You were wondering. . .

I know you have been wondering for weeks now how our Christmas vacation went. Ok, may be you weren't. But, if you have some spare time, sit back and enjoy a little MUSICAL (hint to turn on your sound while you watch) slide show of our holiday. The Christmas tree shown in the final slide was found nearly a block from our house after a brutal wind storm blew our helpless tree away from the designated recycling point. It has been saved a little longer from the inevitable fate of all live Christmas trees.

Year In Review

For the new year, I thought it would be fun to do a quick glimpse at 2007. For a quick glimpse, it is kind of long!

JAN-MARCH:
Fernando started out the second half of his 3rd year of medical school doing a Surgery Rotation at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio Texas. The kids and I were able to join him for the last two months. Most of our time was spent at the San Antonio Zoo. We also biked around the nearby park, rode horses, saw Sea World, and took the kids bowling for the first time. While we were away, temperatures plummeted in Maryland and a good portion of our pipes broke in our house. Thanks to some very kind neighbors and friends we came back to only stories of how bad it looked.

We came home for the last two weeks of March in which time my dad came out to visit. There was a miraculous snow storm at the end of March that made it possible for Mia to build a much desired snowman. It turned out to be a stylish Snow Woman named Gertrude.
APRIL-MAY
Fernando's next rotation took us to heaven. Ok, it was only Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, but it was fantastic. Family Practice wasn't as time consuming as Surgery so everyday around 4pm we geared up for family fun at the beach. Aside from the pristine sand and amazingly blue water of the beaches, we visited several kid oriented libraries, the Gulfarium (mini Sea World), went miniature golfing, and saw a few dolphins in the gulf. I even got my boating license in hopes of renting a boat to cruise the Gulf for the day. The closest we came was canoing in the bay. Mia turned four and decided she would get her ears pierced. Big Girl. (Fernando turned 27, but decided that he still would not have pierced ears.)

MAY-JUNE
All good things must come to an end, but luckily Spring time is one of the best times of the year to be in Maryland. The kids and I hopped on the plane for a quick jaunt to Utah to attend my Brother Kevin's wedding. The rest of the time was spent at the park, picking fresh strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries at local farms, and cooling off in the pool or sprinklers.

JULY-SEPTEMBER

July and August brought a short break for Fernando in school so we decided to make a quick trip up to Niagara Falls and Palmyra. My sister Amy drove from Michigan to meet us there. We saw the fireworks over the falls and enjoyed an up close and personal look at the falls themselves on one of the tours. We then hopped once more on a plane to visit family in California for a week. Fernando's family took us to see the majestic Sequoias and let the kids play with their many various pets. Mia's favorites were a baby rooster that would peep uncontrollably in her hands and the new kittens they had. She also enjoyed taking their dog for walks in the desert. We also had the chance to visit my sister for a few days. They took us to the beach and a magic show.

SEPT-OCT We found out when we came home that we were expecting child number three and Tiago turned two. (I turned 27, but Tiago's birthday was far more fun.) And although I was more than nauseated, fourth year rotations called again, taking Fernando back to Texas; this time to interview for a residency program for Anesthesiology. What do you do when your husband has to leave town and you're overwhelmed with motherhood and morning/all day sickness? Have several visitors come and head out of town yourself. The first friendly face was Fernando's sister Tirsa. She came out with some friends and kindly stayed at our home for a few days. We decided that a day trip to Hershey PA was in order and found a cute bear store on the way home. Next to visit was my sister Angela with her husband Josh and son Liam. They were sucked into seeing the sites in DC, but accompanied the kids and I to Michigan. The Michigan trip was due to my sister Amy going through the Temple. It was fun being together as a family and meeting my sister's dog Texas for the first time.

