this week in pictures

graduation!

anniversary! we went to a cute little italian place where i got the best gorgonzola/spinach ravioli and hazelnut gelato. yum!new suzy pics!

Big news!

No, I'm not pregnant again already! Ha! But we do have lots of big news this week, first of all, we have a precious little niece, Anna Dawn!! Well, she's not soo little, she weighed 9 lbs 7 oz at birth! But she is beautiful and such a special gift to our whole family! Here she is...I think she resembles Suzy, especially sleeping like this with her arms over her head!
This week is also very special because tomorrow is our 4 year anniversary. We have so much that has happened in this past year of marriage for us to be thankful for... Elvis finished school and got his first big job, and we have been able to see a new, amazing side of each other as we became parents this year and have seen ourselves and our love reflected in the most amazing little girl ever.

Speaking of Elvis finishing school, the other big news is that his long-awaited graduation is this Friday!! I am so proud of him for being persistent and playing along with all the bureaucracy and graduating...something that is not very easy at all in this country. Today I went to go pick up his graduation tickets (oh, other big news is that I'm driving by myself everyday now!) and first of all, I got there at 1:30 and the university office was closed. Apparently they take a 2.5 hour lunch break. Cool. So, I venture through town to a mall to kill some time and get Elvis's graduation/anniversary present, then go back around 3pm. The lady tells me that i can't pick up the tickets, even though I have Elvis's school ID card and El Salvador ID card, because I don't have a written letter from Elvis saying he gives me permission. I mean, I'm not picking up $1000, just a couple of tickets! Anyways, I've learned that most bureaucracy here can be gotten around if you keep persisting and talk to someone else who may happen to be having a better day. So, I go see this lady's boss, who is super nice either because of my blue eyes or my sob story, and gives me permission to get the tickets. So, Elvis is graduating, we finally got tickets, and I got the day off of work to go! Thankful for lots of great things happening this week =)

was it a bird? was it a plane?

So, Sunday night something weird happened. We actually didn't visually witness it, but some unidentified flying bright object flew across the whole sky over El Salvador, causing much confusion and excitement about what the heck that was. It obviously wasn't a plane because it left a white trail which went across the whole dark sky and stayed for a long time. The part we did witness was a huge BOOM! that followed a bit later and then our power went out (that part could be related or not, we're not sure.)

Anyways, the next day, the m ystery was solved....it was the space shuttle Endeavor making it's way back home after a 2 week trip! The loud BOOM! was when the shuttle broke back through the atmosphere (I'm not sure if I'm using the right space-y terms here but you get the point). All of El Salvador was talking about it the next day, as it was seen from all over the country. Here is a home video that we did NOT make ourselves, so please excuse the bad words in Spanish if you understand spanish =) But you get the idea of how astounded the filmers (whoever they were) were.

Disculpen las malas palabras...no lo filmamos nosotros!!

In other news back here on earth, going back to work has been alright, just makes me appreciate and treasure even more every second I get with Sweet Suzy. I love how she lights up when i come home =)

international little lady

Suzy got her passport and the equivalent of her US birth certificate delivered to the house yesterday! She's all ready to travel! (Still waiting on the elusive social security card...) Today we are enjoying my last weekday of maternity leave...back to work on Monday.................

my funny valentine

Happy Valentine's Day! I got to spend the day with my two favorite valentines yesterday at the Botanical Gardens here in the city. We had a great time seeing all the flowers, wild animals (including several iguanas and a cotusa: like a mix between a large rat, rabbit, and tail-less squirrel) and took lots of pictures to document Suzy's first valentine's day! what a sweetie! yesterday also marks a milestone in suzy's life....the first day of wearing shoes! and so here starts a lifetime of cute shoes....

i also had my fave flowers waiting for me at home! thanks elvis =)

in other news, we went to the doctor on friday, and suzy is up to 10 pounds 2 ounces! Go Suzy! I'm just glad she's even on the growth chart....I never even made it on there growing up!

Suzy and Mommy

Obviously, I have loved being on maternity leave. Although it has been a big adjustment being here in the house most of the day, it has been great to start of Suzy's life being with her all day long. However, I only have one more week left of maternity leave! Boo! But the good thing is that Easter break is coming up soon, as well as the end of the school year. Here are some pictures of me and Suzy's time together over the past few months:

Yesterday Suzy and I got our tickets to go to NC!!!! We will be there from June 20th until July 10th . I don't know what we are going to do without Elvis for 3 weeks, and what he's gonna do without us. We've never been apart that long. But he can't get off work, so just us gals are gonna travel. We are looking forward to meeting David and Lucy's baby Nissa while we are there and Marty and Sara's new baby too (she'll make her appearance any day now!)

