Changes

I have started several blog posts but I haven't finished or published any of them. So here is another attempt at starting, finishing, and posting something new on this blog. I find that my discretionary time has been drastically cut. Rori has discovered the ability to move around and my job as her mother just got more labor intensive. It used to be that I could lay her down on our piece of carpet and she would play happily while I did the dishes or folded laundry or made dinner, but now if I lay her down I have to make sure that everything on the floor is OK for her to have. She gets into everything and all things must go directly into her mouth. This is true for all things but especially paper. Rori loves to eat paper. I would have to say that her favorite paper is my sudoku book. If she sees it she goes as fast as she can to get to it before any interference. She also enjoys getting her little hands on the kids scriptures. I've tried to explain to her that chewing up the pages is not what the leaders of the church mean when they council us to "feast upon the word" So far this explanation has fallen on deaf ears. So I spend the majority of my time chasing after my adorable little girl, and trying to get her to eat the proper kind of fiber.

Jason only has a couple more weeks of the term and then his studies will be focused on preparing for the USMLE Step 1. We have all been sick for the last few days with a rotten cold, and we are hoping that it doesn't cause too many problems for Jason and his end of term studying. We are excited about leaving the island life and hope that it has brought a few positive changes to us and the way we live and see life. I don't really see how anyone could have such a drastic change to their living situation and not come out the other side a little different than when they started, but I hope our changes have been for the better.
As we close this chapter of our lives and look back on the friends we've made and the experiences we've had it is truely humbling. The journey has been long and filled with every imaginable emotion. I love it, I hate it, I want to be done, I don't want to go. There were days the only thing stopping me from getting on a plane and going back home is that fact that I had no money and I really didn't want to be stuck on an airplane with 3 small children by myself. I have learned so much being here, and I know I take many lessons with me. I hope I have done some good in this part of God's world, and helped a few of his children.

Leaving Grenada is just one of many changes to come into our lives. Not only are we spending the next several months as vagabonds bumming a bed from whomever we can until we settle somewhere in NJ, but Dyson will be starting Kindergarten in the fall. I can't believe that he is old enough to go to school. I remember so well the day he was born and I have many sweet memories of his life growing up. He is so smart and I know he will do wonderfully in school. He begs me all the time to let him go to school. I am so proud of him for learning how to read and that boy can do just about any physical thing you ask him too. He can do a cartwheel, a headstand and a back bend. Plus he loves to run and is getting quite good at soccer. He loves to be outside running around which is a good thing since he has more energy than the energizer bunny! He keeps me busy and entertains his younger sibblings.

Ridge is so different from when we first came down here. When we arrieved he was 7 months. He had no teeth, couldn't walk or even crawl, couldn't talk, and didn't eat much other than milk. Now he is almost 3, has a whole mouthful of teeth, runs most of the time (usually chasing his brother) talks all the time, but he still doesn't eat much. (the child is living on pb and j, mac n cheese, and apples!) He goes to preschool with Dyson and loves it. He likes to be included with the big kids and does a pretty good job of keeping up. He is still my little snuggle bug though, and I hope he stays that way. He is the sweetest kid...when he wants to be. Lately he has developed an attitude and we have been working on getting his sweetness back. I'm not sure how well it's going but hopefully he will get it soon.

As you can see our house is pretty busy but it's full of all the normal "life" stuff. Growing, changing, learning. We are doing our best to savor every new moment as a family before the moment passes. I know this post is pretty personal and I'm sorry if it's a little much, but there you have it. We are all doing good and ready for the next big change.

Picture Perfect

For our 6 year anniversary Jason and I had our pictures taken by my good friend Sara. We met here in Grenada and she takes the most amazing pictures!!! You can check out her photo blog at www.saraweirphoto.blogspot.com.
We haven't had our portraits taken since right after we were married and we had so much fun having them taken. Here are a few of the beautiful pictures.
It's so nice to have good friends that are gifted. Plus it's nice to have your picture taken by a friend because it's easier to be yourself and it makes the session lots of fun.



I want to thank Sara Weir Photography for the beautiful portraits. They are a great addition to our memories of our life together as well as our journey in Grenada.

DROC

Dyson is really getting the hang of reading. It has just "clicked" the last week or two and he is having an absolute blast. With this new found skill he is also learning how to spell words and the other day he wrote the letters D R O and C on his magnadoodle and wanted Jason to read the word. Jason sounded it out for him and then asked Dyson what it meant. (since Dyson is always making up new words and telling us they are Italian) Dyson looked at his dad and said Da Rock, you know like "The Rock" but "Da Rock"

We've been here too long. It's time to leave!

The Best 6 Years

It has been an amazing 6 years that Jason and I have been married. To say that time flies when you are having fun would certainly be and understatement. Jason and I have had so much fun being married. I am learning so much from him and he enriches my life every day.
Jason, You mean everything to me.
I love you!

