what the sonogram technician told us

the baby looks healthy, and it's a girl!(wonderful!) Rachel took care of Malachai and Josu while Joshua and I took the bus to the hospital. We are, of course, pleased with God's choice for us - - but not as pleased, I think, as the five ladies I regularly run into at the coffee shop who have been hoping desperately for a baby girl for us.

When my (lovely, Spanish) friend Ana picked up my magazine the other day and saw this add in it, she exclaimed what a good looking baby boy it was. Puzzled, I took a closer look (I thought I had seen dainty, feminine flowers embroidered around the neckline) "boy?" I asked. "oh! is it a girl?" asked Ana "since it's ears weren't pierced, I was sure it was a boy!"

Josu in the Garden

I feel the need to garden. Suddenly I have fond memories of Mom's vegetable garden on the side of the house, and of the years that we participated in the inner city gardening co-op in San Antonio; my interest is uniquely peaked as of late when I hear about what Luke and Gabrielle are planting in their spring (or summer, or fall!) garden; I find myself flipping through all the gardening pages that I used to flip past in those magazines . . . It's just much harder to garden in Spain! I am giving it a more thorough go this year, though., and am earnestly hoping to have to tote large bags of tomatoes (and, uh . . . well . . .not much else - - herbs I guess) to all my neighbors, begging them to "please take them off my hands . . . "
A girl can always dream, right?
I realized recently how often we eat out on our porch; the late Spanish dinner hour is very conducive to even summer dining outside - - by the time dinner hour rolls around, the day has cooled, and we actually want to be outside! My late porch garden fascination springs from a commitment to make this summer's porch dinners (and breakfasts and coffees) a bit more aesthetic. I planted climbing flowers (and had visions of then miraculously adding a vibrant splash of color and life to my dreary porch wall) a couple of weeks ago, and they have yet to even poke their little heads out of the ground. Ah well, if they never come up I could always drag the potted tomatoes and rosemary over from the sunny "laundry side" of the porch to the shaded "table side" of the porch to give our dinners more vibrant color and life, right?

on becoming Spanish

We planted a geranium on our porch railing!