Christ is risen, dear ones! It’s been an eventful month and a half. It’s not really a secret, but we’ve been so busy we haven’t had a chance to announce it formally on any social media: we’re expecting a baby boy in October 2026!

We’re thrilled and excited, as are the kids. We told people around us about the pregnancy rather early because both Michael and Bea would tell anyone who would listen that “Mama has a baby in her belly!” As is usual with my pregnancies, I’ve been struggling with pretty intense nausea and sickness, which has made basic human functioning difficult (and also explains my absence from this blog). I spent most of March to May lying on the couch heaving and trying to find food I could eat. Thankfully my midwife helped me find a medication that works well for me and has really helped my nausea over the last three weeks. I feel like I’ve slowly been coming back to life. I’m so grateful.

Now, to play a little catch-up!

Our Holy Week and Pascha were packed with beautiful church services, as always. Unfortunately due to pregnancy illness I was unable to attend half as many services as I wanted to. We even had to leave Friday’s service early because I nearly passed out. But thankfully we were able to make it to all of Saturday and Sunday.

It’s so wonderful to see my children participating more and more in the services as they grow older. They haven’t stopped breaking out into song, singing “Christ is Risen” at the top of their lungs and stamping every time they say “trampling down death by death”.

Both kids stayed awake through the entire midnight vigil, though they fell asleep almost immediately when we headed home after the Paschal picnic around 3 am.

They were bright eyed the next morning, however: excited to go back to church for an egg hunt and barbecue. The rain and wind did not deter them in the slightest, and both Beatrice and Michael spent much of their time running and jumping in the puddles.

It took us a while to recover from the busyness of Pascha — in some ways, I feel like we’re still recovering more than a month later. Jake had another work trip the next week, and the kids and I held the fort while he was away (with wonderful help from my parents). Unfortunately, we all came down with a slight cold during that week, so we spent a lot of time just resting at home, building forts and listening to books and music on the kids’ Yoto players. When he came back, Jake built a chalkboard for the kids and hung it on our porch. They absolutely love it (Bea, perhaps a bit too much).

Michael has been working on his batting practice with Jake and also practicing swimming in the grandparents’ hot tub whenever possible. He’s more inquisitive than ever, asking questions constantly about everything from theology to biology. He’s fascinated by how babies are made in anticipation of his new little brother (this book has been a lifesaver, for any other parent also navigating children who are curious about reproduction). He’s been making up his own songs as he plays, and they’re often equal parts hilarious and insightful. His favorite color is still yellow awand he really enjoys building things, whether blanket forts or magna-tile towers or winding train tracks.

Beatrice is a mischievous sprite who has the smile of a cherub and the willpower of an ox. She knows just how to push her brother’s buttons (and he often deserves it). She loves dress up and singing, and often does mashups of Christ is Risen, Wheels on the Bus, and Happy Birthday. Her favorite color cycles between purple and blue. Taking care of her baby dolls is her favorite past time, and she’ll often adopt random inanimate objects as her “babies” (such as bike helmets).

Mother’s Day weekend we took a trip up to the mountains and spent a blissful few days without cell service among the pine trees and mountain air.

It was beautiful and relaxing. We went on walks, took lots of pictures, and spent time relaxing around the campfire reading or knitting or whittling respectively. The kids loved playing in the dirt or the Jake and I built them. We read a lot of books and tried to find all the birds and bugs and plants we could in our guide book.

We realized on the drive up we’d forgotten Bea’s knit hat: lucky for me, I’d packed my leftover skein of handspun. I cast on a bonnet and finished it before the evening got cold enough to need it. I was pretty proud of it, to be honest. And she loved it, too.

The giant sequoias always inspire such awe in me. We drove to Grant’s Grove to see the world’s second largest tree and walked through the hollow stump of another fallen giant.

All in all, it was a lovely way to both celebrate Mother’s Day and take a step back from the hectic pace of life. The mountain air refreshed my soul, the night stars without light pollution took my breath away. We played many hands of euchre, Jake let Michael take a few turns with his new throwing knives, and I practiced my Irish tin whistle where no one could hear my numerous mistakes.

Now we’re back to ordinary life, with all its busyness and beauty. I have a new appreciation for it after a few days away. As much as I love the escape to the mountains, I’m always grateful for a hot shower and warm bed when I return. And the time with my family — all of us working together and laughing together with no distractions — is always a beautiful reorientation towards what really matters.

I try to return to that place in my mind when things feel too overwhelming or heavy or despairing. The brokenness of the world sometimes feels like it’s crushing me beneath it, but under that night sky, with stars upon stars upon stars, surrounded by trees that have withstood centuries, its brokenness is overshadowed by its beauty.