Life

Well, not too much has been going on since the last time I wrote (hence why I don´t write that often...Abe and I are boring! Haha)

Teaching is still going well, I´m now teaching some night classes, since we don´t have very many morning classes anymore. Abe finished his engineering project and is now looking for a new job. The only problem is, we will be gone for 3 weeks over the holidays, so I doubt any company will want to hire him now, have him start for 4 weeks and then give him 3 weeks of vacation. So he´s basically in limbo until we return in January. He´s just been helping his mom out at the school and doing errands and such for her. Which means money is very tight for us for the next two months or so :-/

On Wednesday of this week I went to the lab to have some blood drawn for the tests my new OBGYN ordered. We should have the results back next Friday, the 26th, so hopefully we will find out what the heck is going on with my body...why I can get pregnant so easily but can´t seem to stay pregnant. I´m anxious to find out some answers and figure out a solution. Obviously patience is not my forte :-)

Abe and I have now been married for 11 months! I can´t believe we´re almost at a year! 2010 has flown by! Lots of ups and downs this year and I´m looking foward to seeing what 2011 has in store for us.

As far as the future goes...I know originally I had mentioned that we would be sending in Abe´s paperwork for his visa hopefully at the beginning of 2011. I think that´s still the plan, but we´re very relaxed about the whole situation. We´re kind of taking a laid back approach to it and we know that God will lead us and guide us in the right direction and He will make it clear to us when He is ready for us to move and where He wants us to go and what He wants us to do. As of right now, we are content where we are. Of course I miss the US and definitely want to move back there eventually, we´ll just see how things go over the next few months :-)

Our kitten Mona is doing well. She is getting so big! She loves to play, chew, bite, run, jump, etc. Some of her favorite things include: sitting on Mommy´s lap while she´s on the computer, jumping into the trashcan and pulling out pieces of trash to play with, jumping up and playing with the strings that hang from the blinds, sitting on the bookcase and staring out the window, eating insects (gross, I know) and just being an all-around adorable, lovable little girl :-)

Until next time folks, God bless!

November already?

Wow, where has the time gone? I can´t believe it´s November already! That means that I´m only 5 1/2 weeks away from going home for the Christmas holidays...I can´t wait!!!

Not too much going on in our lives, as usual. I have become a once or twice a month blogger instead of a once or twice a week blogger. Oh well.

I´m still teaching part time at the school and enjoying my classes. Abe is still working full time, although they are almost finished with the project they are working on, so he thinks either this week or next week will be his last week. He has already started sending out resumes to find his next position.

We are still serving in the ushers group at church. There is a possibility that I might be joining the praise and worship band in the next few months or so playing the keyboard. I took piano lessons for over 10 years and have always enjoyed playing. The other Sunday I saw a keyboard up on stage (which normally isn´t there), so I asked the Pastor who would be playing it. He said he didn´t have anyone yet, but that he had been praying for someone to step forward and offer to play it. So I volunteered :-) It will take a few months of studying all the praise and worship material, meetings with the Pastor, and lots of praying before I actually join, but I just feel flattered and honored to even be considered for this opportunity. So we shall see how the next few months go.

This past weekend we went to a friend´s wedding in San Carlos. It was at a beach resort hotel. Actually, the same resort that Abe and I were considering getting married at way back when. It was a beautiful ceremony and we had fun sharing in their special day with all our other church friends.

Now on to the bad news. Because what is life without something bad, right? On October 19th, Abe and I found out that I was pregnant again. We were thrilled! We had been praying so much and so hard and were just so excited! I did everything right and was ready and prepared this time. We were looking forward to announcing it at Christmas.

Well, unfortunately, life/God had other plans in mind. On October 27th, at only 4 weeks and 6 days pregnant, I had my second miscarriage. So we now have two little angels watching over us in heaven. With the first miscarriage, I was absolutely devastated. With this one, I´m sad, but more than anything, I´m angry, frustrated, and confused. I just don´t understand why this happened again. I´m only 24 and I´m healthy. This shouldn´t happen two times in 6 months. I know it´s not for me to understand, but of course the human in me wants an answer. So we went to the doctor, paid her to show us my empty uterus on the ultrasound machine and tell us that there was nothing there. No crap Sherlock, tell me something I don´t already know. I´ve had a miscarriage before. I know what they´re like and when I´m experiencing one. Thanks. She then proceeded to give me the genius advice of, ¨Relax, it will happen. Don´t think about it so much. Don´t obsess about it. Find a second job or something else to keep you busy. It wasn´t a real pregnancy anyway. Nothing happened.¨ It took all the restraint and self-composure I had to not slap her from here into next week!

