Miracles DO Happen and the Lord Answers Prayers!

We would feel ungrateful if we didn’t share this amazing story with those people we care about. Before I get into the details we want you to know how grateful we are for Jesus Christ, our Savior. This time of the year is my favorite, as we get to celebrate the birth of Christ, His life and ultimate sacrifice for us. Alex and I have been so blessed by our Heavenly Father and it continues to amaze us how he truly is in even the small details of our lives. So here is the story!

As most of you know, Alex is applying to medical school right now. Though we have applied from California to New York, our sights have really be set on University of Washington. Well when Alex went to submit his secondary last Saturday, we realized that we had missed something. Instead of taking payments electronically, like most schools, UW requires that applicants mail in a check. Well we obviously didn’t do this and realized that we were no longer considered valid applicants at our dream school. Needless to say, Saturday and Sunday were extremely hard days. Our hearts were broken that because of human error, we would no longer be considered for UW. Alex has put in so much time and effort and it made me sad to see him hurting like he was. On Sunday, fast Sunday, Alex and I had a special fast. Mine was more of a fast in prayer seeing as I can't go more than a couple hours without food. We pleaded for a miracle. We humbly asked that if there was anything we could do to change our situation, that we would be able to. 

Well good thing Alex doesn’t give up and he sent an e-mail to the admissions office asking if there was anything he could do. On Monday, no reply had been sent and so after some digging, Alex found a contact number to the office. After a brief phone call, we were informed that the deadline for the check had been extended until 5:00pm that day. The time was currently 4:00 in Utah. This meant that we had 2 hours to find someone, anyone to drop off a $35 check at the UW Medical admissions office. After trying everyone we knew, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, siblings, parents, we were out of luck. Why would we be blessed with this second chance, only to fail again. I had one last idea, look up local bishops in the UW area and see if any of them could help us. Call #1, no luck. The second Bishop answered but regretfully told us there was no way he could get down town Seattle in the allotted time. He did know of someone who worked at the institute building on campus and gave Alex his number.

As our last hope, we called the number. This kind man said that he would be happy to take a check over and that he was in fact within walking distance of the office. Wanting nothing in return, this man was our miracle!

As we move forward, we still have a long road ahead of us. It makes it so much easier though, knowing that the Lord is aware of our needs and that no matter what, the church provides a support and service system that we are so grateful for. We feel humbled that our prayers were answered, and so quickly and have faith that things will work out, even if it may not be the way we originally wanted.  We also want to thank friends and family who have been such a support to us during this time. We have felt your prayers and concern in our behalf and we love you!

If you are struggling at this time, know that the Lord loves you and is mindful of you. Continue in His path and you will find happiness and His blessings will be poured out upon you. I testify that He lives and loves His children. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of the restored Gospel and of my divine nature. If you want to find out more about the LDS church and principles that we believe in, visit www.lds.org. Have a great week! 

Our Crazy Life! But We LOVE It!

Wow! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated this thing since September! In my defense, the month of October has NEVER been crazier! I have absolutely loved my new job, working as an event planner for the city, but working 30+ hours a week, full time school, being pregnant and the rest of life, almost did me in! But, we made it!

The Halloween Carnival was a blast! It was so rewarding to see the community enjoy our hard work! Alex came and volunteered and it was so fun seeing him interact with the kids. I'll have to put some pictures up when I get them back from the city, but the carnival included over 10 games, a food eating contest, a haunted theater, magic show, animal show, craft room, haunted house for the older kids and trick or treat street! Trick or treat street was a themed area where each room was decorated to a different theme (Winnie the Pooh, Pinocchio, Nightmare Before Christmas, Wizard of Oz and Toy Story) and the kids would trick or treat to each room. I think that specific area got the most compliments, which was great, since we had been working on it since the beginning of September! I didn't realize how much stress my body was under though until after the event and I slept more than 27 hours during the two days that followed the event!  Now we are planning the Lights on Ceremony and New Year's Eve Celebration.

