Our New Neighborhood

I don't have pictures to post yet. I am blogging from Lincoln's iPad, using our next-door neighbor's wi-fi. By this weekend, we should have our computer set up with an Internet account. Until then, you get to read more of my ramblings. Let me just start off by saying that my English is already worse than it was when we moved here a month ago. Lincoln's English is even worse than mine. I'm afraid when we come back to visit in five months, we won't even be able to talk to any of you Americans! :) Now, don't assume that this means that I am even close to being fluent in Spanish...I just have all of these Spanish words floating around in my head because I hear them and see them anytime I go outside. I understand now why the fastest way to learn a language is to live in a country where it is spoken. It's all around us!

We are officially moved into our new home. We have a bunch of boxes everywhere, and we have a lot of deep cleaning to do, but we are excited to be here. The house feels huge. Kylee is SO happy with this house. She spends so much of her time just running around looking at everything. Her new thing is to look around the house for different things. She will say, "Clothes...are you?" ("Clothes, where are you?") Then she will run to the closet in her new bedroom, where her clothes are, and yell, "Clothes!". It is incredibly cute!

Our little neighborhood feels SO safe and secure. I mentioned before that there is a guard in front if the entrance to the neighborhood 24/7. He calls us when we have a visitor to ask our permission to let them into the neighborhood. We have a clubhouse with a round pool (it is really cool-looking) a tennis court, a little swing and slide, and some grass where the dogs
can run. One of my favorite parts about it is that it has a BEAUTIFUL view of the city, which we can also see from our bedroom window. I love it.

We have such friendly neighbors. Our next-door neighbors are awesome. Their names are Montse and Robbie. Robbie is earning his masters degree in translating here. He grew up in the U.S., and his wife Montse is from Mexico. She has already driven me around to look for appliances, fed us dinner, brought us treats, and let us do our laundry at her house. She knows both English and Spanish, which I'm sure will be a huge help to me. We also met our neighbors who live across the street from us. One man is a cardiologist, so he likes Lincoln because he graduated from the medical school that Lincoln attends. The other man and woman are tv personalities here. The man is on a show about dogs, so they like us since we have two dogs that we love. It works out well!

I think that is it for now. Thanks for putting up with my incredibly detailed posts. There are more to come!

Home Sweet Home

We've made the final decision on our new home! We actually really loved the style of the first house that we looked at (such a cute little Mexican home), the layout of the second house (big upstairs & a circular layout downstairs, where the dogs & Kylee can run in circles all they want), and the community playground of the third house (huge, gorgeous park is more like it)...but we could only choose one, of course. Do you want to guess which one we went with? That's right...STYLE! 

This is the house that was originally out of our price range, but now is cheaper than the house we put a deposit on. We are pretty excited about it. It is a cute little Mexican-style house (that is the only way I know how to describe it) with 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, a wing off of the master bedroom with a desk where Lincoln can study, plus a maid's quarters (another small room with a bathroom off of it). The only thing we really don't like about this house is that it doesn't have grass. The little backyard is all tile...but it is cute & seems like a fun little hang-out spot, where we can sit outside and enjoy the nice weather. So we will just have to deal with taking the dogs out for a walk multiple times a day, like we did in AZ.

(Also, after seeing the bright blue dolphins on the shower door & the angel with the sword on the front door of house #3, plus realizing that house #2's water heater could give us carbon monoxide poisoning, we figured that house #1 would be our best bet. :) )

We went back to our soon-to-be home tonight to work out some details (this was the 3rd time we've been there) & it was even cuter than I remembered. It actually felt like home. I am so glad that we will finally have a place here to call our own. Even though we don't have any appliances, furniture, bedding, dishes, etc. just being together will be enough...at least for the first day or so. I'm sure the novelty will wear off pretty quickly if we don't at least get a refrigerator & bed. :) 

I'm so thankful that we are receiving so many blessings. Last night I was up until 2am & couldn't sleep, just feeling so anxious about everything. Then, when I was reading my scriptures today, I just happened to be in 3 Nephi, chapter 13, which ends with this:

"Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself."