For those who don´t know, the above advice is the absolute WORST thing you could tell someone going through a loss. Please don´t ever say any of the above to any who´s had a loss or is trying to conceive. Please!!! First of all, none of that advice works. I´ve tried relaxing. I still lost the baby. Having a healthy baby is the one thing that I want most in this life, more than anything, so telling me not to think about it is just dumb. It´s like telling someone not to breathe. For the record, I´m not obsessing about this. I just prefer to be very well educated about anything pregnancy related, which I think is smart, to be prepared. There´s a big difference between having knowledge and being obsessed. So shove it doc. And I already stay plenty busy enough. Since you know NOTHING about my personal life. Stupid woman. Bull**** that it wasn´t a real pregnancy. I took a pregnancy test. There were two lines. That means my body is producing pregnancy hormones. Genius. And maybe nothing happened to you doctor, but something definitely happened to me. I lost my second child!!! So don´t you dare tell me that it´s okay when you´re not in my shoes and you have no idea how I feel!!! Okay, rant over, just wanted to get all that out :-)I have an appointment with a new doctor (who comes highly recommended) on Monday. So hopefully he will be willing to listen to what I want, do some testing, and help me figure out why I can get pregnant so easily but I can´t seem to stay pregnant.

And on that note, it has now been almost 6 months since our first loss and I have an empty uterus and empty arms to show for it, and two dead babies. Sweet. To all the women out there who have children, please, please, I beg of you, be thankful for them. Cherish them, love them, appreciate them, take good care of them. Because as frustrating as they may be and as much as they may drive you crazy, the alternative to that is being in my shoes and having two dead children. So please, enjoy each and every moment with them and thank God for how lucky you are to have them living. And to all those women out there who are pregnant, enjoy each and every day of your pregnancy. Thank God for giving you the miracle of life inside you. Realize how lucky, fortunate, and truly blessed you are. And please know that I would give ANYTHING to be in your position. So please don´t complain about all the things that come with pregnancy. Instead, be grateful that your baby is healthy and growing, because it could be much, much worse. Trust me. I know :-(

To end on a happy note, Mona is doing well. She is growing and has gotten a lot bigger and fatter. She is super playful and loves to chew on anything and everything. I also have lots of lovely scratches all over me from her. We will be taking her back to the vet this weekend to have her next set of shots. She´s now about 2-2 1/2 months old. And I love her more and more everyday :-) She is my little buddy and always knows how to make me smile and laugh.

Well, we are off to church now. Hope everyone is doing well and God bless. Until next time...

The last two weeks

I´m sorry, I´m a blogging slacker. I just feel like our life isn´t really that exciting and that I don´t really have anything to write about! But from the prompting of a good friend, who actually says she enjoys reading this blog, here is an update of our past two weeks:

Well I started off the month being sick again. Big surprise. Missed two days of class :-( Feeling much better now. Still enjoying teaching in the mornings :-)

October is a big birthday month for my family. My grandfather´s (on my mom´s side) birthday was the 5th, my uncle´s (on my mom´s side) the 9th, my aunt´s (on my dad´s side) the 12th and tomorrow is my Dad´s birthday. Happy early 53rd Birthday Old Man!!! :-)

Two other very important dates fall in October. The first one is the 10th. This is the anniversary of the death of my aunt (on my mom´s side). She died 10/10/06 from cancer at the age of 49. I can´t believe it´s been 4 years already. Not a day goes by that I don´t think about her or my other loved ones in heaven.

The second important date is the 15th, which as I mentioned in my previous post, is National Pregnancy Loss Awareness Day. I think I already talked enough about this in my other post. All I will say is that I will be thinking about all those who have lost a baby and keeping them in my prayers <3

Last weekend we went to a combined Bachelorette/Bachelor party for some friends from church. We had a nice time with good friends and food! The wedding will be October 29th in San Carlos (the beach!) at the same hotel that Abe and I were considering getting married at! I´m looking forward to it.