For Halloween Alex and I went on a moonlit ski lift ride! It was awesome! Alex's first time on a ski lift.

We are happy to announce that we have started hearing back from medical schools and are busy filling out secondaries. We are hoping to get an interview invitation soon. Alex is really enjoying volunteering at the ER in Provo. The other day a nurse asked him to hold a child's head while the doctor stitched up his lip. He is learning a lot of good bedside manners :)

This semester is quickly drawing to a close (I seriously have senioritis SO bad!). Alex and I are constantly doing homework, writing papers, and studying for tests. It will be so great to be in Vancouver for Thanksgiving and get a little break before finals.

Baby girl is doing great! She's growing and moves so much! She's especially active when I am in the pool and right after I swim. It's great feeling her move, her most active time is from 9-10:30 pm, you're bound to feel a good kick then! We bought a stroller and carseat, and I've been busy making burp cloths and receiving blankets (you know, in all my spare time ;) We are anxiously awaiting her arrival, we know that February will be here before we know it!

I felt like I grew a ton in between 21 and 24 weeks! 

My sister and I are both having girls! Hopefully baby Hansen       will be making her debut any day now! 

I promise I don't always wear this black shirt, it is really just a coincidence, and it's one of the only maternity long sleeved shirts I have... Okay, maybe I do wear it a lot.

Just another tidbit of great news, we found a new apartment! We are literally busting at the seems in our adorable apartment and we are sad to leave, but we are excited about a bigger apartment that will allow me the chance to actually put together some type of nursery and have lots more storage space. We will be staying in the ward, which was what we were really hoping for. The Lord was really looking out for us and we feel so blessed by finding this apartment.

Well! That was a lot, I know! I'll try to do better and not wait a month and a half before I update again! We hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and know how thankful we are to have family and friends like you in our lives!

The Big Reveal!

So we originally had our 20 week ultrasound scheduled for next week, but sadly the appointment had to be changed! Instead of pushing it back a week, our ultrasound tech had the great idea to move it to TODAY! I’ll tell you what, I was so nervous! Why? I have no idea, but I felt I wasn’t quite ready to find out the gender of our baby, but was so excited I couldn’t wait another 2 weeks! Alex was calm, cool and collected, like usual and was just as excited as I was!

Here is a little preface before we make the big reveal! When I first found out I was pregnant, I had two very distinct dreams. One of the dreams was of Alex and I at our BYU graduation and in our arms was a bouncing baby boy, blonde hair, and big chubby cheeks! The next dream I had was of us in our home with a newborn baby boy, but this time, he was dark haired and had darker skin, like his daddy. With 3 nieces (and another niece coming in Nov), it seemed like my dreams were on the right track, the Mecham family was ready for a baby boy. On Alex’s side we have 3 nieces and a nephew (another nephew due in January), so another boy would also tie it up on that side. Well then I got a phone call from my older sister Chelsea. If anyone is the dreamer in my family, it’s Chelsea. She called to tell me she had a dream she had twin girls, but that they weren’t born at the same time, one came a little later. She was convinced that I was having a baby girl. So what did we think? NO CLUE! All we really wanted was a healthy baby, the gender didn’t matter.

So during the ultrasound we were able to see the brain, heart, stomach, kidneys, arms (they are so little and cute), legs, spine, and face. The tech told us that we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect and healthy baby, which was exactly what we wanted! Then we found out the gender. There’s no question about it….  

We’re having a baby girl!!! 

 This will make Granddaughter #5 on the Mecham side and #4 on the Doroshkin side and we couldn’t be more excited! Bring on the pink, bows, skirts, tutus and ruffles!

