Happy Birthday." Love that smile.

Then it came time to think of a wish...

 I think his expression in this wishing picture is so funny! It makes me laugh.

Hope his wish was a good one!

What a blessing, responsibility, and privilege it is to be the wife of such a wonderful man.

In my marriage to Michael I witness God's love...a real, unconditional, faithful, deep love.

He is my one true love for life. And I am so, so grateful.

Linking up this post with {pretty happy funny real} today.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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{pretty, happy, funny, real} no. 1

A peek into my life right now...

{pretty}

Isn't this lemon lovely? I prefer my water with lemon. I tend to drink much more water this way,

and drinking water is always good! This particular lemon was just so juicy, fragrant, and fresh.

I wish you were here to enjoy it, too! 

{happy}

Michael and I tried green smoothies for the first time last night. Have you ever had one?

I was very happily surprised to find they were quite good. It was my idea to make them, but I admit
I was a little nervous it would taste purely like the spinach I put in there. But it didn't! :)

If you're interested, I used the following ingredients to make the two large smoothies you see pictured:

2 bananas, 1 green apple, 1 cup green grapes, 1 cup yogurt, 2 1/2 cups spinach - blend until smooth.

{funny}

I'm not sure this is really very funny, but it makes me giggle a little as this song is a bit belated now. 

This is what my little chalkboard read all during Advent - and still reads today...on January 16... 

...though calling on the Lord to come and be with us never goes out of season!

{real}

This is a picture of our dripping radiator. 

It likes to leak and leak and leak when it is put to good use in these winter months. Now, I'm no radiator expert, but I don't think this is normal. The cracked linoleum floors you can also see pictured are a delight to the eye, no? Keepin' it real here, folks! ;)

• • •

And...since I feel like I am still getting to know many of you

(as it's only my 3rd month of blogging), 4 random tidbits about me, {phfr} style: 

{pretty} // My husband Michael makes me feel prettiest. Lucky for me, he makes me feel as pretty in my pajamas as when I'm all dressed up for a date night. He's such a gift to me.

{happy} // Singing makes me happy...listening to great singing, and singing itself. Teaching others how to sing is also a great gift in my life; it brings me so much joy.

{funny} // For some reason, my fourth toe is a little rounder than the rest. My sister dubbed it my "bulbous toe" and then nicknamed it further: "Bulby." Good thing I love my sister so much!

{real} // I am a gal who wears many hats. Current 'hats' in my life:

music director, voice teacher, singer, personal assistant, etsy calligrapher, and blogger.

And my favorite hats, of course: Catholic wife, sister, daughter and friend.

Linking up with Leila and friends at Like Mother, Like Daughter today.

P.S. Join me in saying a prayer for Bonnie's son, James? And while you're at her blog, don't forget to nominate your favorite bloggers for the Sheenazing Blog Awards! I discovered many of my favorite bloggers at this time last year through these awards. You can nominate through Friday.

P.P.S. If you liked this post, follow along on instagram and twitter, too!