February at a Glance

I guess a picture is worth 1000 words, so here are some pictures. This last month had included a Valentine's Party with all of Ellie's friends, Parks, Bike Rides, playing inside, church activities, blessings, miracles, and just plain fun!

The Start of a New Year (Well a Month Ago :)

The Start of  a New Year:

I recently read a suggestion that once a week you write a family journal entry and include one picture from that week. Being a horrible journal keeper, I thought this to be an excellent idea. Of course our journal entries for the next few years will be full of Alex studying, trying to keep Ellie entertained and keeping my sanity intact. I still hope that you might find something interesting in these entries and know that our family is just a regular family, trying to do what we feel is best, staying close to the Lord and loving every minute of our crazy filled life!

I guess our first entry will be a month J seeing as it’s February 1^st. Christmas break was GLORIOUS! I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to spend two full weeks with Alex and Ellie (and the rest of my family). It was so relaxing to sleep in, eat yummy food, talk with siblings and let Ellie play with her cousins to her heart’s content. I’ve never seen Alex so relaxed. He deserved it after doing wonderfully on his first semester of medical school. Unfortunately our welcome to 2015 was like a slap in the face! Alex started right into the semester with a full and loaded schedule. His second half of anatomy is a real doozy! It’s amazing how many nerves, muscles, bones and other things you have from the neck up! Luckily his degree in Neuroscience is helping, but he still studies almost all of the time. Here is a brief look at his schedule the last month: 6:30am- Wake Up 7:40am- Leave for School 4:45-5:00pm Get home and wrestle with Ellie 5:00pm- Eat Dinner 6:00pm- Study in office 7:50- read scriptures, pray and put Ellie to bed 8:00pm Study 10:15 (sometimes later)- Talk with Josalyn while brushing teeth, scripture study, prayers and try to be asleep by 11pm!

Needless to say, Alex is amazing and I love him so much. I realized how demanding this is on him when I have found random things in the refrigerator (vitamins, an empty cup). I try to tell him how grateful I am for what he’s doing during the hour or so I get to be around him! Don’t worry, some weekends we actually get to go on walks or maybe grab a pizza for dinner. He tries to squeeze in as much time for us as he can, the above is just a typical day. His anatomy class is finished in March, so his schedule won’t be quite so demanding then.

Ellie and I have found a few things we love. 1. Library Toddler time! We go at least once a week and sometimes twice if we don’t have anything else to do. 2. Play group! On Thursdays we try to attend the playgroup and get some interaction with other kids (and I get grown-up talk too!). 3. Grocery Shopping! Ellie is becoming quite the shopping partner and we usually have a pretty good time at the store, as long as it’s before 11am.

With the cold weather, we don’t go outside as much as she’d like but we like playing indoors. She can sing over 30 songs (primary and other) and she can count to 14 and knows quite a few letters. She loves getting to watch a show in the morning while I workout on our new to us Elliptical. She also has started watching other movies besides Frozen (thank goodness). She loves Cinderella and recently started to like Peter Pan.

I love participating in a book club and just started a craft night with friends. I enjoy indulging in watching Netflix at night and reading my books. Sometimes I get lonely, but overall things are good. Alex recently got called to be a counselor in the Young Men’s and I just got called to be the Relief Society Secretary. We also were called to be a “ma and pa” for our Stake Youth Conference in June. We love to be involved in our ward and stake as much as we can. I will be sad to be released as the primary pianist and nursery music leader. I love teaching those little ones primary songs! Every day I feel the blessings of the Lord. We try to do what’s right, but we are far from perfect. I am grateful for the Atonement, as a mother and a wife, I need it every day. 

So that’s our Month! I guess I should include something specific from this last week. I hosted my first craft night! It was very fun. I made a few things to go on my “mantel” for Valentine’s Day. Alex also got a night off and played church basketball with some other friends. Ellie has called her Dad Alex most of this week. We have to remind her that his name is Daddy. Until next week I guess! 

So Many Blessings!

I want to start by testifying the God loves His children! He hears our prayers and pays attention to even the smallest details of our lives. We can feel His love, promptings and warnings through the Holy Ghost as long as we remain worthy of it. I especially feel this way after this last week. We have felt so blessed by our Savior and have felt His hand in our lives.

