8 Weeks Left!

Time is flying!

We have a nursury, carseats, clothes, a bassinett...all but the baby. There were two baby girls born at our church this past Sunday, several baby girls born at church since April, and a couple more on the way! Chloe's gonna have a lot of little gal-pals to grow up with - you go girl!

Not that we're racing, but if I didn't know any better, I'd think that our friends Dave and Beka (who's first child is due about 3 weeks after Chloe) were pumping up with some sort of growth hormone or something! (Maybe that's why Dave takes so long to update that blog of theirs!) Go see for yourself!

Oh yeah...if you want to have a boys' night out with me and the publisher of The Daily Durias...we're doing this at the Regal Lloyd Center 10 Cinemas in Portland, Oregon.

"More than meets the eye."

Birthday In A Half-Shell

Aiden turns 5 on June 22nd. We had his birthday party today and there was much merriment when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles showed up (see the "cake battle" below).

All the kids had a lot of fun eating that killer cake that Momma Sarah made.


Then, the water battles began...I've never seen 20 gallons of water used up so quickly...some of the dads got involved too.






And Now, for a little "half-shell" context...
Heroes in a half-shell, indeed.

Happy 5th Birthday Aiden! We love you more than you know.

In Search of Blackbeard

As promised at the end of the last post (which I've heard made no sense to some, but hopefully now it will), here are some photos from our visit to the Pirate Ships at the Rose Festival Waterfront Village in Portland. Sarah and Chloe were troopers when you consider their specific lot in life right now and the fact that they were sitting on an old rocking ship in the hot sun - let's just say that Sea Sickness and Morning Sickness are really the same thing in the end!

Of course the boys (Daddy and Aiden) had a great time. You can see Aiden about to "anchors aweigh" and then posing with "his girls" and then giving his approval to the "caliber" of that cannon (which was real, by the way). These photos were taken with the camera on my cell phone, so the bright morning sun was a bit much for it - I seem to always forget a real camera at important events. In the end, Aiden absolutely did not want to leave...he actually thought we were going to set sail with them and he was content to sit on the deck, in the hot sun, with no prospects for lunch, and stow-away to some far-flung locale where he could earn his peg leg and eye patch like any respectable pirate would - I actually felt bad making him get off!




Oh yeah, we decided on a middle name for Chloe: Ann.
We really wanted to keep her middle name a family name like we all have (middle name factoid: Aiden's middle name is Marcellus - after his Great Grandpa Marcellus "Marky" Barrett) and we thought that Sarah's middle name "Ann" sounded good with Chloe.

Yep.
Chloë Ann Leary

Blue Skies & Baby Bellies

Well, we figured it was about time for another shot of the progress - especially when our weather has been so great (look at that blue sky)! I don't think Sarah likes this photo much ("ugh...I look awful!"), and it is a few weeks old by now, but I really like it for all the life it shows. Aiden looks pretty stoked and I, uh, stand by my "work" *ahem*...

Anyway, we are so thankful for all that the good Lord has blessed us with and for all the support we are getting from friends and family. All of our peeps at Pearl Church have been great. Please pray with us as we contend with issues of future finances, living space, whether or how much Sarah will work after maternity leave, day care (if necessary), health for all of us - both emotionally and physically - but especially for the safe and timely delivery of Chloë.

And next time:
Avast! Methinks I hear the sound of cannons, treasure, and smelly swashbucklers missing most of their teeth yelling things like "argh" and "ahoy, matey" or maybe a hearty "yo ho, yo ho (probably something to do with scurvy-induced pain...)" - yup - Scallywags a'plenty!

Until then, keep yer hands off my treasure!