My first mother's day

Stage: We are at Moe's having lunch after church on Mother's Day. Both of Byron's parents are there, along with Joseph and Nana.

Scene 1: Byron walks into Moe's carrying a giant (and very heavy) wrapped box.

Scene 2: Puzzled at what it may be, i open one side of it. I see what it is and cannot believe my eyes! Without thinking i exclaim to Byron: "You did NOT?!"

Scene 3: I fight my tears, look at Byron's big smile and continue to open my mother's day gift.

Scene 4: It's a Kitchen Aide mixer! My dream gift! The gift i told Byron i would one day like to get -- maybe on our 10th year anniversary, maybe once we have a couple of kids, maybe... maybe one day.
Scene 5: He shares the story of why he decided to make my first mother's day memorable by giving me such a special gift.

Thank you Honey <3

The crib

Our little girl is going to get to use the same crib her Memma used when she was a little girl and the same crib her daddy used when he would spend the night at his Grandmother's house. The crib our little girl is going to get to use is about 60 years old and has been passed down to us by B's grandmother.

The catch? It has 4 coats of paint!

Even though my sister-in-law has offered us the crib she used with her children, i would really like to use this particular crib. So my loving husband has agreed to spend countless hours (and a little more money than i had hoped for) to get this crib to look exactly like i want (natural wood color).

B began to work on it this past Saturday. After about 4 hours of intense work, this is how far he had gotten:

As you can tell, not very far. B then went to Lowe's a SECOND time, got some stronger stuff, and was able to get this far:

I am thankful for my husband who is more than willing to do this silly project that my heart so much desires. I know our little girl will love it :)

Happy mother's day!

Looking back to the past 26 years of my life, i realize that so much of who i am and who i have become is thanks to my mother. She has been a great mother who did a great job raising both my sister and i.

So in honor of mother's day, i decided to take a walk down memory's lane and make a list of lessons my mom has taught me through the years, whether they were intentional or unintentional.

- My mother always taught me to be a servant at other people's home. Don't ask your host HOW you can help, but instead just BEGIN to help. Wash the dishes, fold the clothes, set the table, clear the table, etc.
- She always made sure we said thank you, no matter how small or simple the gesture. Basically, don't ever take anything for granted. A car ride, a simple note from someone, a gift, etc. - always say thank you.
- She taught me to be kind to others, even when it becomes an inconvenience. This is really something that stands out in my life. Even though my parents were divorced when i was young, my mother always made sure we had a gift for my father for father's day, his birthday and Christmas. This was also true for my dad - he always gave us money to go take my mom out on special occasions or buy her gifts.
- She taught me to be a smart shopper. Whether it was on groceries, school supplies, clothes, or even braces, she always made sure she got the best deal.
- She taught me to love education. To both love being an educator and to be educated.
- She taught me to love to cook. Even though my mother is as Anglo as they come, she can cook the best Mexican and Lebanese food. She loves learning new recipes.
- She taught me to love reading. I remember at one point growing up she made us "buy" TV minutes - for every minute we read, we could watch 2 minutes of TV.
- She taught me to enjoy the simple things in life. If you've ever seen my mom eat a good corn on the cob, or any good meal, you can see her close her eyes and just say: "mmmmm...."
- And last, but not least, she taught me to love Saint Bernards. Oh my, did she make me love Saint Bernards! I could never own any dog unless it was a Saint - enough said!

If you have grown up with me and gotten to know my mom through the years, please leave a comment with any other things that comes to your mind when you think of her :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Baby clothes

After my post on yard sales, my college friend Shelby (who has an almost one year old girl) suggested that i keep an eye out for baby clothes at garage sales. Yes, i'll be getting a lot of baby clothes at showers and what not, but my girl will grow out of them really fast and it's nice to have the next size up clothes handy for when i need them.

So with that in mind, my friend Shannon and i went out "yard saleing" today and hit a couple of good sales. There was one sale in particular that was "jackpot" in regards to baby girl clothes. They had an awesome variety, and many outfits still had tags.

So at the end of the day, this is what i ended up with:

This swimming suite will probably be too small by the time our little girl has her first swim, but it was SO cute and only 25 cents. I couldn't leave without it :p

B was so funny when he saw it. He jokingly inspected it to make sure it covered everything that needed to be covered.

Best of all -- all of these items, plus one that is not pictured, ended up ringing up to a total of $5!!

Easy Chicken

Our friends Doug and Amy just had a baby. I signed up to take them a meal yesterday and i chose to take "Easy Chicken." This is a tasty, easy and frugal meal that will feed a number of people at once. And best of all, you probably already have all of the ingredients you'll need for it in your kitchen!

Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup of margarine
- 1 cup of diced onion (more or less, depending on how much or how little you like onions)
- 1/4 cup of flour
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- 1 cup of milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups of diced cooked chicken (i use one whole small chicken)
- Rice or pasta to serve over.

Procedure:
Saute onion in margarine. Stir in flour and cook until thick. Add chicken broth, milk, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until fairly thick. Add chicken. Serve over rice or pasta.

A middle school moment

I am wearing a (slightly tight) green maternity, long sleeved, blouse at school today.

In the middle of my lesson, a student politely raises his had.

Me: "Yes, student?"

Student: "Mrs. Morris, i don't mean to be rude, but that shirt makes you look like Kermit the Frog."

