Azores and back

We are officially done with vacation now, and trying to get back into the groove of things. We are in the middle of a week of doctors appointments everyday except for one... ouch and double ouch. 

We visited my mom in the Azores and it was good to go back after three years. I really value having roots in such beautiful places. We went to the beach every day except one (and I didn't get a single picture!). We went bowling twice, which was surprisingly very fun. Addie had never been and she is the perfect age to start and really appreciate it. It made me think of the Family Man, one of my favorite movies. Davy tripped and hit his mouth twice. And we ate some really delicious icecream. Of course, we got to visit with some family. 

Countryside

Sharing blackberries (because she doesn't like them...)

We spent a few days up North at my mother-in-law's birthplace and it was great. We always debate whether or not the four-hour trip will be worth it, especially in this case which was just for a couple of days, but it always feels worth it right away when we get there. We hung out in hammocks, went swimming in the river, saw the animals, saw some folclore dancing and, of course, visited a bit with family. 

DOCAT on abortion

Another one of my "DOCAT minute" videos was published on Youtube, this time about abortion. Here it is, with a guest appearance.

Tree classification

I've decided to record some of my *very important* tree classification notes here. I can't believe my entire tree vocabulary has been reduced to "tree" my entire life. These wonderful Montessori conferences explain how small children will absorb any vocabulary you say to them, so you should start with flower and then specify "dandelion" or "rose". The more complex the word, the better it is for their brain. Well, now I can start to do that with trees. Every time I walk or drive around I try to look at the tree shapes and trunks and my head almost explodes from thinking about how many different types of trees there are in the world and how I will never learn them all. Creation is really very beautiful and diverse.

London Plane tree (English)/ Plátano (Português)/ Platanus (Latin)
The first tree I learned to identify, after cork oak and pines, is the London Plane. By the way, I am almost exclusively using the Kingfisher Field Guides Trees of Britain and Europe pictured in that post. I was very excited to learn the London Plane because they are everywhere, in every playground and I remember them from my childhood! I clearly remember the spiky balls and wondering if that's where walnuts come from. Well friends, it's not. This is a tall tree that is easily spotted by its scaling bark with patches of creamy white and by its globular, spiky fruits.

Jacaranda/Jacarandá/Jacaranda mimosifolia
This took me forever and online help to identify because they are not flowering right now. When they are flowering, their purplish/blue flowers are easily spotted and fall everywhere, especially on your car. They are very common in Lisbon. And around my house, too. Luckily they still have their woody seed pods, which are tough and 2-3 inches big. They have leaves twice divided into leaflets.

Silver Birch/Vidoeiro branco/Betula pendula

I was happy to find a silver birch tree because they also remind me of my childhood neighborhood. They have beautiful smooth, white bark, they are slender and have long, green catkins (those caterpillar-like "fruits" of trees).

Red bottlebrush flower/Callistemon/Callistemon
This is actually a shrub, and not a tree, so I didn't find it in my book. But it is so common and I've seen it so many times that I wanted to know what it was called. And now I can see the difference between shrubs and trees better.

20 weeks

If you read this blog and don't already know, we are expecting a third baby in January! We traveled to the US during first trimester, so that was a good way to distract myself from the morning sickness. Then we got back and had a little scare (blood loss), mandated rest, then I got sick, Davy got sick and I got sick again. And it took forever to get my regular energy back. I thought I never would. But then I did and my second trimester has been going swell. Almost 20 weeks and I can't believe how much I already love and am excited about meeting this new little person God has blessed us with. I was scared and thought I would be embarrassed about announcing it to people (since we live in the country with one of the lowest birth rates in the world, and this baby and Davy will be 18 months apart)... but I'm surprisingly not. I just feel so incredibly blessed, like the luckiest person in the world, walking around with my sandals, pot belly and rambunctious toddlers.

"With great affection I urge all future mothers: keep happy and let nothing rob you of the interior joy of motherhood.  Your child deserves your happiness.  Don’t let fears, worries, other people’s comments or problems lessen your joy at being God’s means of bringing a new life to the world.  Prepare yourself for the birth of your child, but without obsessing, and join in Mary’s song of joy: 'My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit exults in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant' (Lk 1:46-48).  Try to experience this serene excitement amid all your many concerns, and ask the Lord to preserve your joy, so that you can pass it on to your child."

- From Amoris Laetitia by Pope Francis, n 171