A while back I felt the urge/need/desire to go back to Singapore to visit my parents and sister. It just didn’t seem it was going to be possible but the more I talked about it with my parents the more it became a possibility. Thanks to some almost expired miles and a great deal Ellie and I are headed to Singapore for a few weeks this fall. We are very excited (though extremely nervous to travel 25 hours with a lap infant, who is really 18 months old!). Well today I was thinking about what to pack and what needs to get done before I leave when BAM! It hits me that I forgot about Alex’s White Coat Ceremony. I thought I remembered him saying that the ballpark time was in October but I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that we would be gone when the ceremony took place. I was right. His ceremony was on the 19^th of September, just 4 days after we were supposed to leave for SG (Singapore). I cried all morning. I felt like I had betrayed Alex and wasn’t being the supportive wife I know that I need to be while he’s in school. I don’t think Ellie has ever seen me cry, because she had no clue what to do. She was really confused and then started to cry with me. So here we were, two bawling girls on the couch. I had no idea what it would cost to change international tickets and I was scared to find out. I summoned up my courage and called our airline company. It would only cost $50 to change. Wow! I will absolutely pay $50 so that I can see my husband participate in such a neat ceremony. Then I realized my second obstacle, which also leads me to our other blessing.

I was given the manager job over our complex. It is paid in the form of free rent, which is amazing to a couple living off of loans. The less we need to take out, the better. What made it more perfect was that we need to move into the “managers” apartment, which is zoned out for free rent. The apartment isn’t ready quite yet; it needs some updates and won’t be ready till October. This was perfect because that meant I could easily go on the SG trip without it interfering with my work. But back to the changing flights dilemma, if I extend my trip further into October, will my job still be waiting for me when I get back. After a very sympathetic phone call with my soon to be boss, she told me I had nothing to worry about. As long as we were okay paying a prorated rent for October, she would just put me to work when I was ready. Again, another blessing.

So now I will be able to attend the White Coat Ceremony, go to SG with Ellie for 2 ½ weeks, and work as the manager of our complex when I return. This is a serious case of having cake and eating it too, twice over J I know that Heavenly Father listened to my prayers and selfish pleas to have things work out and I am grateful for His loving and quick answers.

I also got called to be the Pianist for Primary in our ward. I am so excited to improve my piano playing skills. It’s been a while. I will be in SG for the program, but I look forward to playing after I return. We are becoming more familiar with Spokane. Ellie has been to 4 different parks and we still enjoy our morning jogs. We also got a bike trailer so that should be fun to take her around on that. Speaking of bikes, we learned our first lesson about theft. Someone stole the front tire off of Alex’s bike. We bought a replacement and will now be parking his bike inside. I am just grateful that they only wanted to the bike wheel and didn't try to come inside.

We spent the weekend in Vancouver for Labor Day. We enjoyed taking family pictures, throwing a baby shower for Sveta and spending time with Nellie (who lives in NY). I always love visiting the Doroshkins. I returned home with a new love of mint tea!

Alright, that’s all for now. I’ll write again soon!

1 Week Down, 3 Years and 51 Weeks Left

Welcome to Spokane! We love our new home! We are finally getting situated and our apartment is starting to feel like home. Alex has been in school for a week now. He said that some 2^nd and 3^rd years told him that after a few days of school it would feel like he had been in school for months, and that is so true! His schedule is crazy busy! He gets up at 6am, leaves the house by 6:45, study on campus from 7-8, lecture and lab from 7-4, and sometimes hospital stuff till 5pm. This is when he gets to come home, have dinner and a little play time with me and Ellie and then back to studying from 7:30 until 10 or 10:30. Ellie and I play; go out exploring the city, run errands, bake and our favorite is to walk along the river trail that is right by our house. Life is crazy, but it’s wonderful too. I’m mostly happy that we have survived our first week of medical school.

Our church ward is awesome too. We have met some people and have felt very welcome. I am going to be part of the play group and book club. Ellie enjoys playing with all the kids at church and is excited to start nursery next week. Our ward is very missionary oriented. They have had a lot of investigators and converts. On our first Sunday I was asked more than a few times if I was an investigator. Wouldn’t that be so neat if missionary work was like that in every ward that every unknown face you assumed was an investigator? It’s awesome to look out and see people from all walks of life embracing the Gospel and coming closer to their Savior, Jesus Christ. Last Friday we had this ward BBQ at a local park. I noticed an older man sitting on a bench watching the kids play. I asked Alex to go see if he wanted something to eat. When Alex asked him, the man turned and said, “oh, I don’t speak English, only Russian,” so Alex replied, “Privet!” He was able to talk with the man and help him get dinner and then introduce him to the Russian Sister Missionaries who were in attendance. It was a neat experience. I’m glad I acted and Alex too, on the prompting to ask the man if he was hungry. I have started to study Preach My Gospel in my scripture study to help me prepare to be part of the work!

