Fall is around the corner...

Ahhh fall...well, I can pretend anyways. Once the calendar flips over to September, it is fall in my book. It may be 105 degrees outside, but I can still get into the spirit of fall can't I? There are many wonderful benefits to living in the desert, like ample sunshine and mild winters...but I really do miss fall. Last year we drove up to Sedona in October to get our fill of fall weather and scenery, and I must say that Sedona is a beautiful place to be in the fall. Well, Sedona is a beautiful place to be any time of year...in fact it may just be one of my all time favorite places to be period. This year I don't think we will make it up there for the fall season...but we will be heading to Indiana, where I am hoping we get a real taste of all things fall that I miss so dearly. Bright colored leaves, cool sweatshirt weather...and the wonderful smell of fall. My husband likes to tease me when I talk about the "smell" of fall, but ladies will all agree that fall definitely has a distinct and lovely smell. A sort of combination of apples, hay, crisp air, and pumpkins...or something like that. I don't know, you can't really describe the smell...you just know it when you come across it.

Summer's End

It's hard to believe that summer came and went. I guess that's what happens when you spend your summer traveling around the world and visiting with family and friends. Santi and I spent two and a half weeks in Ecuador in June. It was truly an amazing experience. This was the first time he had been back to his home country since he left over 13 years ago. When we first landed in Quito it felt surreal to both of us to actually be there (could have been the lack of sleep or lightheaded feeling from the altitude). This trip was something we have both talked about since we met, and to think we were finally there was unbelievable. We spent our time exploring Quito, which Santi discovered had changed and grown quite a bit since he had left, and traveling around the rest of Ecuador visiting family. Ecuador was absolutely beautiful. I always knew I would love it there, but I never expected that it would grow my love for Santiago and give me a clearer understanding of exactly who he is and where he came from. Our childhoods are such defining parts of who we are as people, and until we went to Ecuador and I was able to see where he grew up, I never fully understood that part of him. He always had a good idea of what my childhood was like because he lived in Indiana for 13 years, understood what life in the midwest was all about, met my family, and spent time fishing and doing all of the other things I enjoyed growing up. I had never had that opportunity. Of course I had met some of his family at the wedding, and his immediate family lives in Indiana, but to meet everyone else and be there, in Ecuador, was a completely different experience. We saw and experienced so many fantastic things. I would be here all day if I wrote about them all! When people ask what my favorite part of the trip was, I have to say the FOOD..and truly experiencing the culture. I have such a deep love and respect for Hispanic culture, and Ecuadorian culture in particular. It has always been part of our relationship, but now I think both our American culture and Ecuadorian cultures will be much more closely intertwined. I love listening to Ecuadorian music, and after purchasing an Ecuadorian cookbook I am becoming quite the cook! I think that the blending of our two very unique cultures makes us a unique couple, and will one day make us a unique family.
Speaking of family...no we are not expecting! I don't know how many times I was asked that in Ecuador...being that I am almost 26 and Santi almost 29 with no children is kind of rare for Ecuadorians. That's where our American side comes in I guess! I have to admit, I have had babies on the brain for awhile now, especially with so many of my friends having babies, but there just never seems to be a "right time". I know people say there never will be a "right time", so I guess at some point we are just going to have to let God handle the timing. We always set a time frame, and then push it back when we plan another vacation or large purchase...it seems like there is always "just one more vacation" or, "let's just buy this for the house first". Lately it's been the search for a new car. Not to mention my fear of who would watch our baby if we can't afford for me to stay home. Hopefully with both of us finishing school in the next year that won't be an issue. I guess for now I need to "give it up to God" and trust him with the solution.
School is starting a week from Monday...can you believe that?! I am astonished that it is already that time of year again! I must say though, I am a little excited. I do love teaching. I am extra excited this year because it will be my second year in the same grade, kindergarten, which I love! I finally feel like I have more of a handle on what to expect and what works and what doesn't work now that I have a year of kindergarten under my belt. I was in my classroom all last week getting things arranged. I must say it looks sooooo much better than last year when I had no idea what I was doing! I have seen my class list so far...16 kiddos, but I won't get my hopes up because I will be at 20+ by the first day. This year should be extra interesting too because instead of all Spanish speakers I have one child that speaks Arabic and one that speaks Vietnemese. I have also made the decision to blog about my classroom this year. Teaching is such an inspirational career, no two days are ever alike, and to be honest I have some really funny things I would like to blog about! Hopefully it goes well.
Well, for now it is off to make dinner.

