And Moses Parted the red sea....I mean Lake

Weston types really fast. At least it seems like it. No wait I'm just as fast if not more accurate. HA! Anyway not the reason why I am on here. I wanted to update the familia of the new and exciting changes that will be coming soon. We went to Moses Lake for a job interview for Weston and they have offered him a position. Soooo...we will be moving back to the west coast! Moses Lake, WA. It's a quaint little town after living in Philadelphia. It seems as though we are slowly moving down on the population scale. Winston Salem is big, certainly not as large as Philly and now Moses Lake, a city that resides approximately 21,000 other inhabitants, slightly large than Burley, ID. Moses Lake takes it by roughly 10,000 more. Anyhow there you have it. We haven't really worked out all the fine details of everything in terms of moving but we will definitely be driving and make an adventure out of it. We will all be sick of the car by the end but eh, fun memories will be made I'm sure of it. We love you all and hope to hear some more of your adventures too!

I'm Awesome! So is my family!

Man! Life goes by FAST! AND I totally agree with you Mike! Lets live life to it's fullest..and that's exactly what I am doing. I am seizing the moment where all children are asleep at the same time I thought what better way to spend it than updating my family. I should also share that I'm doing this while on the toilet. How much seizing am I doing right now! I'm AWESOME!

Anyway! Mom, Dad thank you thank you thank you for coming out to help me. I think I would be a little worse for wear right now, so THANK YOU again!

We just got back from Moses Lake, WA and the HR person told Weston that she is very confident that they will be giving him an offer and should be expecting one at least by the end of the week. OH BOY! It's exciting to know that they want us. Hopefully this HR person isn't lying to us. We also have an offer here in Winston so we could end up staying here. I will say that Moses Lake though puts up a convincing position for us to go with them. Alas we shall do some pondering and consulting with the higher powers and we'll let you guys know. We love you all!

Babies...BABIES EVERYWHERE!

I'm so eternally grateful for all of you! First it was Nori, then it was Millie. I'm just happy everyone is safe and sound! I've been working a lot in the PICU lately and I'm just super thankful that God was watching over Michelle and Valeria, it could've been worse, but it wasn't. I love that the term "Squishies" has caught on, because well. I was to squish all of my nieces and nephews. I want to be a doctor already so I can spoil all of them silly! It's only been a quarter into the year and 2015 is proving to be super eventful!

Utah had a freak blizzard yesterday. Finally, because we've had spring since after Christmas of last year. My boss said that her bishop wanted to pass on a message from the First Presidency and they were encouraged to fast and pray for the weather to normalize and for world peace. I used to be so annoyed by those pageants, "I just want WORLD PEACE", but lately, yes, that is all i really want, WORLD PEACE. More so for the kids, I want them to experience this beautiful life! So, just don't forget to put world peace in your prayers!

It just hit me that I'm on the last leg of my 29 years of life. I've been alive almost THREE DECADES. Gross. I'm extremely grateful and blessed to have each and every one of you in my life, and I'm forever sure that my family is the best. I think I will make a more detailed introspection as the day gets closer. My twenties were definitely filled with many opportunities to grow and challenges to help strengthen my character. It wasn't easy, it still isn't easy, and my idea of a great weekend is a good hike, a good brunch, and relaxing in the movies in the afternoon. Even though I've left the crazy party life behind, I'm more passionate about things that enrich and uplift my life now. Spiritually, I could use a little more meditation, prayer, and yoga. Physically, CrossFit has made me feel like an athlete (425 lb deadlift WHAAAA?!), Socially I am constantly surrounded by quality people who are positive, negative people are immediately cut, and temporally, we are given one life to live. Live it to its fullest and always with kindness.

Remember, the moment you lose your ability to get angry, that's when you've lost your passion.

I love you all! And yes, for the future of our kids, I pray for world peace!

Zombies!

