Hoobastank, or: Part 2 of our Disneyland Adventures

With Steve's leave cleared, airline tickets booked, and a hotel room on lockdown, we were giddy with excitement.

Seriously giddy.

The next morning when we woke up, the first word out of Steve's mouth was, "Disneyland!"

Which obviously reminded me of that scene in Hot Rod, when Andy Samberg returns to consciousness exclaiming, "HOOBASTANK!"

And from that instant, a new code word was born.

Since we'd decided not to tell the kids, we simply started referring to our upcoming surprise Disney trip as "Hoobastank."

"Are you SO excited for Hoobastank?"

"Hubs! I can't wait for Hoobastank!"

The kids--even usually inquisitive Grace--had less than zero percent interest in these conversations, leaving us free to discuss in front of them with no fear of discovery.

And you guys. We were EXCITED.

We were SO excited.

Not just at the thought of going to Disneyland (which, let's be honest, is more than enough) but also at the relative spontaneity of the trip. Because we have four kids, and because Steve's job has almost never allowed us to just pick up and go without at TON of notice, deciding to make a trip just three weeks away felt delightfully freeing. Maybe even a little irresponsible--but in the absolute best way.

In the days leading up to our trip, our text messages devolved quickly into lovey dovey Disney gifs and exclamations of HOOBASTANK!

And then, two days before our flight, I pulled out my phone after dinner and took this video of the kids:




They were delighted.

And then there was nothing left to do but pack.

Wake up at 4am to catch our flight.

And have this beautiful little piece of meant-to-be Disneyland magic pop up on the radio as we drove to the airport:

What are the odds?

Go back: We Didn't Mean to take the Kids to Disneyland (Part 1 of our Disneyland Adventures)

or

Read on: Part 3 of our Disneyland Adventures

We didn't mean to take the kids to Disneyland

Once upon a time, not so very long ago (in February, in fact), we took a magical trip to Disneyland. It was a wonderful trip--filled with Dole Whips, beach trips, and grandparents.

And when we had to come home our little kingdom was very sad.

Saddest of all, perhaps, were Steve and I, who even after the passage of half a dozen months, were still mourning the anniversary trip that never was--a just-us-two Disneyland vacation that was canceled when Steve was called in for a month of active duty CCATT service.

As the days and months passed, images of an all-Pixar celebration--Pixarfest!--started trickling in to my Instagram feed.

People were eating Nemo-shaped caramel apples, and wearing Wall-e themed Mickey ears and hoodies!

Pixar + Disneyland!?!

I immediately started daydreaming up ways to go!

It didn't make sense, obviously. We'd just gone with the kids, and Steve can't get time off work without a good month or two of notice. We'd have to find the money somewhere. We love Disneyland, but not enough to max out our credit cards or anything.

And I don't know if you know this, but we have kind of a lot of kids, but zero nannies.

We put it our of our minds.

Kind of.

I mean, I kept checking the Instagram hashtags and stuff, but we were resigned to the fact that there was really no way we could go.

Then one night, Steve came home from a really rough shift at work. Discouraged and tired, he climbed in bed beside me as I slept and, uncharacteristically, he opened Instagram. And pulled up the #pixarfest hashtag.

In the quietest part of church the next day, he leaned over and whispered into my ear, "I think we should go to Disneyland at the end of May."

Me: wide eyed. Whisper-yelling. "WHAT?"

He'd looked at his schedule. There were a few shifts he could move around that were already sandwiching a few days off. He could swing 5, maybe 6 days of travel.

I checked the budget. I'd have to move some things around, but yeah--we could do it! We could make it happen!

He immediately texted his sister Jessica, asking if she could fly in for the week in question. She was all for it, and submitted a request for time off from work. (Bless her. She is the best.) She told us we'd have to wait three days for them to process the request.

We waited. And while we waited, it started looking less possible.

Getting military leave was looking complicated. Jess hadn't heard anything back. Were we just being ridiculous?

(Yes, but I mean... It's Disneyland.)

Finally, the fatal text: Jess couldn't get work off.

