My husband

J is very selfless. He would do anything for anyone. When we moved into our first house it was crazy. He quit his job to pursue running his own company, he bought a new truck, Ava was days old, and we bought a new house. It was crazy. And we had NO MONEY. The little we had was what he was getting from small concrete jobs..and I mean small. He always carried cash in his wallet (as most contruction workers do I think) and was out doing stuff one day. He had come home to tell me that he had given some money to someone. Some random person had approached him and asked for money. In that situation, most would either say no, or give a few dollars. Not J. He gave this man $150!! That may seem like nothing..but at the time, to us, it was A LOT! He was confident we'd be blessed for it. He had no doubt. Not a flicker.

J would do anything for me. He's the kind of husband that knows when I need a night out and will watch all the kids, even my girlfriends kids, so that we can enjoy a night out. It's a special man who is willing to spend a Friday night at home with a house full of kids. Ever since we met, he has always done everything in his control to make me happy. Even moving here, he tries everyday to make this experience a good one. I'm always asleep when he comes home and he doesn't know it, but I hear him every night get on his knees and pray for me and that I'll be ok here.

J loves his mom. In fact, if he's doing something that makes me crazy, I theaten him with telling on him to his mom and he does not like it. His love, respect, admiration for his mother is one of the things that made me want to marry him. The way he treats her is exactly how I knew he'd treat me. He is tender. Loving. Respectful. Compassionate. Empathetic. Wonderful.

J is an amazing father. The kind of relationship he has with our children is amazing. I know they want to be like him. He's the kind of dad that after a long day at work, where he might be justified in sitting on the couch and relaxing, he won't. He knows it's the time of day where he can spend time with his kids. He will wrestle with them, teach them to ride a bike, help them with homework, give baths and read to them. And he doesn't do any of this with protest. He actually enjoys it.

J is the kind of friend who will give his friend a ride to the airport at 4 am.

J will wait on his bike during a race for his friend to catch up to help him finish.

J is the kind of person who can handle emergency situations with confidence. When my sister flew out of a tube on the lake, and she couldn't move her legs, he knew exactly what to do. And he proceeded to hold her head in his hands in the HOT SUN for over half an hour, while the ambulance was trying to locate us on the lake. His arms were shaking after 10 minutes but he never moved.

J tells me he loves me everyday. He tells me I'm beautiful. He tells me I'm amazing for coming here.

J is the best.

So why am I taking the time to brag? I mean I must sound so cheesy!

Well.....

This has been the most difficult week for me here. And I had to remind myself why I am here. This has been a dream of J's ever since I met him. He has always wanted to be a doctor. As much as I have fought this, I know it is what he has always wanted to do. And while being here has challenged me in more ways than I ever thought possible, I know in the end, everything will be ok. I know that THINGS WON'T ALWAYS BE LIKE THIS. It has been a week of cold showers, no water (again) falling on my knees on our stairs, a permanently sad, crying baby, drug related violence that is so scary that some wives are moving back to the States and others have decided it's best not to go out at night, and only seeing my husband for a few minutes a day. I will admit, I have shed many tears this week. I don't cry often so I have felt somewhat of a failure this week. I hide my tears from my family for fear that they will think this is a bad place and from J so that he doesn't feel guilt for bringing me here. I have to accept that my tears are ok. That this was a bad week, but next week will be better. That I am lucky to be here with someone who will take care of me. And even though this is hard, things won't always be like this. And when it feels easy, things won't always be like this. So it goes...

XO

Our weekend

For whatever reason, I have no idea why, school was canceled on Friday. Soooo...my friend and I took the kids to a museum. It was fantastic! And of course, cheap. To get an annual pass here for our whole family would cost around 600 pesos. That's around $50USD. So awesome. And what's really great about it is that it's clean. There are no parks here that I would want to take my kids to because they're all metal, they're dirty, and just gross. So having the park at the museum was extra good news.
The museum was separated into different sections. They had a farm, a clinic, a grocery store, a music room, a dance room, a news room, a tumbling area, a science area, and the favorite...a bubble area. I am pretty sure we will need to invest in an annual pass.
Friday night...date night. J said he only has about an hour before he had to study. So we went to our favorite taco stand. It's located right next to the crepe stand. It's a little more pricy than the other taco stands around.. but well worth it. And we still only spent less than $15 for everything. Not too bad for date night. I love the crepas here. They're so huge. So good. They put cajeta inside. Cajeta is kind of like a caramel sauce...but better. Tons of fruit on top. And of course, icecream. Delicioso! J knows how to make me happy.. especially since he was going to be gone...again.
Saturday. Family outing. We went to downtown Guadalajara. I really like downtown. It's old and they have beautiful buildings and cathedrals. We went to this place called San Juan de Dios and inside is tons and tons of jewelry. It's kind of overwhelming. Then next to it there is a market where they sell knock off items. That's where we bought DVDs for dirt cheap. We bought 7 movies for 100 pesos. This place is not exactly the best place for a day with kids. Well..little kids. So it wasn't a huge success. But still glad we went. My favorite part of the day has to do with, of course, lunch. Our friends showed us this place called Chai. It's a cafe that sells paninis, salads, wraps, etc. Very good. It's got a great ambiance. The building is super old but inside it feels very modern. It's always nice to find food here that isn't, Mexican. Loved it. I got a caprese salad (thinking of you Tanners:)) and it was tasty. I also got a turkey and gorgonzola panini..also very tasty. Will definitely be returning to this place soon.