To be able to travel, we had to get Suzy's citizenship made official at the US Embassy yesterday, as well as apply for her passport and Social Security card. All went well, except the photos we had made at a studio of Suzy for her passport were not accepted b/c her face was too big in the picture, even though the picture was the right size. Gimme a break. So we had to leave, go walk to find another studio, and pray that she would pose correctly so both of her ears were showing again, and her eyes open. Luckily we did, so we're all ready now! They said that the Social Security card may be here within 1 month, or 2 months, or 5 months, or sometimes it never comes. Cool. Thanks US Embassy for that assurance. This is Suzy, contemplating the situation:

Suzy's star

So, Suzy has this star thing that hangs from above her play-pen, and it has lights that light up and it plays classical music. Doesn't that sound interesting?? Well, for a 2 1/2 month, it's apparently better than an IMAX theater. Suzy spends so much time everyday watching this thing, loving it to death every single time. It's her way to get exercise too. She will go through spells when she just stares and smiles, and times when she gets really serious and will dance for a reallllly long time with that music. Even when it's not on, if she's anywhere near it, she will stare at it and start smiling even before it starts, in anticipation.
Yesterday I took a few (dozen) videos of her watching it, each one showing her different reactions to it. Sorry if you get tired of the song after 3 videos (they are short), but hey, you should get a little taste of what I listen to alll day long. =)

1st video: Suzy smiling

2nd video: Suzy break-dancing

3rd video: Serious Suzy, apparently directing the orchestra.

Feliz Cumpleanos Marty!!!

Happy Birthday to a great brother....

a fun-lovin' guy....

an adventuresome spirit....

someone who will eat absolutely anything....

someone with an infectious laugh...

a world-class fisherman....a great son....

a great husband....a snazzy dancer....

a romantic at heart....

a Tarheel fan...someone I'm eternally indebted to for introducing me to Elvis!!

and a very soon to be great father!!

Feliz cumpleanos Marty! Wish we could be with you to celebrate!!

Some things I've been pondering...

I read something cool this week about the word "compassion" used in the Bible. In the verse in Micah that says "He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." Apparently, the Hebrew word they translated as compassion there literally means "to love from the womb" and is often translated as mercy. The picture that this word paints then, is of the "tender love of a mother for her own helpless child", that kind of deep love that mothers experience even before their baby makes its first appearance from the womb. It's the same hebrew word used in 1 Kings when Solomon suggested cutting the baby in half since the 2 women were fighting over him. It says that the real mother "yearned with compassion for her son." I feel like i can really identify with that kind of love, and it makes me understand a little bit more the depth of God's love for us, after now having experienced that depth of love with Suzy, even when she was in the womb. I like that God has those feminine qualities, like a tender, loving mother. Now I'm not trying to get into the discussion about calling God "She", I'm just saying it's cool how God encompasses all the human emotions and traits, even the one typically thought of for women. Because really it's not like God has stolen our "feminine" traits, but rather we inherited those traits from him in the first place. It surely makes me more aware when I use the word compassion in the sense of me having compassion on someone else, because wow, that's really a stronger word than i always thought.


Anyways, this week we are going to the US Embassy to report Suzy's birth and get her passport and Social Security number so she can be an official US citizen. I'm excited about that, but also a little nervous because Elvis and I will be interviewed, and i have to prove that I lived in the US for 5 years, 2 of those being after my 12th birthday. I think we have enough documentation with school transcripts and diplomas (and I think my southern accent will help too), but I still get a little nervous so you guys can pray for this process, although I'm not as nervous as the numerous times we went to the embassy trying to get Elvis a visa. That just felt more like gambling. Anyways, i also have to write down every single time I've ever been out of the states...the location and the dates. Wow. I was filling in all the applications for this process, and there was one question that caught me off guard, even though it's a question we see a lot on any kind of questionnaires, applications, etc. The question asked me what Suzy's race is. Hmm. Good question. The only options were "Hispanic", "Asian", "African American", or "White". i think it's curious that all the other options point to an actual place, such as Asia, Africa, but white?? That's just a color! And would Suzy be considered "white"?? Or hispanic?? I just chose not to answer.

I'll leave you with these ponderings, and some cute pics of Suzy. =)