We are alive!

I know it's been forever since I've posted anything! We are home in the Seattle area safe and sound and we're all so happy to be back before taking off for our next adventure!

SO much has happened! We had a wonderful Christmas with family. It was so nice to just be back with everyone and celebrate.

Todd and I celebrated 5 years of marriage on Jan 3. We got to get away and go to one of our favorite restaurants. It was a wonderful time.

I turned 26 on Jan 19th. That's not very exciting though. haha.

Jackson turned one on January 24th! I can't believe that it's been a whole year. He's grown and changed so much and he's becoming such a smart little guy!

Right now, Todd is studying for the first step of his medical licensing exam. It's a full time job for him, but it's nice because he's able to do it online in the back bedroom of our apartment. He takes the exam on March 5th so we're both really looking forward to having that behind us!

In May we are scheduled to move to New York, but we have put in an appeal to go to Michigan instead. The cost of living is much less, and our little family of SGU people have been placed there, so we'd really love to be able to stay with them.

Anyway, I could ramble on forever, but instead I'll just post some pictures of what's been going on!



Jackson getting his first pair of shoes!



Catching up with my sisters and cousin!


Christmas morning



On his first bday!

Our last week in Grenada!

Wow, I can't believe that one week from right now, we will be in the air en route to Miami. So much has happened this year. We've gone through some really hard times, and we've had some really wonderful times. Although I'm really looking forward to our departure, I find myself having mixed feelings about it. Closing one chapter of your life is always bittersweet. It's always exciting to move on and see what's next but hard to close the door on any chapter of your life.

So many things to write about! I guess I should have posted individual blogs for the things that happened last week but we've been so busy I just figured I'd group them in to one HUGE post for today. Lucky you!

Last Thursday, we found out that Todd scored second out of 400 students for the BSCE 2, which is a cumulative exam of everything they've learned in Medical School thus far. Wow! I am so proud of him. He has worked so hard in school and he has his awesome grades to show for it :)

Also, last Thursday, our little monster decided it was time to leave mommy and daddy in the dust and take off walking! Scary! He was in the kitchen and had figured out that the remote did things to the TV, so he grabbed it, stood up, and proceeded to walk 7 feet over to the TV and turn it off! I was flabbergasted! Now, only a few days later, he is perfecting his walking and only crawls about 50% of the time. He's going to be running by the time we go home next week!

On Friday, we found out where we're headed in May.... well at least where the preliminary placement for Todd's clinical rotations is. Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn, NY. We were a little shocked, as we didn't even put it as one of our options, and honestly we were a little disappointed because we were hoping for Grosse Pointe or CA, but we are there for a reason and are excited to see what's in store for us there. Rotations start the third week of May so we plan to head to NY eary May sometime to get settled. I had never pictured us living in NYC but if you asked me two years ago if I ever pictured living in England or the Caribbean, there's no way I would have said yes!

Alright, now on to the list. The thing I will mist the MOST about Grenada are my wonderful wonderful roomies. They have truly become a family to us in England and here, and it's really hard trying to imagine not being able to see them next year. (They were all placed in MI) It's going to be very hard to say goodbye to them. They are all such amazing people and I can't wait to meet their little bundles of joy coming in February and May!

The number one thing I will NOT miss about Grenada- BUGS!!! I HATE bugs. Always have. But they are EVERYWHERE here. Any type of bug you could every imagine, in mass quantities and ususally larger than normal. I have been wearing pants in my own house for the whole year because of how bad the mosquitos are. And those suckers will even bite you through your pants! We also have some lovely cockroaches in our bathroom, cupboards, you name it, they are there. What's kind of sad to me is that it hardly even phases me anymore when I see a huge roach. It's hard to even imagine not having to worry about bugs!

Alright.... that's about it! I may make another post, but most likely not. We have way too much to do! Next time you hear from us..... we'll be in the US of A! :)

Now here are some recent pics of our little goofball for your viewing pleasure.

2 Weeks!

Wow, I can't believe it's already time to make my 2 week post. In two short weeks, we will be at the Point Saline airport getting ready for our flight to Miami. Unbelievable. We are so excited, but we still have so much to do! (anyone want to buy a 4Runner in Grenada??!!!)