Me: *sigh*

Meal Plan

Thursday:
Lunch: Homemade cream of potato soup with crackers and a muffin.
Dinner: Parmesan pizza over garlic bread

Friday:
Lunch: Teacher appreciation week lunch provided by our PTO
Dinner: Mc's bday!!!

Saturday:
Lunch: PBJ for Byron and veggie quesadillas for myself
Dinner: I am going to leave this option open... something usually comes up Saturdays.

Sunday:
Lunch: Out with family after church
Dinner: Sloppy joes with baked french fries and coleslaw

Monday:
Lunch: Veggie quesadillas
Dinner: Sloppy joes with baked french fries and coleslaw

Tuesday:
Lunch: Cream of broccoli soup with crackers and muffin.
Dinner: Homemade wheat and apple pancakes with fruit (courtesy of the J&J Gieser)

Wednesday:
Repeat Tuesday.

23 weeks

Our little girl is 23 weeks old. To celebrate each week, Memma (my mother-in-law) always leaves a little gift for our little girl at our doorstep each Wednesday. I love driving back from school each Wednesday wondering what will be awaiting me when i get home.

A few things she has left in the past:
- A dinner meal
- Pink wash cloth
- Ice cream gift card
- A pink PJ
- Sample size baby wipes

Today, this is what greeted me at my door:

Mrs. Morris

A student of mine felt compelled to draw a picture of myself and give it to me today. He has in the past given me drawings of a turkey for thanksgiving day, or a "Merry Christmas" sign for Christmas, etc. But today he drew me. Hmmm... what do you think of it?


I must say that this was his second drawing. The first time around he only made my top go half way through my body, which meant that my stomach and belly button literally were sticking out. I told him he had to redo it and this is what he came up with.

Please notice my long earrings, my prego belly and my Spanish :)

Yard Sales

I love yard sales. I love everything about them. I love a good deal, I love the friendly faces that greet me when i arrive, I love running into people i know, I love noticing what people try to get rid of, and I love to see how things are priced.

But something strange may happen when you yard sale -- you end up with things that you did not need in the first place. Yes, they were a great deal, but... did you really need them?

So i have a few guidelines that i follow when i yard-sale:

1. I set an amount of money each Saturday and i am not allowed to go over it (usually $5, but most times i barely even go over $2).
2. I try to incorporate my yard sale route with other errands, this way i make the best use out of my gas money and get other things done at the same time (this also prevents me from feeling guilty if i don't buy anything).
3. I say "no" to an item if i know that the only reason why i picked it up was because it was a good deal.
4. And lastly, i keep a mental list of the things i am looking out for and stick to it. This last one has become particularly difficult since every other yard sale i've been to recently has had cute little girl clothes. I can proudly say that i am yet to purchase anything for my little girl at a yard sale :)

A few items that are on my mental list are:

- Maternity clothes
- A crock pot
- A small lamp shade that matches our living room
- Clothes pins
- Thank you cards
- Decoration related items for the house.

Here are a few pics of great buys i've found at yard sales / estate sales:

Three veggie (already framed) pics.

More framed pics, a lamp and one picture frame.

By far, one of my best finds - a GREAT bookshelf! Only $5 :)

Sunflower decorative plate.


Another lovely picture frame.

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:
- 1 cup of elbow macaroni noodles (measured dry), then cooked according to the package directions
- 1/2 stick of margarine
- 3 eggs, slightly beaten
- 3/4 lb cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 cups of milk
- Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Pour cooked macaroni into a casserole dish and add margarine, then allow a few minutes for the hot noodles to melt the margarine. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Cook at 350 for one hour.

I love my Sunday afternoons!

Unlike most people, instead of spending Sunday afternoons taking a nap, i enjoy my afternoons in the kitchen. I think that cooking and trying new recipes is most definitely my favorite hobby, and Sundays are a time when i can do it without having other things on my to-do list and time restricting me. So i turn Pandora radio station on and get going in the kitchen.

Today was especially fun. In about a 2 hour period, i accomplished the following:

- Grill, peel and chop the peppers for my veggie quesadillas.
- Pre-prepare the mac and cheese casserole.
- Cut my chicken breasts into strips for my chicken fingers.
- Bake one dozen pear-oatmeal muffins
- Prepare cream of potato soup from scratch.
- And most importantly, clean up afterward.

These were all things i would have had to do throughout the week anyway, so being able to get them all done ahead of time allows me to enjoy my weekday afternoons a lot better. And as an extra bonus, doing them all at the same time is a HUGE time saver.

These are my pear-oatmeal muffins. This is my first time baking them, and they taste wonderful!

This is Nana Morris's famous mac & cheese casserole. I like to get it all ready ahead of time so that when it's time for dinner, all i have to do is stick them into the oven. No clean up and no messy counter.

Finally, this is my cream of potato soup. This was not on our weekly menu, but i realized i had 6 potatoes that were about to go bad if i didn't use them. So i tried this new recipe as well. It made exactly 3 servings. Two will go to school with me for lunch, and one of them will be for B's dinner tonight.

Gift registry

Today i began our baby gift registry. I must admit it wasn't as fun as registering for our wedding, but it was fun selecting little items that i know will soon become very important and much needed in the next few months.

Memma came with me to help me decide what things we would need: car seat, towels, wash cloths, blankets, crib-related-things, etc.

When we opened the registry, i received a little bag with a few freebies. One of the freebies was a diaper:


I am sorry, but i have a hard time seeing my little girl ever being small enough to use this diaper. If she is anything like her mommy and daddy, she will come out a long, skinny little thing :)

She moves!

