March was a pretty crazy month and not just because I tried to follow March Madness and all the “Jimmermania” from Spain. The month started with a bang as we were able to go watch the parade in conjunction with Carnival. Who needs Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans when you can go see a man dance in a pink outfit with feathers right in your hometown.
This month we also avoided a possible tragedy. Every Friday, Leo has his class for his MBA which is until 9:00pm in Murcia so he is home by 10:00 pm. He usually calls before he leaves to let me know that he is on his way. One Friday it was almost 11 pm and I still hadn´t heard anything from him so I was starting to get worried. I called him and no answer which is very unusual. He always answers his cell phone. I called his mom and his sister and they didn´t know anything either. Leo always lets me know if he has interviews or visits but as far as I knew he had nothing scheduled so I was really starting to worry and so was his mom. I called and called and still no answer and so my mind started to wander and imagine things. I was picturing Leo unconscious in a car accident and that is why he wasn´t answering his phone or even worse. I started looking at Charlie and Avery asleep on the couch and I started to cry thinking “how am I going to raise these kids by myself”. Clark was patting me on the back trying to comfort me. I asked Clark where daddy was and he kept on saying “work, work”. I started to pray as I was I starting to think the worst. Finally at 11:30pm I got a phone call from Leo. He was at the church conducting an interview and he accidently left the cell phone in the car. He had 16 missed phone calls when he got to the car. Of course I told him I loved him but I also let him have it for making me worry so much, however it did make me appreciate my husband even more.
We also experienced some big changes this month. After 6 years in the bishopric: 3 years as a counselor and 3 years as bishop, Leo was released. With everything on his plate: even longer hours at work, working on a MBA, father of three young children and husband of a somewhat needy wife, plus preparing to make a “big life change” in the very near future, it was time for somebody else to take over. Of course Leo had some mixed emotions but I am not ashamed to admit that I felt relief. However, Charlie and Clark did not take the change very well. Charlie cried through the whole sacrament meeting when Leo was released because he was sad that his dad would not have an office at the church anymore and Clark was sad that he wouldn´t be able to help the bishop hand out candy to the rest of the kids.
Also in an effort to get ready for our “big life change” and reduce expenses, we have been trying to sell one of our apartments where Leo´s mom and sister live, however we have been unsuccessful as the housing market has really gone down here. Since we were having no luck selling the apartment, we decided to try to rent the apartment but that was not going much better since we didn´t want just anybody to live there. We finally decided to offer to rent the apartment to the church for the missionaries to use. At first the mission office just said that they would think about it, but then one Monday in March we received an e-mail from the mission stating they wanted the apartment by Thursday. Leo and Cristina were working so pretty much Yolanda and I had to get everything ready for the move including packing and cleaning. Luckily, Leo and the Elders did all the moving but since Yolanda and Cristina were just moving to our apartment across the street and the move was such a rush, the move was not very organized and a bit chaotic. Pretty much we just stuffed things in bags and suitcases. We were able to get everything out and cleaned at the one apartment but our house turned into a total disaster as we had to find room for 3 more people and all their belongings. Let´s just say we have had to come up with creative ways to store things and we have given away a ton of things. At first it was a little crazy, all 8 of us in a small apartment but things are better now and I know it is all worth it since it is what had to be done in order to acheive our goals.
The kids are doing great. Avery continues to grow at an alarming rate. People can´t believe how big she is. She is smiling more and loves being spoiled by the Yaya (grandma). Clark pretty much has counting from 1 to 10 down in both languages. He is also starting to say more complete sentences in both languages like (I´ll get it, You get it, I did it, My turn, I love you, No quiero, Te dije). He still loves playing with balls and he wants to learn how to skateboard. Charlie is perfecting his reading in Spanish and is writing very well in cursive. He also loves to help me make cookies and his favorite food lately is french toast. If it were up to him, there are some days he would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He usually eats at least 4 pieces. We love our little ones and all the joy they bring to our home.
