Happy Halloween...It's Snowing!!!

Well winter showed up early here. After braving a few houses on our street for trick or treat, the cold temps sent Captain America rushing back to the house to warm up by the fire. We roasted hot dogs and watched The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Can I just say how much I love our fireplace already? I was hoping Indiana would go easy on us our first winter back...I guess not so much. As soon as Mr. Luca got to sleep, big snowflakes started falling. Part of me wanted to wake him up to catch his first real snowfall...but then I decided against that. I am certain he will have plenty more snowfalls this year. I don't think disturbing the peace was worth it this evening. I am glad we got to take him to Trunk or Treat at church last weekend when the weather was absolutely gorgeous. He dressed as a fireman (same costume as last year) for Trunk or Treat and his school party/costume parade. He decided to go with his Captain America costume for the "real" trick or treating tonight. This was his first year of going door to door. I wasn't sure if he would go for it or not. When Santi's mom dropped him off this evening there was a line of kiddos at our door waiting for candy. This was the same point at which I actually ran out of candy (it was only 6pm!). When he realized other kids were at his house eating his candy...major meltdown ensued. Luckily, after a quick explanation of how trick or treating works, he was ready to get dressed and head out. He literally ran from door to door with excitement. It was really cute. And really freezing.
This month has been so busy, but I feel like every October is. The fall foliage has been so beautiful. I have missed this season so much. We tried to take advantage of every opportunity to get out and enjoy all of the gorgeous colors. Last weekend's weather was amazing. We got to spend a morning at the pumpkin patch with my brother's family, which was a lot of fun. It's so special having all the cousins together. I knew we would need to soak in every last minute of that weather...and I was right. This weekend's cold temps hit hard. And the wind...oh.my.word. I forgot about the wind chill. I hope these next few months aren't going to be too rough. I know I will really miss my sunny Arizona winters after a few weeks of this.
Since I last posted, we have moved into our new home (what an amazing blessing!!!!) and we are finally getting settled. It feels like home now, and that's all I can ask for. After so many transitions and living with Santi's parents for 3 months, it is such a calming feeling to be at home...our home. Praise God!!!! Luca started preschool at his new preschool. He LOVES it. I love that he can go just a couple days of the week. I think he really gets a lot out of it, and being with Abuelita the rest of the time is a blessing. He has also finished up his first season of soccer at the Y, which ended with a huge celebration and a trophy last week. He was hilarious with his celebration. He started basketball and gymnastics this week. He really enjoys being involved in sports. We will see how much longer I enjoy driving him around to all these activities. We are also trying to get plugged into our new/old church. We have been attending Sherwood Oaks, where Luca also attends preschool. This was the church we attended when we were engaged, and we completed our premarital counseling there. It feels right to be back, and I am looking forward to getting involved and getting to know people.
We are now approximately 10 weeks away from Baby Mila's due date. I cannot believe in just a couple of months we will have TWO kids. I am really excited for her to arrive (I am particularly excited to not be pregnant anymore), but I am not ready at all!!! It's crazy how quickly a second pregnancy goes and how that due date sneaks up on you. I know with November and December being holiday season time is really going to fly. I feel like with all we have had going on since we found out we were expecting, I just haven't had hardly any time to focus on the pregnancy. Which I guess is good and bad. With Luca I had a lot of time to dwell on that "what ifs" and worry about every little twinge. This time not so much. I have to sit in the evenings sometimes and remind myself to check on Mila and do some kick counts because I have been too busy all day to even notice. She is most definitely a lot more active than I remember Luca being! Which I really enjoy. There is a special peace that comes when I feel her movements. I can't wait to see this little girl's personality. And I can't wait to see Luca as a big brother. Now that I think about it, I don't even think I have blogged since we found out that baby #2 is a GIRL. Let me backtrack a little...
Way back on August 29th we had our anatomy scan and everything was great...and we were elated to find out that this little one is a girl! We surprised our families by taking them out to dinner and having the waitress deliver pink cupcakes with pictures from the ultrasound. It was really neat. The name we decided on was Mila Paz. We loved how Mila sounded with Luca. Mila means "people's love". Paz is "peace" in Spanish. My Grandma Thelma's middle name was Irene, who passed away the morning after we found out we were expecting. Irene was the Greek goddess of peace. I wanted to honor her in some way, as it feels that this little girl was one last gift from her. It was a blessing (although a surprise) to have our second pregnancy happen so easily and without having to endure miscarriages again. My hope and prayer is that this precious little girl is filled with peace, and that she brings peace to those around her.
I will try to blog more frequently as D-Day approaches. Let's hope I get in a few more updates before we are a family of 4!!!

Our Journey "Home"

I have been thinking about this post for weeks...but let me tell you life has been crazy! To sum things up, in the last three months we have moved across the country, started two new jobs, sold one house, and are in the process of buying another...oh, and just for fun we are also excepting baby Sotomayor numero dos!
I'll go back to May. God promptings are real. And sometimes He really wants to test our faith. And two things are for sure: His grace is enough, and His mercies are new every morning. We were in the midst of selling our Arizona house, and had accepted our second offer after the first fell through. We had no idea what was going to unfold in that process, and I am glad we didn't or we may have quickly changed our minds! I was also wrapping up my school year at Dreaming Summit with very mixed emotions. I was excited about our new adventure, but I was also feeling torn about leaving a school I loved. And I was questioning my career as a teacher. I didn't know what my next steps would be...continuing in public education or moving on to something new.
We also learned at the beginning of the month that my Grandma Thelma's health was quickly declining. The night I learned that she had gone to sleep and wasn't coming out of it, I also learned that I was pregnant with our second baby. By the next morning I received a text from my mom letting me know she had passed away early that morning. Talk about a range of emotions. I battled through the next few weeks of packing to move across the country, tying up loose ends in Phoenix, saying goodbye to friends, and finishing a school year...all while in the early weeks of pregnancy and feeling less than energetic and only slightly hormonal.
Saying goodbye to the only place you have called home in your entire married life, the place you built your first home, started your career, welcomed your first child...all while pregnant...is emotional. Especially not knowing when we will return. My parents and Santi's family were life savers. They came out and took over a lot of the packing and moving so I could focus on finishing my school year. They also entertained Luca as we quickly sold almost everything we owned and were left with no more than a few boxes. That was not easy! On my last day of school my mom was a trooper and crashed with Luca and I at my sister in law's apartment while my dad and Santi got on the road with Tevez to drive both of our vehicles to Indiana. After I finished my last day of school, which is exhausting enough in itself, we headed to a hotel for one last night in our Arizona home before flying out to Indiana the next day. Of course as luck would have it Luca ended up with a fever of 102 that evening in the hotel...so I didn't sleep, which is all I really wanted to do after that week. We boarded a flight and quickly headed off with a sick kid and heavy heart. I was missing my husband and puppy, worried about them driving, and worried about a sick kid. All while not feeling so well myself. My mom was amazing. Thank goodness that women is so calm..I am not. We made it to Indy thankfully, and my brother was there to pick us up. Poor Luca was pretty miserable, but still excited to see his cousins. We got him to urgent care, then crashed at the Hughes' before making the last leg of our journey to Bloomington.
I have never been so happy to have all of my family back together again in one place! It was an enormous feeling of relief pulling into my in-laws driveway and seeing Santi, Tevez, and my dad. While we were so incredibly relieved to finally have reached our destination...our journey was not over yet, and God still had big plans for us as we began to plant roots in Indiana.