Programa Navidad

Ahh, we are now officially on Christmas break! I am so looking forward to being able to sleep in a little bit more and not hit every morning with a rush. Yesterday they had a little performance at the school with each of the boys' classes. It was a mixture of cuteness and chaos! Julian was enjoying it at first, but then got stage fright or something and got a little scared looking. When Evan's class walked up on stage a teacher grabbed Evan's arm to place him in the right spot and that made him mad, so he stood up there upset during the whole song! DJ did great! He knew the song and the motions and was able to participate, but he was standing in the back and we could hardly see him. Each grade sang a song and then went and sat down. It was ok, but by the end the kids were getting bored and wanted to go home since Mama and Papa were there, but they had to wait with their class.

We are looking forward to some down time. It gets pretty hard on me going back and forth to the school 3 times a day (Dom takes them in the morning, otherwise it would be 4). The boys are really excited too. We got some Christmas decorations up and a couple of presents under the tree so it is beginning to feel a little like Christmas here. We sure miss everyone and it is especially hard this time of year! But, we are creating new memories and learning how to keep traditions alive on the other side of the world!

Missing a piece of home...

This morning I woke up to the rush of the day. Getting kids dressed, fed, ironing hubbies clothes, all in about a half hour time span. I was grumpy, kids were grumpy and now I sit here emotional in a quiet empty house listening to the rain outside after looking through all the updated pictures on Facebook. I should be spending time with the Lord and I will after posting but just wanted to say how very much I am missing family and friends. I think being away for so long you really realize that life continues on even if you are not there. Like in some magical way only my kids are growing and everyone else is staying the same...(NOT) Seeing photos of kids growing, families celebrating holidays together, puts me back in reality. We are here, they(you) are there. Seeing my nephews and nieces growing without us there leaves quite an ache in my heart at times. I shouldn't have looked at the pictures this morning, but I did. With how the day started, well it has just made me even more teary eyed. It is amazing the wave of emotions that you experience when you live overseas. It is something I am still learning how to adjust to and some days are much better than others. Today is one of those days and I suppose I will get through it, but it is so very hard. I am missing PEOPLE, not things...just family and friends! Missing creating memories with my nephews, being able to talk daily to my sister, hearing my kiddos run into the arms of their grandma, driving to a friends house...seeing people who are familiar.

The bottom line is that life is a journey with many crossroads and paths and today even though it is difficult I choose to cross the path of thankfulness and not fear. I choose to walk down the path that says I am thankful that I have so many wonderful people in my life TOO miss, thankful that HE has given me wonderful friends, and thankful that He has called us here, thankful that we have a job, thankful for the Internet which makes it easy to connect with people. It could be much worse, and I am grateful.

He answers even the smallest prayers!

So, one of my frequent prayer requests while driving around is, "Lord, PLEASE help me find a parking spot." You see traffic here, is kind of like the traffic you would experience in down town Portland, but without much order, people everyone, crossing anywhere they would like, not just the cross walks, and lots and lots of honking. In most areas there is kind of like a security guard guy that helps direct the traffic, help cars to fit through really tight places, and may even watch your car for a couple of dirhams. So, today, after driving 3 times in a big circle to try to find a parking place in front of the boys' school I realized I hadn't prayed my prayer and so I did! Low and behold, the guy that helps with the traffic told me to go around one more time and he would help me. There was NO where to park. So, I said ok and tried again. Well, he saw a car leave, held the spot for me and guided me so I could park the car. It did entail driving in reverse for about a block...but I did it without hitting anyone and I got a great parking spot! HA-HA-HA!!! It normally isn't a huge deal because I would just park in front of the school where you really aren't supposed to, put the hazards on, and go and get the boys, but today I had a meeting with DJ's teacher and would be there longer! Oh, He is just so good!!! It really helped me with the stress of it all!

Sardines Anyone???

The longer we are here, the more we get to learn and experience life here. A lot of the learning process includes friends taking us around so we can learn where to go and what to do and basically just how to get around. Well, today we got to go to the port and eat with our friends. The sardines that the fishermen just caugth are brought in and grilled for the customers. We picked out which place seemed to have the freshest catch in and waited for them to be cooked and ate lunch right there at the port! It was fun and a great experience for the boys. Evan seemed to enjoying the "picking" at the fish rather than eating it! He was thrilled with picking out the eyes! Yuck! Our hands stink, but the experience was great!

So, I am trying to start posting again...