If I could live by that scripture, I would be a much happier person. It's funny how I look all around me for answers & EVERY single time I end up finding answers that actually help me, I find them in the scriptures or through prayer. I love the gospel. And I love our new home!!!

(I'll post pictures when we move in!)

Elder Holland Can't Roll His R's Either!

We had stake conference today. It was a broadcast from Salt Lake. Some of the talks were given in English & some were given in Spanish. We Americans sat in another room where the Spanish talks were translated into English. Elder Jeffery R. Holland was the final speaker. He started & finished his talk in Spanish. And guess what? He can't roll his R's! Just like me! 

It was so endearing to hear Elder Holland speak Spanish in his very American accent. He admitted to the congregation that he knew his pronunciation was horrible, which made his talk feel more genuine to me than if he had a perfect Spanish accent. He was so humble, but not afraid to speak Spanish the way he knew how to speak it. I took 2 1/2 years of Spanish in junior high & high school & never figured out how to roll my R's. As a result, I absolutely dreaded the verbal tests that we were given in class, because I knew my pronunciation was terrible. I could write fairly well in Spanish, & I knew how most words were supposed to sound, but could never get the words to sound right coming out of my mouth. 

I've forgotten a lot of the vocabulary & rules that I learned in class, but am determined to be fluent in Spanish by the time we move back to the United States. In my mind, though, I never thought that I could be fluent unless I learned how to roll my R's. While I still hope that I can learn that seemingly simple talent, I have more confidence that I can communicate with the people of Mexico, even if I never master that ability. Hopefully I can show them that I am trying, even if I don't sound great. It definitely worked for Elder Holland.

As I stood outside & listened to the end of Elder Holland's talk through the wall, while Kylee played in the wet grass, I heard him bear his testimony of Jesus Christ...in Spanish. It was such a heartfelt, tender testimony that I couldn't keep from crying. What a wonderful example these apostles are to us! They love us and they love the Lord.

While I have learned many lessons from the leaders of the Church during my life, I learned a very personal lesson from Elder Holland today. He reminded me that if I do my best & have good intentions, the Lord will make up the rest. That was exactly what I needed to hear. The Lord truly blesses us if we are trying to do good things in life. Thank you for the reminder Elder Holland!

Our Week in Pictures

These pictures should give you an idea of how our week went...

I'm happy to say that Kylee & I are out of our PJ's & doing well today! Kylee has been SO sick, but is finally getting back to feeling like herself. I'm so glad. It was so sad to see her hardly able to move. I'm sure once Kylee is off her meds, she will be even happier. Medicine time (3 medications, 3 times a day) involves pinning her to the bed & forcing her to take her meds. Fun times.

Cabeza Tacos

Last week, we met our friends at a taco shop for a late meal. I had been wanting to try "cabeza" (head) tacos, since I saw them on a menu here. According to Lincoln, here in Mexico they boil the head in a big pot & peel the cow's face off & serve it in tacos. Hmmm. I tried "labio" (cheek) also, but I liked the head better. 

Getting ready to try it...

Juicy!

(Remind me to never pose like this for the camera again. Not cute.)

Kylee even had a taste, although she had no idea what she was eating. Please don't call CPS. Oh wait, they probably don't have that here! :)

Next time we are going to try "lengua" (tongue) tacos!!!

Blessings

Kylee has been really sick since Saturday. Yesterday, her neck was so stiff she could hardly move it. Then today, she could barely move her neck or back. She has had a high fever the entire time. I was starting to get worried. I sat with her all day yesterday & today. She would hardly let me touch her. Poor girl.

Lincoln starts a class in 2 weeks that involves spending 4 hours a week taking care of patients. Each student chooses from a list where they would like to volunteer for the semester. Linc remembered that there was a place on UAG campus on that list, so we took Kylee there. The doctor there was SO nice. I even understood about half of what he said! :) Kylee ended up having a bad infection in her throat. The doctor wrote a few prescriptions for her, then informed us that the office we were at only treats school faculty, students & their families...and that it is FREE. Seriously? I couldn't believe that we hadn't heard about it. And it doesn't seem like many other students really know about it. I was beyond happy! The school doesn't offer medical insurance, so this was a really big deal. 

