The Marathon of Life (or something slightly less cheesy)

What a month this has been. I have been tested in so many ways I can't even begin to count them all. It all started with the lovely Kern Medical Center saying they didn't have any rotations available to Todd this month so he would have to figure something else out. We panicked. Todd spoke to the medical education office and told them he would take WHATEVER they had available so that we could stay in Bakersfield. He was given two options. A Pulmonary elective that had long hours, but no call, or another elective that had call, but normal hours. Well, it can't get worse than having call, right? So he chose the elective with "long hours." I mean, how long could they be, right?

Wrong choice.

For the past month, Todd has been leaving for work at 630am and not returning home until after the boys are already in bed, usually around 9pm to 10pm. So, I have been doing everything for the kids by myself. The good old days of counting down the hours until 5pm when my partner in crime would return home to help me corral the kids were over, and I was left dealing by myself with the kids from Monday through Friday, from the moment they woke up to the moment they were in bed, with no family around to help. Add a couple of out of town trips for Todd for interviews, the stomach flu for Jackson and myself (while Todd was out of town, no less), and training for a half marathon, and you have the most challenging month of my life.

What did I learn from all of this? That God will truly not give you anything you can't handle. Without Him, and our constant conversation throughout the day, I never would have made it through this month. While the kids were eating dinner in the living room and I was losing mine in the bathroom, not thinking I could go on one minute further, He gave me that extra ounce of energy I needed to continue. He is truly and amazing and faithful God!

And a big shout out to my mom, who was on the other end of the phone at least twice a day coaching me through. I really do not know what I'd do without her. She is the wisest person I know.

Saturday marks the end of this crazy rotation, and the day of my big half marathon race. In both "marathons" I have pushed myself beyond my limit and have seen that I am capable. And I never would have known what I was capable of accomplishing unless I had been pushed beyond my own self limitations. I hope I never forget this lesson, and if I do, I'm sure God would be happy to teach me again :)

Big Fat October Post

It's crazy to me that it's November already. It's 87 degrees out today! California weather is so unlike anything I've ever experienced. I suppose I can't complain too much :)
October came and went in a flash. I can't believe how fast it went by. It was filled with wonderful events, a trip and visitors!

The first weekend of October, we headed down to LA to meet up with Todd's family and watch the Husky Game vs. USC. It was the first game for the boys and we were little apprehensive about bringing them and having to hold them the whole time, but they did amazingly well. We had a great time visiting with everyone and were even lucky enough to see the Huskies dominate USC for the win!


Noah so tired from the fun of the game :)



An excited Jackson before the game

We also had the pleasure of a visit from my parents. They were only in town a short while, but Jackson and Noah had a blast with them. And so did we :)



Enjoying the pumpkin patch with Grandpa



Making cookies with Grandma



Sweet Noah at the park :)

Halloween was a wonderful time as well. Jackson was very excited to show off his Superman costume as a trick or treater, and Noah was very happy to be along for the ride as the Incredible Hulk. Jackson had a blast trick or treating, making sure to say "Trick or Treat" and "Happy Halloween" at each house. He was so proud of all of the candy he got!



My adorable little Hulk :)



The boys all ready to go! Jackson loved being superman. He would throw one hand up in the air and say "To the rescue!"



My boys out the door and ready to go!

Alright blog. You don't like me, and I don't like you.

I am just not good at this. If I want to be better, I am going to have to make this a discipline. Just like anything that doesn't come naturally, I will have to work at this one a little. But I feel that blogging is important and this is why- it's a wonderful way to communicate with friends and family, beyond the cryptic status updates of facebook. If you want the LONG caption behind the photo, come to the blog. There, you will get the real story. The other beautiful thing about the blog, is that it is, in a sense, a digital scrapbook. I just took a few minutes to go read my posts from Grenada. Ah, a simpler time when I was so invested in and committed to this blog. Now I struggle to find things to write while the current posts sit collecting dust. That's just not right. This blog should be nurtured and loved, and that is what I intend on doing. One post a week. I can do that! I will thank myself for it someday.

Sisters. Best Friends.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of hosting my sisters for a week as they visited from Washington. It was so wonderful to be with them and just chat and be silly together.... things I have missed so much.

These two are cookey, wacky, and all together wonderful. The three of us are so different, and yet so much alike at the same time. I don't know what I'd do without them. They truly are my very best friends.

Life's a beach

For the past 4 years, we have been fortunate enough to live within a short driving distance to a beach. In England, we were a quick 15 minute subway ride from the North Sea, in Grenada, a 5 minute walk, and in New York, the beach of the Atlantic Ocean was our back yard! Now, we only live about a 2.5 hour drive to the beach, but it seems SO far compared to what we've been used to the past several years. I was getting an itch to see the ocean again so last weekend we took off and drove to the Central California Coast for the weekend. The Pacific Ocean was more beautiful than I remembered.



The boys had so much fun playing in the sand and water and we had a blast watching them :)

We also enjoyed visiting Solvang, a little Danish town about a half hour inland. One vendor made these delicious little Danish treats called Aebelskivers. YUM.



We went to a little park in Solvang called Hans Christian Anderson Park, where Jackson completed his first hike, all on his own!



After Solvang, we had the opportunity of visiting an old Spanish Mission. They restored it to how it looked in the 1800's and we learned so much from being there. You could really feel the history as you walked the grounds.



All in all, it was a wonderful trip. I really look forward to those times we can relax and have fun as a family without the little stressors of life nagging.

Something tells me I won't win blogger of the year.

Ok, I know I'm not super great about keeping this blog up, but I am going to try and be better!

Things are going very well here. We are continuing to love our lives in California as we explore and make new friends. Todd is busy with the residency application process. I can' believe that this crazy medical school journey is coming to an end soon. It seems like just yesterday we were moving in to our teeny furnished apartment in Tower House, Newcastle.

Anyway, I could write about 40 pages of things that have happened over the summer, so I'll share a few pictures and let them do most of the talking.


My baby sister graduated from high school!





The kids continued to be adorable


Noah and I got to travel to Portland for a weekend to see my cousin Melissa get married! It was so fun seeing everyone and being able to hang out with my family.



The heat has allowed for a lot of playtime inside, which makes for a couple of crazy kids (and mom). But not all of the craziness is bad. Here is one of my favorite videos of the kids goofing around :)

California Lovin!

We're here!! The move was stressful, to say the very least, but we are here and getting settled in to Bakersfield. We love it so far! Everyone is so friendly and the neighborhood is so comfortable. Jackson loves the park that's a short walk from our house, and his very own backyard to explore and run in. I think this is going to be a great year!

Totally unrelated, my oldest is a little music lover. Top 40 to be more specific. It gets on my nerves to no end, but it's so darn cute when he sings along to his favorite songs. Here I caught him rocking out to Usher's OMG. Enjoy!!