Our little girl moves! At 22 weeks and 3 days, i can now clearly feel her move.

The first time i thought i felt her move was last Tuesday, April 19 during my class at ASU. It was very light and i am not entirely sure if it was even her or my stomach just growling.

Then after that day, when i would remember, i would press my hand against my belly to see if i could feel her. Again, i would feel something, but not entirely sure what it was that i felt.

But then this morning, Friday, April 29 @ 6:05 am, while Kate Middleton was being walked down the aisle by her father (yes, i watched the royal wedding), our little girl made herself clearly present.

This is the best way i can describe her movement: it feels like a very strong heart beat after running or doing intense cardio, only this time it's in your stomach. It took me a while to figure out what it was, so i put my hand on my belly, and she continued doing it. I eventually got out of my seat and woke B up to have him feel her for the first time.

What a fun day! She continued to move all morning long while at school, and then a little again during my last period.

22 weeks

Our little girl at 22 weeks!

Our little girl definitely had a growth spurt this week. This pic shows my belly sticking out more than any of my previous pics.

Date Night

One of the best things B and i have done to invest in our marriage is to have our weekly date nights. Our date nights usually consist of dinner at home and then out for coffee or ice cream. It's a time where we can be away from the dishes, the computer, the tv, the laundry, or anything else that may distract us, and where we can just sit and focus on ourselves. You'd be surprised of how different our conversations are during that 1+ hr we spend together away from home.

Amazingly enough, date nights were something that started "by accident." Byron had purchased the book "Starting your marriage right" by Dennis and Barbara Rainey while we were engaged. So once a week we would go out for coffee and read the 2-3 page chapters together and discuss it.

We found ourselves looking forward to this so much, that even after we finished the book, we continued this tradition.

So for the past (almost) 5 years, B and i have gone out for coffee every Thursday, rain or shine. With the help of Memma and Papa, we plan to continue this tradition even after our little girl comes.

Meal Plan

I am known for being very organized (or as my mom likes to call it, too rigid), but being overly organized is something that, in my opinion, has far more advantages than disadvantages:

- I never have to say no to something b/c i am having to do something last minute.
- I find myself enjoying life a lot more -- much more relaxed, time to do other things, etc.
- I never had to pull an "all nighter" in my 4 years of college.

This is one aspect of motherhood that makes me nervous. How much of this control-freak nature of mine is going to be put to test once our little girl comes? I'm sure that a lot...

All that to say that being overly organized leads me to always have a weekly meal plan. And since many of my recipes/cooking ideas come from other blogs, thought i would share mine as well. And yes, my meal plan begins halfway through the week, not on a Monday.

Thursday:
Lunch - Egg salad sandwich (hard boiled eggs, leftover chicken, celery and mayo)
Dinner - Spaghetti, salad and garlic bread

Friday:
Repeat Thursday (yes, i cook for two days)

Saturday:
Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwiches, carrots and chips
Dinner: Out?? It's going to be a busy afternoon, so i may request a date :)

Sunday:
Lunch: Out with family
Dinner: Baked chicken fingers, salad and mac and cheese

Monday:
Lunch: Veggie quesadillas
Dinner: Repeat Sunday

Tuesday:
Lunch: School's PTO's chick-fil-a sandwich
Dinner: Parmesan pizza

Wednesday:
Lunch: Veggie quesadillas
Dinner: Repeat Tuesday

Disney 2011 part 2

Trying different flavors of soda around the world. Of course, we all agreed that Manzanita LIFT from Mexico was the best. My dear friend Lisa Plagge would agree with me as well :)

At Magic Kingdom.

Hands down the best pic of the trip. And yes, i am 19 weeks pregnant, and yes B is taking pics.

A fun pic from one of our rides.

Disney 2011

The Lord has blessed our relationship and marriage with many friends, mentors and family who love us and are just plain fun to be with. One of those special "couple" friends are the Kelleys.

Sean and Byron were "hall-mates" and later roommates throughout their college years at Wheaton College.

When we first began to hang out the four of us, Alison and i would just laugh and laugh the entire time as B & S told over and over the same stories we had already heard a million times before ... I don't care how many times i hear the "slurpy slide", 7-11, White Castle and double date stories, i still think they are the funniest things i've ever heard.

And though the stories are still there, we have managed to get past them and talk about other things. The Kelleys have unintentionally become our "travel buddies" throughout the years and love them dearly:

- Spring break 2009 - Riviera Maya
- Spring break 2010 - Visit them at Chicago
- Spring break 2011 - Disney World!

One of the many rides i did not go on, not only b/c i am pregnant, but b/c i don't like them.

At Animal Kingdom about to get soaked wet. Out of all 10 ppl who were on this ride, B and I were really the only ones who got wet :s

Out at Italy in Epcot.

The famous lasagna that B says cannot be beaten, even by Italy itself.

21 weeks

Belly at 21 weeks.

Gender party

A few pics of our little party at which we announced the sex of our pretty little girl.

Memma using both blue and pink colors.

Including both pink and blue shoes.

Joseph also cheated and used both colors.

My sister Alison drove in from Atlanta to join the little party. She wore pink, but she also thought it would be a boy.

The blue team.

The pink team.

It's a girl!

Byron wanted to use two baseball caps to tell our family whether we were having a boy or a girl. You can see the blue cap still on the table.


Only two people thought we were going to have a girl -- Nana (Morris) and Gram (Frey). Everyone else, including ourselves, were convinced we were having a boy.

