The Year In Review

In lieu of a lengthy Christmas letter this year, we have opted, yet again, to share our year via the Blog world. This past year was particularly eventful, making this a lengthy review. Read on at your own risk….

So, without further adieu, here is our 2008 Year In Review-

We celebrated Christmas last year with a trip to Arizona to be with family, which included driving over to Anaheim to spend my mom’s birthday at Disneyland. It was Daniel’s first time at the “Happiest Place on Earth” and, although it was insanely busy and crowded, we had a wonderful time all being together. One day after returning home, we were blessed to find out that we were having a girl and that she was completely healthy. We were thrilled and couldn’t wait to meet our little Sofia!

We rang in the New Year in the midst of the ice and chill of Little Rock and spent most of January emptying out the home office, selling furniture, and preparing for the arrival of our new baby girl.

February brought much more cold which left very little opportunity for outdoor play time. We settled at and became members of The Summit church. Daniel and I also took another trip back to Phoenix- this time we had a chance to visit with friends and relax a bit. We enjoyed roaming around the Phoenix Zoo and eating Mexican food at Macayo’s with the McLarens. We also headed up to Anthem to spend a day with the Bouies at the park. Oh the joys of 75 degree days and sunshine! Fernando took another of many business trips, this time to Charlotte, where he and my dearest friend, Kim, had dinner together on my birthday.

March started with much to celebrate. On the 3rd, my sister married Wade Dorffi. Wade has been a much loved member of our family for years and we were thrilled to be able to officially call him our brother-in-law. We enjoyed our first (and only) snowfall in March, which Daniel loved. Of course, we were the only people outside taking pictures in the snow at 7:00 in the morning. Unfortunately the snow melted off by noon that day. It was fun nonetheless! Fernando surprised me with a trip of my own to Charlotte for a girl’s weekend with Kim which included a trip to Asheville to tour and have afternoon tea at the Biltmore Estates and countless hours of uninterrupted scrapbooking. It was a dream trip! We celebrated Easter in northwestern Arkansas with the family of a friend and co-worker from Alltel. It was wonderful to be with a “grandma and grandpa” and feel a part of a family while being so far away from home. Daniel loved the animals they had as well as his ride on the 4-wheeler. It was a great day!

In April we attempted to begin potty training, which failed miserably, much to our disappointment. We were hoping to have at least started that process before Sofia arrived, but it didn’t look like that was a possibility. One thing we’ve known about our Daniel, is that he only does things when HE is absolutely ready and he decided that wasn’t the time. We survived our first (and thankfully, only) tornado season. Admittedly, we spent much time glued to the television wondering if and when to take cover as the tornado sirens rang throughout the city, on several occasions- information that would have been useful to us when Alltel made their original offer!  We joined a wonderful small group from our church that welcomed us with open arms and immediately treated us like family. April also brought a visit from my mom and her sweet friend, “Grandma” Lisa. Daniel had such fun having two grandmas around to dote on him and I certainly enjoyed the extra help and attention as well. We took a trip down to Hot Springs to see the tulips at Garvan Gardens and enjoyed the beautiful weather. They were also in town to attend the special baby shower that Fernando’s boss hosted for me at her home in Maumelle. What a fun day of eating, laughing, and EVERYTHING pink!

As May arrived, we could no longer wait for the arrival of our little one, although each visit to the doctor showed few signs of progress. On Saturday, May 17th, one week before our due date, I felt my water break as I was making lunch for Daniel. A call to the hospital and to our good friend, Adam, and we were on our way to be checked out. We both fully intended to be home in a couple of hours and were surprised and thrilled when they told us that, one way or another, we were having a baby that day! Labor went smoothly and I actually felt only one extremely painful contraction before I was given my epidural. Praise God! Sofia Margaret was born at 12:19 am on Sunday, May 18th. My mom arrived that evening and spent two weeks with us helping us adjust and making sure I was able to get some much needed rest.

June brought with it Arkansas humidity and warm temperatures. We were blessed again to have Fernando’s mom with us for 10 days to help with the baby. Sofia had a hard time adjusting and seemed to cry a lot if she wasn’t being held constantly. Apparently she was completely unaware of the fact that she had an older, extremely needy brother (or she just didn’t care!) So, it was nice to have another set of extra hands. June also brought news of Alltel’s impending buyout by Verizon, which left us with much uncertainty regarding our future in Arkansas and with Fernando’s job. We felt much peace as we braced ourselves for the months ahead and looked forward to our “next step”.