No babysitter.

So... no Disney trip.

Our hearts were a crushed. Steve was so sad. I immediately started putting out messages on Facebook, scrambling to find someone local who could watch the kids. Every message I got back was more disappointment.

It had felt so close. I could see us skipping through the park holding hands. Really. Then--poof. Gone. Sad.

Sad sad sad.

Around ten o'clock that night we were climbing defeatedly into bed, lamp light glowing, darkness well descended outside. And in a sudden moment of carefree extravagance I said, "What if we just took the kids?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! What if we just took them with?"

And in minutes we were snuggled up side by side with a laptop, checking flights and looking at hotels, figuring out stroller rental options and whether the kids still had enough absences left at school to scrape by without getting in trouble.

Steve had one thing left to check--one little kink to work out to make sure he could get official 100% approval on his leave. (No AWOLing for Disneyland, guys!) If he got it, we were booking tickets RIGHT THEN.

I waited all day.

Then, at 4:21pm, I got this text:

By 7:31pm I'd booked us flights and a hotel, and we were officially taking our kids back to the Happiest Place on Earth. ♥

Read HOOBASTANK, or: part two of our Disneyland adventures.

Steven's Random Corner of Nothingness - Texas Edition!

Flying Roach of Death

We live in a beautiful apartment/townhouse in San Antonio. We are a 10-second walk from our pool. We are a 25-minute drive to work. There are ceiling fans galore in our home. It is nice and cool in our apartment all the time. It is a perfect situation while we await a new home a few miles down the road. We are super-duper excited.

Last evening, our perfect world shattered.

It all started after watching 10 Cloverfield Lane - a strange movie. Worth the 54 cents we paid to rent it through Redbox, but maybe not much more. Getting ready for bed, I decided to try to find a creepy book. I've been on a Stephen King kick lately (Joyland was a phenomenal book), so I went to our library eBook site and found that new book-soon-to-be-a-movie, Miss Perigrine's Home for Peculiar Children. A weird read to be sure.

I had the lights out and was resting by Jamie's huge pillow nest (she is now up to 6 pillows surrounding her pregnant body), when I felt something drop onto my leg. Weird, I thought. There is only the ceiling fan above my bed. Jamie was asleep. I sat up in the dark, and then the gentle pressure left my leg, only to be replaced quickly by light pressure on my chest. I flicked it away, yelled (probably screamed like a little girl), and turned the lights on.

I found this creature lurking then behind my lamp. I was trying to convince myself it was a grasshopper or something like that, but I'm quite sure now it was a cockroach. More convincing was the amount of times I had to smash it before it stopped moving. It took multiple snappings of a towel followed by several hits with the heel of a shoe.

I had plenty of cockroach encounters while living in New York city, but this one was the biggest I had seen.

Gross.

I guess everything is bigger in Texas.

Bring on the Baby

Baby Betsy is due at the beginning of September. Her due date is the 9th of that month. We have been worried and worried about this baby, especially given the way-too-big boy that my way-small-but-not-way-too-small wife delivered almost six years ago. We have been praying for our new doctors here to be open to early induction, like we did with Juliette, who was born one week early.

On Jamie's visit to the doctor's office, before she could even ask, upon review of Jamie's information the doctor recommended induction week early.

Prayers answered.

Betsy due September 2nd, unless she decides to come any earlier.

Things Charlie Says

A favorite of this week was when Charlie was walking around the house, pretending to talk on a battery-dead cell phone. He was having a fake conversation with who-knows-who, but during his conversation, he had this little poignant retort:

"Where am I going? Wherever life takes me, I guess..."

My son is very profound.

Stranger Things

I don't think I've had such fun watching a show since watching Lost with my then-girlfriend-now-wife and my best friends while in college. If you don't know, Stranger Things is a 8-episode miniseries on Netflex about a child's paranormal disappearance in an 80's suburban neighborhood. Nostalgia abounds.

It was oh-so-much fun! I don't want to say too much about it here. You need to see it. It's basically a mix between Freaks and Geeks and the X-Files. If you haven't seen either of those series, you need to as well.

