Lots to catch up on...

Wow, there's so much to catch up on...the Quaker Gap mission team, Mom's visit, my b-day, baby, etc etc! We will have to put up mission team pics later when mom sends me hers, but here's a group shot to start of with: The team left on Saturday, then we had a few days with Mom all to ourselves, so we put her to work! She and Elvis had lots of projects each day...they became sheetrock specialists, painters, decoraters, etc! Here is mom painting the baby's room: And here is the finished product!

They also painted the outside of the house...

It was also a special treat to have mom here this week because I finally got to celebrate my birthday with her! This was the first time since my 15th birthday that I have spent my b-day with my mom, due to all my summer travels! I luckily did not have to work that day, so Elvis and Mom made me a yummy breakfast, and then we went to get the ultrasound, which was what I wanted for my b-day! We got to see Baby's head, stomach (complete with a gas bubble!), ribs, butt, legs, feet, etc, and see them moving all around, grabbing their feet, kicking, etc etc, but unfortunately the only part of the body that couldnt be distiguished with 100% certainty was the part we were specifically interested in! The doctor had an idea of what sex the baby is, but didn't want to tell us until she is 100% sure. So, we will go back in 2 weeks for another ultrasound to hopefully find out if it's a boy or girl!! However, the important part was that everything else looks perfect, and just getting to get a glimpse of our baby was quite the b-day present for me! Here's the latest belly shot:

That night, Mom and Elvis and I went out to Chili's (i've been wanting to try it out ever since we got one here several months ago) and it was yummmmy! Then we went out for coffee with my good friend Ruby, to celebrate her bday also!

Here are some pics of a few of my bday presents: Flowers and fun hippy shoes from Elvis (and a new framed picture of us to go in my new office at work!)

And some maternity clothes from mom, some new art for our house, and this cute pillow for the baby's room:

And they made me a cheesecake with a berry topping...yummmm!

The next day, we had to say goodbye to Mom(she had to get home for dad's bday, the day after mine) but that night, our friends from church had a bday party for Ruby and myself. It turned into a spontaneous performance night to entertain the birthday girls, and here are some of the performances: (please don't judge our friends based on this video)

And Lulu sang happy birthday to me:

Since then, we have celebrated Idania's graduation (elvis's oldest sister) from her Ob-gyn residency program, which finally concludes her 12 years of studying medicine. She has won a scholarship to go study in Cuba this next year, but not until after our baby is born!

We also went to the beach yesterday to spend the day with friends from church...one of our church bands was playing in an international Christian Surfers conference, so we took advantage of the trip and stayed all day playing. Here are some pics of Luis being brave enough to climb up the coconut tree to get us some coconuts:

The fruits of his labor:

And last but not least: family picture!

busy week!

whew it's been a busy week, with the Quaker Gap mission team here (including mom!) it's been a fun week though, of working up in Comasagua where our pastor friend Jose Luis lives with his wife and 7 kids (you may remember earlier posts about them). We have been leaving the house about 7:15am, going to do a children's program with bible stories, crafts, games, and lunch for 175 kids in the mornings, working on building a house for Jose Luis's family in the afternoons, and church services at night. they have been long, but good days. oh, and before all that, elvis has been getting up at 5am everyday to go to class before joining us and the team to translate! pictures will come soon, but i don't have much time right now.

baby update: i'm learning that those little weird feelings in my stomach are definitely the baby moving around, not just gas as i earlier believed! we are going to get an ultrasound on wednesday while mom is still here to hopefully find out if it is a boy or a girl! that's going to be my birthday present this year =) im all confused now...we've been pretty certain that its a boy, but this week, i had one dream that it was a girl, then another dream that they found twins in the ultrasound! we'll let you know, and will hopefully put up a new belly shot soon.

pictures to come soon of the mission team, ultrasound, and mom's time here!

catch up blog

So, in all this time that i havent blogged, i have seen lots of great NC friends, had 2 more baby showers, have come back to el salvador to be reunited with my long lost hubby (who greeted me with roses and pupusas!) and i have started back to work. whew! first of all, here are some pics from a fun day in chapel hill with my homegirls, reminiscing about days at UNC and marvelling at how fast we are starting to sound like real adults, with real families and real responsibilities.practicing with sweet Lydia:my new BFF:Then, friends from UNC gave me and Megan (one of my housemates from senior year!) a double baby shower. So much fun!!

freshman year Bible study reunited!my diaper cake!

the awesome real cake Danielle made!Shower #3 in Wallace!

What a fun trip it was, full of lots of blessings for us and the baby. Thanks to all!!!

Now, we are getting ready for Mom and a mission team from Quaker Gap to come this weekend!! The fun continues!

feliz dia del padre!!

happy father's day!! it is a special treat for us to actually be here with my dad on Father's Day. we have had a good day celebrating Dad and elvis, the newest (and most handsome!) father in the family. mom and i made breakfast and gave them their gifts which really showed that now every occasion really revolves around the baby, which isn't even here yet! for example, i gave Elvis a macho diaper bag that he can carry around, and he also got a book in spanish to read to the baby called "Te quiero Papi" and elvis and dad got #1 Dad and #1 Grandpa t-shirts, respectively. dad also got a t-shirt that says "Pookie", because you see, when dad was asked what he wants to be called by the baby, he jokingly said that he didn't really care...they could call him Pookie and it would still be cute to him! as you can imagine, that name stuck around as a joke...we'll see if Baby really calls him that or not!