Funny story though, while we were waiting for our turn in the lobby, a family came out looking very excited, holding a bunch of ultrasound pictures, we asked them if it was a boy or girl. They were having a boy. They asked us in return what we thought we were having and we said we really didn’t know. Well the grandma took one look at me and said, “you look like you’re having a girl, the way your hips are.” Well she was right! It is a girl and the best part was, after the ultrasound we ran to Macys for some groceries, and that same family was next to us in the checkout line, Alex let them know that grandma was right! What a small world!!!

So family and friends, we’re having a girl! An adorable healthy baby girl (that hopefully has dimples like her mama :) As we were walking out of the doctor’s office, Alex turned to me and said, now I’ll have two princesses! He will be the best dad in the world, of that I have no doubt! 

New Semester, New Job, New Adjustments, but life is still amazing!

Yeah for a new semester! It always feel so great to start a new semester of school (especially for me since it’s my last) Only two weeks in and Alex and I already look forward to the weekends! This semester will prove to be a challenging one, not only are classes difficult, but Alex will have the added pressure of continuing medical school applications, hopefully getting some interviews at various schools and continuing with research and volunteering! Not to mention preparation for our little baby, but honestly the majority of that will have to wait till Christmas break! A few fun things that will be going on this semester, Alex is taking floral design! I am excited because that means flowers for me and I think it will be good for Alex to get in touch with a little feminine side! I will be working as a TA for an event planning class. I really enjoy the professor I will be working with and think it will be an enjoyable class to TA for.

A new thing that I will also be adding to my semester is a new job! Yes, I can’t believe I’m saying this either, but after almost 5 years at the Provo Recreation Center, I will be moving to a different department in the city, working as a rec leader. So what exactly does a Rec leader do? Well I am part of a small group of people that plan the city events (Halloween Carnival, Christmas Parade, New Year’s Eve Party, ect.) I started this last week and already love it! It is great to gain some new experience and try my hand in something other than aquatics. But don’t worry, I couldn’t give up swim lessons that easily, I’ll still be the lessons coordinator for Saturday lessons. I am sad to be limiting my time at the rec center, it is like a second home to me, I absolutely love the people I work with, it’s just time for me to stretch my wings and get some experience, so that when the time comes to get a big girl job, I’ll have more knowledge of the recreation field as a whole.

We were excited to see our Cougars win their first 2 games! Hopefully we’ll be able to make it to one or two this season. As for the baby, things are going great! I am definitely getting a little bump, and we are excited for find out if we’re having a boy or girl in the next few weeks. My swimming class at BYU should help me keep the exercise up so that I can stay healthy and fit!

Well I think that is all for now! We hope you have a wonderful week and we’ll keep you updated as things keep changing around this Doroshkin home! 

Blog Name Change!

Well Friends! It’s finally happening! Alex and I are going to be parents!!!  We are expecting our little one to arrive around February 19! We could not be more excited to start the rewarding but scary road to parenthood.

So far the pregnancy has been great! Besides the normal tiredness and slight discomforts, I have been feeling very good and so far have avoided the dreaded morning sickness. Alex has been a wonderful and helpful husband! He is always trying to make sure I am as comfortable and even goes on late night food runs with me. I am 14 ½ weeks so we just have to wait a few more weeks to find out what the gender is.

And our lucky little baby will have lots of cousins to play with! My sister Chelsea will be having a baby in November and our niece Brooke will be a year in April, which means that on the Mecham side there will be 3 grandchildren within a year! And to add to the excitement, our sister in law Sveta is expecting as well and is due exactly one month before we are! Babies all around!!

Again, we couldn’t be more excited to start our little family! We feel so lucky to be blessed with children and a healthy pregnancy so far. The Lord is truly looking out for us and sharing His love, we are grateful for His watch and care over us. We’ll keep you posted and post pictures as my belly gets bigger (which I feel is everyday). We love you all and wish you a great start to a new school year! 

Baby at 11 weeks! Baby is now almost the size of a softball!! 

Is it really August??

Dear friends and family!