I’m not currently working. We are living in a subsidized complex and if I get a job, it complicates our rental lease. They are looking to hire a complex manager. I told them I would be interested in doing that. It would be about 15 hrs a week, but could all be done with Ellie, and would include free rent (which wouldn’t complicate the lease). It does involve us moving to a different unit, and I’m not looking forward to moving all our things again. We’ll just have to see.

Ellie is handling all the changes pretty well. She is getting a bunch of teeth and so that doesn’t help but she is happy most of the time. She really misses her Dad and often will walk through the house calling, “Dad?” We have started introducing potty training. She pooped and peed on the toilet for the first time yesterday and today. I’m not being too serious about it, I still don’t think she’s completely ready, but when she asks to sit on the big girl potty, I let her!

Anyway, all in all we are doing really well and are looking forward to spending at least a year here in Spokane! If any of you have great places here you’ve been to and recommend, let me know! Until Next time!

Our Vacation in a Nutshell!

When Alex decided to pursue a career in medicine, I knew that during medical school and residency, all of his extra time would be dedicated to school. I decided to make a deal with him that when he got accepted to medical school, we would go on a cruise together. When we heard the news from University of Washington, I immediately started searching for a great deal and something fun we would both enjoy! Thanks to frequent flyer miles we were able to both fly for free to Ft. Lauderdale. We decided to book a 5 day cruise that would visit Key West and Cozumel Mexico. Because we were flying with miles, we had an extra day in Ft. Lauderdale as well.

Jennie and Derek generously offered to watch Ellie for the week, and for that we were so gratefully. I don’t think we could have left her with someone else or in a place she was unfamiliar with. Besides being unusually quiet, she seemed to do okay while we were away. We missed her like crazy, we even brought a picture to put up in our room. Okay, enough of the background, on to the vacation!

Day 1: After a red eye flight and hardly any sleep, we boarded the Vision of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) without any troubles. We grabbed some lunch and took a much needed nap. After a delicious dinner in their awesome dining room we decided to retire early and catch up on some sleep before Key West the next day. Little did we know our room was under the main dance floor that was hosting a 70’s dance party. Instead of sleeping, we ordered room service for late night snacks and then listened to classics like the YMCA until after midnight.

Day 2: In Key West we rented beach cruisers and rode around the island of Key West. We visited a beautiful botanical garden, rode on the pier and saw a big sting ray! We visited the most southern point of the United States, it’s closer to Cuba than to Miami. Our next stop was a state park called Ft. Zachary Taylor. Besides the beautiful beach, there is a civil war fort. It was so neat to go through the fort and see the cannons and the amazing structure of the fort itself. Back on the ship that night was formal night and we saw a great comedy/music act that evening.

Day 3: This was our first sea day. It was so wonderful just to soak up some sun, enjoy the pool, and relax! We ate delicious food and saw a show that evening that combined a bunch of favorite Broadway musicals. We also watched a funny love and marriage show.

Day 4: I can’t tell you how beautiful the water is in Cozumel. We took a little risk and booked an excursion from a private company. It was a great deal and we figured it was worth trying it out to save that much money. We also had plenty of time to get back to the ship when the excursion was done. Our excursion included off beach snorkeling, fajita style lunch (yum!), open jeep tour around the coast of the island, and visit to Punta Sur Eco Park. We also thought that we would be taking a tour of the smaller ruins on the island called San Gervasio, but because of some scheduling issues (that we were unaware of until that day) we were going on a tequila tour. The snorkeling was a blast, we saw a sting ray, star fish, many other fish, lobsters and beautiful corals and sand! The Eco Park was pretty neat too. There was a gorgeous light house we climbed up (all 130 steps!). The view at the top was breath taking! There were tons of lizards and some small ruins we were able to see. There were also salt water crocodiles! Driving around the island in the jeep with the wind blowing our hair and the sun on our skin was amazing! The island was so beautiful! Needless to say, we would have skipped out on the tequila tour and seen more ruins, but it was out of our control. Back on the ship we loved a juggling act! It was amazing and the performer was very funny too!

Day 5: Another sea day and last day on the ship. Again we took advantage of getting some warm sun. I also signed up to take a sushi class. I know the basics of making sushi, but it was really fun to see some new recipes and styles of rolling/cutting/plating. Alex and I really enjoyed the delicious sushi lunch that was included with the class. That evening we enjoyed our last meal in the dining room and the goodbye show. There was an aerial acrobatics show that was spectacular and also the flag presentation. Each crew member was announced by country. It is amazing to see all the countries working on the cruise ship.