We recently became part of the ¨servant¨ group at church. This is a group of leaders, teachers, helpers, etc. within the church. We are now ushers and help greet people, seat them, pray for them, etc. I am really enjoying it so far and I´m looking forward to all the doors that God will open through this serving experience!

We decided to give Mona (our new kitten) a bath the other night because she smelled so bad. Not a smart idea! Let me just say that bathing a kitten in your kitchen sink is not any fun. She was miserable, the poor thing cried and whined and moaned the whole time while trying to scratch and claw her way out of our hands. When we finished she smelled so good! But now she´s back to being stinky again. Oh well. Today we took her to the vet for the first time. She got a vaccine and some sort of foamy stuff put into her mouth (I think it was an antiparasite medicine or something). We have to take her back next month for more shots. She did really well though, despite being super scared and scratching my arm to death!

Abe and I bought our plane tickets to go back to South Carolina for Christmas! (Or should I say, my wonderful, sweet, loving father bought our tickets for us!) We will be back in the United States from Friday December 17th until Wednesday January 5th. I´m so excited! I miss my family, friends, church and home so much!!!

We also went and printed off all the forms that we need to send in to get Abe´s greencard (immigrant visa). We intend to fill them out and get all our documents ready and send it all in to the Juarez Embassy in January. From there, we just wait until they contact us for an interview. Then we travel up to Juarez. Then more waiting to find out if we are approved, if we are, more waiting until they send the visa. Our plan is to move back to Charleston sometime in 2011 or maybe early 2012, depending on how long the process takes. I have heard it can take anywhere from 2 months to a year. So we shall see.

Not too much else going on in our life right now. Abe is still working full time as a civil engineer. We are still trying to get pregnant. Just trying to stay patient, have faith in God, and know that it will happen when the time is right. Anyway, that´s all I´ve got for now. Thanks for reading and I´ll try to be more regular with this blog! :-)

P.S. I tried to add some pictures, but our internet is acting up and won´t let me post them :-( Sorry! I´ll put them up next time

October

For all those who don´t know, October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. I ask that you please just take a moment to remember all the babies and their families who have had to say good bye too soon.

If you have a moment, take a look at these two websites. They have so much wonderful information and support such a great cause.

http://www.facesofloss.com/

Faces of Loss, Faces of Hope: Putting a FACE on miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss

http://www.iamtheface.org/

A Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Campaign

(Copied from the I am the Face website): Every single day in the US lose a baby to pregnancy/infant loss. That´s 700,000 a year, a third of every female in the country. So why does no one talk about it?

In honor of October 15th, National Pregnancy/Infant Loss Remembrance Day, we are opening up the conversation. We are ¨putting a face¨on miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss. We are sharing our faces and declaring to the world, ¨I am not ashamed to talk about my baby¨.

The goal of the I AM THE FACE campaign is simple: to spread awareness of pregnancy/infant loss, and raise support for those who are affected by it. With your help, we will raise $2,000 for the 2,000 women who experience the loss of a child every day. $2,000 for 2,000 faces.

Donations will go to Faces of Loss, Faces of Hope, a nonprofit organization with a mission of providing support and resources for parents who have lost a child through miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss and to spread awareness of pregnancy and infant loss throughout the greater community.

Thanks so much for your understanding, help, and support with this.

Thinking of you always, my little angel

TGIF and new kitten

Howdy all! This past week has been super long and busy, I´m so happy it´s finally Friday! This was my first week teaching at my husband´s family´s school. My normal schedule is morning classes only, but because I am such a wonderful human being (haha) I also taught in the afternoon to cover for my brother-in-law while he was on vacation. So I went from being unemployed to working 30 hours this week. I´m pooped! I´m so excited to just relax and enjoy this weekend. It feels good to be working again though, and I really enjoyed all of my classes and students this week. I think this new teaching job is going to work out great for me!

On a different note, we have a new member of our family! A little kitten named Mona :-) She is about 2.5 weeks (we think) and is just the most precious thing ever! Her mom abandoned her and left her all alone to die, so we rescued her and took her home. She is doing great. She´s starting to get a little belly and is now eating solid food instead of just milk. She is very sweet and playful and I´m falling more in love with her every day! :-)

Here she is:

¡Viva México!

