martes, 18 de marzo de 2014

time to par-tay!

Yesterday we celebrated 8 months of life for this snazzy fella.....


...and the fact that I turned in all my papers for this quarter! Hooray for 2 weeks of freedom which will include a short trip to NC and VA next week!! 

martes, 11 de marzo de 2014

an update on life, hearing, school, and valley girls

This has been a big week for Suzy. More on that in a second. I'm reminded more and more each day with her mind-blowing questions and her witty humor that she is no longer a little girl.


If you ever need to study for a DMV test, she's the one to ride with. She will ask you about every single sign on the road, why you turned at that red light, why you are going so fast. Sometimes I get a little impatient trying to answer all the questions while trying to drive, but then i try to think ahead about 12 years or so when the seats are reversed. She's the one driving, I'm the one asking all the questions. I'm hoping her desire to converse with me then is the same!

This past week Suzy got tubes in her ears after a year long battle with fluid constantly in her ears, especially anytime she had a cold (which is always, thanks to preschool). This means I've had to answer all the questions at least 3 times each since she hasn't been able to hear me, so when the doctor recommended ear tubes, I was so ready. Suzy did great and was back to normal by the afternoon of the surgery. (I, on the other hand, was a zombie because Emory thought it would be awesome to be awake from 3am-5am when we had to wake up at 5am anyway).

Suzy's hearing is definitely improved, although they are still going to do some followup hearing tests to make sure everything is OK.


Elvis and i are working on our own hearing skills lately.
We have to leave our apartment this summer which has been SUCH a blessing with its reduced rent, fully furnished apartment, with Trader Joe's and Panera donations. Not to mention the amazing community we have had from day one. We knew we wanted to stay in LA,  but that's a pretty large area and needed the Lord's guidance about what is next for us. Although we still are dreaming and praying about what ministry and work will look like for us down the road, we feel like the first step is to move to a part of the city called San Fernando Valley which is home to many latino immigrants including several from our small group which were friends of ours from back in El Salvador. It makes sense for us to settle down in a place where we already have a community started. Also it's close to Elvis's job.

Remember back in the day when we would joke about valley girls? Like, totally, like, gag me with a spoon?
Yep, they are referring to San Fernando Valley! Guess this means Suzy will officially be a valley girl....

Speaking of Suzy, one of the main pieces of the puzzle for our future that wasn't settled was where Suzy would go to school. We have always wanted her to go to a bilingual school but competition is brutal out here for schools. And preschool prices are brutal. Turns out that she is eligible for a new program in the public school system called Transitional Kindergarten since she will be turning 5 in November- it's a 2 year kindergarten program for kids with birthdays like hers.

We just found out this week that she got into the one school that we really wanted her to go to! They had a lottery since there were 150 applicants and only 40 spots. It's a multicultural, bilingual, arts-based and social justice focused public charter school. They start off in kindergarten with 90% spanish and by 5th grade english and spanish are 50/50. So, it's official...we have a rising kindergartner on our hands. How did this happen?? She is graduating from the 3 year old preschool class in just a few months! Although it is a shock, we couldn't be more thrilled. This means Emory has an automatic spot in that school as well, when the time comes. So thankful that God worked out the details with schooling as we try to focus on following Him wherever He leads.

May He continue to help us all hear more clearly.


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martes, 4 de marzo de 2014

8 years!

Celebrating today the vows we made to each other 8 years ago!! They are no longer simply the pretty words of two lovestruck 22-year olds but time-tested commitments, promises, roots of a love that is growing each day and blossoming into something much more beautiful than we could have ever imagined.