Ticking Time Bomb

Juliette is potty training this week, and has taken to it perfectly. She is pretty much accident free, from a number one standpoint. As far as number two goes...

Well, day 2 was marked by a naptime where she awoke crying. This is strange for her, because she never cries at naptime. I knew immediately what was up. I ran upstairs and found my fears well founded. Her room looked like a murder scene - except blood was replaced by poo. Apparently pull-ups aren't meant to hold the normal amount of business.

Now, she hasn't gone for several days.

I fear what happens next...

Things I've Learned About Texas

People in Texas are very friendly, which is nice after being in NC, where people are also crazy nice.

We can still say y'all here without being weird.

There are pools everywhere. Which makes sense. It turns out Texas is pretty hot.

Texas is big. I think the I-10 mile marker was in the 860-mile range when we first entered Texas from Louisiana.

There is a lot of Dallas Cowboys fans here. Not cool.

There are a lot of trucks. I have a Honda Civic. I'll fit in just fine.

Speed limit on most freeways is 70 mph. And most people like to drive over that. Though friendly in person, many people here aren't so on the roads. (Not as bad as Louisiana, though. People were the most unfriendly drivers in that state).

There is a Sprout's here. This is one of my favorite stores ever. Best (and yet cheapest) produce ever. Other exciting restaurants include Kneaders and Smashburger.

I'm back to non-vinegar based barbecue. Though NC will forever have a place in my heart, Lexington-style BBQ will not. Here, I can eat BBQ ribs, BBQ pork, BBQ brisket, all with sweet-and-tangy BBQ sauce. I can have a barbecue with my barbecue and eat barbecue anything. In Texas, barbecue is a free word. 'Merica.

People have guns. I don't.

So much more to learn.

Come Sail Away (a retrospective)

Over a year ago (last April--sorry you are living this vicariously a year later), Steve and I embarked on a trip ONE FULL YEAR in the making--our first cruise together! Hurrah! My parents flew in from California to take on a week of full-time parenting to our three littles, and Steve and I hopped a plane to Florida--so excited that we immediately started taking selfies.

I'd started planning a year earlier, right after I confirmed our tax refund. ;) I'd always wanted to surprise Steve with something big and fun, and since his 30th birthday was coming up in September, I planned this whole wonderfulness out--fixing it with our parents, scheduling his time off work, making all the plans and reservations--without ever being able to tell him about it. It was agonizing to wait six full months before I got to surprise him with just the knowledge of what we were going to do. But man, he was EXCITED. And then we still had another full 6 months to enjoy the anticipation, planning, passport-getting and packing.

I admit there were some worries in the backs of our brains that somehow it wouldn't happen. And I packed an full on pharmacy in our bags in case we were to get some kind of sick on the trip. But lo and behold, we made it on the plane, to our hotel, and the very next morning this gorgeous thing was in our sights.

The Brilliance of the Seas!

Oh my gosh. We were so excited, we were like school children. We got in the big giant line to check in, were relieved to find all our paperwork and passports in order (seriously anything that might stand between us and this ship had crossed our minds a million times), and then. we. boarded!

While we waited for everyone else to embark (ship word!) we explored the ship, grabbed some food, and admired the Tampa Bay skyline.

Yep, I'm wearing a swimsuit, my cute sunnies, and lipstick. On a weekday. VACATION, BABY.

While we mostly didn't much miss parenting (we knew the kiddos were in absolute heaven with 24/7 grandparent attention), we did get a few pangs when we saw things the kids would enjoy. One such pang-inducer was all the cute elephant decor in the adults-only pool area. Even though Gracie wouldn't have been old enough to be allowed in, we knew she would appreciate so much elephantine adornment. So we took pictures. :)

As a novice cruiser, I enjoyed being totally naive about cruise-life, and wondering what the what was up with stuff like the word "WEDNESDAY" randomly emblazoned on the floor of the elevator. Was this elevator named Wednesday???