Summertime and the livin's easy...

Well, I can remember just a few weeks ago I was thinking summer would never arrive, but here it is and boy it came fast! Today I enjoyed my first official day of summer and it was grand, although I must admit I am already bored. Thankfully we have a busy summer of traveling and hosting visitors ahead of us, so I think I better enjoy the boredom while it lasts. This weekend I enjoyed catching up on my cleaning and soaking up the sun on the Salt River with teacher friends. Poor Santi is busy at work trying to get ahead before we leave. We leave for Ecuador in less than 2 weeks now, and I have plenty of last minute travel details to keep me busy for the next few days. My brother is coming out for a visit on Friday and will be here several days. We are looking forward to seeing him! I am so excited about everything we have planned for the summer, and I am so grateful that we are able to do these things. This trip to Ecuador has been a long time coming and I know that Santi is truly excited to return home. I am also really looking forward to learning more about where he grew up and seeing the beauty of his home country. I am also excited to meet many of his family members and old high school friends that I have never met! I know it will be an amazing trip and one we will cherish until we are able to return:) Shortly after we return from Ecuador I will be heading to Indiana for a week to see family and also attend the wedding of Deanna, a good friend from college. I am so excited to see my family and friends and be home again in Indiana. I cannot believe it has been almost a year since I have seen my mom!!!!! That is ridiculous if you ask me. I think we need to be making more trips! It's hard being so far away, but I am constantly torn between the life we love out here and the world of opportunities that we have and the nagging feeling that we should be closer to family. I hope sooner than later we can strike a balance.
On another note, Santi and I have joined a "Home Team", or Bible study through church and it has been a real blessing. We meet once a week with a group of couples our age, eat together, and discuss the message of the week from church. I have been praying for a long time for God to bring us some married friends our age that we could relate to and develop relationships with. At work, all of our friends are single for the most part, so it is difficult to find friends to relate to. The best part is, we also discovered that we live just one street over from the only other couple in the group who does not have kids! It's so nice to finally feel like we are connecting with people out here. I can't believe we have been here almost 2 years! Time flies!

Well...I will post again with photos of our experiences in Ecuador!

Where has the time gone?

I know it has been awhile since the last post, but things have been crazy here! We celebrated the holidays with Santi's parents here in Phoenix which seems like only a couple of weeks ago, but somehow we are already into March! Santi's parents spent most of January here. We celebrated Santi's 28th birthday with family from California who came for a visit to see the new house. Santi's parents went back to California with them for a couple of weeks, and then we went out to pick them up so they could catch their return flight back to Indiana. In the midst of all of this traveling and hosting visitors I was sick AGAIN with a second round of bronchitis! Thankfully I finally got over being sick and now I am enjoying a relaxing spring break! I am spending the first half of my spring break taking some much needed time to unwind and relax. Santi's aunt and uncle from Indiana are visiting us this week, but drove up to Vegas for a couple of days. They return to Phoenix tomorrow evening. On Thursday we are taking them up to Sedona, and then on Friday we are going to a spring training baseball game. I am also looking forward to Saturday and Sunday when Santi will be off work and we can spend some alone time together. It seems like that rarely happens lately.
On another note, I am already into my 4th graduate class! It seems like I just enrolled. Hopefully I will be done in about a year or so. Santi is also speeding along with his courses. He and I should be finished with our degrees around the same time, which is really exciting. In addition to school news, we have planned a much anticipated trip to Ecuador for June! Santi finally received his 10 year green card and we are all set to travel! We have been talking about this trip since we were dating, and it has been a long time coming. Santi has not returned to Ecuador since he moved here at age 15, so I am sure it will be an emotional trip for him. We will be staying with several of his family members and touring as much of Ecuador as possible. We will be there for a little over 2 weeks. At first we were so busy trying to get all of the details into place that we really didn't have time to think about the actual trip. Now that the tickets are purchased and plans are made, we are eagerly anticipating our trip! For anyone who really truly knows Santi and I, we are big planners (me probably more so than him) and this is one more thing off our checklist! We are having such a wonderful time enjoying being young and married. I know this time of just the two of us and being able to do all of these things will not last forever (hopefully), so I am enjoying every minute of it!
Well...the next couple of months will be busy I am sure as I prepare for the end of the school year and we get ready for our big trip. If I don't post again before Ecuador, I will definitely post afterwards with lost of pictures!

