Happy Happy New Year!!!

Looking back on 2011, as years past, it was pretty memorable and full of learning opportunities!

Jose graduated from BYU, Evandro celebrated his 1st birthday, Eva has continued to gain weight, and work hard for her physical therapist and well for myself, I went back to school and felt pretty triumphant with finishing the semester with all As (if you know me and know my past academics, that is quite a triumph!). We moved twice in 2011, celebrated 4 years of marriage and the best news of all came on December 16th in the way of a phone call, Jose was invited to A.T. Still University for medical school. I can't explain the weight that was lifted with that phone call for both of us (temporarily anyway, to be explained later).

I have watch for the last 4 years as Jose has met every challenge that this career choice has put in front of him, personally, academically and spiritually. He has risen to every occasion, some times gracefully and well, some times not so gracefully...LOL!! There is much much more to face, and it is a lot more complicated than just getting this first acceptance, I won't bore anyone with the immediate details but if anyone's children are interested in medical school or if you are planning on that path, feel free to ask!

This New Year was wonderful, basking in the Arizona sun, it was 77 degrees on New Year's Eve, chilly at night but the days were amazing! We got to spend time with family, both Jose's and mine, we hadn't done that in a long time. Ironically, we have only began to enjoy the outdoors here in Arizona, when we moved back in late April/May, Provo was still chilly, and we had been just coming out of our winter hibernation...LOL! When we came to Arizona, it was 100 (million) degrees and well we went into a summer hibernation! So fall time in Arizona is heavenly, hiking, playing in the park, biking, running! Its just gorgeous from October to about April.

What will 2012 bring? Well, so far it has brought a new wheelchair stroller for Eva, she looks like such a big girl in her chair and it helps her interact so much more than her baby chair did! In a few weeks Ms. Eva turns 3 years old and once again reaching a milestone. 2012 will bring one to two moves (my favorite...not!), the start of Jose's medical training, and I'm sure many more challenges to face as well as lessons to learn.

I am grateful for the selfless people in our lives that have helped us face our challenges, that have supported us when we didn't know where to turn or where help would come from. This last year was full of the Lord's blessings and merciful love. He has touched our hearts to help us serve, he has touched others hearts who have served us!

I have a very strong testimony that our Father in Heaven hears our prayers and that He knows our every thought, desire and heartache. I know He loves us and is ready to help us if we are just willing to ask and humble ourselves.

I have high hopes for 2012, I pray that I will be ready to meet any challenge with the help of my Father in Heaven!

Happy Happy 2012 to you my friends and family!!

Tis the Season...for TAMALES!!

This that time of year when the Christmas decorations go up and hardworking Mexican women brave prepare their kitchens for tamale making! So this was my first year in a very very long time making tamales, for the last three Christmas seasons I've been in Utah and previous to that....well I was a single gal and frankly spending very late nights spreading masa was not really on my agenda (I know bad girl)! In my family my oldest sister, Cata, has taken the lead and selflessly has helped preserve the traditions of our grandmothers. There is almost a whole day dedicated to just making the meat and chile and to preparing the masa for spreading! We then have to soak corn husks so that they are soft and pliable. After all that people are so anxious to eat tamales that we are willing to stay up to wee hours of the morning spreading masa on the husks, so my sister can add the meat, close them up and put them in the tamale pot (huge huge pot that fits like 13 dozen tamales!). It's really like a two to three night event and the first night your so excited for the tamales that sleep is just not an option...LOL!! By the next night you can probably only hang till about midnight and since my sister works that just about takes up her whole weekend so then we extend it to the following weekend. Its like a love love hate relationship for the tamale preparer. You love love the wonderful memories they prompt of your grandmother of simpler days of Christmas and family time. However, it is so labor intensive a tinge of hate creeps in as you spread and spread and spread that masa on each and every odd shaped corn husk, they never seem to end. But then the love comes back as you smell them and then get to taste the first tamale, like having a baby maybe, you just forget and enjoy!
The last two nights Jose and I helped make tamales and boy were we pooped and all we did was spread masa, imagine how the preparer feels, my mom and my sister...what would we all do without them?!

Thank you for keeping tradition, thank you for teaching it, I promise I will preserve it and pass it down to my children! I will sign off now and I'm off to eat Chocolate Abuelita and a tamalito!!

Well Here We Are

I guess if I posted more consistently I would be so far behind on pictures and wouldn't be jumping all over the place! Well, here we are 7 months in Arizona and almost 8 months since Jose graduated from BYU. In the time since graduation, we have moved, started new services for Eva in Arizona, Vandro had a 1st birthday and started to walk, Jose took the MCAT, and undertook the very grueling task of applying to 16 medical schools and received 16 secondaries (to a primary application), has received two rejections and 6 interview invitations, Moved again, Vandro runs (not just walks) and "plays" soccer, Eva has grown about 2 inches and is waiting for her big girl car seat and big girl stroller wheelchair, and mom returned to school (Mom, Gabby)!