Turns out, no. They don't name the elevators. The reason is even better--it's because you aren't even expected to REMEMBER WHAT DAY IT IS on your own when you're on a cruise! They change the floor of the elevator every day for you so you don't have to! YES! THIS IS VACATION!

So the first day was filled with exploring, eating, and other ship-necessities, like visiting our room(!) for the first time and getting unpacked. With the door flung open and the ocean outside. Oh my. Heavenly. We also had to meet up with our assigned group for muster, which was predictably boring. BUT somehow our meeting area ended up being a cute little bar called the Schooner's Lounge, which meant that unlike my first muster (I did a cruise with my parents + brother to Alaska in college) we all got to lounge around on super comfy chairs and sofas instead of standing in a big awkward pack. Yay! Luxury! Adulthood! Luck!

Around 4:30 that afternoon the ship powered out into the sea and we waved goodbye to Tampa, responsibility, and cell-phone service. Huzzah!

The next morning we woke up, in, you know, the Florida Keys. No big deal. Just basically paradise or whatever. Yeah. Vacation!

Key West welcomed us with sunny skies and perfect temperatures, and a big long line of antsy cruisers waiting to disembark.

We hopped on a tram to go to our excursion and enjoyed the warm air, adorable and colorful Caribbean architecture, and (probably most of all) the random chickens that hung out on the streets. We even saw a mama hen with several chicks trailing behind her, all waiting at a bus stop. The locals didn't take the teensiest bit of notice, which somehow made it even cuter. It is happy to know there are places in the world where mama hens sight-see at bus stops, no?

Our tram dropped us off by the shoreline and we hopped on... you guys I still can't believe this... a giant gorgeous catamaran. Life of leisure, much? This was a good vacation.

Once everyone was on board and settled they turned on the music and took us out to sea. The crew was fantastic and a lot of fun, happy to hang out and chat and tell us stories and histories about the island. They were also incredibly tan and cheerful, and reminded us of Steve's younger brother Eric--just totally happy to be outside in the sun.

Most of the passengers sat in the shade, so Steve and I had the front of the catamaran almost to ourselves. We tanned (well, as much as we could without burning... we didn't have much of a base layer going after an NC winter) and watched for dolphins and whales and let the wind whip our haaaaair back and forth.

You can catch a glimpse of how much open space we had in Steve's sunglasses. :)

In the middle of that gorgeous clear water our catamaran docked, and they let us off to snorkel in a living coral reef. It was magical. We followed beautiful fish around and explored the ocean, and then when we were all worn out we were back to sunbathing on the deck and headed back for the ship. I want to go back. :)

Back at the ship, it was time to eat (again). Seriously, between all the ocean and all the eating, it is no wonder we had the best time. These are two of our most favorite things!

We lucked out and got seated at a very fun table, with two sets of other young couples and a vacationing mom-and-daughter duo (not pictured) who were hilarious and spunky and called themselves "Mom and Grandma". We got along so well that we ended up meeting some evenings to watch the shows or do activities (like a very competitive Disney-song trivia in one of the lounge which we very nearly won).

Between the six of us, we somehow really got on board (ha! Unintentional pun.) with the idea I'd seen touted around the internet: that you can order multiple options of courses. While most of us stuck to just one entree (we did have the rare exception where one of us just HAD to try two things), we were quite liberal with our orders once it came to dessert.

You'll notice below that there are 6 of us (Steve took the picture, so you can't see him but I trust you can imagine him) with a total of 13 desserts between us. And this was not even our biggest dessert day. I feel like our record was somewhere upwards of 20 desserts for six people.

But when you have to choose between things that look like this... I mean, how can you choose?

The only logical option was to order multiples, right?

Our awesome server caught on to our antics quickly and started waiting for us to order more than one dessert (which our head waiter called, "Yummy-yummies") at the end of each meal. We'd order one thing, and he'd just stand there with his pen poised, waiting for our next selection!

Every evening after dinner we'd come back to our room to change (so Downton of us to get dressed up for dinner, right?) and find everything neatly made up, the curtains drawn and some precious little towel animal(s) on our bed. These two little swans were one favorites.