OCT-DEC Wow, you made it. You must really have a lot of love for our family. Fernando returned just in time for Halloween. We dressed up as people going on a lion hunt. To spice up Thanksgiving, we made some turkey feathers and took advantage of the nice weather outside with an improvised game. We taped the feathers on our backs and had to cluck around like turkey's all the while trying to rip them off the backs of everyone else. December brought hoards of good news. We found out that the very active baby inside me is a girl; due April 9. Then it snowed! (Both events equally fantastic to Mia). To top it all off, Fernando was accepted into the Anesthesiology Residency that we were hoping for in San Antonio, Texas. To celebrate, we decided to go on another mini trip. Well, actually we realized that now would be the best time to visit my brother Kevin and sister-in-law Lauren in New York City before we move. (NY pictures to come) Christmastime is different this year with both kids appreciating it with older eyes. Mia has filled out house with Christmas pictures. Her topics of choice are trees with ornaments and presents, ice skaters, Mia Elves, Santa Claus, and the nativity complete with angels above the manger with the star of Bethlehem, wise men, camels, shepherds, sheep, Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus. Tiago squeals with joy at the site of lights. He explosively exclaims "Christmas tree lights, christmas tree lights!" and then will direct our attention to where he saw them in relation to the nearest family member. In other words, if Tiago saw lights closest to Mia, he would blurt out, "Christmas tree lights (x2), Mia's side." followed by a squeal.


END THOUGHTS-
We cannot believe how blessed our family has been. Better than all the wonderful places we were able to see were the little miracles everyday. Mia and Tiago never fail to remind me why the Savior asks us to become like little children. Their love and desires to obey are inspiring. We hope your year was at least as fun as it was for our family and hope for just as much to talk about next year.

A "Perfect" Match

I think there are many valuable lessons one can gleam from the movie "Fiddler on the Roof". It's clever use of words and double meanings makes most of the movie very applicable to many daily experiences. Take for example the song matchmaker. (It is the clip above. . .watch it for laughs as well as a reference point.) Fernando has spent many hours contemplating what residency and therefor career would be a perfect match for him. Opthalmology seemed ideal until he spent a few days in the clinic. The next option seemed to be surgery. Fortunately, for us, he found a better choice in Anesthesiology. Once one chooses their ideal match, they must vie for it's attention. Wooing a board of doctors is not a desirable or easy task. For months, we have waited an contemplated the what ifs attached to the final decision this "board" makes. And as the song says, "Playing with matches a girl can get burned". So we decided to accept whatever comes our way. This morning we found our match. ANESTHESIOLOGY PG1 GENERAL SURGERY SAUSHEC FROM 01 July 2008 to 30 June 2012. In human terms. . .Fernando will do an intern year at Lackland AFB and Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio Texas focused on General Surgery and then begin residency in Anesthesiology.

The burn comes in the form of a year of General Surgery. Though it might be quite a blessing in disguise. So not having a husband for a year is stinky, but at least we will be in the same city. Plus, it might weed out any lingering thoughts/desires to be a Surgeon based on the hours he will be pulling. So in the years ahead when his job becomes same old same old (like all jobs do) he can remember intern year and re-fall in love with Anesthesiology. Plus, if he is really lucky, he will have many an opportunity to jump in on some action here and there. Meanwhile, I will be enjoying all the fun San Antonio offers and all the good food.

Yes I know Heavenly Father loves Mia!

One of our favorite primary songs is My Heavenly Father Loves Me. Since Mia was little, I would sing that song to her with the additional bonus of putting Mia in at the end. Like many times in her life, the words of the song rang true. Mia has been hoping quite openly to have a baby sister. As mentioned in a prior post, it isn't because she doesn't like baby brothers. . .it's just that she already has one of those. The morning of the ultrasound was filled with talk of what the baby would be. Mia even told me about a dream she had where she saw a baby girl. She near exploded when her hopes were confirmed. Then, as if life could not get any better, we woke up to snow the very next morning. One of Mia's very first comments were, "It's snowing because Heavenly Father loves me." Amen.



