Family Medicine Vacation...Umm...I Mean...Rotation

Brian just finished up his third year of medical school...meaning we only have one more year left until Mr. Hodges officially becomes Dr. Hodges! He finished up his third year with his Family Medicine Rotation, although I liked to call it his Family Medicine Vacation! Compared to all of Brian's other rotations during the year, this one was by far the biggest blessing with the most time off! And we took full advantage of it! We were busy with all things NOT related to med school for a change...and it was fabulous!

We spent many a day swimming and laying out (Brian and I would lay out while Elisabeth would take her nap). Brian got off most Mondays at noon and every Friday at noon, so we took full advantage of that time to enjoy the not-so-hot beginning of summer.

Swimming is often tiring, so Elisabeth was generally very ready to go bed after a long day in the sun. One night, after a full day of swimming, I was finishing up laundry and she was very adamant about wearing Brian's socks to bed...it's so sweet to see her want to be like him...



We had a pretty rainy Memorial Day weekend. We grilled out one evening while Elisabeth enjoyed running through this puddle for at least 30 minutes. Brian eventually joined her for some fun!







Here is Elisabeth helping to skim the pool. Don't worry Nanna/Gramma. She was very good about staying on the "little rocks" and not the "big rocks" closest to the pool.

Brian's last week of his Family Medicine Rotation we took Elisabeth to the zoo. She loved every minute of it! It was so much fun to take her at this age. More zoo pictures to come...







We are incredibly thankful for this time together as a family. Brian will be leaving in about three and a half weeks to do his rotations in Oklahoma, Missouri, and Oregon. We will be able to see him a little bit in between rotations, but he will be gone most of the first four months of fourth year. We will, however, be taking a wonderful family vacation to see our beloved friends in California to take a break in the middle of his rotations. We will be driving out to California and then up the coast to Oregon before Elisabeth and I fly back and Brian starts his rotation there. We can't wait to see our friends and enjoy many beautiful stops up the California and Oregon coasts. We are so grateful to be able to look forward to this...it will be our first family vacation...even though we have certainly enjoyed the last two months as such!

Our Two Year Old Just Turned Thirteen

"Hey, Mom! Hey, Dad!"

Brian and I looked at each other in amazement.

"I'm sorry?! How old are you again? I'm Mommy and this is Daddy. And we will remain Mommy and Daddy until we are emotionally ready to be called Mom and Dad! Look me in the eye and say 'Yes, Mommy'."

"Yes, Mommy."

"Thank you."

A few minutes later...

"Hey, Mom! Hey, Dad!"

AHHHHH!! The twos!!! Why must we be tested so?!! And who taught her to say Mom and Dad any way?!

Happy Father's Day

My husband is a lover of flip flops. He hopes to someday be able to practice medicine in them, but considering that he wants to do surgery that may not be an option. Any way, this was my way of saying Happy Father's Day to Brian this year...a symbol of a daddy and his soon-to-be two children. What a wonderful father Brian has proven himself to be over the last two years and three months (exactly). His love for the Lord, and the ultimate example he has from Him as a Father, has made Brian into an amazing Dad. I am blessed to watch him with Elisabeth each day and cannot wait to see him with our new addition in February. And I am so grateful for the example that he sets for Elisabeth as she looks to him as her father...I pray that she will see our Father in him.

Happy Father's Day!

Our Little Reader

Elisabeth is quite the reader, spending hours a day pouring over her books. One of her favorite things to do is go to the public library to play in the children's area and gather as many books as we are allowed to check out. She loves to be read to and to read the books on her own as if she actually knows what each word says. She brings the characters to life, remembering the words that Brian and I had previously read to her. As I watch her, I sometimes notice that the inflection in her voice mimics ours from a previous read. I grew up with a love to read that still continues today, and it blesses me to see her with the same love I had as a small child. I can hardly resist to buy her a new book that I know she will love. I recently bought her a new book that she has already memorized in her own little way. I know it will be one that will be special to her for a long time to come...


As the title says, Elisabeth is going to be a big sister! We were just blessed with the news this week and would love your prayers for this pregnancy. To some it may seem too early to be telling people, but I feel that the more prayers we have the better. This is such a special gift to us as we have hoped for this news for a very long time. The Lord is gracious and faithful, and His timing is always perfect. We are due on Valentine's Day next year and can hardly wait to meet the newest member of our family. Elisabeth has requested a brother, so we will see! Until then, I know she'll continue to enjoy her "Sister Book".