We spent most of July indoors avoiding the heat and humidity. We celebrated the 4th of July at home with burgers and an inflatable pool for Daniel to swim in. A couple weeks later we flew to Phoenix. Fernando had to travel there on business and the extreme unpopularity of Phoenix in the summer made airfare extremely affordable for the rest of us to tag along. First stop upon arrival was Ramiro’s Mexican Food for a couple chorizo and egg burritos- something we’d been craving for months! We celebrated Daniel’s 3rd birthday with a family pool party. And I don’t care what anybody says…I’ll take a “dry heat” any day of the week!

August came and went quickly as Fernando traveled to Ohio and Nebraska and we continued to hide from the heat.

September brought much of the same, but with that came a complete change in our little girl. Having entered her 4th month, Sofia became the sweetest, happiest, EASIEST baby we’d ever seen. She started sleeping through the night and continued to grow by leaps and bounds. In addition, Daniel decided he was ready to begin potty training and did so like a champ! Not knowing if we would be in Little Rock long term, we decided to forego house hunting and signed another 6-month lease at our apartment complex.

In October we excitedly welcomed the cooler weather and beautiful change of leaves (our favorite time of the year). Rumors began to spread that most of Alltel would indeed be severed and we began praying that God would move us back to Arizona- something we hadn’t wanted to do before. On Halloween, we got together with our small group and took our little Pumpkin and sweet Puppy out for trick-or-treating…something Daniel still talks about.

In November we anticipated more news regarding Fernando’s job as the FCC and the Justice Department approved the buyout- making it official. Two weeks into the month, we were asked if we would like to move back to Phoenix, although it would have meant a loss of title for Fernando, something he was willing to do in order to get us back. Within the week we found out that, not only were we going home, but Alltel was giving us a full relocation package and Fernando was going to keep his current position. God is SO good! The only drawback? We were moving in three weeks! We broke the news to as many people as we were able, and starting making as many preparations as we could, which included shipping the dog out to my folks. We had planned a trip to San Antonio to spend Thanksgiving with our good friends, Ron and Susan King, and were looking forward to seeing them after almost 2 years. Three days before we were scheduled to leave I took a pregnancy test that resulted in a definite “positive” and we were stunned to learn that kiddo number three was on his or her way! Shocked by our news, we loaded the car and drove ten hours to San Antonio. We were there just long enough to spend a day at the zoo and an evening out by the fire before driving ten hours home on Thanksgiving Day. The King family was very sick and we decided they didn’t need us around, nor could we afford to get sick with our move only 5 days away. We enjoyed a wonderful “Thanksgiving feast” at a Cracker Barrel just outside of Dallas and rolled into Little Rock around 11:30 that night. I still managed to be up at dawn to do my after Thanksgiving shopping with good friends, Sharon and Julie, but was home by 9:00 am and sick with the stomach flu. We spread the flu around our family for the next several days and ended up postponing our move until the following week.

On December 3rd, my mom made her final trip to Little Rock to fly back with me and the kids. We celebrated a first birthday with good friends from our small group on Saturday the sixth, had lunch with Sharon and Julie and made our way to the airport. Everything was running smoothly until we stepped onto the jet way and Daniel’s flu returned in full force. It was an extremely difficult flight home and I’ve never been happier to land anywhere in my life! Fernando arrived the following Saturday, just as the moving crew carried the last load into the house and pulled away. We got settled as soon as we could and set up our Christmas tree. A couple days later we were asked to sing at our church’s Christmas Eve services (all 6 of them) and said yes without so much as a thought. We were thrilled to be home and able to serve again at Palm Valley. Sofia was dedicated on Sunday the 21st and we were blessed to have both of our kids dedicated by our pastor and friend, Greg Rohlinger. That afternoon, my sister and Wade arrived from Flagstaff and we celebrated our family Christmas as well as my mom’s birthday. That’s what we missed the most about being away from home. Unfortunately the day ended on a sad note as my grandma fell in our yard on her way to the car and broke her hip. She went to the hospital that night and had surgery to put a pin in her hip the next day. Surgery went well and she was in good spirits on Christmas when we went to visit her. She is now in a rehab facility and is on the road to recovery. Our Christmas Eve services were a blast and a blessing as we saw so many faces at in attendance, some who had never darkened the door of a church before. We were thrilled to be a part of it. Christmas was a whirlwind, but such fun. Daniel’s face Christmas morning was priceless and something we’ll remember for years to come. We are excited to be back and await more news of Fernando’s job as the Alltel buyout is set to close next week.