Yes that's what we are nowadays....zombies. It has been so much fun to have Eleanor home with us and it definitely makes pumping much more worthwhile HOWEVER it's hard juggling everything else. And apparently I am very willing to do everything during normal hours of the day and night, come the wee hours of the night I'm quite irritable according to Weston. ^_^ Mom has come to the rescue and since she has been here we both have enjoyed some more extended sleeps and it's nice to have an extra hand with the kidlets.

Oh and I should add how adorable the kids are with Eleanor. They are both just so smitten by her. Before bed, if we remember and have time for it they both each get some cuddle time with her on their beds. It's probably one of my favorite parts of the day, besides sleeping. Oliver and Madeline are caring and kind. Sometimes I just want to squish them they're so cute.

 The day we brought little Miss Nori home. Mads wore her welcome home dress. She was thrilled to finally have her home. 

 Both kidlets trying to get some cuddles in and pose for the camera.

Little Miss Nori sporting her cute preemie outfit from Auntie Laura and Uncle Cameron.

The little lady gaining some chunks around her cheeks. AAAHHh! Don't you just want to suck on them. So cute! 

I love our family! And I love you guys! And I know this is clearly pass due, but just to have it recorded somewhere, CONGRATS to the Texans in our family to their little addition. Welcome to the family Amelia!

Little Miss Nori

God is GOOODD!!!. He is amazing and I know it. Before little Nori was born I was given a blessing from Stephen and our neighbor, Austin. They came to the hospital since I was still in the labor and delivery floor. When Stephen gave the blessing he felt inspired to say that the baby would be healthy and that I would be safe during childbirth. Soon after the blessing I felt that I was going to have the baby soon. I couldn't tell how early but I knew it was coming. It is amazing to see how these blessings were fulfilled. Since her birth baby Nori has been healthy. Of course there were a couple little things like her jaundice but definitely minor compared to what other preemies have to battle through. I did have worries at times, but then I kept thinking back to the blessing and it brought me peace. Over the next few days after her birth I was seeing how merciful Heavenly Father is. When Nori was born she had the cord wrapped around her neck and I felt that had she been fully term I felt strongly that I may have had a cesarean.  I know that babies can be born with the cord around the next and be perfectly fine but it was just a feeling I had. Baby Nori also has her very own physical therapist that does some range of motion exercises with her because her feet tern inward a bit. I asked her if it was a genetic issue but she said that it from how she was positioned in utero. Baby Nori does put her feet in neutral position but it tends to turn inward. She'll be fine with some exercises. The PT did say that had she been in there longer it would take longer to correct. Another blessing, I believe. This other discovery is the kicker for me. So after she was born and the placenta had come out, it was confirmed that I did have an abruption, about 10% and then they sent it in for analysis. It turns out my uterus also had an infection! I believe that Heavenly Father helped me get far enough along that baby Nori would be safe and healthy but early enough so I could be safe and healthy as well. He has the bigger picture and when I kept praying that I would be able to carry up to term I kept feeling that it wouldn't happen. He was talking to me, preparing me and the moment I left it in His hands and I said, I TRUST you, I will Follow you, everything came in to place the way they should. He has a plan! He is aware of us! And most importantly, He LOVES us!

This is her today! She has gained another 46g and is working on bottle feeding so she can come home. So far she's doing great but she does get tired sometimes which who can blame her really. AAwww LOOK how cute she is though! LOVE HER! SQUISHIES!!

 This was from yesterday. This one is for you Ma, Pa. She's got her eyes open for her Lolo and Lola.

 She's only three days old in this one.

 I like this because I feel like you can see how far she's come, weight wise. She's five days old in this one.

MCAT and Babies...Oh my!

Hello family!,

First, congratulations to the baby girl Beck! She is adorable!!! I love her already! Soooo....before every niece and nephew was born I always dreamed about them. I should start writing them down, because they are quite funny. To go into a little more detail of what I saw in my dream. There was a baby girl in a laundry basket crying her lungs out. She had crazy troll hair going every where. Think of despicable me...the crazy purple minions, that kind of hair.