We also found a house last week that we really like. We actually put a deposit down on it. We had looked at one other house, but the price was too high. Well, we got a call from the owner of the first house, saying that he was willing to go down quite a bit in price. And Linc's cousin's landlady came over tonight & told us that she has a house for rent that she wants us to look at. All of the houses are in a coto, which is a guarded, gated neighborhood. They are very safe. Lincoln's cousin lives in a coto and we love it. I walk the dogs by myself at night & feel safer here than I did in Arizona. 

So anyway, we are being very blessed. We have Thomas & Jenn here, who cook for us and keep us company and help us adjust to life in Mexico. We have an awesome doctor to go to, who provides free medical care for us. We have too many houses to choose from for the right price. We have a sweet child & I am healthy & Lincoln is in medical school. I told Lincoln a few weeks ago that sometimes I honestly wonder if I'm in a dream & I'm going to wake up...and be in excruciating pain on a daily basis from endometriosis & not have Kylee. Because sometimes my life seems too good to be true. I mean, sure I have a bad day once in awhile, like anyone else, but overall I feel so honored that this life is mine. We are SO blessed!!!

Fun With Cousins

We've had a good time staying with Lincoln's cousin & getting to know his family better. 

On Thursday, Kylee & I and Duke & Daisy went to the park with Jenn (Linc's cousin's wife) & my new friend Heather & their 8 kids (they each have 4). We had a good time hanging out together & spending time outside. 

Kirtlyn & Kylee, all ready to go in their sunglasses...

Love this girl!

Thomas & Hyrum...

So sweet...

Heading home after a fun-filled afternoon...

Lincoln's White Coat Ceremony

Before getting his white coat...

After...

Lincoln is officially a medical student! Yahoo!!!

Taking the Hippocratic Oath...

The two of us...

Linc's 1st Semester books...

(These are only the required ones. There are a lot more suggested books for the semester.)

Lincoln has a very busy schedule this first semester of school. We have heard from other students that the first semester is one of the hardest. I'm sure he will do a great job though. Lincoln is one of the smartest people I know. Good luck with your first semester babe!

Touring UAG

Lincoln took us on a tour of his campus a few days ago.
Kylee & I loved it!

I'm so proud of this guy for all that he has accomplished. He has worked SO hard to get here. I think that he is going to be the best doctor EVER! 

Love you babe! Thank you for bringing us here to experience medical school with you. 

What We Do In Our Spare Time

You may be wondering what we do now that we are in a different country & hardly know anyone. Well, Kylee plays dress-up...

Daisy plays too...

Kylee colors with her cousins...

And rides their bikes...

And she sits in "Baby Maya's" swing...

Lincoln & I spend time unloading & unpacking our stuff & trying to keep it somewhat organized...

(See our awesome camper shell? It was free. And now you can see that I won our little "We can't take Kylee's car to Mexico" fight. :) )

We cut Kylee's mullet off...

(No more pigtails for awhile!)

We walk to the corner & buy cheap, delicious tacos on a regular basis...

And fresh pastries from the bread store...

(This was my "freak-out" day. Can you tell? Lincoln says I look "really frazzled". Ha ha. The pastries made my day all better!)

And we can't forget about Duke. He still spends time hiding out under the bed like he did in the U.S. Kylee's Pooh Bear likes to keep him company...

Driving To Our New Home

We left on Tuesday, January 4th for Mexico! Every single crevice in our truck was filled with our possessions. Lincoln & I stayed up the entire night the night before, getting the truck packed up & trying to figure out how to make everything fit. We had to leave behind even more than we'd planned on, but still managed to pack quite a few things to take with us. We even vacuum-packed our clothes in trash bags so that we could fit them. We were pretty desperate. :)

My family & I were an emotional mess when we said goodbye to each other. My mom packed us all treat/entertainment bags for the trip. I stuffed my face with peanut butter cups & Peeps because I was so depressed. It helped a little bit. After the first hour or so of feeling sad, I became really excited that we were going to Mexico. 