I also loved how we could draw curtains on either side of our bed. It was like sleeping inside a cocoon, and since I am a nest-building multiple-pillows-and-blankets kind of girl, this felt very cozy and luxurious to me. :)

And while the buzz and energy of the ship was fun and invigorating, I think one of my very favorite parts of the whole trip was finding this remote spot on the top back deck where Steve and I ate hotdogs and stargazed. It's the little stuff. Like being out under a big dark sky with the guy I love.

Another favorite--our daily lunch spot at the back of the ship, watching this view of clear blue ocean trailing off behind us.

And every evening we got a list of activities happening the next day, and highlighted the ones we were interested in so we could decide how to spend our time. (Steve is an extrovert so this was totally his jam!)

We had no kids along, so we did a lot of stuff, including a cha-cha class, some very competitive post-dinner trivia challenges (we went with the group from our table and they were awesome, and remember, we aaaaalmost won that Disney songs challenge. Not to brag. But come on.), and Steve entered (and won) a race up the ship's rock wall. He made sweet time and they gave him and Royal Caribbean medal which for some reason he didn't want to wear around the ship for the rest of the week.

All that interspersed, of course, between pool time, sunbathing, reading, and enjoying the ocean breeze.

And every evening we went to a show, which, as Steve put it, was like having a date night every night. Most notably, we saw a very committed Elton John impersonator and watched some unwitting couples duke it out in a Newlywed Game.

We had fun getting pretty, too.

It's pretty hard to choose the absolute best part of this trip, because we seriously loved every single second (except for the one night I got a little seasick), but our Xplor excursion might be the winner. We decided to do it kind of last minute (which means we hadn't budgeted it! Eeek!) but it was SO fun. It was a kind of an adventury amusement park, and it was mucho, mucho cool.

We took a boat over from Cozumel. Choppy seas but a great breeze.

When we got to the dock on the other side we met our group's guide, a red-headed fair-skinned super-freckled local Mexican nicknamed "Pecas" (which means... guesses? Freckles!). He and Steve had fun speaking Spanish (Pecas was self-taught in English and did an awesome job, but I think he was definitely more conversational once he found out Steve spoke his native tongue). They talked about their families, and I listened in--not really able to contribute but pretty able to understand thanks to six years of studying French (also Latin-based) annnnnd more recently, watching a TON of Gran Hotel, a Spanish miniseries Steve and I got into on Netflix.

Anyway Pecas took us over to the park and set us free, basically just giving us a time and place to meet up after we'd done whatever we wanted.

This was kind of a big deal for me. I haven't done a lot of cool/scary stuff. No bungee jumping. No river rafting. Not even skiing, okay.

So going on a big long zip-lining course first thing was totally a test of character. I was a little scared, and happy that I got to tandem zip-line with Stever for the first couple of runs.

It was SO. FUN. I got comfortable really quickly and loved zooming over the treetops. It was beautiful and crazy, and as long as I didn't think about falling, it was really cool. I think we went on about 12 total lines, each one getting a little closer to the ground.

There were two routes (we did both of them) and the second one has you land from your final line by whizzing through a waterfall and doing a water-landing in a cave. The little bright dot with the blue shirt out in the sunshine is me. Guys. SO FUN.

And then there would be times when you'd just walk through waterfalls on the way to somewhere else. :)

We also swam through a gorgeous underwater cave (and we totally didn't take pictures there for some reason!). It was breathtaking--all the natural formations, little tiny fish swimming around. I kept thinking it was like something out of Disneyland, only it was real. Only scary thing was that there were a couple of clusters of bats way high up... Not my fav. So I was in denial about those, and I really enjoyed it. So beautiful, and such a unique experience.

Next we drove some ATVs on a track. Barefoot. Steve kept letting everyone around us get way ahead so he could get a nice long stretch of speed before we caught up.

We finished up with a yummy lunch and then got back on the shuttle boat to return to our ship.

Where we found this guy--my favorite towel animal of the trip--chillaxing in our bed with a pair of my sunglasses on.