We are very thankful for our little girl and can't wait to see her in four months and give her too many kisses.

It's official!

Soon after my dad passed away in November 2007, and only 5 months after we got married, a strong desire to become a mom took over me. We had decided to wait 4 years before we had any children and Byron was committed to that timing.

The desire was still there, sometimes stronger than other times. Byron would not even talk about tentative dates of when we would "begin" to try to have children.

Then on September 13, 2010 on my 26th birthday, when i was in bed ready to go to sleep, he said: "i do have one last gift for you -- let's start a family!" I remember crying a little, a little nervous, a little excited. The time had come!

Then on December 21, 2010, while in Mexico, i kept thinking about whether i was pregnant or not. Byron was in the States at the time, and told me to just go ahead and take the test to get it out of my mind. So at 11:30 pm i took a pregnancy test that came out positive. I immediately called Byron and told him the news.

Though sad Byron was not with me at the time, i was grateful to have been able to tell my mom and aunt in person.

This is a picture of me entering the kitchen ready to tell my mom she was going to be a grandmother.

Then on January 11 we had our first doctor's appointment and we had our first baby pic.

Reporte

Aparentemente mas de unas cuantas personas estaban leyendo nuestro blog. Mucha gente me ha preguntado: "sigues con el blog?" Y realmente habia yo dejado escribir por cuestiones de mi trabajo. Me daba miedo decir algo que pudiera ser usado en mi contra, pero en realidad, puedo ser mas discreta y seguir escribiendo en mi blog exclusivamente de nuestra nueva vida en los EEUU y no de la escuela. En fin, eso tratare de hacer.

Byron y yo llevamos dos meses y medio en nuestra nueva casa. Por 2 meses no teniamos donde sentarnos mas que en nuestra cocina, pero esta semana llegaron los muebles para nuestra sala (por fin!) y ayer compramos los muebles para nuestro "cuarto de entretenimiento". Nos ha costado un ojo de la cara, pero nuestro plan maestro es que estos muebles nos duren la eternidad. Gracias a Dios los dos tenemos trabajo y ahorros suficientes para amueblar la casa poco a poco. Pero todavia hay mucho por hacer y lo haremos poco a poco.

No tenemos fotos suficientes todavia. Siento que no hay nada para mostrar aun, pero eso no es cierto. Un dia de estos veran nuestro nuevo hogar :)

Algo que he estado disfrutando mucho desde que nos mudamos a los EEUU son nuevas recetas. Por alguna razon (y perdonenme por esto) no soy muy de comer comida mexicana, asi que cuando en mexico cuando queria cocinar comida americana, no podia por falta de ingredientes como queso cheddar, bisquick, y tipos de especies y carnes que no habian en mexico. Pero ahora cada semana hago algo distino. Uno de mis favoritos fue anoche cuando prepare "dedos de pollo".... mmmmmmmmm. Muy rico y muy facil de hacer. Otro que disfruto mucho es hacer pan con nuestra maquina. Solo poner los ingredientes y VUALA, el pan esta listo y fresco. :)

La navidad se hacerca, al igual que nuestros planes para regresar a mexico. No hemos comprado los boletos, pero parece que estaremos en "el sur" finales de diciempre y principios de enero. Realmente queriamos estar en mexico en enero para la boda de Luis y Cris :p pero mi trabajo no me lo permitia, asi que ni modos. Estaba tan emocionada de tal vez poder ir a la Blas por unos dias y meter mi nariz en salones donde no me incumbia estar :p jaja. Pero ni modos. Tendre que ver a todos mis antiguos colegas durante las vacaciones.

Esta semana es semana de dia de gracias (thanksgiving). Al parecer Alison y Don Roberto (su novio) vendran por un dia, pero nada es seguro todavia. Al parecer ha tenido una semana de horrores con su coche que fue llevado por la grua y con multas y todo. Asi que todavia no estamos seguros de sus planes. Mientras tanto, yo tendre 3 dias libres (!!!!) los cuales pasare comiendo, descansando, comiendo, de compras, comiendo, viendo tele, comiendo, y tal vez leyendo un libro... ya veremos :p La pasaremos con los Morrises y primos y tios y toda la familia. Por los que no lo saben, la familia de Byron es mas grande que la de los Charruf (que nos de verguenza :p). Los Charrufs somos 20 nietos. En la familia de Byron son 22!!! Pero creo que si contamos todos los bisnietos, creo que los Charrufs ganamos por uno o dos :p

En fin, besos a todos. Mi chamba me tiene de puntas todos los dias :) Cada dia una aventura y una historia que contar, pero muchos me dan una razon para sonreir y quererlos mucho :)

L

Trabajo, casa y coche

Hoy Viernes, Byron y yo cumplimos 2 semanas de haber llegado a los EEUU. Parece que minimo llevamos un mes con todo lo que ya hemos hecho.

La gran noticia de la semana (hay varias, pero esta es la #1) es que ya tengo trabajo!!!!!!!!!!!! La larga espera y angustia ha terminado. Despues de tanto circo, maroma y pirueta, por fin me ofrecieron un trabajo y lo acepte. Estare dando clases de mate a 1o de secundaria. Me facina la idea!!! En esta escuela estare ganando un un tanto mas que en las otras dos escuelas en las que entreviste. Es mucho mas organizada, y en general, el condado al que pertenece tiene mas dinero. Ah, y otra cosa -- comienzan 10 dias despues que en la otra escuela. Por que? Por que estare trabajando en una escuela que se encuentra en Carolina del Sur y las otras escuelas en las que me entreviste estan en Georgia, las cuales comienzan una semana y media antes (por aquellos que no lo saben, la ciudad de Augusta -- donde estamos viviendo -- esta en la frontera de Georgia y Carolina del Sur).