We are doing well. It has been a little over 8 months since we have been here in Morocco. We have two blog pages started, but I like blog spot a little better for some reason and I have finally figured out how to sign in and get the language setting back to English and not French!!! I have to admit, I have gotten quite caught up in Facebook and do a much better job at updating in there, but to those of you who don't have a Facebook account I suppose I should write in here more!

Everyday seems to come with a new set of emotions. Some days are GREAT and some days are really DIFFICULT! But overall, we are really enjoying life here and the journey that we are on. We are growing in ways we never dreamed and being stretched beyond belief at times, but we are thankful because it is all a part of the process that God has us on. He is shaping and molding us and hopefully in the process, we are becoming better people because of it.

The boys are doing good. They got their first hair cuts today by a Moroccan. I usually do it, but I take way to long and just didn't feel like doing it. So for about $1.50 each, all the boys got their hair cut and they all look so handsome. Evan wants to grow his hair out to look like Anakin Skywalker....hmmm...I am trying to convince him otherwise ;) we will see how I do!
Julian has been climbing into our bed every night and it makes for a pretty rough sleep. A couple of nights ago he fell off of our bed. I was trying to let Dom at least get a nice sleep so I put myself in the middle, and somehow he rolled off and landed straight on his nose. Not fun at 4:00am!
DJ is growing so tall. He is doing well, but definitely has his rough days of missing his friends and family from "home."

So, for now, that is my little update as I try to figure this out again! I will try to add to it more!

MOVING DAY!!!

Well, we did it! Yesterday we moved everything out of this house! (well, with the exception of some of my clothes, packed bags to take with us, this computer, and cleaning supplies!) But we did it! Thankfully, my prayers were answered and we got a rain free day to move our stuff and there were even a few sun breaks! It was a beautiful day. I couldn't have done it alone! Thank you Mom and Zeno for your amazing help and for getting the Uhaul for us! Jeff, you don't know how much your and Tim's help blessed me. I am grateful to you and Joanne for letting us store so much at your place and for your help in getting it to your place. And finally, Dave, thank you so much for driving all the way from Molalla to come help out your sister in law! It was truly a blessing having you there to help as well and to help unload all the stuff at my mom's.

Daily I am amazed at His faithfulness and goodness to the boys and I while Dominic is gone. We have had so much help and support and everything has gone pretty smoothly. I feel so blessed and am so thankful for the Lord's goodness! He is AWESOME!!!

As I drove away from our home, I must confess I did shed a few tears! This home has been such a blessing to us and even more than that, this neighborhood is irreplaceable! More than the house itself, which is beautiful and we've poured a lot of hard work into it, I am going to miss our neighbors the most. They have truly become life long friends. I am glad to say that when I shut the door one last time to this house, I have so many wonderful memories that I get to take with me and will hold close in my heart. There have been so many good times here that I treasure.

So for now, goodbye house! Goodbye neighbors! Thank you for all of the great times and the memories!

The boys at class!

Tuesday and Thursday nights we take a break from moving, packing, cleaning, etc. and the boys go to their Martial Arts class. They seem to really like it and enjoy the break from all of the chaos. Julian wants to be a part of it so bad, but he is too young. He likes to stand on the side of the mat and do the moves and yell with everyone else (something he has perfected quite well :) )

The boys are getting excercise and learning a lot through this class. I am glad that we were able to sign them up for a couple of months!

A successful garage sale!

We are moving steadily along. I had a great weekend and despite the very cold weather we managed to have a very good garage sale. I sold most all of our big items, a ton of small items, and everything else got taken away! I had so much help. It was truly wonderful and God continues to show me His faithfulness. On Friday, Kaaren and my neighbor Lauren came and helped all day during the garage sale. That allowed me to go through the house and grab more things that I thought I could get rid of. The boys stayed the night at Grandma's house so I was able to get A LOT done! Then, on Saturday, Lauren came and literally stayed all day. I cannot even begin to tell you the blessing it was to me. I got so much done in the house, the rooms cleared out, packing, organizing, etc. 8 months pregnant, and she took on the cold to help a friend out! Lauren, I am forever grateful for your help!!! Cheri and Kyra also came to help Saturday morning and that was such a blessing as well. Cheri, thank you for the coffee!!! It made my day. Then, another neighbor came and took everything that was left over in the garage. Literally everything. She works with an orphanage in the Ukraine and is always doing fundraising and stuff for them. She also sends a huge container of goods to the orphanage. So, she blessed me so much because it saved me a trip to Goodwill on my own with all of that stuff, and we were able to be a blessing to her by giving her all of the left overs. All I had to do was help load some of it in the car for her. Wow!!! He is so faithful to us!!!

