JOB

After a 13 year journey through college, medical school, internship, residency, fellowship and a gazillion moves we have finally reached the end and accepted a job offer.  It took lots of airplane trips, interviews, letters, emails, talking, researching, negotiating and praying, but this summer we will be making our final move and calling home.... 

PHOENIX, ARIZONA.

the last week of 2012

It started with Christmas morning.

The kids were good this year and Santa brought them EVERYTHING they wanted.  Ethan's big gift was a Go Pro Camera to record his bike rides, Cole got an iPod touch, and Liv got an American Girl doll.  

Next, we celebrated my birthday.  I had to work during the day, but was surprised by a fun lunch and cupcake by my co-workers.  Here is my snowman cupcake, he took a little dive and the frosting got messed up, but it was delicious.  

The kids and I went for a hike later that day so they could test out some of their new camping and hiking gear.

Shawn took the kids shopping and they all got me special gifts for my birthday.  Shawn knows I am more of an ice cream gal, as opposed to  cake, so when he suggested getting frozen yogurt after dinner I was a happy girl.

We finished off this last week going to an indoor wave soccer game and then hitting Sobleman's at Marquette (a popular burger joint).   

We rang the New Years in with a fun fondue party and some bubbly.

It was nice having the kids home from school for a while.  We stayed up late every night playing games and watching movies.  The kids finished their last night of Winter Break with a sleep over.

The last exciting news is that we are currently in the process of negotiating a job contract.  I'll tell you where soon :)

Reminiscing

We spent some time looking through old videos today.   We found this one, it is one of my most favorite videos ever.  It was taken almost exactly 6 years ago.  We laughed for a good 30 minutes watching this clip.  Ethan memorized the first part of the transformer movie and would walk around the house saying it often.  Cole is his cute little side kick.

And just for fun, here is one of Liv from about 3 years ago.  Enjoy!

Wow, I can't believe how fast my kids have grown up.  This seems like yesterday.

something different

Christmas Eve day the kids let Shawn and I sleep in until 8am.  It was lovely.  Liv decided that it would be a special day so she wanted to dress up "fancy".  She put on a nice skirt and then wanted to choose me an outfit.  I convinced her that the nice pencil skirt she chose for me wouldn't be that easy to wear around the house.  So she chose another "fancy" outfit for me to wear and we set off on our day.  We ran errands and hung around the house all morning.  We baked and wrapped and got ready for Christmas Day.  In the afternoon we dropped off our sub for santa gifts and then headed to a friends house for appetizers, dinner and a movie.  We left early because  we wanted to do our own little Christmas Eve celebration.

Christmas morning is usually very exciting at our house.  They kids are happy and buzzing with excitement!  The first thing we open are all the gifts from Santa.  Then we move on to the family gifts.  Each year the kids draw names for gifts.  They spend hours deciding on what to get their sibling.  Shawn and I also spend hours trying to decide the perfect gift for our kids.  These gifts come with lots of thought and love and I wanted them to to get all the attention they deserve.  Don't get me wrong, the kids love the presents from family and are grateful, but part of the excitement has worn off after opening all the other Santa gifts on Christmas morning.

So, this year I did something different.  Christmas Eve the kids always beg to open presents.  This year I let them.  All the presents under our tree are from loved ones.  Sibling gifts, gifts to the kids from Shawn and I, and gifts form our wonderful grandparents and relatives.  These gifts are special and so to give them the perfect attention they deserve, we let the kids open most of the gifts under the tree the night before Christmas.

The kids loves every second and the excitement of these gifts got all the attention I hoped for....and these cute faces!

The boys were so excited that this embrace of thanks turned into a choke.

Next, up Christmas morning!!

Sub for Santa

This year we had a special opportunity to do a sub for Santa for a family that I know personally.  A co-worker to be exact.  She has three kids, all the same ages as my kids, and has been living in an abusive home environment.  This past month she finally got the courage to take her three children and leave.  She went first to a women's shelter, then to a friends for a while, and now she is back at home.  She has filed for divorce, is going to school full time and working full time, so the she can someday provide a better home for her kids.  She doesn't have much, and mostly lives off government welfare.  I knew she would be a perfect candidate for our sub for Santa this year.

It was an honor to help give some Christmas gifts to her and her children.  Thanks to the help of my in-laws and my mom, we were able to provide some great gifts.  We delivered the gifts Christmas Eve.  As we approached the apartment it looked okay from the outside, but as soon as we stepped inside there was an instant change.  The stench of smoke mixed with smelly stale air hit first.  The kids instantly stopped and had to be encouraged through the door.  Next I noticed all the holes in the walls and the graffiti.  The kids and I made it up to the top floor where the apartment was.  We stacked the gifts by the door and then knocked and ran.  I stayed back to make sure the door was answered and heard, "Oh, wow!  Mom, come and look."  Then I walked back to the car.  The ride home was quiet for the first few minutes.  Ethan finally spoke, "Mom, I never realized how blessed we are."  He went on to say how he didn't realize people lived in those kind of houses and that he never understood how much we had.  Ethan finished by saying that he felt good about making those kids happy, and providing them with a good Christmas.

Ethan's response was exactly what I was hoping for.  I knew that this family was in desperate need and hoped that my kids would be touched as they sacrificed to gift them gifts.  My boys chose several of their older PS, DSI, and Wii games and traded them in for money so they could buy the family some new games earlier in the month.  They each carefully thought about what would be great gifts and came with Shawn and I as we purchased everything.  It was a neat experience!

Christmas Activities

We finished off the week before Christmas with class parties

Christmas shopping and lunch dates

And, last minute christmas crafts and treats.

Merry Christmas