Por otro lado, Byron y yo compramos el coche que estare manejando. Byron ya tenia una camioneta esperandolo, asi que solo mi coche faltaba por comprar. Es un Ford Focus 2003 plateado. Me gusta mucho!!!

Tambien, ya hemos elegido la casa en la cual queremos vivir. Falta por hacer el papeleo, y despues del papeleo, tendremos que esperar 30 dias antes de que podamos mudarnos en ella.

Por ultimo -- senores y senoras, su estimada Lauren ahora tiene doble identidad :p Hoy oficialmente cambie mi apellido por el de Byron :) En Mexico sigo siendo Lauren Andrea Charruf Frey, pero en los EEUU mi nombre completo es Lauren Charruf Morris (ya no soy Andrea, y mi segundo nombre ahora es Charruf -- esto lo hice asi por que mis papeles mexicanos tendarn mi apellido paterno todavia, y esperemos que esto minimice la confusion).

XOXOX

Semana y media despues...

Saludos a todos!

Me encuentro sumamente agotada. Hoy es dia #11 desde nuestra llegada a los EEUU, pero por todo lo que ha ocurrido y por todo lo que ya hemos hecho, parece que ya llevamos como un mes.

Byron y yo ya hemos visitado aproximadamente 40 casas distintas. Hemos eligeido a 8 como nuestras favoritas. Manana por la tarde iremos con nuestro agente y uno de los hermanos de Byron que sabe de construccion para que revise la estructura. Esperamos que al finalizar esta semana estaremos cerrando nuestro contracto. Despues de cerrar el contracto de la casa, el proceso legal durara aproximadamente 30 dias, asi que estaremos habitando con mis suegros por un poco mas de un mes.

Con respecto a mi trabajo, todo ha dado un giro de 180 grados. Hoy tal vez ha sido el dia mas emocional para mi con respecto a esto. Como les dije en el blog anterior, tuve una entrevista el martes pasado con un director. Luego este Sabado con otro. Para no hacerles muy largo el cuento, en una de estas escuelas no se abrio la posicion y en otra, a pesar de que me ofrecieron el trabajo, por X o Y razon no funciono.

Asi que, hoy en la tarde, mientras reflexionaba y descansaba en los brazos de Dios, y mientras esperaba que mi madre me llamara, recibo una llamada de OTRO condado pidiendo que me presente en una de sus escuelas manana para ser entrevistada!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Es una secundaria en una comunidad en las afueras de la ciudad donde estaremos viviendo.

Este es nuestro reporte. Un abrazo y beso a todos.... <3 L

Un buen y largo dia...

Hoy Byron y yo realizamos muchas cosas pendientes e importantes para nuestra transicion a los EEUU. Con tantas cosas por hacer, ni tiempo de almorzar hice, asi que al final del dia mi cuerpo ya no me daba mas y cene por demas.

El dia comenzo con una entrevista que realice para un condado (Richmond County). La entrevista fue con la encargada de recursos humanos, la cual verifico mis papeles, los cuales son muy confusos para la gente de Georgia. Larga historia corta, debido a que estudie la carrera en el estado de Iowa, y enseguida me mude a Mexico, mi papeleo para ser considerada una maestra ante el estado de Iowa no se finalizo. Este papeleo ha influenciado mucho mis pocas oportunidades de trabajo.

En fin, la senora de recursos humanos me hizo una entrevista apenas saliendo de hablar con ella para hablar con un director de una escuela. Esto fue un problema tambien por que a esa misma hora teniamos una cita con nuestro agente de ventas de casas, asi que Byron y yo tuvimos que hacer una maniobra magica que termino por involucrar a su padre para que me pueda ir a buscar a la escuela saliendo de la entrevista. Su papa luego me llevo a ver a Byron que estaba con nuestro agente, el cual nos llevo a 9 casas distintas, y por fin a las 7 pm llegamos a la casa.

La entrevista que realice fue en Cross Creek. Estoy ansiosa y nerviosa al mismo tiempo con respecto a la posibilidad de trabajar alla. Dios tiene mucho guardado bajo Su Manga que todavia no me ha dado a conocer.

Otro dia les comentare de nuestra busqueda de casas. Esa es otra historia por completo.

Saludos!

Nuevos Tiempos

Los blogs que estare publicando durante las siguientes semanas son para compartir con ustedes nuestra transicion a los EEUU. Este Viernes pasado Byron y yo llegamos a Augusta GA, lo que ahora sera nuestro nuevo hogar.

Ayer Sabado estuvimos manejando por la ciudad buscando casas para comprar. Al parecer las casas que nos estan atrayendo mas son casas que son por encima de nuestro presupuesto. Manana Lunes vamos a realizar algunas llamadas y esperamos poder inspeccionar por dentro estas casas y conocer sus precios.

Todavia no tengo trabajo para el proximo ano, y esto me angustia. Manana estare ralizando llamadas a 2 escuelas y el Martes tengo una entrevista con otra. Realmente no estoy en paz con ninguna de mis opciones. Dios me cerro muchas puertas y esta trabajando en mi corazon. Nunca antes me he enfrentado a una situacion donde las cosas no esten yiendo conforme a mi "perfecto" plan. Por favor esten orando para que cualquiera que termine siendo mi trabajo, Dios me de paz y animo.