I am a clean freak...

My daughter, however, is not...

These pictures don't show all the details...
Elisabeth had licked off most of the dirt by the time I took these pictures. At one point she had a mustache, but apparently the dirt tasted good, because it didn't last long. She had it in her eyes and up her nose. Her hair was so full of dirt that I couldn't even get it all out in the bathtub...swimming with her daddy later in the day seemed to do the trick though.

I was working in the yard yesterday and thankful that Elisabeth was occupied. However, she came up to me at one point with her hands cupped full of dirt. She prompted me to pay attention as she gleefully rubbed handfuls of dirt all over her face (in the same manner that you would cup your hands to splash water on your face). Yes, she is a child and I should expect that she will get dirty. But there is something inside me that irks at such a mess. I responded with a deep inhale as I held my breath and raised my eyebrows and smiled. I exhaled to tell her that I was so glad she was having fun.

In my daughter's best interest, I am working hard to just let it go...

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From the Mouth of a Two Year Old...

Elisabeth and I spent the afternoon working outside in the yard today. I was sweeping up the fabulous strands of pollen from our pecan tree that exist only to stain our driveway and clog our pool filter. In the process I apparently upset a wasp, and he decided to sting my big toe. I, of course, began to mumble in two year old speak, "Owie!", as I crinkled up my face in pain. Elisabeth looked at me and said, "Mommy toe owie!" I confirmed her statement, and then she proceeded to say, "It's okay baby, come here."

Can I love this child any more?!

Eccentric

No explanation necessary...except that this is all Elisabeth's doing! She is her own person with a beautifully different personality than mine! I heard it said recently that children are meant to be unfolded as God created them to be.

Unfold, sweet girl, unfold!

I LOVE you!

What a gift it is to be your mommy. Thank you for a beautiful Mother's Day!

Happy Birthday Pappa!!

From the Mouth of a Two Year Old...

As Elisabeth and I were coloring this afternoon, she started tracing her hand and then looked at me and said, "Mommy's turn." To which I replied, "Okay." Then, as she started to trace my hand, she said in all seriousness, " Be still, okay?"

Where do kids learn these things?!

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Gluteus Maximus

My gluteus maximus hurts. Not because I have just had an awesome workout, although I am so inspired by watching The Biggest Loser...usually so inspired to get up and go workout the next morning, only to decide that sleep is more important as soon as my alarm goes off. So, I'm not sore from trying to get in shape. My bum hurts because of a laundry basket. It hurts because my daughter finds great joy in being pushed around the house in this object as fast as I am able to go. My bum hurts because I pushed her around twice for a couple of minutes each time...TWO DAYS AGO! That's what I call a "Mom Workout"...get it in while you can! With still being sore and all, I consider that a successful workout. One that I won't mind continuing to try to obtain a more shapely bum. After all, I can handle a few minutes a day.

I must also say since having Elisabeth my biceps are bigger than they've ever been (not that they are anything to brag about...but I'm just comparing me to me). Carrying around a 28 pound child multiple times a day will really beef you up! Although, I think my left arm is stronger than my right...being that I'm right handed and all and need to keep it free so that I can actually accomplish something while carrying her around. The real test of strength and ultimate upper body workout is a "quick" trip to the grocery store...the kind of trip where I think I can shop without a cart...holding Elisabeth in one hand and groceries in the other. It's usually a stupid idea and I end up totally exhausted, but my arms look better for it. Wow, that sounded vain!

So this is my life and this is how I manage to workout:

Glutes: Push Elisabeth around in a laundry basket for two minutes (repeat once, twice if she remembers to say please).
Arms: Try to be superwoman and carry Elisabeth and as many groceries as we can BOTH carry (she's really quite helpful). On days we don't try this ridiculous stunt, I'll squeeze in a few tricep dips from the kitchen counter while I wait for Elisabeth's food to finish heating up in the microwave.
Legs: Walk as fast as I can while carrying Elisabeth and as many groceries as we can BOTH carry so that my arms don't actually fall off. Or just go for a nice, leisurely run...click here for details.
Abs: Just keep 'em tight all day and you're good to go.

What I wish I had more time for:
Running (J-Momma, you inspire me!) - Running with a jogging stroller is way harder than not!
Pilates (the ultimate slimming workout) - Elisabeth thinks it's fun to climb all over me while I'm working out, so this one has to be done while she's sleeping!