For lunch, mom and i really went all out and made a really fancy gourmet lunch....corn dogs!! hahaha its got a story too, of course. you see, there aren't many foods that elvis hasn't tried yet here in the states, but about a month ago, i got a craving for a corndog after seeing one on a movie. elvis didn't really understand the concept, and yesterday when we went to the Blueberry Festival, they were selling them and elvis reallly wanted one. so mom and i got some for his first Father's Day lunch...i think he was impressed! we will actually make a nice fancy dinner tonight!

elvis only has a couple more days here, sadly...then he will go back for an exam and i will go back next wednesday. we are not looking forward to being apart, since we have never even spent a night apart in the 3 years and 3 months we have been married!! i think we will probably try to get back down to the beach in these days (we went friday and saturday too) and just hang out with mom and dad. and maybe try to catch a fish or two.

happy father's day to all the dads out there!

NC

so this week we've been on the road for the most part...after marty left, we went up to King kind of last-minute to see some old friends and while we were there, they gave us a baby shower which was really nice! good to see friends who remember me from when i was ony 6 months. it was also fun to see people along the way, although there wasnt nearly enough time to see everybody! we finally got to meet baby Lydia Vuljanic, which was definitely a highlight!

elvis learned to play Stokes County's favorite pasttime game....Corn Hole! (you gotta say that with a real redneck accent)

back here in wallace, the main thrill has been taking a ride through town in the rumbler seat of an old 1929 car...

we drove out to see mom and dad's community garden:

other than that, we're just hanging out, looking for baby bargains! here is one of my favorites that mom had already gotten for us:

(yes, it says "Hasta la vista baby!")

on tarheel turf!

we made it to NC! we got in late monday night, and were greeted at the airport by mom (sporting her "abuelita t-shirt we made her) and dad, and marty, who came in for a surprise visit on saturday and showed up at Memaw's 90th birthday party, completely shocking mom and dad and everyone!! we had a fun day at the beach on tuesday with the fam, seeing the grandparents and celebrating with Memaw, and then had to take marty back to raleigh yesterday to go back to vancouver. we took advantage of the trip to raleigh to meet up with Kate for catfish quesadillas (yummmmm) which was fun as always!

today we went to the Wallace Stockyard, by far the most multi-cultural experience in eastern NC. its a huge field with rows and rows of yard sale stuff, antiques, ducks, pigs, fresh fruits and vegetables, funnel cakes, pirated CDs, some kind of fragrant oils from the Caribbean, etc etc etc from allll around the world. each booth owner is of a different ethnicity...who knew there was so much diversity here in wallace? anyways, we love going because you never know what youll find, plus elvis feels right at home, getting to barter in spanish and buy familiar fruits and veggies, even sugar cane!

now we are just taking it easy, trying to adjust to NC humidity and air conditioning. here are some pics:

arriving at the airport:

marty teaching elvis to boogie board for the first time:

happy 90th b-day Memaw!!

kindergarten graduation

last night my little ones graduated from kindergarten! as every year, they sing the salvadorean national anthem, Star Spangled Banner (and as every year, they end up singing "the land of papas fritas" instead of "the land of the free"), they recite Psalm 23 in english, one girl gave an 8 page memorized speech, and they all danced and sang to another song. it was very cute, and i feel a huge relief now that the year is officially over! here are some pictures and a video of my kids saying Psalm 23:

after the throwing of their graduation caps:

co-workers!

long weekend

This weekend was a nice 3-day weekend, due to the inauguration of the new president (even Hilary Clinton came to town to get in on the action!). we had yet another baby shower this weekend, but she didnt even make it to the shower, because she was already at the hospital! and we had a going-away dinner at the house for all of the american teachers at school that will be leaving this year. im sad to see them go!
then on sunday, elvis and i went for a little hike in the "ecopark" here in the city, a coffee plantation and park built on the side of the San salvador volcano. here are some pics from that day:

steam vents in the side of the volcano:a huge tree that fell in a storm a few months ago (pratt and ashley, marty and sara, do you remember climbing on this tree??)view of the city from the top of the hikehallucinogenic flowers:we are down to less than a week before we will be in NC, and just a couple of school days left!

thump thump!

so, we went to the doctor today, and heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time!!! it was so cool, and made things seem so much more real now. i didnt cry, but elvis and i both immediately got this enormous goofy grin on our faces that just couldnt be wiped off! im at 11 weeks and a few days right now, and starting to see definite changes in my tummy. however, according to the doctor's scales, i havent gained even an ounce from last month's check-up, so we're gonna celebrate the heartbeat with chocolate chip cookies tonight =)

in other news, just a week left of school!! and no class on monday because of the inauguration of the new president. this has been a busy week...4 baby showers for different friends in a week and a half! one of the baby showers took place 12 hours before the she went into labor! anyways, i hope to get in another update before we leave, which is just a week and a half away!! whoohoo!!!

NC bound!!

Good news...we just got tickets to go to NC in a few weeks!! we will be arriving on June 8th, and Elvis will sadly have to come back home on June 24th, and i'll stay until July 1st. We are so excited, especially since this will be the last time we travel for a while, and the last time it will be just the 2 of us going to the states!! we hope to see you there!!!