Now, the house is pretty empty and we are staying at my mom's house. It feels much more like home than our empty, echoey house. We are so much closer to leaving. I can hardly believe it. My boys have been incredible troopers through the process. It is so hard on them to see everything changing and wondering where papa is, but they are doing ok. We miss papa so much. Julian runs around the house at night saying, "Where's my Papa, I want to see my Papa." It is so sweet, but also puts an ache in all of our hearts! We miss you and love you more than you know papa!!!

An orange shovel...

Who ever knew that an orange shovel would mean so much to a 7 year old boy? Well, I learned just how hard it could be. As we are preparing to leave and getting rid of an enormous ammount of "stuff," I take for granted the little things that mean so much to my children. I get on drive mode and go. Well, yesterday I was getting rid of some yard supplies and put them in the car to deliver them to our friends. DJ, our oldest said, "Mom, you can't get rid of the orange shovel." I asked him why not... His response, "Everytime I see it, it reminds me of Papa and the time I helped him shovel out dirt from the trailer and if you get rid of it, I won't have anything to remind me of him." So, then I was faced with what to do... Do I keep it so he can look at it every once in a blue moon, or do I create a diversion and when he isn't looking toss it really quick, or do I use it to teach a life lesson...? I chose to use it to his benefit and told him that it is only an "item" and with Papa and other people in our life it is a "relationship" and what is the most important thing? Our relationships with the people around us. So, he parted with the shovel and said good bye to it. He seemed relieved to learn that simple lesson. Then he asked Amy, "Hey, when we come back, can we get the orange shovel?" It was incredibly sweet and something I will remember for a long time.

So often we find those "things" in our lives to have such a siginificance and an importance to us, but when we truly sit back and look at our life, it is the relationships that mean the most. Everything else can fade away, but friendships last a lifetime!!! I am learning that as I prepare to get rid of many of my personal things from home. Things that I too am having to say good bye to, and through the process it is helping me to realize the significance and the importance of the friends and family in my life! What a blessing!

5 bags packed!

So, it has been a very long week. Lots of sorting, going through things, deciding what to keep, to take with us, and to just get rid of. 8 years worth of stuff and 3 little boys to go through takes quite a lot of work. Most of the house is empty. All of our cabinets in the kitchen, the downstairs and kids' bathroom are empty. Our bedroom has turned into the catch all for all the things I would like to take with us. However, looking at the huge pile of "stuff" I am realizing I am going to have to go through it all again and decide what I "need" to take and maybe put aside some of the stuff I "want" to take.

It is a stretching process, but it is so good! God has been so faithful to us. He has blessed us with an incredible support of people around us. Sunday, my dear neighbor, (a.k.a. surrogate grandmother to the boys) Liz, brought us a delicious dinner. On Monday my other neighbors, James and Lauren invited the boys and I over for Pizza, and today, my other neighbor behind us (our occasional babysitter), came and played with the boys and helped me to sort through all of the stuff in our garage that we are getting ready for our garage sale this weekend. Tomorrow, my dear friend Amy will be coming to help and then on Thursday my other great friend Melanie is going to help. Wow!!! Isn't it amazing! I am truly blessed to have such wonderful people in my life. God is so good and I couldn't do it without all the wonderful help. Thank you everyone!

I have 5 bags packed and ready to go so far! 2 more weeks and we will be out of this house. (We have renters moving in on the 16Th of February.) The boys and I will go and stay with my mom for a bit and then go down to my lovely sisters home and spend a week with her family. I am so looking forward to spending time with her and my nephews! Then my love comes to get me! What a journey! I am so ready to be with him and miss him so much!

Trying to upload photos...

Age 2
Age 7
Age 4

Ok...I am not sure I figured out how to post pictures yet... I will try again.

Setting up the Blog!

Well, I have finally done it, I think. I got our blog set up to keep our family and friends up to date on what is going on with the Hernandez family. Dom is busy getting things established overseas and I am getting everything packed up and ready to go for when he returns.

Thanks a million to our dear family. Mom, thank you for coming and working so hard today to help me get packed. David and Kelly, thank you guys for coming twice this week to help in any way you can. You guys have been an amazing help. Thank you Jesse for coming to help move things after a long hard day at work. Thank you also to the Shengs for taking the boys today and for Jerry and Sharon for taking them yesterday. There are no words to express my gratitude. You have been a huge blessing to us.

Here are some pictures of our kiddos...If I can figure out how to upload them ;)!!!