I'm just so thankful Michelle and the baby are fine :)

MCAT....well....let me just put it this way. Girl next to me had puffy eyes from crying. Several of the kids who took the prep course with me didn't finish their sections. I finished, how confident was I on those answers? well...we'll find out next month. There were some I felt really good about and some questions I just wanted to scream. My favorite was when all of us got to the same question and you can just hear everyone curse under their breath hahhaha.

Anyway, I know Weston and Michelle are trying to find a name. I found a satirical piece of pediatric names. Caution: Choose your names wisely (Mom, Dad, the article is a joke)

http://www.gomerblog.com/2014/09/pediatric/

I love you all! God is gooood!

Baby Girl Beck

   

      Game plan clearly has changed since the last post and all of you already know that she has arrived! Her birthday was yesterday weighing in at 4lbs and 5 oz. at 31 weeks and 2 days. A few weeks shy of what it should have been but I guess stubbornness runs in the family a bit. She is quite a trooper though. She came out with a great set of lungs, and has been exceeding all of my expectations. I was anticipating a more fragile looking babe, which she is not. She is strong, and loves snuggles with adorable drooling to boot. She hasn't needed a ventilator thus far, and as far as I can tell and what the doctors have shared, she's doing really well. Every time I have visited her at the NICU I have seen her prodded and poked, but it doesn't phase her too much. She calms quickly and drifts back to her sweet slumber. I am so in love with her and I know you guys love her too, it has been felt, even with thousands of miles separating us.
   Hopefully soon, we will have a name for this wonderfully spirited child. She knows how to push my buttons already, good gracious! The good and the not so good :) Any who, I love you all and have felt your sincere prayers. It has comforted me and I am grateful for that. Thank you for being my family and loving our new addition.

Non-stress Tests

So a little update about this pregnancy.

     The doctors have come up with a game plan for the remainder of this pregnancy since we are getting closer to the end. They said I can return to normal activity with one stipulation, pelvic rest. They were confident about that decision however I still need to inform them of any bleeding or contractions or anything like that. Then starting at 30 weeks I will be going in biweekly for non-stress tests, which is basically hooking me up to a baby monitor and see how baby is doing. There are a couple of things they are looking for like increase of heartbeat when she's moving around. I couldn't remember what else they said but they just want a good baseline so when delivery comes along they can tell better when she's distressed. Their decision for that was a little uncertain because their diagnosis isn't 100% definite, but they want to be cautious. And every four weeks I will have an ultrasound to keep track of baby's growth.

    This whole non-stress tests is actually stressful. BLEH! Anyway, Weston and I have been discussing it and we feel the NSTs are excessive because it's biweekly till the END of my pregnancy. I know they are being cautious since they aren't 100% sure I have a placental abruption so I can understand that, but Baby has been doing really well and I haven't been bleeding for more than two weeks. Anyhow, we're seeing if we can tweek the plan just a little bit; do weekly NSTs instead of biweekly and keep the ultrasounds every 4 weeks. So really it's just one tweek. Now you guys may or may not agree but we do feel good about it. We'll see what the doctors think about my suggestions. I'll keep you guys updated.

Meesh

Day 3 of Hxll Week!

Hello Family,

Hopefully everyone is having a GREAT day so far! The Mcat is less than a week away. I had a tiny panic attack a day ago and I needed strength and I needed advice. I suppose the overwhelming calm I'm feeling right now should be enough of an indicator that I should not worry, but of course, me being human, I worried away.

I knocked on Dr. Holsti's door and asked for a pep talk. No joke, I was just like, "may I come in? I need a pep talk and I'm freaking out" were my exact words. It was funny because during the course of her giving advice, she was saying things I already knew but it felt good to hear it from well...a Doctor! My favorite things she said.

"This feeling of never feeling prepared doesn't go away. Whenever I do my boards I leave thinking, 'Wow, I don't know anything'...so get used to it".

"Don't panic about making mistakes, mistakes are mistakes and they will happen, they're not in your control. Control what you DO know. Dwelling on mistakes will destroy you mentally."