It really feels like a lot has happened but on the same token, we feel in the same place. All of Jose's medical school interviews have been insightful and exciting. Every time he has an interview, his desire to become a physician is confirmed! I can not tell you how amazing it is to see your spouse as their best self. Jose just lights up with anything medical, we are so grateful for being this far on our journey. The interesting part is that there is so much more waiting to be done with respect to applying and getting accepted into medical school. He has gotten as far as the interview process and well that's huge and great, the more interviews the better chance of you getting into some where. However, it can be from now till March and the latest July before we could potentially get an answer of, Yes (your accepted into our school), No (sorry but no offer) or Waitlisted (we want you but there is no space for you)...the latter two would seriously be heartbreaking so we're going for a solid YES! The waiting is torture!!!!

In the meantime, Jose applied to be a substitute teacher at a couple of school districts here in Tucson and adjusting to being with the babies (and their schedules) more, which I think makes him miss school a lot more than he thought...LOL!! We are really enjoying our time together, Jose and I and the babies!

I will try to post more often, hence have more pictures!

Interesting...Happy Birthday Babe!

Today is my wonderful husband's birthday....the big 27!  He happens to be in Indiana for a medical school interview, what a birthday gift!  Interestingly enough, because he is in Indiana and wanted to show pictures of our kids and family, he doesn't ever post anything on Facebook...I'm back on!!  Well that certainly was a short breakup...LOL!

More importantly, I got to say Happy Birthday in many locations to Jose!

Yes I finally did it...for now anyway!

So I deactivated my facebook page, for now anyway! It was becoming way too much of a distraction and I wasn't really using it anyway. I may go back...as facebook always calls you back! I just don't really know when, I realized lately that I have a lot of "friends" that aren't my friends and I got to figure out how I"m going to "effectively" use my facebook!

Hopefully it will then free up blogging time...LOL!!

It's about TIme!

Finally, as I sit at nearly 2am at the computer, I see that its been a very long time since I last posted a blog! So much has happened in the last eight months, Jose graduated, we moved to Tucson, Vandro turned one, I went back to school, Jose has medical school interviews and we finally moved into our own place...a house, a real house!

Vandro turns 1!

Living in Tucson!

Papa's Graduation!

These are but a few pictures of the last 8 months...blogger is being weird and won't let me post more! Life is good and we're all adjusting to all these changes, the babies are handling them beautifully, as they say the only constant is change and unfortunately (and fortunately) there is much more change to come!

Go Cougars!!!!

We just purchased Jose's graduation packet: cap/gown and announcements! Graduation stirs so many emotions, I'm so proud of my husband, it has been quite the "adventure" these last three years, we've had our scares, our trials and tribulations, but we did it together!! In these last three years I have really grown to know what it means when you say, "my husband is my best friend".
In my youth, it was all about the "besties", I have to admit, its a word I can't stand now, I guess it just seems so juvenile to me. Elementary school, Junior High, High School, College and as I found...even in your mid to late 20's, its all about the best girl friends. Hanging out, Girls Night Out...and I was one that thought that was the only way to live or I guess I couldn't live without them. I mean we had matching necklaces for goodness sake! Sometimes I felt like I was living a scene in Mean Girls but nonetheless I really thought this is what its all about.
And it comes back to this, my conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I think for me it was time. It was time to grow up, granted I was 31...LOL...it better have been time! I was a late bloomer what can I say. My conversion, my religion IS who I am. It is what my family is and its who I want those that surround me to know. I owe everything to knowing that I have a Father in Heaven that loves me, that forgives me, that never judges me and only asks that I try, that I honor Him and Love Him. My conversion has meant my eyes being wide open, even when I want to keep them half shut. My conversion has meant finding and knowing what it is to have a best friend!
Graduation stirs up so much emotion, I look around me and I have wonderful husband who loves me, he always looks at me with desire, even when I look like I just came out of a tornado! He gives me and has given me EVERYTHING I have ever wanted. He works hard, he shares everything with me, even when its not pretty. He's humble enough to hear me out, when I think he's not on the right track. He's given me EVERYTHING...did I say that already? My everything, for now, has a name as a matter of fact, its two names! EVA and EVANDRO!
In my youth, I thought my pleasures would always be found in things like my hair, my clothes, my friendships. But in my "new" youth, I feel like I've learned that there are precious relationships, and I've met some wonderful people here in Utah, and there are forever friends, I have a couple of those, and that the most important relationship is that of family, especially husband and wife. I have had the privilege of being a stay home mom, because my husband loves me, I know thats that everyones desire and I didn't know it was really mine until now. I get to play with my kids everyday, I get to be my babies first best friend! That feeling overwhelms me, there is no girl friend out there (sorry friends) that could compare or measure up.
In my thirties I know who I am I know what I want and I'm lucky to feel this kind of peace. Don't get me wrong its not that easy, doubt is a thief that lingers in the shadows waiting to steal this peace away. But this little mantra helps me remember...I've been there I've done that and now I am where I prayed I would be!
I love these last three years, I wouldn't trade the good, the bad or the ugly for anything! I have truly loved our BYU experience and I pray my children will want the same experience, this is where they were born (well Vandro) this is where Papa and Mamma grew up!

GO COUGARS!!!