2008 was a year full of change, excitement, and blessings more countless than we could believe. We anticipate many more changes and blessings in 2009 as we prepare for the arrival of our newest addition and all that is to come!

Happy New Year!

Ooops!

More like WOW! It's official...we are having another baby. After years of trying for the first two (and necessary help from the medical profession), we are pregnant with number three. We have known for a few weeks but got confirmation today at our first doctor visit.

Less than a week before Thanksgiving, with a road trip and cross-country move on the horizon, we began to wonder if pregnancy wasn't a possibility. It all started with a Friday afternoon phone call to Fernando at work. In telling him about my day, I mention how exhausted I was and how, "if I didn't know any better", I would have thought I was pregnant. He basically dared me to take a test. So, I dug one out of the bathroom cabinet that was over a year expired. Low and behold it was positive- instantly. I think I stared at it in shock for about 10 minutes and then called Fernando back and asked him to pick up a "new" test at the store. He left work immediately and headed home. About an hour later, not one, but two tests had confirmed what, at the time, was my greatest fear. We sat in stunned silence before the reality of the news hit.

All I knew was that I was somewhere between 4 and 8 weeks along and we didn't have time to find out specifically. Two days later, we piled in the car and headed for San Antonio knowing that the moving crew would arrive two days after we returned. Little did we know that we would come home within 72 hours with the most heinous case of the stomach flu known to man and that it would travel from one member of the family to another for a good two weeks. Once we got to Phoenix, I called my OB and made the first appointment I could get- today, December 29th.

We are due July 3rd which puts me at 13 weeks. I had a great first trimester, and we are considering it a blessing that we made it as far as we did under as much stress as we were with a healthy baby. When I took that first test we were indeed at 8 weeks.

The initial shock of having two children 13 months apart has begun to wear off. I know many of you have been in similar situations and some have even elected that. For those of us who were content with 2 children (and prefer to do things in even numbers anyway) :) and didn't intend on having any more, the thought of a third coming that close to the second was a bit unnerving.

We are excited and blessed to be expecting an addition to the family- regardless of the fact that this will be the third child born in the summer (in the Arizona summer, no less) I thought the Lord and I had already discussed that....

In addition, we are currently taking donations to buy a larger vehicle and put in a backyard swimming pool in order to accommodate all of the summer birthday parties we will be hosting in the years to come. Praise God!

Buh Bye

I spend most of the year anticipating for and preparing for Christmas. It is, by far, my favorite time of the year. I love the sights, the sounds, and the smells. But, it never fails- come December 26th- I'm over it! I gear up for the coming new year and have the overwhelming urge to purge my home of everything we no longer use and organize, organize, organize! Something about the extra clutter the season brings or the business causes me to desire a clean, fresh, new start- and I want it to begin as soon as possible. Our tree is still up, which may not sound odd to most. However, there have been years where Christmas has "died" at our house before sundown on the 26th. I remember a simpler time (and by simpler I mean "before we had children") when I didn't mind if the tree stayed up through New Years. But apparently the addition of extra bodies and MUCH extra junk, has become a tad overwhelming.

As I look up from the computer and glance around the house, I wonder... should I get the boxes out of the garage and start undecorating the tree??? That's so depressing. Please tell me I'm not the only one...

Merry Christmas

On this Christmas morning, I wanted to share this incredible video. It was part of our Christmas Eve services and I pray you find it as meaningful as I did. Blessings!

Bah Humbug

I'm not sure why it is...but for some reason, every year, I lose my Christmas "spirit" around three days before Christmas. This year is no different. Maybe it's the crowds of rushing, rude people that are seemingly everywhere. Maybe it's the stress of the last minute things I forgot that just need to be done. Maybe it's sheer exhaustion from spending the previous 2 months making Christmas special. Whatever the case may be, around this time, I begin wishing I could go to sleep and wake up on the 26th (or better yet, January 2nd). We have so much to be thankful for this year, as always, and are thrilled to be home. We are excited about being a part of the Christmas Eve services at Palm Valley- even though the very thought of singing 6 services makes me tired-we can't wait to see the look on Daniel's face Christmas morning and celebrate our first Christmas with our little Sofaloaf. But I still can't seem to shake the funk I'm under. I'm sure the stress and whirlwind of the move has a lot to do with it. It could also be attributed to the fact that I have one of the worse head colds I've had in years. Singing six services will be extra challenging this year. Ultimately, I think it's because my grandma fell leaving our house Sunday night and broke her hip. Thankfully, she made it through surgery just fine. So again we have much to be grateful for.

