We were so blessed last week with a baby shower that our congregation gave us. We received so many useful gifts and are so grateful to the L-rd that He provides us with everything we need. We found out this week that our baby girl weighs 6.25 lbs, so we expect to see her within the next week to 2 weeks. My parents will be here this week, so we are even more blessed to have them present for the birth of their 6th grandchild.

The news today is that we are looking to deliver around the 25th of Jan. The Dr. wants to try to get Rachel that far before she goes into spontaneous labor. Baruch ha Shem, dad and mom should be here by the 18th, so it looks like everyone will be here in good time. Keep us all in your prayers.

We are getting closer and closer to the day when our baby girl will be here. This is Rachel at 35 weeks. Baby Leite should be here sometime this month!

Here we are at the mall this week. We just found out that we will be expecting our baby girl within the next 3-4 weeks. She will be a few weeks early, but that is to avoid Rachel going into spontaneous labor while still on the blood thinners. Keep us in your prayers as we anxiously await this blessing!

Here is a shot of part of the baby's room...the other side is our guest bed! :o) This room used to be a dark yellow/gold....Al painted it white and green all by himself! What a dedicated husband and father!!!

Here's the latest picture of Rachel and baby. This week she weighed in at 4 1/2 lbs. She is growing as she should and still facing down. "Good girl, baby leite!"

She's up-side down!!!
....which is a good thing. We were waiting since last week to find out if our baby girl was going to move out of her breech position, otherwise the doctor's would already be considering a c-section. We went in this morning and sure enough, she was head down again. Thank you for your prayers and concerns.

Baby girl is wrong-side up.
We went in yesterday to the specialist and although she is doing fine, they were surprised at her being in breech position since she has been in the right position for weeks now. They really wanted her to stay that way and hope that she will turn back around by next week...they said they only start to worry about it then.

Other than that, we are doing great. 2 more months!!!!!!!!!

THANKSGIVING

Al, me and our friends from Eitz Chaim on Thanksgiving.

SNEET
Grandma, me and fumaca (my brother's dog) in the front yard..you can hardl tell I am 7 mo pregnant with all the warm clothes on!!! It was so fun.

6 MONTHS - PREGNANCY UPDATE

Here I am (and she is too)! This was at about 6 months.

Attitude runs in the family!!!
It was so exciting to go to the doctor this week to check up on our baby girl via sonogram. As we were looking at her and how much she has grown (she weighed in at 3 lbs, 6 oz.) she showed us what she is made of a stuck her tongue out at us 3 times! Then she winked at us and put her hands over her face like a little drama queen. :o) We can't wait to meet this baby girl.
Grandma is back from her outings and doing good...Al is finally over the muscle tears and is woring hard. We had some actual winter weather this week with sleet and snow, or "sneet," and some very cold 20's. It was such a nice change for us.
Grace and peace to you all...stay in touch.

Well, life is life....
Al torn the same muscle in the other leg! But at least now he knows how to work with it until it is better. Rachel caught a cold/virus that was going around and lost her voice, but she is getting better now. Grandma is still traveling and having a good time with all her family. The best is Baby Leite who has officially entered the third trimester and is growing and kicking as she should. We have a blast watching (and feeling) her moving around in momma's belly! Keep us posted on yourselves and your families.
we love you.

After about a month of physical therapy, Al is back to playing soccer....he is taking it pretty easy, though. We are all doing very well and Rachel's belly seems to be growing daily. We will soon have some pictures up...we will put some here, but you can also see us at our site on www.orkut.com
search for AlessandroRachel
love and peace be with you all.

PRAY FOR AL
Well, we all get old whether we want to or not, right? Mr. Al just figured that out. He went to play soccer a couple of weeks ago and literally tore a muscle in his leg. He will be in physical therapy for a month now. He is actually feeling much better, but has a nice soccerball size bruise from the torn muscle on his leg.

Rachel and baby Leite are also doing great - aside from the not-so-fun shots in her stomach everyday, Rachel hasn't had anything out of the ordinary. Another Dr.'s appointment this week - so keep us lifted up...and THANK YOU!

Al is Outnumbered!
Yep, you guessed it, we are having a little girl! We are so excited and can't help but talk to her and pray for her every day. What a blessing! We did have one piece of not-so-great news. Rachel has a mutation in some of her genes that could provoke clotting and thereby hurt baby Leite. So, Rachel now must giver herself daily injections in her stomach to keep the blood running nice and thin. Other than that, the newest sonograms show that baby Leite is growing just as she should and she is quite the little mover and shaker. She always has a strong heartbeat and we've decided she must love the camera - whenever we get sonograms done, she moves all over the place! Keep her and us in your prayers.

JUST SO YOU KNOW
We are doing good. Rachel is over the first trimester hump and now feeling MUCH better. She had a lot of nausea and migraines, but it seems to be in the past now. The first sonogram was amazing. Seeing that little tiny body was so incredible and when the nurse turned the heartbeat on the loud speaker, tears started rolling. We are so happy - there really are no words to express the thoughts and feelings running through us now. Thank you for your prayers and keep them coming.

WE ARE NOT ALONE!!!
Guess what? You may now begin to refer to Al and Rachel as potential Papa and Mama Leite!!! Yep, Rachel is expecting - there should be a brand spanking new baby with us in February. We couldn't be more excited! Keep us and our baby in your prayers.
Baruch Ha Shem!!!

We are doing great! Everything has been moving very smoothly here in TX and we are trying to keep ourselves busy and out of trouble. Now, let me remind all of you out there who are disconnected from the rest of the world - we are in pure WORLD CUP mode. Al watches the games faithfully keeping his list updated with the scores - who is in and who is out. I have caught myself getting so involved that I watch the games live and the recordings with him when he gets home. Besides that, not much is new. Please keep in touch with us and let us know how you all are doing. We miss you and love you.

Hello and Peace (Shalom) to you all -
Thank you for thinking of us and coming to check on us here. We are all doing pretty well, although Al has gotten quite a cold and sore throat the last few days so he hasn't seemed himself. But we know it will pass as all things do.
Grandma has been busy planting flowers all over the place and has made a new friend down the street - Ms. Mary. Keep Ms. Mary in your prayers. I have been wrapping up the substituting for this year since summer is upon us. Pray that I will find something to do this summer to help us pay our bills. I have been busy at our congregation as well with the music ministry and the children's ministry. Keep our growing community in your prayers - we are literally popping at the seams as our community grows and our space shrinks. We do need a new building. Also, PLEASE BEGIN TO PRAY for a special ministry which could take place next summer under the L-rd's leadership and my surrender to Him.
rachel