Some of the art onboard was weird/hilarious. My favorite was this bird/egg/throne combination.

The last night came too quickly. We would have been pleased as punch to extend a few more days. :) The final evening we got dressed cute again, and since our whole table was there we got our awesome waiter to snap a group photo.

"Mom" and "Grandma" (left) thought our dessert antics were so ridiculous that after they left the table (they were on no-sugar diets so they always left for dessert) our waiter came out with a chocolate cake they'd bought for us, which read "ENJOY THE DESSERT, FROM MOM & GRANDMA." We'd all ordered other desserts, but definitely managed to eat a good portion of the cake up, too. ;)

The dinner finale was a little performance put on by all the servers--they were all introduced and applauded for and the did a little parade around the room with music and dancing. It was awesome and totally felt like the end of summer camp. We were all nostalgic by the end, and tracked down our servers to take pictures with them.

The next morning (*sigh*) it was time to return to the mainland and real life. We wandered the ship while waiting for our turn to disembark, and sat on this awesome giant-flower velvet sofa. A quick trip to the local aquarium to pass the time, and then we were on a flight home to see our babies. Sad to leave paradise, happy to see those cute little people snuggled in their beds.

And luckily, I married the most awesome guy on the planet, so guess who I found lounging in our bathroom the next day?! This guy: !!!!

Steven's Random Corner of Nothingness

Steven's Random Corner of Nothingness

(Out of curiosity, I wanted to see if #SRCN is a hashtag for something. It is, for some Christian Radio Network, so I guess I won't hashtag my random blogs...)

This may be my last official posting that I can get a bunch of people to come and check out my blog through my chiefly stuff at Wake. If you all like my posts, feel free to subscribe to this family blog. This is a nice, fun outlet to just get things off my brain and say what is on my mind, and I know there are a few of you out there that read this kind of rambling when I post it, so... I may continue it. Again, thoughts and feelings are my own, of course. Leave if you must, but stay if you can. :D

So, first random, then fun, then deepness.

Random

Afib with RVR on a FitBit!

I don't read research papers as religiously as I probably should (wifey and I lovingly refer to the Annals as the Anals of Emergency Medicine... I can't help myself), but I found this actually through another blog that I frequent.

Apparently a dude came in after seizing (known history of epilepsy), but his heart rate shot up, and was controlled with diltiazem. After reviewing the patient's FitBit data, it was obvious that he had this sudden onset of afib with RVR in the last several hours, and was successfully defibrillated in the ER. Kind of a cool use of the FitBit!

Golden State Warriors

Apparently my mom is a huge Golden State Warriors fan. I had no idea they won the NBA championship last year. I don't follow the NBA. But I'm moving to San Antonio, and apparently you have to be a Spurs fan there.

But my mom LOVES the Warriors. It's almost bizarre. But, she came out to visit us this last week, and made huge fans out of all of us by her enthusiasm. Apparently they are going for a record to beat the winning-est team in NBA history (the 1996-1997 Chicago Bulls, I think?). The Bulls had 72 wins in a regular season back in the day. Now the Warriors are tied with that amount, with one game left to play at home against Memphis. Their last game against San Antonio was a rager. Obviously I was a little torn between who to root for. I grew up around the Warriors (they pretty much sucked my whole life until now), and we're moving to San Antonio. But I couldn't root against my mom... Go Curry! That guy is insane...

Rogue One Teaser Trailer

Say what you want about Disney. They are squeezing every last penny out of their Star Wars franchise buy, but... more Star Wars in my life is never a bad thing. The new teaser trailer looks like a blast. I recommend you check it out. Should be pretty fun.

Fun

Home stitches

Well, I guess this is a weird thing to consider fun...

Last week, Juliette bailed right after we arrived at the park. She nailed her forehead, and had a decent lac, and was bleeding pretty good. No loss of consciousness, she was acting herself. So, I left Jamie and the kids at the park. (Apparently a lot of the other moms thought we were nuts. Juliette was just chilling on the swing, with gauze taped to her head and blood all over her shirt).