This month we also avoided a possible tragedy. Every Friday, Leo has his class for his MBA which is until 9:00pm in Murcia so he is home by 10:00 pm. He usually calls before he leaves to let me know that he is on his way. One Friday it was almost 11 pm and I still hadn´t heard anything from him so I was starting to get worried. I called him and no answer which is very unusual. He always answers his cell phone. I called his mom and his sister and they didn´t know anything either. Leo always lets me know if he has interviews or visits but as far as I knew he had nothing scheduled so I was really starting to worry and so was his mom. I called and called and still no answer and so my mind started to wander and imagine things. I was picturing Leo unconscious in a car accident and that is why he wasn´t answering his phone or even worse. I started looking at Charlie and Avery asleep on the couch and I started to cry thinking “how am I going to raise these kids by myself”. Clark was patting me on the back trying to comfort me. I asked Clark where daddy was and he kept on saying “work, work”. I started to pray as I was I starting to think the worst. Finally at 11:30pm I got a phone call from Leo. He was at the church conducting an interview and he accidently left the cell phone in the car. He had 16 missed phone calls when he got to the car. Of course I told him I loved him but I also let him have it for making me worry so much, however it did make me appreciate my husband even more.
We also experienced some big changes this month. After 6 years in the bishopric: 3 years as a counselor and 3 years as bishop, Leo was released. With everything on his plate: even longer hours at work, working on a MBA, father of three young children and husband of a somewhat needy wife, plus preparing to make a “big life change” in the very near future, it was time for somebody else to take over. Of course Leo had some mixed emotions but I am not ashamed to admit that I felt relief. However, Charlie and Clark did not take the change very well. Charlie cried through the whole sacrament meeting when Leo was released because he was sad that his dad would not have an office at the church anymore and Clark was sad that he wouldn´t be able to help the bishop hand out candy to the rest of the kids.
Also in an effort to get ready for our “big life change” and reduce expenses, we have been trying to sell one of our apartments where Leo´s mom and sister live, however we have been unsuccessful as the housing market has really gone down here. Since we were having no luck selling the apartment, we decided to try to rent the apartment but that was not going much better since we didn´t want just anybody to live there. We finally decided to offer to rent the apartment to the church for the missionaries to use. At first the mission office just said that they would think about it, but then one Monday in March we received an e-mail from the mission stating they wanted the apartment by Thursday. Leo and Cristina were working so pretty much Yolanda and I had to get everything ready for the move including packing and cleaning. Luckily, Leo and the Elders did all the moving but since Yolanda and Cristina were just moving to our apartment across the street and the move was such a rush, the move was not very organized and a bit chaotic. Pretty much we just stuffed things in bags and suitcases. We were able to get everything out and cleaned at the one apartment but our house turned into a total disaster as we had to find room for 3 more people and all their belongings. Let´s just say we have had to come up with creative ways to store things and we have given away a ton of things. At first it was a little crazy, all 8 of us in a small apartment but things are better now and I know it is all worth it since it is what had to be done in order to acheive our goals.
The kids are doing great. Avery continues to grow at an alarming rate. People can´t believe how big she is. She is smiling more and loves being spoiled by the Yaya (grandma). Clark pretty much has counting from 1 to 10 down in both languages. He is also starting to say more complete sentences in both languages like (I´ll get it, You get it, I did it, My turn, I love you, No quiero, Te dije). He still loves playing with balls and he wants to learn how to skateboard. Charlie is perfecting his reading in Spanish and is writing very well in cursive. He also loves to help me make cookies and his favorite food lately is french toast. If it were up to him, there are some days he would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He usually eats at least 4 pieces. We love our little ones and all the joy they bring to our home.
Carnival parade: pink, gold and feathers need I say more
Participants of all shapes and sizes.
Avery at almost 3 months with her typical Spanish outfit.
Avery and her yaya.
What cute boys I have!
Avery at 3 months.
Clark wanted to participate with his sister in the photo shoot.
One day I decided to take a picture of Avery without her clothes on and Charlie wanted to join.
Our dinning area after the move after we started to organize a bit.
Our living area with all the stuff we had to find room for. Before we started to organize things, you couldn´t even see the rug and the boys had to climb over the bags in order to get to the couch.
Front entry.
Avery and the Yaya´s room. Next month I will hopefully have the after shots.
Avery´s first bath in the big bath tub.
Clark discovered the small ironing board and inmediately thought it was a skateboard.
Cute picture of the boys.
Clark likes to pose for the pictures.
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