Today represents 200 years of independence for Mexico! They became independent from Spain in 1810 and continue to grow stronger and better as a country. I am proud to call my second and current home Mexico. It is a great place to live and work. Is it perfect? No, but is any country? Are there dangerous places? Absolutely, as in any country. Are there corrupt politicians? For sure, just like in every country. I am proud to be Mexican gringa, as my friends here call me :-)





This is my third Independence Day here in Hermosillo and I really enjoy this holiday. Usually on the night of the 15th, there is a big party in the main square downtown with lots of music, food, fireworks, lights, etc. We went my first two times, but we didn´t go last night because we were tired (yeah, we´re old!).





Also, our church here has a Fiesta Mexicana on the night of the 15th where everyone brings delicious Mexican food, we have a talent show, people dress up in costumes, and of course we pray for Mexico, all it´s leaders, it´s people, etc. Last night we didn´t end up leaving church until 11:30pm so we were both tired and decided to go home, since we both had to work today. Even though today is a national holiday recognized by the government and most places and schools are closed, Abe´s worked today and will have a half day tomorrow. (My ¨work¨ is teacher training at Fast n Easy, the English school that is run by my brother-in-law and mother-in-law. Starting next week, I am going to be teaching again, part-time, from 7-11 in the mornings!)





Here is a picture from the Fiesta Mexicana at church last night (I´ll try to add more as I find them from previous years...): I had green and red earrings, my hair in braids (typical old school Mexican) and a shirt with the Mexican flag that said ¨¡Viva México!¨ I totally look Mexican, right? :-)

P.S. I know I mentioned this on Facebook, but for all those who don´t know, my brother Michael got engaged last weekend to his girlfriend Sam! Not sure when they are planning on having the wedding, but I´m so excited and happy for them! My little brother is all grown up now :-( That must mean I´m getting old!!!

2 years and sick

Well, I wanted to write this post yesterday, but I was too sick. So here I am today (still sick) but writing it anyways.

Two years ago, 9/8/2008, I came to Mexico. When I came, I had no idea what to expect. I was completely alone, very nervous, scared, anxious, excited, etc. In my mind, I was going to be here for one year teaching and then go back home and figure out the rest of my life from there. Funny how life turns out. God decided He had other plans for me. Because two years later, I´m still here. Except now I´m married to someone I met here, I have my own house, I´m not working at the school I originally worked for and so many things have happened and have changed me.

I really can´t believe it´s been two years already (which means it´s also been two years since Abe and I first met, since we met my very first week here!). Some days it feels like I´ve been here forever! And other days it seems like it was just yesterday that I was packing up my life, saying bye to my family and friends, and coming down here. Crazy what all can happen and how much life can change in two years! There have been many ups and downs, but I wouldn´t change a minute of it. I´m so thankful to be where I am, who I am, to have what I have, to know what I know. I am just super grateful for all the experiences I´ve had in the past two years and the many more that I know will come. I have truly enjoyed living here and have learned so much in the past two years. Thanks to God for bringing me down here :-)

Now, onto the sick part...I think it´s highly ironic and coincidental what´s going on with my body right now. When I first moved here, I got really sick (as did most of the new teachers). Not sure if it was from drinking the water (yeah, yeah, I know, a big No-no), the climate change, stress, traveling, new culture, etc...who knows. But I had a fever, severe dehydration due to loss of bodily fluids (I won´t go into any more details than that...), body aches, and a headache for several days. Funny (well, not really) how here I am exactly two years later and I have the same exact sickness!!! Hilarious, body, really, great joke...NOT! So, for the past 3 days, I´ve been on a purely liquid diet, which is great if you´re trying to lose weight (which I´m not) but sicks if you love food and love to eat (which I do!) I have had limited energy and have spend lots of time resting in bed...BORING!!! I really hope this ¨thing¨, whatever it is, clears up soon. I hate being sick. Especially with something that I already dealt with two years ago and I thought wouldn´t happen again :-(

Now here are some pictures. The second one is of me and Allison (another girl who came down to teach that I met at the Phoenix airport) on the bus from Phoenix on the way down to Mexico. The first one is of me and Abe only a few days after we met, at the beach :-) (the date on the picture is very wrong, obviously)