My personal sunshines

It seems a lot has happened since my last post, and after looking back and reading it I think I might have been having a mood swing. haha. Oh well, I guess being a girl I get to have a few of those right? I am in greater spirits and have been able to count the many blessings in my life.

On to happier thoughts...
The kids are growing like weeds! I swear every time I turn around they have grown. Dyson doesn't fit into most of his clothes (although he has to for a few more months, haha) and is always coming home from school with some amazing thing he has learned. He makes crafts and learns new songs. He absolutely loves school and I think he feels at home there. I am so grateful for a wonderful program that he can participate in while we are here in this far away land. I am so proud of all the things he has accomplished.

Ridge is also growing in leaps and bounds. That kid is getting taller and taller. I, of course, am having a hard time accepting that fact that he is growing up. He has always been the snuggle bug. From the time he was born he would just burrow his little head into your shoulder and melt in your arms. He is still super snugly but I know that the older he gets the less he will do it. And it breaks my heart to think about it... so I don't. haha. Ridge will most likey be joining Dyson at that GAP this month. And he is super excited. He wants so bad to be a big boy like Dyson and he cries almost every morning when he doesn't get to go to school with his brother. Hopefully he will keep that enthusiasm for school when he actually gets to go.

Rori is also amazing me more and more every day. I think her growth is a little easier to see since she was so small to begin with. She is learning and accomplishing new tasks all the time. She has scoot herself around a little now. She can go in circles quite well and tries very hard to move forward. She can get about and inch but it taker her awhile and she looses interest. haha. She has said a couple of words although I'm pretty sure they were on accident. She has said "dada" ( i don't think this one was on accident since she has said it a few times) "poof" and "butt" I had put her on the bed and said poof and then she coppied me, and today at lunch the copied one of the boys saying butt. I'm not sure she actually ment to say them but it was really funny. She giggles and laughs and is generally a very happy baby. She loves to be outside and loves watching her brothers play. She has constant entertainment when they are around!

It is so cute to see the three of them together. She adores them and they do everything they can to take care of her and make her happy. Each one of them is such a blessing to our lives. I get asked here all the time how I do it with 3 kids, but honestly I have started to wonder how I ever did anything without them. They are truely the joy of my life.
(of course while I am writing this the little stinkers woke up Rori. oh well)

Thank you my dear!

I just thought I would take a few minutes to say thank you. Thank you to all the SO's who come down to support your students. I know that especially for me it makes a huge difference! Most importantly I wanted to say thank you to my wife for all the wonderful things that she does for me! I know that I am not always there for you when you need me and that i don't always understand where you are coming from but, please know that i do try and that I wish I could do better for you! That being said, thank you for being crazy enough to come down to Grenada with three kids to take care of me (I'm really just another big kid to take care of anyway....) I know that this isn't the first place in the world that you would like to spend you time but, thank you for supporting me in this insane endeavour! Thank you for taking care of the kids and making sure that they don't kill themselves and that they are breathing at the end of the day. Thank you for taking care of the house, I know that this is a huge chore with the kids around and that they help about as much as a tornado on most days but, I am constantly impressed. Thank you for learning so much about the places that we are looking at for clinicals and for trying to find a good area to live in. And thank you for being there for me! I love you!

Jason

Taken Back

When I was younger I always felt like I didn't quite fit in. Sure I had friends but I always felt like I was chasing after them trying to make them like me. I have struggled with my self esteem for as long as I can remember, and it has only been recently that I have begun to see myself in a more positive way.
However, since I have spent the majority of my life being extremely critical of myself I tend to fall back into that pattern rather easily. It is still hard for me to completely believe that I am what Jason says I am.
Lately I have been feeling particularly plagued by feelings of insecurity, and for a lack of a better phrase...left out. All my life I have wanted to feel included and wanted by my peers. I was always being left out of things when I was younger and although it seems kind of silly and immature I am seem to find myself, once again feeling alone and left out.
I always try to be the kind of friend that I wish I had. I really care about my friends. I think about what nice things I can do for them, how I can help them or what they are doing. I like to have them over for dinner and babysit their kids so they can have a nice evening with just adults. I think about my friends and how I can serve them all the time. All I want in return is for someone to think about me. But they don't. All I want is for the people that I think about and serve to include me when they do fun things. But I want them to do it because I'm their friend not because I wrote a "poor me" blog post. I don't want to beg for friends, and I certainly don't want to waste my efforts on people who don't want to be my friends. I just thought that the people whom I have come to love dearly as my friends felt the same way about me. It seems that I was mistaken. And although I'm someone who people are nice to when I'm around, I'm not someone who is included.
So as I sit here in my apartment with my kids, far away from our families, I wonder what it is that I do that makes people treat me this way. I guess I just need to straighten myself up and decide that I don't want to be friends with people who treat others that way, but it's easier said than done. So here's to trying to move on and not needing friends.