"Workout! I know you said you were just going to do practice tests all week, yes that's a great idea, but a well working brain will function better when the body feels good." (So much for NOT going to crossfit, although it really does help) "The last thing you want happening is staying up late at night thinking about questions, just sleep. Sleep is important"

And lastly, "Embrace the journey, it doesn't stop with the MCAT."

There were more things she said, but these really stuck out to me. Eventually it's about balance. Be passionate about something, but don't let your passion turn your life upside down, channel it, focus it.  Anyway, I have a long day today of studying. I love you all!

-Mike

Ohana means family!

Yay! Can I just say that I absolutely love this idea to help us stay connected more. I am not the best at posting things but I am going to do my best. So I noticed that we were all adding what family means to us and I feel that I couldn't say it any better and I love you guys. I hope you guys know that.

So 2014, which was soooo last year, was great with lots of new changes and milestones for the kiddos. Oliver was in preschool and Madeline joined in since it was at our house then come fall Oliver officially started going to school. He's been rocking it and we couldn't be more proud. Then we found out we are expecting and that has been a roller coaster but as good kind. We're just glad that she's still growing in the best incubator out there, my uterus. We'll take it. Madeline has been enjoying mommy time, which consists of mostly watching TV the first trimester because I was so tired but we're getting some good quality time in now that the nausea and tiredness isn't so overwhelming. Weston is just a few months away from graduating....AAAHHH!!! That means we officially have to be adults and actually try to contribute to society. EEK! I guess that's what 2015 has in store for us.

2015 is here and I can forsee some changes that are good and scary all at the same time but I guess if life was always so predictable and easy it wouldn't be so interesting. Weston and I are focusing on facing this new year with faith and trusting God. It's going to be a great year guys, I feel it in my bones! In my gut! I love you wonderful people and you are all an inspiration to me!

Meesh

Hey La Familia Dela Cruz,

This is a little bit of a vent session. BUT first, I'm thankful for the sense of taste. Think about it, it's always an adventure when you eat, nothing tastes the same twice. Let that sink in for a bit. I'm thankful for smiles, it's so strange how a few muscle movements and bare teeth can have such an impact on your day. Smile at someone, yes, even at strangers. Also, I've tried giving a compliment a day. Find ONE thing nice to say to someone you rarely see or an acquaintance, it will make their day.

I have one more week till the MCAT, and I think I've gone through all the stages of grief. I'm at acceptance, whatever the Lord's will will be His will. I took one practice MCAT and surprised myself and scored pretty well. Took another, and that humbled me quick. Sorry in advance guys for the CrossFit analogy, but there will be several of these.

You will have days where you feel you can be on top of the world and anything is possible. Great, believe that! Because you can! Those who are afraid of failures and mistakes are not ready for success. I would have been so defeated if I didn't recall back some experiences from 2014.

Maybe you guys know or don't, but I participated in four competitions last year. I thought I knew who I was, but nothing is quite the same when you're in a competition. Mitch might relate to this because he's been in tournaments. You feel prepared, you feel ready, then it's 3.2.1. Go! There was one event where we had to do 50 box jump burpees for time, it was an individual event, and for some reason my team thought I could win it all. There's so much pressure when the whole arena is screaming at you, your body is screaming at you to stop "this hurts, just stop." Trust me I wanted to. That 24 inch box felt like 6 ft and my legs felt like lead, but I kept jumping and kept moving. It was at that moment I learned something invaluable, in the moments where giving up seems like the best option, keep on moving. This might be obvious already, I'm sure Dad knows what this is with the whole Real Estate market, but really, there's a mental strength that we rarely tap into that is invincible and relentless.

Now the spiritual part. It's interesting, how focusing on the spirit is ultimately beneficial for everything in life. I think...no...I know God wants us to strengthen our spirits, because it is our spirit, that inner voice, that mental toughness that is eternal and relentless and has the never ending energy to move forward.

So the next time you feel like giving up, stop. Dig deep, tap into the Spirit, because it's always whispering to you, "you can do this! Just keep moving!".