Is it really August already?? Where has time gone?? This summer has been an amazing one! Not much has changed since our last post, but I guess that ultimately means that Alex and I are still loving life and each other! This week brings an end to a few things, my internship will wrap up this week and then just one more week of swim lessons until I get my well deserved week vacation  :) Alex finishes his summer classes this week, 2 history classes wasn’t exactly the most favorite way to spend the summer, but it will allow him to graduate on time! We are still working on medical school applications, for those who are not familiar with medical school, it is an extremely long process. It could be next spring before we actually know if and where we will be going.

This summer has been filled with fun outings to the park, family reunions, barbeques, and even a rubber ducky race down the BYU campus stream! (pictures below). One of the most exciting things that happened recently is that my parents and little sister moved to Singapore last week. They will be there for 2 years on a work assignment. We got the chance to talk to them yesterday and they are already adjusting. It will be a really awesome adventure, and even though we will miss them a lot, we are grateful for technology that keeps us close together! We look forward to visiting them over in Singapore in the near future!

We are looking forward to another family reunion and a much needed trip to Vancouver to see Alex’s family to finish off our summer! I am anxious to start my last semester in college and for Alex to get his last year (of undergraduate) underway! We’ll write again when we have more exciting things going on, I realize this post wasn’t the most interesting but it’s our life and we love it! 

(My duck won :) )

Summer and Such!

I love summer! It is my favorite time of the year! Maybe it’s because there is no school, but I think mostly it’s because the sun is shining and it’s hot most of the time! This summer has been a blast so far! Busy, but a blast. My last post was right at the end of the semester. Spring flew by as Alex was busy preparing for the MCAT, shadowing a neurologist, and continuing his volunteer work. We didn’t see each other much as I was working most of the time, helping get the pool ready to open for Memorial Day weekend. My internship has been great! I have learned so much and have really developed a greater love for Recreation and have also expanded my knowledge in so many areas.

Alex took the MCAT the same day that Kaitlyn (Josalyn’s little sister) graduated from high school. I can’t believe she is that old! She will be going to Utah State in the fall, so I’m glad she’ll only be a few hours away. Alex felt he did okay on the MCAT, so that's a good sign, right? We spent the Memorial Day holiday camping with Josalyn’s family. It was extremely fun! (minus the day of pouring rain). We enjoyed walks, swimming, cards, sitting by the fire, and even taking family pictures! The only bad part was our car breaking down before we headed back to Provo. After finding out it would be $600 to tow, we drove to a little town, got a tow dolly, towed the car back to Boise ourselves, and then drove Bertha (the buick lesabre) back to Provo. Thank goodness Mom and Dad have an extra car that we could borrow until we figure things out with our Saab. If you know of anyone who is wanting to purchase a 2003 Saab 9-3 let us know!!! 

June got underway with swimming lessons starting and more internship hours. Alex is still waiting patiently to get his MCAT score, and then the real application process to med school will start. Alex did get hired on to volunteer at the radiology center at Utah Valley so that’s great news. That will give him more shadowing experience as well as patient exposure. We are hopeful that we will get into medical school this year, but if we don’t, things will look good for next year.

Last week, Alex started school again. He is getting a couple of general classes out of the way so that his semesters can be a little more relaxing for the next year. We are both eagerly awaiting graduation and I can’t wait to get my last semester over with this fall.

The rest of our summer is busy and planned out with family reunions, a trip to Vancouver, plenty of work, school, and internships. I can’t believe that the 1^st of July is in less than a week. My parents and Brielle leave for Singapore in 5 weeks and won’t be back to visit till Christmas. It will be weird to have them so far away but we couldn’t be more excited for their new adventure.

Well we are still loving life and each other. Through this stressful time of decision making and medical school applications we try to stick together and rely on the Lord. We know that as we continue to follow His commandments and do all that we can, that He will bless us. We are grateful to have the church and be part of such a wonderful ward, it makes all the difference, and brings us all the happiness in the world. We hope this post finds all our friends happy and well. We love you all!