Holiday Blessings

It has been awhile since I have written, so I wanted to update everyone on how things are going here. It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving and Christmas have come and gone. We enjoyed a nice, quiet Thanksgiving just the two of us. We made all of the traditional Thanksgiving foods (and then ate them for a week afterwards!). After we ate we got to spend some relaxing time together and put up Christmas decorations. Although I missed being with family on Thanksgiving for the second year in a row, it was nice to just take a break from school and work and spend time together. December was a blur. I had bronchitis which wasn't pleasant. Things at school were crazy. By the time Christmas arrived I was exhausted. Although I was tired and ready for a break, the last day of school was very special. For my students (many of whom don't have a lot of things) I bought several new games and toys for the classroom. I put the presents under the tree in our classroom, and I picked several students to open them while everyone watched. They were so cute! There were so appreciative and understood that they had to share the presents and they were to use at school. They were already asking when they would be coming back to school to use them! Giving is my favorite part of Christmas:) Santi's parents arrived on the 16th. It has been nice to have them here. Santi's dad has been working like crazy doing things around our house. So far he has put knobs on the kitchen cabinets, lights under the kitchen cabinets, painted the guest bathroom, put shelving in our garage, and a new shower head in the master bathroom. Plus he has fixed a few things here and there that we didn't do such a good job with:) Our Christmas was nice and quiet. We went to church on Christmas eve (they had a beautiful service), went to zoolights which is a new tradition for us, then came home to a delicious meal that Santi's parents made. On Christmas day we went to see Marley and Me and of course I cried my eyes out. I love the book, and the movie didn't quite do it justice, but it was good none the less. Both of our parents were very genrous to give us money for our backyard for Christmas, so that project is lined up to be completed in the next couple of weeks. It is going to be a lot of work, but it will be so nice to have a backyard we can actually use and enjoy. We are very grateful for this gift, and the labor that Santi's dad is going to put into it! They are going to be here until the end of January, and we are enjoying spending time with them. Next week I have to go into school and get ready for the 3rd quarter. On Friday we are going to Las Vegas with Santi's mom and dad which was our Christmas present to them. This will be my first Vegas trip so I am looking forward to it. We also plan to stop by the Hoover Dam which I have heard is amazing.
As 2008 comes to an end, I feel so blessed. We have had some ups and downs this year as everyone does, but God has truly provided for us. In 2008 we moved into our first house, I started graduate school, and Santi continues to be successful at work. I love my job, even though at times it can be very stressful. Our families are doing well, we are both in good health. We have a lot to look forward to and be excited about in 2009. We are BLESSED! I feel espcecially blessed this year because I have seen those close to me go through very difficult times. Our neighbors I grew up with lost one of their children to a heart attack at age 23. He died at their home just 4 days before Christmas. Every day for the past couple of weeks there has been a homeless person sitting up by the cross streets just outside our neighborhood. I can never see the person because they have made a make-shift shelter out of plastic bags and cardboard that always covers them. There is a black dog that sits with that person all day. Despite how sad this is, I think it has shown the good in others. Every day I see people bringing food to the person and the dog, and yesterday someone had brought a huge bag of dog food. There are still pleanty of good people in this world. Despite all that is going on in the world around us, we have much to be thankful for.