This was my team: "Me, Madie, Michelle, and Joel" We couldn't come up with a cool name so we were just MMMJ

The Meaning of FAMILY


Family is the most important unit in the kingdom of God. I believe on it. To me, my family is my top priority in my life. The desire of my heart is to be with our little angels (grandchildren) to experience their sweet spirits, and love. I wish I can visit them often....I missed them a lot. Well, I am glad that the technology is awesome. I can see them though they are far away.....

Well, year 2014 is a very intersting year for me. Thank goodness for having a journal. As I write this letter I read and refresh my memory. I am a little bit forgetful now.
The year 2014, I set up goals that sometimes it is impossible to achieve. I pushed myself so hard I think. I love going back to school full time on line. My best support is my family. My husband, who is always there for me.  Michael, who is my best resource in writing essays. I learned a lot from him. Mitchell and Vale, who taught me how to use power points in the computer. Michelle and Weston, who will always tell me you can do it MOM. I am so grateful for my beautiful and loving family for their endless and tirelss support to me. I love you all very much.
Our temple service commitment is one of my favorite activity. I love to serve in thy Holy House. I feel peace and love and feel a better person everytime I served. I love to watch and serve those patrons that go to the temple. The temple for me is the best place to be in. My heart is always full everytime I watch your DAD walking and smiling. I always imagine that we are in the celestial kingdom with the whole family living with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
I had the opportunity to be a part of the "TREK to Remember"last June. It was an awesome experience to witness how the pioneers lived. I firmly believed that the pioneers were very faithful and have trusted God in all things that they did.
I visited my father last July and attended Angings wedding in the Philippines. It was a very wonderful time to bond with all my nieces and other relatives. My father is very forgetful but he still cried when I left him. It broke my heart but I have to come back.
August, Mitchell and family came to visit us. It was a glorious day for me. I love being with our family especially the little ones. We had a lot of fun with Khamie. Max, I was not able to play with him. He likes your dad.
November, accepted a promotion in my job. I thanked you all for the support. I learned a lot this year. I think what I have learned most is LEARNED TO RELAX!!!! DO NOT RUN FASTER THAN YOUR STRENGTH!!! Get out and SERVE!!! Dec. end of the year got sick!!! I learned a lesson again!!! See a doctor on time!!!!! Most of all"HAVE FAITH AND TRUST IN THE LORD at all time" PUT GOD FIRST and everthing shall be added unto you. My goal this year, be healthy, be happy, be grateful, serve, be loving, be the best in all that I do esp to be a wife, mom, grandmother and a child of god.  I want to welcome this year with optimism and determination to succed and fulfill the desire of my hear to be with my family more often!!!

Rose  (mom)

Hello my beautiful Family!

First and foremost God is amazing and I'm extremely grateful for EVERYTHING He has done for me and our families! 2014 was an amazing year. Every time I look back at those blessings, I can't help but think, "Wow". Really that's the only word that comes to mind. Anyway, the purpose of this blog is to provide a way we all communicate and keep in touch in one central location, but also, I wanted to started a 365 day account of just things I'm thankful for, or things that I may neglect or disregard as a small thing when in reality they are huge blessings. SHARE whatever you want, it can be long, it can be short, I just want to feel connected to everyone!


Today, I'm thankful for another year of opportunities and blessings. I feel like I've been really forgetful lately so I just made my 2015 Goal a theme: "Go out and live" (yes it spells out goal, but it was the first thing that came to my mind).

The world is a beautiful place, you don't have to travel very far to realize what an amazing time and world we live in! "Go out and live" to me means service, it means positivity and love, it means making the world a better place one smiling face at a time. So whatever I do this year, will contribute to my theme. Dream big, explore, and feel ALIVE! Life is not just 9-5, it doesn't have to be. Life doesn't need to be about bills (it's hard for me to talk since I'm single). Life doesn't need to be so serious that we forget to laugh. Love more, experience more, and live more! God gave us this one beautiful life to experience. Live it to its fullest. I'm actually a little jealous because all of you have families, so that means the experiences are multiplied a billion fold.

Okay, so I rambled. I love you all! Let's make 2015 the best year ever for our families!

-Mike