I gathered some stuffs, and picked up the kiddos. My wife helped hold and distract my little girl while I injected some lidocaine, and repaired her little laceration with 2 6-0 prolene stitches. And it went perfectly.

It's a.... baby!

We are having another baby, but we now know... it's a GIRL!

Everybody thought it would be a boy. It would fit the pattern (Girl-Boy-Girl-BOY) The popular (Facebook) opinion thought it would be a boy. But the universe had other plans. It's another girl. Which is great, because we have TONS of girl names that we love, and we only had one boy name we really liked. To distract my little boy from being bummed out, there were lots of sweets and balloons.

Charlie is just fine (for now)... A little hyperglycemic, but otherwise, totally fine.

Deepness (I have feelings. And opinions. You have been fairly warned)

I personally believe that we are all given different gifts. Through these gifts, different people are better at different things. I personally believe that these separate gifts are God-given, and are meant to help us appreciate and interact with those around us.

One gift that I have not had in my life is the gift of confidence. This has plagued me my entire life. It doesn't really make sense, either, I guess. On paper, I think I have done okay with my endeavors. I'm no genius, and I pale in comparison to many of my contemporaries. But... I did well with classes during high school (except AP government... I slept a lot in that class, and am pretty sure the teacher thought I smoked a lot of pot prior to coming to class. I actually had red eyes because I woke up at 5 am for church class every morning. I loved the irony). I did fine in college (I picked a Bioengineering major out of a list because... it sounded cool. Like something out of a science fiction novel). I knocked down the door to be accepted at Wake Forest for medical school. I matched well into residency. I just got my #1 choice of a job with the USAF working in San Antonio.

A lack of confidence has caused me to confuse hard work and occasional rejection as a reflection upon myself and my abilities. As Michael Scott is leaving The Office in Season 7, his character hands Andy a stack of file folders containing his 10 biggest clients. He tells him, "You sold us all on Andy... a product that none of us wanted." Hilarious, but I can also identify with that feeling. I was confused (and still am) by the schools I was accepted into and rejected from out of high school. When I initially applied to medical school, I only received one invitation to interview, and was quickly rejected (apparently it is standard to apply early and to more than 4 schools). I was wait-listed initially at Wake Forest for med school the next year that I applied. I graduated in the middle of my class in medical school, nowhere near the top of a group of insanely talented individuals. I matched into Wake Forest for residency, which, admittedly, was not my #1 choice (mostly because of location - most of our best friends had moved back to the west).

However, as I look back to each of these moments of potential hey-Steve-you-are-not-good-enough moments, I am grateful to see the direction that each of these moments have made in my life.

When I failed to get into medical school the first year, I had a very humbling year. It was during that time that we needed a home for 6 months and lived with our now-and-forever friends, the Nuckols, who opened their home to a wandering couple and their new baby. It was during that year that I worked as a medical assistant to two wonderful podiatrists, each examples of how one could survive in medicine and still be an amazing husband and father.

When I matched at Wake for residency, God knew it was the place I was meant to be. This became very obvious very quickly. The OB/GYN physicians that we stayed with carefully and skillfully were able to deliver our 3rd child, Juliette. My transition into intern year was smooth, and though it was hard work, I had a phenomenal year. I met and befriended several awesome co-residents, who will be my friends for the rest of my life (whether they like it or not).

As I ponder on not getting the things I thought I initially wanted, I realize I have been blessed to receive all the things I have needed. What a true blessing that has been.

One spiritual gift that I feel I have been given in abundance is the ability to appreciate the gifts in others - sometimes even when they do not see it themselves. I am grateful for this gift. At first, this kind of gift can have the potential to make one like the jealous Salieri portrayed in Amadeus, looking across at a more-talented Mozart. But as I look beyond myself, I realize that seeing the talents in others is a humbling experience, and helps me improve as an individual.

