I'm Thankful For You!

Max,
This blog is for you! Happy First Thanksgiving in the United States! Max you are the most incredible man that I have ever met! On this special day, I want to say thank you with all of my heart for who you are and for all your love.

Thank you for leaving everything and everyone you knew to come to the "jungle" of Sandown, NH. Thank you for making our wedding in Peru so perfect and for all the fun memories at our Calef's Country Store wedding #2! Thank you for being such a good sport and trying all our American food, like roasted marshmallows and my dinner inventions. Thank you for your patience with me as your driver's ed instructor. Thank you for helping me correct papers for my Spanish classes. Thank you for all our fun date nights watching adventure movies, eating Chinese food, and exploring the big cities of Manchester and Concord.

And most of all thank you for being the loving, patient, fun, and encouraging man that you are! Of everything I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving, above all, I'm thankful for you!

xoxo
~Emily

Tradition! Tradition!

It is after midnight, but I can not not blog about my most exciting, most recent purchase.....

A FLIGHT TICKET TO PERU!!


After 9 months apart, I can not wait to be with my Max! (and also his family!) I will be leaving Boston at 10:35 a.m. August 2nd and returning at 12:16 p.m. August 22nd. My father-in-law told me we'd be sure to have lots of "cuy" to celebrate my arrival.

So why the "tradition" title? Ha! My life has been far from following any sort of routine, let alone tradition, but this may be the start! I flew Continental Airlines last Sept, and now I have my first frequent flyer mile account with them. A start to a new tradition! Also, now that I will be a middle school World Language Teacher, August may remain the best time to visit relatives in my favorite land of Inca Kola. I hear the world tradition!



On the other hand, if there is one thing I have learned the past few years, it is that life is full of changes. As Rachel Lynde from "Anne of Green Gables" put it, "You're never free from surprise 'till your dead!" There are so many things in life that are out of our control, which I for one, find very frustrating.

BUT, as my boss consoled me on a particularly "down" day, there are certain things in our lives we CAN control, and we need to! Yes, my airline and flight dates were two things I could control, but perhaps there are things even more important in my life to take charge over as well. Things like: my attitude, the words that I say, how often I visit my family, the respect I show to strangers, the encouragement I give to my friends, my use of free time (gotta love those documentaries!), and so many other seemingly inconsequential day-to-day habits. Those mini-traditions can make up a person and even a life!

My previous blog had the words to, "How You Live," by Point of Grace, which gives a list of several simple but special daily traditions to cherish. Another song I was encouraged by this week was, "My Next 30 Years" by Tim McGraw. Tim sings about "turning a page" in his life when he reaches his 30 year milestone. He sings, "Now it's time to focus in on where I go from here," and whether we're 13, 30 or 93, I think it is always a good time to stop and take a look at our lives and the traditions we want to live by.



And while the song is still stuck in your head, feel free to sing along to Fiddler on the Roof's "Tradition", and maybe it will help us both remember to start and keep those traditions in our lives that matter the most.

How You Live

This is a song that always inspires me!

"How You Live"
Point Of Grace



Wake up to the sunlight with your windows open
Don't hold in your anger or leave things unspoken
Wear your red dress use your good dishes
Make a big mess and make lots of wishes
Have what you want, but want what you have
And don't spend you life looking back

CHORUS:
Turn up the music; Turn it up Loud
Take a few chances; Let it all out
Because you won't regret it
Looking back from where you have been
Because it's not who you knew and it's not what you did
It's how you Live


So go to the ballgames and go to the ballet
And go see your folks more than just on the holidays
Kiss all your children; Dance with your wife
Tell your husband you love him every night
Don't run from the truth cause you can't get away
Oh no
Just face it and you'll be ok

CHORUS

Where ever you are and wherever you've been
Now is a time to begin

So give to the needy and pray for the grieving
Even when you don't think that you can
Cause all that you do is bound to come back to you
So think of your fellow man
And make peace with God and Make peace with yourself
Oh yeah
Cause in the end there's nobody else

CHORUS

Early Spring Morning on the Homestead

Flowers From My Husband!

Locking Your Keys in the Car DOES Have its Benefits!

After 5, or perhaps more, times of locking my keys in my car this year. I have discovered the wonderful advantages to such a circumstance:

-The glow from the extra color in your cheeks.
-A whole extra hour to hangout with your manager after work.
-A free ride in a tow truck.
-Time to sit and read the funnies from the newspaper recycling rack.
-The opportunity to meet elderly men at the local hardware store who also recently locked their keys in their car.
-A very educational, "How to Break into a Locked Car for Dummies" lesson.
-Information all about useful tools such as wire, plastic-lock-undooer-thingamagiggers, and blood-pressure-taker-car-door-prop-openers.
-An extra 30 minutes of strength training at the gym.
-Knowing your car insurance with Geico works.
-Quality "Mom-time" in Hannaford's to dig through the book bin.
-Friendships with nearly all mechanics in Southern, NH!


Really? Who wouldn't want to lock their keys in the car?!

Finding Joy in the Pressing On!

Max and I are still waiting for news on the visa, but not worried, as July 22nd is the projected date for contact after the initial review process. Now is our time to hurry up and wait - but not without purpose! Not only is our marriage relationship growing steadily - though Skype, snail mail, texts, and phone calls - but the time apart has opened doors to opportunities we wouldn't have otherwise had.