I suppose it could be a culmination of everything. I know it will pass, most likely at around 4:00 this afternoon when the band starts to play- seems to happen that way every year. The attack of the enemy is no joke and we've been under heavy fire the last month. Even as I write this, I realize that this happens every time we sing. Someone doesn't want us up there. All the more reason to claim the promises of God and rejoice in the birth of His Son. Bring it on!

Finally...

The house is empty of boxes, the cable and internet are set up (insert "Hallelujah Chorus" here), and our halls are decked. We are feeling much more settled and are as ready as we will ever be for the holidays. Our festivities begin tomorrow and we are looking forward to celebrating the birth of our Savior with friends and family. There's no place like home for the holidays!

It's Official...

We're home! As of 8:00 pm, Saturday, December 6th, we are once again official residents of Arizona! The last month has been a whirlwind of events and major life change, so I will do my best to sum up what we've been through... (Those of you who know me well, know that I don't "sum up" very well. You could be in for a very long post)

Since word of Alltel's buyout reached us in June, we've been very unsure of where we would end up. Our nature was to assume that Fernando would most likely lose his job and look elsewhere for employment, meaning we would most likely be moving out of Little Rock some time in the following months.

About 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, we were asked if Fernando would be willing to lose his title in order for us to be transferred back home. There was a chance that could be worked out and we would most likely receive a little money to help cover the expense of our move. He decided it would be worth it, since he would eventually be unemployed anyway. At least that way, we'd be back in Phoenix. Later that day, he received a call asking if we would like to drive or fly back to Arizona. His boss was putting together a full relocation package for us! We were told it was pending approval by the Executive Vice President, so not to get our hopes up. Obviously, we chose to fly home and prepared to wait what we expected to be a few days before we knew one way or the other. Not 20 minutes later, another call came through. The EVP took one look at the proposed relocation package and said, "Make this work. Take care of the Oronas"- without so much as a glance at how much it would cost the company. We were headed home! In less than 3 weeks!

We were shocked and thrilled, but couldn't believe it when Fernando was even able to retain his current position. The very best part? He will have a job when the buyout is complete. There is much to work out and lots of confidentiality surrounding the decisions being made at the moment. So look for more to come on that...

Even as I write, the moving truck is being loaded with the last of our belongings in Little Rock and will hit the road. Our renters have vacated our old house in Goodyear and the truck is expected to arrive by Saturday- it will be like we never left, with the exception of our newest addition, of course!

We are so thankful for our 14 months in Little Rock. We made some wonderful friends and learned so much about ourselves and what is most important to us. Our family is stronger and has grown (not only in number) tremendously. In addition, we have come back with a fresh perspective and new appreciation for our life in Arizona. We are thrilled to be back with family and friends and anxious to serve again at Palm Valley Church as soon as possible!

We are eternally grateful to our Alltel "family" for the love and support we've been given over the last year. Fernando has learned so much from the leadership at Alltel and we have been so blessed by the character and concern of the management there for their employees and our family in particular. How can we ever say enough thanks to CJ Duvall, Debbie Northington, and Naomi Stratton? Adam, we love you and will miss you terribly! You better plan a trip to Arizona soon. Sharon and Julie, my shopping buddies, thanks for making us feel loved and getting me out of the house when I SO desperately needed it! There's much better shopping here so let me know when you're coming. We will do some SERIOUS damage! To the rest of the Talent Acquisition team, thanks for your constant smiles and hugs for our kids. You're the best!

Our amazing small group from The Summit church- the Halberg, Kennedy, Cleveland, Thomas, and Copeland families- you are loved and will be missed tremendously. We knew the first week we were there, you were the group for us! Thanks for being our family away from home and for making us feel loved and connected.

We are excited to see what God has in store for us back in Arizona and are so grateful He chose to bring us back here and are looking forward to a fresh start...