 

Day 6: We got off the ship and checked into our hotel that was nearby. Another needed nap later and we were off to the beach for the day. The beach was gorgeous. It has nice sand and fun waves that we played in most of the afternoon. It was an adventure getting there and back on the public bus system but we made it. That night we had dinner at TGI Fridays and saw the new Spiderman Movie. That night we went to sleep ready to be back home with Ellie, but so grateful for our fabulous vacation!

It seems that our trip went by so quickly, but we think about it all the time! We had such a great time just being together, enjoying conversation, and seeing a beautiful part of the world we had never been to before! 

A Month of Thanksgiving.

Where has time gone? The last time I posted, Ellie was being blessed, we were moving to Meridian and the summer was just starting. Now, all the leaves have fallen, Ellie is CRAWLING, Alex is enjoying  his job and the holiday season is upon us. I will give just a quick recap.

June- Trip to Vancouver to see grandparents! We also took our amazing two week trip to Singapore. I could write an entire blog post just about that. It was truly a unique experience and such a wonderful time to see my parents.

July- I taught swimming lessons at Christine’s pool, it felt so great to be back. Ellie moved into her own room, is eating solid food like crazy, and sleeps like a log J

August- Alex started working as a PSR, helping kids and adults with social anxieties/disabilities, addictions etc. I did a weekend on my own with Ellie at a family reunion. Ellie turned 6 months!

September- Another trip to Vancouver, to meet our new nephew and see family. This was the first fall that either of us didn't have school, I guess that applications kind of count, but it has been wonderful to have a break from the books.

October-  We took a trip to Provo! It was great to support our friends in their wedding, see Amber and Adam and other friends. My dad had a business trip in Boise and we had him around for a week. Ellie had her first trip to a pumpkin patch and enjoyed the little petting zoo. She is crawling all over the place!

November- Is it really November already? We took family pictures this last weekend. Ellie didn't smile much, but hopefully we got a couple of good shots. Alex and I joined our local gym. I am determined to get back into shape, let’s just say it’s a work in progress. Alex and I are both teaching the 8 year old kids in our ward. Alex is their scout leader and I am their primary teacher. It has been a learning experience, and the good times definitely help with the not so good times. Applications are going. Alex has worked so hard on them and we wait (not so patiently) every day to hear back from the schools. Alex has decided to also apply to some DO (Osteopathic medicine) schools this year and we are looking forward to hearing back from those schools as well.

This time of year always makes me think about the good things that I have. I n life it is easy to get overwhelmed and feel like you have so far to go. It is easy for  me to see friends my age who are buying houses, have “real” jobs, are in great shape etc. And think that I am so imperfect. Well the good news is, I am imperfect, but I am trying to be better. I have to take each day at a time, slow down and appreciate all of the good things I do have.

Most importantly, I have a Savior, who loves me for who I am (imperfections included). The gospel means so much to me; it truly is my greatest treasure. I love Alex and Ellie and I am so grateful that we can be together forever. I know that I am a child of God, I have divine potential and I work toward that each day through prayer, scripture reading and lots of other things.

I wish you the best holiday season, remember to be grateful and do service for others continually. I’ll try to post again soon.

How Our Lives Change

In addition to adding a new member to our family, we have experienced a lot of other changes recently! Ellie is wonderful and she is growing everyday! In April Alex and I both were able to graduate from BYU and even got to walk Ellie across the stage with us! The same weekend as graduation we blessed Ellie. My dad was able to finagle a business trip the same weekend and it was so great to have him there. We appreciated all the support from siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends!

This last week we packed all our things and moved out of Provo! It was really hard to leave Provo. Alex enjoyed his time working with all the missionaries and is sad to leave the MTC. I’ve been working with Provo City Recreation for almost 5 years and I also was sad to say goodbye to coworkers! We are excited for this next chapter in our lives.

We will be living in Meridian, Idaho. We are living with my brother and his wife in my parents’ house (since they are still in Singapore). Unfortunately, Alex didn’t get into medical school this last year, so we have begun the process again, and are much more optimistic! We have a game plan and have learned from our mistakes and look forward into getting in this year. We are applying all over again, but have added a few Texas schools, South Carolina, Iowa, California and Utah to the list! We’ll keep you posted on how this goes!

For now, we are visiting family in Vancouver and next week head off for a two week adventure in Singapore. We are nervous to travel with Ellie, but are so excited to see family and a new part of the world! We’ll be back at the end of June and will start to get settled in Meridian then! Wish us luck!