So I guess you could say it sord of feels like a vacation here still. Except that it's not. And tomorrow is Sunday. And Sundays are probably the hardest days of the week here for me. I miss dinners with family. I miss my mother in law and her healthy, yet super tasty cooking. I miss my mom's flan. I miss making random stops at my friends house with goodies and being able to say hi.
So tomorrow I have decided that I will buy bombas and abuelita's hot chocolate and invite friends over. Maybe then I won't feel so homesick. Maybe.

Bad: Last week our water stopped working. No water. That means: no showers, no dishes cleaned, no laundry, and yes..no going to the bathroom. We dealt with this for less than 1 day. Long freakin day. Oh, and J was gone the entire day too. Not fun. At all. ALSO...my newest niece was born this week..and we aren't there to smell and hold and love on her. Big bummer.
Good: One night, in my complete lonliness, I was desperate for a treat. And we had nothing. Or so I thought. They sell these crackers here that are very similar to graham crackers. Only I think they're better. They have some kind of cinnamon flavor. So I pulled out some of those and put peanut butter, mini marshmellows, and chocolate chips on top. So good.

XO

El Zoo

J said I have to be in charge of Saturdays with the family from now on. Where we go, what we eat, how much it will cost, etc. Wow, no pressure since I've only been here 2 weeks! Luckily I have some friends that have been here longer and gave me some ideas. So for our first Saturday family outing, we went to the zoo. I had been told that the zoo in Guadalajara is supposed to be awesome. And cheap. And it was! It only cost 52 pesos for adults and 32 for kids to get in. That's like $20 for the whole family.
Well, for most of you who know me, I don't love the zoo. Any zoo. I'm just not an animal lover for whatever reason. In fact, I think most animals are ugly and gross. Sorry for those who love animals. But this zoo was pretty cool, even for a zoo. There was lots to see, it was incredible. The weather was amazing. It was really funny because after a while, Ava tells me how she doesn't like the zoo that much. When I asked her why, she said it was boring to look at animals. Amazing how similar that girl is to me. Lucky for her, there is an amusement park attached to the zoo, (there's also an aquarium..but we'll save that for another day) so off we went! That part wasn't actually part of my plan but so it goes...
The kids loved this slide that they had..I had to record and share. Sorry for my obnoxious laughter in the background..it was just hilarious. I had tears from laughing so hard. And the music was so loud! You better believe Mexicans rock out ALL THE TIME.

Bad: We had stake conference this weekend and so me and J went to the adult session together. It was over two hours long and I didn't understand 90% of it. And we hadn't eaten dinner yet so I was starving! It was kinda painful.

Good: Lots of good...Friday morning I was feeling a little homesick, started feeling kinda down. Then decided I wasn't gonna let myself wallow in self pity so I decided to have a dance party with Lola to lift my spirits. IT was amazing. Homegirl loves to get down. :) Also...J took me to La Vaca Friday night. It's an amazing restaurant!!!! Then we got churros after..oh so very good.  

One more thing  I have to say..I love love love my girlfriends. You know who you are. Thanks girls for all the phone calls..everyday. They help me more than you can imagine.

Feliz Cumpleanos

Today this little person will be a year old. She is a very precious little person with a lot to give. I feel lucky to be able to watch her grow everyday. I know she is a little more emotional than my Ava, which will be interesting for us all. I'm not exactly the "sensitive" one in this family. :) But I will learn from her and hopefully she will be able to learn something from me. She is so happy. She's always been a happy baby. She loves to be around people. She has been a social person since she was a tiny person. She loves her 2nd mommy and this will be very difficult celebrating her first birthday without her here. :(
So today we will celebrate Lola and her first birthday. We will celebrate with a cake purchased at the panderia and maybe a pinata. It will be awesome.
Happy birthday Lola.

XO

Lately...

I have survived my first week in Guadalajara. Here's what we've done so far...

So I went to a market and bought some produce. It's the way to go because if you buy at the grocery stores, they rip you off and the produce isn't very good at all. At the market, they weigh the produce in front of you and it lasts much longer and tastes much better. So I bought some of these miniature bananas..perfect for the kids and they taste pretty good.

I came home with all this and spent 90 pesos..which ends up being around $8.00 or so. I bought mangos, bananas, pineapple, bell peppers, squash, green beans, grapes, pears, and peaches. Oh, and of course they had some chocolate covered raisins so I bought those too. Almost felt like Sprouts...almost.

After I came home from the market, I had to clean my produce..so I don't get parasites. It's actually not too bad. Just something to get used to here. My kids usually love grapes. But they won't eat these because these ones have seeds in them. And I guess you can buy them at Costco without seeds..but they cost about $8.00 so I probably won't be doing that!