We spent a lot longer than we thought we would at immigration, but eventually got the paperwork we needed & entered Mexico. We drove through many toll booths once we got into Mexico. I think we spent over $100 in tolls. 

We stayed in Hermosillo the first night. I was so excited to find a Subway there, but quickly learned that it does NOT taste the same as it does in the United States. My sweet onion teryaki sub had little pieces of chicken with straight teryaki sauce poured all over it. It was disgusting. 

The next morning we left on the second leg of our journey. We were being constantly entertained by what we saw on the roads...

Poor Kylee had stuff practically falling on top of her, the truck was packed so tight. Luckily she was sick & on Benadryl, so she slept quite a bit!

Daisy made herself comfortable by laying right on top of me. I was so tired, I didn't even care. 

Lincoln drove the whole way there. I didn't trust myself to drive in Mexico with the truck weighed down like it was. He was a good sport about it...

We arrived at our hotel in Mazatlan on Wednesday night. It was BEAUTIFUL. We were really worried because the hotel didn't allow pets, and there was no parking in front of the hotel, so we couldn't leave Daisy & Duke in the truck for the night. We had no clue what to do. I said a quick prayer, & Lincoln asked the hotel what our options were. They told us that the dogs could stay in our room with us. Oh, I was so thankful!!!

We ate dinner at the hotel restaurant, right on the beach. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. We had the most delicious authentic tacos, while listening to the waves crash. It felt kind of surreal...like the picture-perfect dates on The Bachelor...except that there were 2 other adults & 5 kids with Linc & I. :)

Back in the hotel room, the dogs relaxed with "Bee"...

The next morning we spent a little time on the beach before we headed out for the last part of our trip. 

The private beach behind the hotel...

Mommy & Kylee looking at the hotel fountain...

  Family picture on the deck outside our room...

The view from the deck...

The ocean was RIGHT there!

Hanging out on the beach...

Introducing Kylee to the ocean for the first time...

Can you see her face? The waves freaked her out.

We arrived in our new home of Zapopan (just outside of Guadalajara) on Thursday, January 6th. When we were a few minutes outside of the city, Lincoln & I started getting pretty nervous. I started thinking about the fact that we just moved away from our family & friends, with hardly any money or possessions, & that we don't even have a home! 

This is totally worth it. I go to sleep every night knowing that I learned SO many new things that day & that I grew as a person. How many times in life can someone feel like that? I'm sure that I'll be experiencing that the entire time that I am living here. 

Lincoln & I take walks at night to buy fresh pastries or tacos in the PERFECT weather & I feel like life is so simple. I love knowing that he & I are on this journey together, & that Lincoln will come out of this as a physician. How great is that?! 

Life is good. And I am really glad that we are living in Mexico. I know this is where we are supposed to be. 

P.S. I actually started a conversation in Spanish yesterday. I'm quite proud of myself. Although after I said one sentence & the lady started talking nonstop to me, I had to politely tell her "No habla Espanol." At least I tried though, right? :)

Post-Christmas Fun

Once we got home from Snowflake, we got back to packing & trying to tie up loose ends before we left the country. We ended up staying with my parents for the last week, & really enjoyed having some extra time with them.

Kylee had fun trying on Grandpa's shoes...

Although balancing in them was pretty hard to do...

While going through my stuff, I ended up finding about 150 letters that my missionary friends had written me. Lincoln was more than happy to get rid of them for me. He even let Kylee help.

Scary Linc...

Kylee enjoyed playing with her Christmas toys while my family babysat her and we packed. 

She fed her baby...

And gave her hugs...

And took her baby for rides in her car...

Kylee even got to wear Aunt Megan's shirt for pajamas one night...

And of course she loved all of the extra time that she got to spend with her Daddy...

We were able to spend time with Brad, Melissa & Nixen, Megan & my parents. We ate out a lot, I was introduced to Modern Family (which I think is hilarious), & we had a fire going in the fireplace almost every night. And best of all, we received some GREAT news...

SHAWN & ASHLEY ARE HAVING A BABY!!! That was the best Christmas gift ever. We can't wait to have another niece or nephew!