I have always loved working with children. From babysitting and being a camp counselor, to teaching and just chatting with kids who come to visit Calef's Candy Land - nothing makes my day like a kid's smile and hello! Since the weather has warmed up, I've also enjoyed getting to know the children from my apartment a little better, and whenever I bring my rabbit, Peanut Butter Cup, out to play - out they come too! We all work together to make sure she doesn't sneak through the fence and into the neighbor's garden! Wascally Wabbit!

A post I did this past winter was the pictures of my four Compassion sponsored children. Since I was 16 and sponsored my first girl, Pamela from Uganda, I have had a growing love for children around the world who are in need - especially in need of someone who believes in them!

Recently, Max and I learned about two boys in Alto Trujillo, a very poor suburb of the city where Max lives, who are in need of hope. Samuel, 12, and Isai, 8, lost their mother to breast cancer two months ago. They are living with their father and grandmother, but miss their mom terribly. Whenever it is cloudy, Isai is afraid that his mother can't see him from the sky. Isai, who earlier this year was at the top of his class, now is refusing to do his school work and he says he wants to go far away from home.

When Max and I learned about the situation of these two boys, we decided that we wanted to help, however much or little we can. For Mother's Day Max stopped by to bring a new soccer ball to the boys. Only the older brother was home, and a picture of him with the new ball and another of him and his grandmother are below. Soon we hope to begin selling Peruvian made products to raise money to help the boys' father pay for the debts the family has incurred due to hospital and funeral costs.

It made me so happy to hear that when Samuel saw my husband getting off the bus this morning, he immediately had a huge grin on his face and raced over to greet his friend (they previously had know each other from a school building project Max completed in their area a year ago). I'm so glad his heart is open to receive his and our friendship, and I hope and pray that with time, little Isai, will be able to know that the clouds don't keep him from being seen by people who love him.

Those aren't hiking shoes, ya know!

Spring has sprung in New Hampshire! Today I went hiking in Pawtuckaway State Park and wore my beautiful new and blue criss-cross Tevas. My hiking book said it was a level 1 hiking area, and since I didn't bring my sneakers along for the weekend visit at my dad's, I decided to give the hike a shot without the best footwear. It turned out just fine, except for the fact that more than one person commented on my sandals. Oh well!

So here's the update on the visa:






Did you catch that? Yeah, no news yet, but we're waiting with eager anticipation and expectation for Max to make it to the US before I get my first gray hair! In the meantime, Max has begun to contact individuals and companies about engineer work in New England. One particular professor at UNH has been really helpful. Even though I'd love to say on the NH seacoast area, looks like we might be in VT or even ME next year. I can sense adventures ahead!

Max's Visa

It's been four long months seeing Max! Fortunately, we've been able to stay in close communication through email, phone, and Skype. Recently, though, Max accepted a new job position working for a company in the Andes mountains (about 12,000 feet above sea-level!), and our communication has been limited because of his rural setting. It's been tough not being able to see his face on Skype and call him when I want to, but at least we can keep sending text messages (I think we're keeping Verizon in business!).

The most recent development in the whole visa process is that we hired a lawyer! What a relief for me, now that I don't have to worry about misinterpreting forms or forgetting to complete certain paperwork. Our lawyer is a full-fledged immigration attorney. You can see his profile and website at http://www.foleylawoffices.com/Attorneys . He's incredibly knowledgeable and personable too. My dad went along with me to our consultation on Monday, and we both were impressed with his character, work, and multitude of interesting immigration stories. The entire process is predicted to be about 8 months. I don't really care how long it takes, just as long as I know Max will be here with me!

Snow Day Discoveries

I'm chilling (literally) on the Maine seacoast. Snow has been gracefully and steadily falling since 7 o'clock this morning. Though I made it to the post office to mail out a job application, I don't dare make the 1/2 hour trek to work with the responsibility of caring for my boss' beloved black lab. Instead, here I am watching startling and life-changing documentaries on Netflix.

The first documentary I viewed is by National Geographic, entitled "Stress: Portrait of a Killer," by Robert Sapolsky. Earlier in my blogs I mused about the benefits and consequences of stress. This video suggests that stress, especially chronic, has multiple consequences on us physically, even to the point that brain cells that control memory can be lost. A lot of stress to do with status or social class. Dr. Sapolsky, the researcher behind this project, studied baboons in Kenya. He found that the males in the lower end of the social spectrum had increased stress, felt less happiness, and showed beginning signs of blocked arteries. The leaders of the pack did not have these struggles. Interestingly, though, when TB became spread to throughout the troop, it was the ones on the bottom of the totem pole that survived because of their strong relationships with the others.

Sometimes, or perhaps often, we find ourselves in continually stressful situations. The studies from this video showed that to combat stress we need the support of friends and loved ones. When we can talk about the things that cause us stress, especially with others that understand us and accept us, incredible healing can occur. As far as social status goes, the film suggests that it is important to find a job, or avenue where we can feel significant, and consciously choose not to allow societies judgement of us, how we perform, or what we have to give the final "say so" of our personal value.

The second video, I'm still in the process of watching is entitled "Food, Inc.," directed by Robert Kenner. Did you know that there are only FOUR major companies who produce about 80% of the meat we consume in the US? To find out more, I suggest you watch this video for yourself. Another video I plan on seeing this afternoon is "The Future of Food" by Filmmaker Deborah Koons Garcia. Let's just say I'm thinking about buying local meat and produce and maybe starting gardening as a hobby again.