En el aspecto emocional, todavia no he derramado una sola lagrima. Han habido muchas situaciones donde pude haber llorado, pero creo que me he enganado y por eso no lo he hecho. Me sigo diciendo a mi misma que este viaje es solo para el verano y que pronto regresare a mi tierra con mi familia y mi escuela con mis queridos alumnos, pero no sera asi. Creo que al mes de estar aqui, cuando mi corazon se de cuenta de esto, lo sufrire mucho.

Hoy en la iglesia casi lloro en varias ocaciones. No me gusta pensar que esta gente sera mi nueva comunidad. No tengo ganas de comenzar de nuevo. Como le dije a Byron hace unos dias: con lo que respecta a amistades, siento que tengo un corazon roto -- he dejado atras a muchas preciadas amistades, que por la distancia y tantos cambios, he tenido que dejar. Creo que mi corazon se esta resistiendo a amistades, con temor de ser roto una vez mas.

Temo que este blog esta muy largo. Solo queria que fuera informativo, pero ya se volvio un poco emocional tambien. Les debo una gran disculpa por mi ENORME falta de ortografia. Hace 6 anos que no tengo que escribir nada en espanol y cuando leo, casi siempre lo hago en ingles, asi que por favor pongan a un lado mi gramatica y mis faltas de ortografia. Lo hago en espanol por que este blog esta escrito con la intencion que nuestras amistades y familia en MEXICO nos sigan la pista durante nuestra transicion.

Los queremos mucho, Byron & Lauren

Summer up North

Summer eventually said "hello" to me 2 weeks ago. Byron and i had been planing our trip to the States for what seemed to be months now. We had agreed that my one month off from school would be spent in the States. But as school started to wrap up and i kept looking forward to a break, i found myself wishing we would stay in Mexico instead, or at least for part of my summer time. I guess that only means that Merida is now my home.

But we've had a wonderful time visiting with friends and spending time with family so far. We are definately not doing as much as we wold like to or are visiting as many people as we would desire, but i guess that's how it goes. Byron is still working, but he had a week off last week, which we spent with his family at the beach which was so much fun and so refreshing at the same time.

I've also read some, thought i am currently stuck on a book now that is so bad that i can barely read through it, but at the same time i had to have spent $8 usd on it and not read it through. The book is ATONEMENT. The movie for it came out not so long ago and that's why i started reading it, but it's just plain bad! Don't read it :p I've also read The Kite Runner -- great book! Heavy stuff, but excellent writing and excelent story, though i think i still like the author's other book A Thousand Splendid Suns. If anyone has ready Hosseini's books, i'd like to hear which one of thse two you prefer.

So that's an update of life :) We are now currently in Augusta with Byron's family and my good friend from college Lisa is visiting me ... yaya!!!

The Time of Truth

I've been a Xtian for about 10 years now. I always thought about myself as a strong and mature one, based on the fact that i always knew and did the right things: i did not randomly date before i got married, i never let the sun go down on my anger, i never swore, i did not own pirated music, i was kind and polite to the people around me, etc. and sadly, i was even proud of myself for being like that (who wouldn't?). I would think of myself as very mature in my Xtian walk when truth was that, even though i have done the right things, there was still LOTS of things i still had to grow in.

This week my school is having us take some intro to Bible classes. Because my school is Xtian and we are going through some international Xtian certification, all teachers have to take this intense course. This course was all it took for God to bring me back to my senses. Our first assignment on the first class was to write all of the books of the Bible, preferably in order. While most teachers where scribbling away, i could not get past the first 12 books of the OT and the first 15 in the NT. Most teachers got them all. I thought to myself "well, who cares about the order of the books, it's no big deal". But the moment of truth came when our instructor had us write what each book was about or what major event happened in each book. I was in shock when even the books i had already read, i didn't really know what they were about.

Then as a group we started to go through them, one by one, saying what they were all about. People started shouting out events, verses, location of the verses -- i knew nothing!!! I didn't even know anything about the Israelites exile after Solomon's kingdom... how sad is that???!!! For a 10 year old Xtian, that is just plain embarrassing.

For most teachers in my school, this is all review, but for me it's all new. I am trying to soak in as much as i can, still knowing i will probably forget most of it. I am purposely reading more and more my Bible and studying it more intentionally. I may have done all the right things in the past, but there is still a part of my Xtian life that is very immature still and i need to grow in it.

Staying Strong

It's been almost a week since my friend passed away and life is still going on. I realized that if i wanted to move on with life and not be a moribund, i had to de-attach myself. It sounds insensitive, but it was the only way i could go on with life without wanting to cry/crying like a mad-woman all the time. I think i've reached that point. I am very thankful for my husband who was very understanding and of great encouragement to me. I can't imagine having to be there for your wife as she cries for a guy-friend. But he was great!

I guess i've just dealt with death this past year more than my entire life put together. My dad died, Eduardo died, and Soco (she is like an aunt to me) is currently dieing from cancer. All of these three people cared for me at a particular point in my life. Each meant a lot to me -- some, of course, more than others, but still, their loss is hard enough, but when it's all together, it's just too painful.

But God has been reminding me of His love for me each day. He has given me peace in spite of the challenges he has been having me face.

When a friend dies...

