One Mile

We live one mile away from my parents. I love it. I could live this close to my parents forever. But alas, we have residency to do and family in California, so we're not so sure about where we'll end up permanently. That is, if we ever settle down anywhere. Brendon & I don't really talk about that phase of life. We used to, but it usually went something like this, "I want to live in (insert home state here)." Then we realized life has its' own way of working things out and we'll end up wherever we need to be. So we agreed to stop talking about it until it mattered. And right now it doesn't matter, so we don't talk about it.

For now, though, my parents live one mile away from my home. It is wonderful...perfect, even. My dad stops by on his way home from work to chase Henry around the couch. My mom stops by when she runs errands & we chat. We stop by their house whenever we feel the need to get out of the house or want ice cream or want company. It works out great. Perfect, even.

As we quickly approach moving time, I feel sad every time we drive away from my parents' house, realizing how much I'm going to miss this place. Not my apartment, but the close distance to my parents.

I'm going to miss so many things, like Sunday dinners & hanging out afterwards,

 random drop-ins & watching "PAPA!!!" & Henry play together, 

celebrating events/holidays with each other, 

going out to eat together, 

playing Spades, 

watching my parents interact with my children in a way that Skype won't allow them to, 

and just being together.

Living one mile away from my parents has (probably) been a once in a lifetime experience & I'm so grateful we were able to experience it. There have been no drawbacks to living so close, except for the fact that being close to my family means being far from Brendon's family. It has been wonderful having family so close. I'm going to miss it. I'm definitely going to miss it.

Easter

Our Easter was simple and wonderful. We blew bubbles, watched movies, went to church, and went to Grandma & Grandpa's for dinner. Our cousins, Warner and Hannah, came over after dinner and Henry played and played and played.

I found out that taking pictures of two kids is much more difficult than one. We have never attempted getting these two together without Mom and Dad in the picture. This would be why...

Separated but in the same frame offered a little more success.

Henry was too funny with his egg hunts this year. He would find an egg and open it before moving on to another egg.

Our little kids are growing so quickly. They sure are cute.

Pure

Whenever I look at sweet Maggie and think of only one word to describe her, it is pure. She is innocent, sweet, loving, happy, patient, sensitive, beautiful and above all, pure. There is a sweet innocence about her yet I'm sure she carries a lot of knowledge with her about her previous state of eternity. She is perfect in every way & continues to brighten our home. This may all sound cliche, but it is completely true.

As I've watched Maggie, I have noticed things that are different about her than Henry (from when he was her age). Maggie is much more sensitive to noises & temperature. When Maggie hears a loud noise & gets scared, she has a scream-at-the-top-of-her-lungs cry & it is so sad. She is also much more aware of cold temperatures & Henry's cold hands on her face are not okay. I don't blame her. Maggie has an emotional day after her doctor appointments with shots whereas Henry didn't seem to even notice. Overall, Maggie cries more than Henry did. While both were/are happy babies, I see a lot more tears & comfort Maggie more than I ever did Henry.

Maggie has a few quirks that we have noticed. One of which is her communication skills: she is talking to us with her throat. It is really difficult to describe in writing, but it is adorable. I tell her, "Kkkk" (with my throat) & she quickly responds. Maggie also has a need to stick out at least one of her arms towards her back while sitting up. I don't know if it helps her balance or what, but at least one arm flips towards her back with her palm up (picture provided). Finally, although thumb sucking isn't exactly a quirk, Maggie's need to do so when she is bored is a little quirky. Waking up from a 3-hour nap won't stop her from falling to sleep an hour later when lying on the ground without any entertainment. She gets bored, finds her thumb, sucks away, & she is out. It is great that she can put herself to sleep & I'm grateful for her feeling the need to have the thumb in her mouth (at least for this stage of her life).

Maggie is a joy. She is sleeping through the night (most of the time) & goes to bed at 8 am (it is a beautiful thing to have both children down at eight & to get a full night's rest). Maggie has given us a good laugh a few times & it is the sweetest sound. She smiles a lot after eating. She looks at Henry as if she adores him, despite him practicing his kung-fu moves on her. I'm thinking she'll be a momma's girl with all the comforting that happens from the tears & her sensitive personality. We love looking at her, talking with her, & trying to make her laugh.

We're Heading to Texas

Medical school is quite the journey. We've reached another turning point in this crazy adventure and we will be moving to Lubbock, Texas for a three-year pediatric residency. Lubbock, Texas was our second choice behind Loma Linda, California. This is our second, second choice place we are moving to (our second rotation spot choice was Provo). The first experience worked out quite well and so will this one.

Brendon is thrilled! He told me this morning he has always been excited about the thought of moving to California, but within the past 24 hours he has remembered so many great things about the residency program in Lubbock and was really excited about the thought of having his training in Texas.

For me, this is bittersweet. I wanted to go to California to be near the Holmes family. I wanted to live in sunshine year round. I wanted to be a drive-able distance (with kids) away from my family. And the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to live in the Loma Linda area.

But we are moving to Texas and I am okay with it. Really. I am okay because I have had more confirmations than I can count that Texas is for our family at this time. Here are some of my memorable moments, offering a lot of peace:

• When Brendon called me after his interview in Texas, I remember lying on my bed talking with him having so many butterflies in my stomach and thinking, "We are going to end up in Texas." The thought was very distinct and powerful. Brendon sold me on Texas and the program and it was my first choice for a few weeks, until I remembered how badly I wanted to live near family. But the initial feelings about Texas were so strong.
• Shortly before our "Match List" (order of preferred residency places) was due, we had a current Texas Tech Resident call Brendon to ask if he had any questions. Before this call, we had forgotten how great Texas was and it was lower on our priority list (which, at the time, was California, California, California).
• While ranking our list, we never felt quite right about the order until Lubbock was our second choice.
• In preparation for a family fireside thought we were giving (last week), I was reminded about all the peaceful feelings I had about Texas.
• To top it all off, I dreamed last night that we would match to Texas. Not that any of my dreams ever have revealed anything before, but I'm including it as a tender mercy this time.