I think the first time this gift struck me was when I was serving a 2-year mission for my church. At that time, I was far away from home, as were all the other missionaries with whom I was serving. There was an amazing missionary who carried with him a ukulele everywhere he went. He would sing hymns on the subway in NYC with his instrument. It was awesome. His smile was radiant and contagious. He spoke of the love he had for others and for his faith, and especially of the love he had for his mother. Unfortunately, it was about 1 year into his 2 year mission that she passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. I heard him speak shortly afterwards to a group of other missionaries, and he quoted this verse of a now-favorite hymn titled, "How Firm a Foundation":

Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

I am grateful to this day for his faithfulness and his resolve, and since then I have tried to see the examples of greatness in others around me, which are readily apparent if one tries to look.

I have seen many examples of greatness in our residency program among our residents and among the great faculty. Many of my classmates have helped me out in times of need. In times of illness and family issues, my friends have stepped up to demonstrate the true meaning of selflessness and service. They covered for me without hesitation. I am grateful for their examples. I have seen others demonstrate resilience in their own difficult situations, continuing their hard work with determination and awesome attitudes. It is learning from the examples of others that encourages me to try harder, to try and be more selfless, to improve my attitude, and for those examples I am grateful.

If you feel anything like I do - if you doubt your abilities, if you feel insecure about anything - just consider what I firmly believe: We are given weaknesses to be made humble, and to become stronger. Reflect on those weaknesses as opportunities. Your life will be vastly better.

So, there. Boom. Feelings done. Please comment or email me if you have any thoughts about what I wrote.

Now... get back to work.

:D

-me

Everyday Wonderful

Life is insane right now, but also it's not. There are so many moving pieces and unknowns hovering over us in this brief season that I have found myself unable to deal with more than one day (or sometimes one hour) at a time. And I think that's okay, as survival mechanisms go. Definitely not my norm--I am a planner by nature!--but it's working.

And while we weather the first trimester sickness & worry with this sweet new little babe (blogging about it here), wonder where the military will be sending us in June, and scramble to get the house ready for market by March 1st (props to Steve here! He's a powerhouse of home-sale preparation!), there is still so much life getting lived.

And the everyday wonderful has always been what keeps me going. So here's what I want to remember right now, in this crazy season when I'm hardly mothering (or person-ing) and any meal when Dad isn't home is reheated pizza, macaroni, or the ever popular "cereal dinner."

The kids are thriving. They're happy. They're finding ways to pitch in, help out, and take responsibility. They're on top of their chores (when prompted) and sometimes even clean each other's rooms. ;) (More about their individual ways to help on the baby blog.)

Every afternoon when they clean their parts of the bathroom (one does toilet, the other does counter), they do it together. There is often much giggling and goofing off, but the work gets done, and their friendship keeps growing.

Gracie often does her school-required 15 minutes of reading by reading aloud to Charlie. Charlie often speaks soft words of comfort to Juliette when she gets sad (orrrrrr throws a tantrum) and is always available to fill up her ladybug water bottle. Jules wants to play whatever the big kids are playing, and will stand with her eyes covered spouting random numbers when a game of hide-and-seek breaks out.

Now more than ever, they gravitate toward each other. If one of them settles down to draw, one or both of the others are quick to follow suit.

When we found out the new babe was on the way, we moved Squish into a "big girl" toddler bed. She calls it her "new girl bed." :) Now when I'm feeling sick (which is still pretty often), the big kids put her to bed. They sing her extra songs and tuck her in with "pink blanket," and sometimes there are belly raspberries and gales of laughter. <3 p="">

And after bedtime they all lay in their beds and talk to each other across the hall, playing games of their own making. (One favorite is "Spotlight," in which they describe a stuffed animal and the others have to guess which one it is.)

Lots of games of Spot It are getting played. Sometime solo, sometimes with sibs, sometimes all of us circled up on the carpet, elbows propped on pillows.

Less baths being taken, less laundry folded, more improvising of their outfits, less strict rules about bedtimes, more movies watched. Less vegetables, more Papa John's.

Earlier bedtimes and more naps (some impromptu) for tired parents.

We might be in survival mode--well, actually we are definitely in survival mode!--but I sure love my people.