I might also mention that all these events were a somewhat new concept for Tiago. Baby is an interesting idea. So much so that Tiago often hugs my tummy and talks to the baby and then points to his tummy for me to do the same. The snow was fun to walk in, look at, but not to touch or EAT! He tried to warn Mia several times not to eat the "yucky snow". Mia tried to explain its deliciousness. Neither would budge.

"Because I am an AMAZING Artist"

This was the reason Mia gave when asked about her chalk drawings for Christmas. She did it with quite an artistic flare. The tone was dramatic but the hand swishing that accompanied the "Because I am an amazing artist" declaration was the clincher. It's just too bad that it happened on the chalkboard. That is always how it is. We have a huge roll of blank art paper on the other side of that easel and yet the 'keepers' always end up on some church handout, old envelopes, or as in this case erasable surface. Thank heaven for cameras, blogs, and videos.

Turkey Daze

As a family, we have been trying our hand at several different options for family holiday traditions. You know those activities you remember doing every year and love to recall all the funnier moments. Well, we have come up with some vary unique ones and we'll see if they stick. For the week of Thanksgiving, the kids and I have been having daily school fun to help them understand the why for shoving our face full of food every third Thursday in November. We found a few authentic sites on the internet and lots more silly songs and crafts. (see above photo of a Lightening McQueen inspired turkey and a Mia creation both crafted from their own hands, literally.) The night before Thanksgiving happened to be quite pleasant in regards to weather so we made up a little game to play outside. We each made some feathers to tape to our backs. Then ran around in a sort of squaty position gobbling like turkeys. The objective was to get as many feathers from the other "turkeys". Mia and Fernando both proved to be skilled turkey feather grabbers. I was less then proficient and Tiago was just plain confused and slightly scared at the behavior he was witnessing.


Thanksgiving day was kicked off with our ward's turkey bowl. Fernando was geared up with reciever gloves and appropriate BYU attire. (I am actually shocked that he hasn't purchase an authentic helmet and pads because he likes to do things all the way.) Mia was a trooper and came even though she said many times "I don't like football, but it's ok." Tiago on the other hand was a little disappointed that they were not in need of his skills on the field. Every football was "Daddy's football" and he would tenderly hold each one. There were many failed attempts at multiple footballs in his arms. The funniest thing he would say is "Cougar football" then do the famous cougar roar.
Nap time afforded everyone with the necessary second wind to make it to the end destination. . .food. This year's meal came with some old fashion techniques. Since our microwave had dreams of Disney's Light Show, we are now microwave less. I had to melt butter on the stove several different times for various recipes and had to think ahead of time what needed defrosting. Now I know what the Pilgrims must have felt. . .well except for the inadequate housing, lack of food, and living in a strange land. We mixed a little of the "old fashion" techniques with new age ideas including a turkey tenderloin and Costco apple pie.

Moral Rights Movement

The other day we watched the movie Amazing Grace that focuses on one man's quest to destroy the slave trade in Britain. Although the movie could have been a whole lot better considering the topic and the true story, it did leave me hankering for a good passionate debate. Fernando was a little more then tired from work that week and we share the same opinion on almost all important matters making a debate impossible. All night I kept thinking about how wonderful it would be if everyone who stood for any moral decency would voice their opposition to the tide of evil that is flooding our country and world. If the collective whole could stand up for the moral rights we have cherished, but taken for granted. This voice could at least match the loud lobbyists from "special interest" groups that get laws passed that seem crazy. For example, Maryland just unanimously passed a bill that would allow people of any physical make up to use facilities that are for the gender they feel more attached to. Translation: men or women can choose what locker room or restroom or any other gender assigned and separated area that would like to enter if they felt more female then you would suppose by their genetic make up. I am sure that there were several people who thought that slavery was wrong, but didn't think they could stop such an economically and politically sound institution. Luckily, it did to some extent. So, it's my turn. I need to find some way to let my voice be heard whether or not it makes a noticeable difference. At least I can try.