The most prominent lesson I learned in college was that life always works out the way it should. And it does. And it will continue to do so. That knowledge has been so helpful throughout this medical school process. The Lord really does have a hand in our lives. I'm just grateful that I can see and feel it.

I had this quote on my wall in college, in hopes that one day I would believe it. Well, today I do.

“There is a guiding hand above all things. Often when things happen, it’s not by accident. One day, when we look back at the seeming coincidences of our lives, we will realize that perhaps they weren’t so coincidental after all.” 

("Lessons Learned in the Journey of Life," Elder Wirthlin, Ensign Dec 2000.)

Match Day

One half of Match Day was today. I got an email at 10 am telling me I matched in a pediatric residency. Where, you ask? They don't tell me until Friday. THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME, but in the back of my mind, I really have nothing to complain about. Update coming in 4 more days!

Henry's Birthday

We planned a special day for Henry complete with a lot of attention from Mom & Dad. The plans were swimming, nap, balloon ball pit, and a birthday party with cousins, friends, & family. When Henry woke up at 4:30 am throwing up, I knew our day would go differently than planned.

Henry seemed completely fine after I changed him out of his yucky pajamas. When I walked out to the kitchen to put the pj's in the laundry, Henry followed & saw his bouquet of balloons tied to his chair, he shouted, "BOON!" & ran over to play with them. There was no turning back to bed after that excitement. We started our morning. We played & then Henry watched a movie while I slept on the couch snuggling with him.

We went down for a morning nap, cancelled our swimming plans, and rented Cars 2 to watch as a family. After  dad made brunch, we sat down to watch the movie together as a family. Half way through the movie Henry said, "Moo-ee," explaining in one word that he wanted to watch the movies he has seen a dozen times already. Dad recognized there aren't any animals in Cars 2 to keep Henry's attention. So instead of putting in a different movie, Henry laid down for a second nap (not typical, but a necessity with his night).

Brendon & I got the house cleaned & our balloon pit ready for Henry to wake up to. He loved the balloons & played with them, kicking them around for a good hour. (Thank goodness for a small living room that makes a balloon pit possible.)

Due to Henry's sickness, our party with kids ended up being a party with adults (who don't have children yet) so as not to spread any sickness among the children. Henry didn't miss the other kids (thanks to being too small to even understand the concept of a party and), thanks to grandparents. When my siblings started showing up, Henry went to the door, raised his arms and said, "Papa?" as if to say, "Where's Grandpa?" Grandpa did make it and he & Henry blew out candles, played with his new toys (from Grandma & Grandpa), & fell to sleep together watching a movie.

Henry loved his "wagon" (dragon) cake. I spent the day before his birthday putting it together & had so much fun doing it. I was so excited to show it to him & his expression was worth all the effort.

After the party, we ate dinner and watched--you guessed it--another movie. I really wanted this day to be a big day where Henry felt extra special & loved. Despite things not going as planned, Henry had a perfect day: he got to hang out with Grandpa Gibson, got some new toys to play with, played to his hearts content with balloons, and watched a lot of movies.

Henry Turns Two

When asked, "How old are you?" Henry replies, "TWO!"

When Henry sees a scab or has a sore bottom he says, "A owee...a owee...a  owee."
He will often tell me "mye" (bye) when he gets in his red car.

Henry is quick to apologize when he thinks he has hurt you, repeating the word "Sthorry" several times.
He is slow to anger and
He never gets upset with "baby" sister.

Where there is silence, Henry is napping.

Where there is laughter, Henry is running.

When Henry is crying, he didn't get something he wants. And it's usually a movie.

When Henry is talking, it is often in jibberish. And I don't understand him.

When Henry is silently playing, he is content being alone. And he is rarely getting into trouble.

Henry's puppy dog eyes means he wants to give you a hug,
His tear-stained eyes usually means he needs a hug,
And he will resort to his blanket for hugs when neither of those suffice.

Henry wants dad, aka "Papa," whenever he is around,
He wants "Mama" whenever he gets hurt,
And he would take his grandparents over Mom & Dad any day.

When Henry hands you an object, he wants to have a sword fight with you.

When he kicks, he is practicing kung fu.

When he grabs your hand, he wants to lead you somewhere (often to the candy cupboard).

When Henry says, "Moo-ee," he wants to watch a movie,

And when he growls or says "wagon", he wants to watch "How to Train Your Dragon."
He loves the "boon" (balloons) from Dreamworks opening scene.

Henry broke his habit of always carrying something in his hand.
He developed the bad habit of picking his nose.
And he has a really good habit of hugging Mom & Dad when he firsts sees us in the morning.

Henry is a good sleeper, sleeping 15 hours a day.
He is a good eater, except for his veggies (he hands them to me & says "no").
And he is good at playing with others & is playing more often with Maggie.

Henry is generally obedient: time out seems to be effective with him.
Henry is usually happy: when he isn't happy he is tired.
Henry is always cute: between his face & his loving spirit, he can (almost) do no wrong.

Henry loves candy, chocolate, his blanket, & his family.
Henry loves giving hugs helping others feel loved.
Henry loves movies, balloons, & animals.

My absolute favorites-
I love it when Henry puckers his lips to kiss me.
I love his naked bum running away from me after a bath.
And I love his sensitivity to others & his happy countenance.
He is my favorite little boy.

Happy birthday, Buddy!