Yesterday was fun. We drove up to Grand Etang natural reserve at the top of the island and it was beautiful! It was a completely different Grenada than what I had seen before. It must have been at least 10 degrees cooler and the rainforest was absolutely beautiful! We even got to see a monkey! Jackson loved him :) It was a lot of fun to just be a "tourist" yesterday and to really enjoy this part of Grenada we hadn't seen.


Now, on to the list! The number two thing I will miss about Grenada is the great community of people we have all around us! Not only do we live with friends but we have friends and great neighbors all around! I have never truly experienced community living as I have here, and it's wonderful. Everyone truly looks out for and cares for eachother, the same way an extended family would. I am really going to miss everyone here a great deal.

The number two thing I will NOT miss about Grenada- things breaking and going wrong on a daily basis. That's right. I know that anywhere you go has it's share of that, but not like here. Just in the past week, our power has gone out a couple of times, the water pressure has been shut off, our internet has gone out, our hot water has stopped working in the evenings, etc. It's just a common thing here for some reason. On a positive note, however, I think it has made us far more patient in general!

3 Weeks! (Actually Less...)

I'm a little late in posting my 3 weeks countdown post.... time is slipping away from me! Today is Thanksgiving and although it's 90 degrees outside and sunny so it doesn't really FEEL like Thanksgiving, we really have a lot to be thankful for. We are happy, healthy, have great friends and family, and have really been blessed with more than anyone could ask for. So, on that note, the number 3 thing I will miss about Grenada is...

BEACHES!

(Grande Anse Beach)
The beaches here are beautiful! I love being able to walk literally 5 minutes down the road to our local beach and borrowing one of the local resort's lounge chairs and just relaxing. I've been tryinig to make it a part of my weekly routine since we've arrived. I love just being able to unwind for an hour or so and soak up the rays. What people spend thousands of dollars trying to find, we have in our own backyard.

The number 3 thing I will NOT miss about Grenada- the HEAT!!! All I do is sweat. I'm so tired of it. The heat has its benefits, but not when you don't have central AC. I'm hot. I'm cranky. You get the point :)

10 months?!

I can't believe my baby boy is 10 months old! The time has gone by so fast and I can't seem to keep up with his aging process! :) He continues to grow and impress me every day and I am so proud of him. So here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure...





Oh no, he's already figured out the TV!



Being sneaky and getting in to the pots and pans....



Caught in the act!

4 Weeks!!!

I can't believe that in 4 weeks from today, we will be waking up in Washington! It's amazing to think that after 9 months of living here, our time in Grenada is soon coming to a close. I've been reflecting on our time here, and there are some things that I will miss a lot about Grenada, and things I won't miss at all. :) I've decided to make a list, and each week I will update our blog with one of the top 4 things I will miss, and one of the top 4 things I will NOT miss. :)

The number 4 thing I will miss about Grenada is living a simple life. It definitely has its advantages. I wake up every morning knowing exactly what to expect. I can pick one out of my 5 outfits to wear, and nobody cares that it's not stylish, or whatever. It's always hot, so I can wear flip flops every day. In fact, its a rare occurance that you see Todd or I in actual shoes. Jackson wears a short sleeved onsie every day and that's it. He's OK with it, and so am I. We don't have much here, and not a lot of options, but that also means less choices and there's something kind of liberating about that.

The number 4 thing I will NOT miss about Grenada is living a simple life :) OK, it's great and all, but sometimes TOO simple. I am tired of my same 5 outfits, and can't wait to walk through a mall and see all of the pretty shops with their stylish clothes. I can't wait to wake up in the morning and have options. What should we do today? Go to the library? Go to the park? Go to a playgroup for kids Jackson's age? Go visit family? It's going to be so great to be a part of our normal environment again. I can't wait!

Recent Pictures

Not much to report today- Todd's busy studying for more exams this week, Jackson is finally asleep for the night, and I need to get to the dishes, but here are some recent pics of the little J! He's developing his personality more and more every day. :)

He's such a ham!


He loves his buddy Ralph!


Super baby!


What a smile :)