I am really in a confused state right now. Two and a half hours ago Alison (my sister) called me to tell me that Eduardo Bermudez had died in a car accident yesterday morning on his way from Cancun. I went to the visitation right away to give his parents and brother a hug, and cried a bit.

Even though i had not seen Eduardo for over a year, and we were no longer in touch, the news of his death hurt as if i had seen him just yesterday. You see, Eduardo was like a brother to me in my early teens. When i started going to karate at age 12, i did not know this sport would be such a big part of my life. I suddenly became very involved competing, training, and of course wining :) My closest companion soon became Eduardo since we were close in age and in height. We were sparring partners, and because he was 2 belts ahead of me, he would many times assess me in training, giving me tips on how to do certain things better.

On every tournament trip i went to, he went as well. Along with our karate academy, we went to Puebla, Acapulco, Mexico City, Sonora, and Campeche. I remember on one of the trips, we were all ready to head back to Merida, all of us were nicely showered and cleaned up, our bags were packed an in the bus, and we were all in the terrace area gathering together. Well, somehow i felt the urge to throw him in the pool as i saw him standing right near it. And, well, as you could guess, i went ahead with my urge and threw him. Haha :) I ran as fast as i could towards his parents and hid. I told this story to his mom today and she remembered. But... he finally got his revenge when we were in Sonora a few months later and threw me in the pool :)

I also remember during one of our trips on two different ocations people thought we were siblings. Since we kind of just followed each other around, we would find our selfs arguing about dumb stuff, or just constantly talking. We got such a kick out of it the first time it happened, but then when it happened again, we decided we would start referring to each other as "mi hermanito" and "mi hermanita".

Towards the end of my sophmore year i started to notice that he was getting involved with the "wrong crowd." I would suddenly start hearing of parties he would go to and get drunk, but he would always tell me: "Oh, i was just with my friends, and i really didn't get drunk, they just say that." That next year (my junior year) i went to the States for a year and lost a lot of contact with him. Then when i came back my senior year, things were no longer the same. He was now constantly drinking, partying, etc. I got very very anemic and stopped going to karate as often. Sooner than later, we stopped being constantly together. He had started dating a girl and i met Byron that year.

I saw him a few times after that year, during my summers back from from college in the States when i would start training karate again. Rumors were that he was becoming an alcoholic and in 2005 was expelled temporarily from his college because he had gotten involved in some vandalism.

His death was the fruit of alcohol. His friend and him were driving over the speed limit and drunk from Cancun to Merida. They lost control of their car and it got totaled. Eduardo died a few hours after the accident in the hospital and his friend is still in intensive care.

I find myself very confused by his death. In a way i feel like i could have been a much greater influence to keep him from getting so involved in drinking, but i know that that was not the case. Out of all of his friends, i think i was the only one at that time who did not drink -- peer pressure was much more demanding then. In another way, i feel angry at him and all those people out there who do not realize the consequences of alcohol. Each day it seems like there is a reported death due to alcohol and still, people continue to drive irresponsibly. But then also i feel very hurt. He was like my brother when i was in jr. high, and even though many years have passed since, today it feels as if i had lost a sibling.

Reading through the Bible

Ever since i became a Xtain, i've made several attempts to read the entire Bible. Having been a Xtian for about 10 years now, i think i've covered about 2/3 of the Bible just from sermons, small group studies, devos, etc, but i am ashamed by the fact that i cannot say that i've read my entire Bible.

For a while i kind of pushed this thought to the side, but this week i was challenged by a pastor i admire a lot at a conference i attended. He said that a growing Xtian reads his entire Bible once a year. That means, that as a 10 year old Xtian, i should have already the entire Bible 10 times now. Granted, this thought is not at all biblical. It is unwise and unrealistic to say that only those who read through their Bible each year are the only growing Xtians, but the fact that i have not done it at least ONCE is just plain embarrassing.

So i am back on track. I started reading through my Bible 2 years ago and got through Deuteronomy in the OT and Luke in the NT but then stopped, so now i am starting off from where i left off last time. I really hope to finish up no later than the end of 2008. So please, in the next few months, don't hesitate to keep me accountable and ask me how my bible reading is going.

I <3 to teach

Throughout my life, i never really knew what i wanted to be "when i grew up". I remember talking about being a nurse, an architect, an artist, an astronaut, an engineer, some kind of teacher, etc. During my freshman year of college, i decided that i would become a math teacher.

I loved my career! I loved most of my classes and absolutely LOVED my classmates. It was a fun career to be in. But during my last semester at school, while i was student teaching, i thought i had made the hugest mistake of my life -- i hated teaching!!! Teaching was not what i had expected it to be. But oh well, i graduated and got a job in Mexico at Blas Pascal.

I sooner than later realized that teaching was more of a passion than a job for me. I started watching my students learn and work hard in my classes, improve their math skills, get more comfortable in English, etc. I also started realizing that more and more i was "falling in love" with my students. During some classes i could not help myself but constantly laugh out loud, and my students loved it!! The work environment was so comfortable and relaxing. It was almost as if we worked as a team!

Now the year is over with. Last night was my last day seeing most of my students (I'll see some at graduation), and well, for some it was goodbye. I have a lot of work to do for next year, and i very much look forward to my summer vacation, but i cannot wait to start again next year.

Our Primer Aniversario

Last weekend Byron and i were blessed with the opportunity to go to Cancun for the weekend and celebrate our first wedding anniversary. My family has owned an apartment there for as long as i can remember, but due to hurricanes, it had been destroyed and just recently remodeled. So we decided to try the apartment out and very glad we did.