If only I had someone to watch my sweet daughter while I went for a real workout...Is it too much to ask for a little time alone to get in a good workout? Or even just a little time alone? What about her nap time? Or after she goes to bed? If you are asking those questions in your mind right now, then one of two things is true of you...1) You do not have children yet or 2)You have way too much energy and need to spread some around to some of us other moms! It's so nice to sit and do nothing sometimes. Although I usually sit here doing nothing while thinking of how much better I would feel if I did workout. But then I wouldn't have time to share this nonsense with you! And, besides I need to save my strength for when Elisabeth comes to me after nap time and asks me to push her around in the laundry basket!

Bob

Elisabeth has a new friend...

Bob the Tomato

from Veggie Tales. Her favorite episode is about Bob going on a vacation. Through part of the video, his friends ask,

"Where'd Bob go?"*

So all day long Elisabeth has been walking around the house with hands palm up, shoulders slightly raised, head turning left, then right, as if searching, asking,

"Where'd Bob go?"*

It's really quite humorous to hear a two year old say "Bob" so clearly and seriously. And she will literally search for him as if fully expecting him to turn up around the next corner. Brian and I were teasing her on our way home from church tonight as she searched the car for Bob, and asked her if she liked Larry the Cucumber since she has been so smitten with Bob the Tomato. With out missing a beat, she looked at us and stated very matter-of-fact,

"I like Bob."

Brian and I immediately started laughing at such a big answer from a tiny girl. We had no idea she knew how to express herself in such a way...and with such surety and confidence. She gave us a good laugh and blessed us to be able to see more of her personality unfold.

"I like Bob. Where'd Bob go?* Where is he?"

She's a ham with a big heart and a joyfulness that's contagious...and, tonight, before we knew it, we found that joy spilling out of our hearts as we laughed along with her and joined in on her search for Bob...

*Elisabeth refreshed my memory this morning as she searched for Bob around the house, saying "Where'd Bob go?" instead of "Where's Bob?" as was previously posted. Just wanted to clear that up!

Open House

I was hoping to have this posted before our open house, but getting ready for it proved to be quite time consuming.

Brian's school has a housing fair every year for the incoming class. This year we decided to be a participant in the housing fair with a table set up with information on the house.


We had a couple of information sheets propped up on the table with Brian's laptop up and running for people to view the link to the pictures of the house.


We also had flyers for people to take with them that had a map on the back taking them from the school to our house.

So...how did it go? Was it a success? Well...we had a whopping one person come by...that's right one person! So, does that make it a flop? Not when the one person absolutely loves it! She is an incoming student who is looking for a house for her dad to buy that she can share with a roommate. As she was leaving she said she was going to call her dad to have him come look at it this next weekend when he will be in town. She said she loves it and wouldn't change anything about it. She was googly eyed as she looked around and wanted to be sure that not many people knew about it yet (we have only advertised with Brian's school...we bought it from a former student, and wanted to let the incoming students know about it first since it's so close to the school). Brian kept saying, "All we need is one person." So, indeed, all we may need is one person. We would be most grateful for your prayers. Many other people took flyers at the housing fair and may not have been able to come today due to other events going on after it. The girl that came to look at it came straight from the housing fair to our house because she said she had to see it. Now we just wait and see what the Lord has. We have another girl coming to see it Monday morning and a guy called yesterday to inquire about it, so we will see what happens! Oh, the waiting game! What fun!

We worked so hard to get the house ready and now that it is in prime condition, we are caught between truly wanting to sell it and hoping we can stay here to enjoy it. What do think? Looks pretty good, right?!


So why are we selling? Well, Brian is going to be gone almost all fall doing interview rotations at potential residency locations. He'll be rotating at hospitals in

(maybe...I'm hoping...just to get the chance to visit our dear friends!)

We would love to sell the house so that Elisabeth and I can go with him. Otherwise, she and I will stay here and Brian will be gone for about four months. We cannot afford to keep the house and travel with him. We would rather travel around the US living out a hotels for a few months than be without Brian. But we leave it all in the Lord's hands.

For now, I'm off on a date with my husband! It has been a looooooooooong time since we've been able to go out!! He just finished his surgery rotation (by the way, he's decided to pursue Orthopedic Surgery) and has the weekend off! Woohoo!