Last Saturday was the picnic that the school holds before every semester. This is where students can buy and sell books. Some of the students or their wives will sell other stuff too, like jewelry, hair stuff, furniture, someone was even trying to sell their car since they were leaving. It's totally segregated too. Their are a lot of Puerto Ricans and they sord of keep to themselves. Then the Mexicans. And the Americans. They had a D.J. playing music..American stuff, like P. Diddy (or Dirty Money..whatever his new name is!) and it's seriously loud party music. J says they put ASU to shame with their parties.

This precious little baby is my friend's baby. I had to take a picture of her because of her earrings. They are TINY! I was dying over them. And it was funny talking about them to her. In Mexico, if you're a girl, you get your ears pierced when you're born..as in, you don't leave the hospital without doing it. That's always what my mom had told us too but I didn't think they still did it. Amazing. I love it.

Don't let this picture fool you. This little person is having such a hard time here. She just doesn't feel good and she wants to be held. All. The. Time. It's a little exhausting. But I can sympathize. She misses home. So do I.

J...trying so hard to smile. But it's difficult as this point because he is seriously stressed. He has no idea...:)

The food that was served at the picnic was pretty tasty. Noah seemed pretty satisfied. The best is Coca Lite. I admit, I'm addicted. Jenesey..totally better than route 44 with fresh lime. You love it. :)

This is a picture of some of the houses near us. On top of the houses are the gas tanks. I have no idea why they do this. I'm sure there is a perfectly good explanation. But seriously..there's got to be a better way.

So I went to downtown Guadalajara to get the kids' uniforms for school and they have these fruit stands everywhere here. They put all this fruit in a cup and then they add sea salt, lime, and chile. It sounds gross. But I gave it a try. And it is as gross as it sounds. But maybe over time I will learn to love it?

Every Monday they have what's called, "Tianguias" and they block the whole street off for this. It's a little bit of everything. They sell movies, jewelry, sunglasses, toys, candy, produce, hangers, clothes, everything. And it's cheap. Really cheap. I will say that the other market I went to was 10 times better. But it was fun to experience this too.

I am so sorry about this picture. I have tried to turn it around but it just won't work. This is what happens without having my sister around! But I just had to post this pic. It's a cathedral in downtown Guadalajara. So amazing.



I finally got these two in school. So stressful. But they are attending an all Spanish speaking school. It's kinda crazy, but this way, they will hopefully learn the language quickly. This does mean I will be doing a lot more with Ava at home. This will be difficult for us both. And I may be able to put her in a private school next year, but they are sooo expensive here. So for now, this is where they will go. The school is all blocked off so no one can enter or exit during school hours. All the teachers are women. And it's pretty strict. They also wear these lanyards that have their info and picture on it so they will never get misplaced. All things I find comfort in.



So that is how we have spent our first week here. I still spend too much time at my house. I'm ready to go out and see stuff. However, I'm not confident that I won't get lost. And the thought of getting lost here is absolutely terrifying. I see now that this will be challenging me in all kinds of ways.

Good: I brought stuff to make baked spaghetti so we didn't have to eat tacos for dinner tonight.

Bad: I tried to bake brownies and they were burning on top so I pulled them out. When I cut into them, they were liquid on bottom. So I might have the worst oven and I'm sad cuz I love to bake.

XO

Hola!

We made it! We are here in Guadalajara safe and sound. It has been a little crazy and I'm not going to lie.. I am feeling a little overwhelmed with everything. And a little homesick. :( But now that I have internet, I feel a little better. I was feeling so lost without internet or a phone. So here are some of the immediate changes I have experienced:

• In order to get hot water you have to get these workers to come out and they go on your roof to fill up your tank. And they come back everytime you run out, which for our family, could be once a month or so. Sooo, yesterday I took the coldest shower. Ever. Boo.
• Here you have to separate your trash between organics and inorganics. And it's not as simple as recycables. And no one seems to have the same answers but what I do know is if I don't separate properly, they won't pick up my trash. Which can result in a whole new set of issues. Bugs being the main one.
• Driving here is insanity. You HAVE to be aggressive. And quick. Otherwise you're toast. So J made me drive for the first time tonight. Lucky for him, aggressive driving is no prob for me. :)
• You cannot drink the water here. Or eat the fruits and veggies without cleaning them with a special solution. So every morning the truck comes by with water. And I had to buy this stuff to clean my fruits so I can eat them. And if I don't take some sort of pill, soon, then I could get parasites. Awesome.
• So the other major problem for me is that I sord of look Mexican. So I get approached and spoken to as if I knew the language fluently. Luckily, I know a lot. But I can't speak as well as I can understand. I end up fumbling so much over my words that I know I must look completely stupid. It would just be better if I'd stop trying and say, "no entiendo nada!"

This week will be the hardest, I'm certain of that.I miss my friends. I miss my family. I miss the United States.

Good: we made it to Mexico in one piece.
Bad: we live in Mexico. :) just kidding. Sord of.

xo

Family photos