Our time there went so smooth. We drove there, so we didn't have to worry about chasing taxis or buses whenever we wanted to leave the apartment. The apartment had AC in every room, so we would just lay on the couch and enjoy cable TV (we don't have that at home) and an AC in the main room (which we don't have either). We went to every single mall (thanks Byron!) and went out to eat at night. My favorite place where we went was the Hard Rock Cafe. The live band there was amazing and highly enjoyed their performance. We also enjoyed swimming in the pool and in the ocean -- how beautiful!! Can't wait to go back again, hopefully sooner than later :)

Looking back to the past year

Today Byron and I celebrate our one year wedding anniversary. It seems like it was just yesterday, but at the same time it seems like it was ages ago.

So much has happened in the past year. From one day to the other i went from being a student whose greatest responsibility was passing her classes, to a full time teacher and a housewife. I was suddenly in charge of cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, lesson planning and teaching. At first, it was nuts!! I remember the first time i went grocery shopping i ended up buying 2 kg of meat!!!! One time i forgot to check the jean pockets and ended up doing laundry with my chap stick. So you can imagine how our clothes was when i took it out of the dryer :s

But eventually things got under control. I learned how to shop for food and how to do it only once a week instead of 2 to 3 times a week. I learned how to organize myself time-wise, and teaching got under control after many frustrating mornings at school.

Of course, one of the most defining things that i went through this year was my dad passing away. I always knew that my dad would pass away sooner than later -- he had survived many scares. But i guess whenever the time comes for someone you love to leave, you are never ready and it is always too soon, regardless of how ready you are. Since we got married, my dad had been in the hospital on two occasions for about a month each time. I loved my dad so much!!! His love for my sister and i was so evident. He would rejoice doing anything with us: going out to eat, having us over to his house, laying next to him in bed, and even giving us our allowance, even after i got married. It will be 7 months tomorrow since he died. His absence is evident each day.


But all of this, one way or the other, has been a crucial part of my life. I've grown so much!! Of course, there are things that you wish would have never happened, but I'm a different person now. At age 23 i can say that i am right where i want to be and pleased with the life God has allowed me to walk through.

The Parables of Jesus

I've been blessed with the opportunity to listen to a very knowledgeable man these past two days: Dr. Simon Kistemaker - an erudite in the New Testament and especially in the Parables of Jesus. He was invited to come by the presbyterian seminar in Merida and an announcement of his seminar was placed at my school, inviting those who wished to attend. The idea attracted me, not really having any expectations for it besides just learning more.

The sessions are 4 hours long each. One yesterday afternoon, one this morning, on this afternoon, and then repeat tomorrow. So they are very long. So far, in just 3 sessions, i've managed to take 11 back-to-back pages of notes -- i'm quite proud of myself :)

Before yesterday, when i would read a parable i would always conclude that Jesus is talking about the difference between the believer vs. non believer. For example, in the parable of the sewer, i always assumed that as long as you were a believer that meant by default that you were the seed that fell in good ground, and that the previous 3 seeds (the one that falls on the road, the one that falls on the rock, and the one that falls between the bushes and thorns) were the non believers. But to my sad (and raveling!) surprise, as Dr. Kistmaker went through the kinds of seed, i found myself identifying with the third seed (the one that falls between the bushes and thorns). What do i mean by that?? My "plant" grows, but it's constantly battling with the roots of the bushes and the thorns -- thinking more about the way i look, about my students, about my job, about my husband -- instead of putting my full focus on Jesus. How revealing!!!

A second parable that really confronted me was the parable of the talents. A master gives 5 talents to one servant, 2 talents to another, and one talent to the last one. The first and second one invest it and get twice as much, but the 3rd one goes and buries it and guards it, making sure nothing happens to it. When the master comes returns to them, the first and second give him everything they've earned, and the master brings them to his table to celebrate. But when the third one comes, he condemns him and sends him away.

I must say that i never fully understood this parable until today. Dr. K said that the talent was parallel to the word of God. He also said that the jews are like the 3rd servant -- they guard and take good care of the word of God, but never multiply it. I FOUND MYSELF IDENTIFYING MYSELF WITH THE JEW!!! I meditate and take care of the word of God -- i dress modestly, my vocabulary is clean, i go to church each Sunday, etc -- but never go out and multiply!!! What a terrible (and wonderful at the same time) thing to realize this!!!

Lord, you have given me a talent -- don't let me continue being content with just guarding it, i want to multiply it!! Amen.

Cleaning Day

Saturdays are officially "cleaning day." It's the one day our house gets nice and clean, but it continues to amaze me how fast it gets dirty again. When we first got married, cleaning day would take around 2 hours (our house is SUPER tiny, it should have never taken us that long being that the two of us worked at it). So Byron's brain began analyzing the situation, trying to figure out what kind of system we could use in order for it to take less time. And we figured it out! It's now down to 1 hour. But still, with the Merida heat, to clean the house always seems to take us 6 hours, regardless of what kind of system Byron figures out.

A New and Improved Blog :)

For the past few weeks I've enjoyed reading other people's blogs and hence decided to have my own. I then realized that Byron had an old one, so I decided to customize it and pretty much take over it (Byron told me he is a terrible person at blogging, so he is leaving it up to me). I would like to use this space to keep our friends and family who are in the States updated with our lives here in Merida -- our home for the past year. So please feel free to read and leave messages!!!