Please keep our house situation in your prayers...we prefer to stay together as a family and know that the Lord knows that. Whatever comes of it, we know it is for a reason and will be to grow us closer to Him and to each other. We can't argue with that!

Happy Birthday Nanna!

Lazy Spring Day

Yesterday was a wonderful day for us. Brian had been on call the night before and came home around 11:00am. Thankfully he had gotten some sleep while he was at the hospital, so he didn't need to spend the whole day sleeping. The weather was AMAZING, the temperature around 75 degrees!! Brian and Elisabeth spent a lot of time playing outside after lunch and then both took a siesta...Elisabeth in her room, Brian in the hammock. I took advantage of the situation and had a little "me-time"! After they woke up, it was my turn to read and relax in the hammock for a bit while Brian watched Elisabeth for me inside. The gentle breeze and singing birds lulled me to sleep after a while. It was a glorious day and such a blessing to be together. Although we don't get them often, we love lazy days like this!

The things parents will do for their kids...

If you are a parent, you will certainly appreciate this. If you aren't, you should at least get a good laugh...

Elisabeth and I had an afternoon of favorites planned (the library and the park) so we were looking forward to getting out of the house today. After loading up on some new movies and books from the library, we headed to the park. I've been trying to work out more, so we parked a mile away from the park so I could run there. We parked and I loaded Elisabeth up into the jogging stroller with snacks, water, and her favorite (stuffed) kitty cat. I normally tell her to leave her kitty cat in the car, but for some reason today I let her hold it while I took my jog. Now mind you that Elisabeth is thoroughly attached to this kitty cat...she carries it proudly, tucked just under her arm as her constant companion through her every endeavor.

So we get to the park after a nice run and upon getting her out of the jogging stroller, I notice that kitty cat is no where in sight! My heart drops, because I know how much she loves this cat and I have no clue where it is! I look at her and ask frantically, "Elisabeth! Where is your kitty cat?!" She looks at me, returns the frantic look, and says in a sad, whining voice, "Kitty cat? Kitty cat?" I thought she might start crying, but thankfully she remembered that we were at the park and her mind moved on to swings, slides, and rocks. We were meeting a friend there with her little boy, so upon seeing her I told her what had just happened. I then asked if she would watch Elisabeth while I ran back the way we had come to see if I could find it. She completely understood, said yes, and I was on my way to find Kitty Cat. So I ran (well, I may have walked a little...I'm working on getting back into shape! But I had good motivation to run most of the way!) back the full mile to our car, and not once did I spot her beloved. I was sick at my stomach thinking of how crushed she would be and how she would probably cry herself to sleep because she didn't have her Kitty Cat. As I got to the car, I thought, "Oh, I'll just drive back to the park..." but then realized that I had left my keys with my friend at the park...a mile away! So I ran (most of the way) back to the park, deciding to go a different way, to get there faster and to have a different view.

I rounded a corner onto a street that we had run down to get to the park, and as I did, I saw a small white lump in the middle of the sidewalk (apparently the first time I ran by looking for the cat, I was on the other side of the street). It all happened in slow motion...I'm thinking, "Could it be the cat?! Please be the cat!!" And my heart rate picks up, as does my pace... I'm getting closer and closer, thinking "Please let it be the cat, please let it be the cat!!" I get close enough to see that it is, lean down to pick it up, hug it to my chest as I dance around in a circle, before holding it the air yelling, "Yes!! I found the cat!!" Okay, actually none of that happened...I only thought, "Thank You!", breathed a HUGE sigh of relief, and quietly scooped up the cat to continue running back to the park. I'm sure I had a satisfied smile on my face though! I ran triumphantly back to the park to proudly show Elisabeth that I had saved the day, and while she was excited to see her Kitty Cat, her attention soon turned to my water bottle...and that's all she cared about the rest of the time we were at the park! And after our wonderful time at the park with my friend and her son, we still had another mile to go back to the car! Now to you distance runners (you know who you are...I am so envious of you!) this may not seem like a big deal, but to these legs, four miles is a BIG deal! Four miles!! I ran four miles to save a stuffed animal!! Oh, how I love my daughter!!


My mom has assured me that she will someday make Elisabeth aware of my trek to save her beloved Kitty Cat! Elisabeth will better appreciate hearing of her mom's sacrifice if it comes from someone else...If I tell her when she old enough to understand, I'm sure she'll just think I'm lame! I never understood why my mom did the things she used to do for us. Now that I'm a mom I understand.

The things parents will do for their kids...