Thanksgiving

Samuel sitting. He can actually sit independently...the boppy pillow is there for backup
Samuel and Mommy after bedtime bath
Learning how to get places. It won't be long before he's crawling.
Samuel doing one of his favorite activities...watching Daddy play guitar to him. This is one of the sweetest things I have ever seen.

Well, we had our first Thanksgiving on Guam. We actually had two Thanksgiving meals, thankfully separated by more than 6 hours, so plenty of time to digest!! We managed to forget our cameras for both 'Thanksgivings,' so we have no pictures to share of this monumental event :)

I will post pictures of Samuel, though (looking at his pics would be the only reason to visit this page anyway, right?).

We did have a great day. We were never lonely for company, but it didn't really feel like Thanksgiving. Maybe that was because it never did get cold here (I kept thinking that it would somehow be cold on Thanksgiving day, even though the weather's been in the 80's every day, just like usual), or because we had no out-of-town guests and were not with family. Either way, it was different but still good.

We had Thanksgiving with our church first. We had the meal at church, and everyone brought food to it. To that we brought a turkey (yes, a turkey...we did it!! We are now officially grown-ups!), gravy and cranberry sauce. Along w/ all of the traditional Thanksgiving fixings, we also enjoyed a lot of local fare that some brought. After the meal, we all sang Christmas carols. How fun!

Then in the evening, we had Thanksgiving with our neighborhood. This one was held outdoors between two of our neighbors' homes. There was a bounce house for the kids, so again, not your traditional Thanksgiving! To this we brought mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. 

Samuel did well today. He did seem a little bit scared of the large groups of people we were in at first. I had to comfort him for a little bit before I entirely released him to be held by the girls at church that love to carry him around.

Well, we have so much for which to be thankful! Happy Thanksgiving!!

Spam

Please read below for my comments about Spam and other stuff. I couldn't cut and paste them to the top of this post for some reason and the pictures look like they don't make sense!

Rudi jumping off of Rock at Sigua Falls
Rudi during hike to Sigua falls. You can see it in the background.
I thought this was a nice picture that Rudi took.
Grumpy baby didn't sleep well the night before this picture was taken :(
Happy baby!

I just have to make a few comments about the Spam problem on Guam. No, not email SPAM. I'm talking the canned meat kind! There is Spam everywhere here. The Japanese love it apparently.  There grocery stores here are deeply stocked with variety of Spam: garlic spam, low salt spam, lite spam to name a few. You can even buy 'single serving' packets of Spam. I have never seen so much in my life! I went to a brunch buffet on Sunday, and amongst the sushi, shrimp, fish, and miso soup there was a dish that you put over rice that I assumed was also seafood. Not so. I took a few bites and realized the meat in it was Spam and Vienna sausage! Yuck! I mean, it tasted ok overall, but I couldn't bear the thought of knowingly eating Spam (or Vienna sausages for that matter).

Rudi is done with his written boards. He doesn't find out results for a while, either. He and one of his co-workers celebrated by taking a hike to Sigua Falls, which is just an hour or so hike from our back door.  I'll post a few pictures of that trip (it almost ruined our camera as Rudi returned with a soaking wet camera and cell phone...camera dried off and works, cell phone does not work still).

Well, you all know the real reason for posting on our blog is to show pictures of our sweet little boy. So we will also post a couple recent photos of Samuel.

Gab Gab Beach

We went to Gab Gab beach twice in the last week! The beach is on the naval base here and it is a "safe" beach as far as the currents are concerned  because it is in a natural harbor (Apra Harbor) on the southwest side of Guam. Last Saturday, we went briefly as a family and just walked around and waded in the water. On Tuesday (which happened to be Veteran's Day, and the beach was packed that day...who knew?), we went with a bunch of neighbors/co-workers of Rudi's and their families. We got to go kayaking (or should I say I went...Rudi stayed on shore to watch the baby and then didn't get to go out later) and snorkeling. I was really impressed with the snorkeling--lots of corals and fish. I was out snorkeling with one of our friends, Margarethe, and at one point we became surrounded by a bunch of these little needle nose fish. It was kinda scary because they were circling us and when we tried to swim away, they kept following us.

Anyway, it has been fun to enjoy the beach here. Isn't it true that we often do poorly at enjoying the natural resources around us--we take them for granted. I don't want that to happen here, and it shouldn't, because there isn't much else to do!

Rudi is currently studying for the written portion of his boards (oral portion is in May, I believe). He doesn't have the same test anxiety that I do. I look at him and how relaxed he is and it is just funny how I must look to him when I get all wound up about tests.

And in case anyone is wondering, I don't have a job yet. I am currently working on my Guam medical license application, which happens to be 19 pages!! Doesn't make sense, since they need physicians so badly here! I am thinking about working for public health, just seeing patients. I think I would be a help if I worked for them, and I like the idea of helping out. The other job possibility is MAYBE the Navy creating a job that I could apply for (this is a huge maybe). Either way, Rudi and I have talked about it, and we think 2 days a week for me is the max that we want for our family.

Daddy and Samuel at Gab Gab
Samuel trying on a friends crazy swimsuit (Samuel, if you read this later, this was not your swimsuit....sorry for putting you in it)
Samuel and Mommy
Cutie
"playing" in the sand

Hawaii & Boards

Well, we are back from Hawaii.  This is a long post, so if you want to skip reading most of it and just see the pictures below, feel free! The summary is that we went to Honolulu, Rudi's mom and my mom met us there. I took my boards, and we hung out and relaxed on the island of Oahu for several days afterward. Now we are all back at our respective homes!

The reason we went to Hawaii was to take my pediatric boards, since Honolulu was the closest place to Guam that the test was offered (still a 7.5 hour flight, though!!) The test is offered only once per year and Oct. 27th was the big day this year.  Rudi and I had a difficult time deciding whether I should go alone or if he and Samuel should accompany me.  We went back and forth for months, but I decided that I couldn't be away from my baby for 4 days (pretty much the minimum amount of time I'd need to be there if I went alone). But the thing that pushed us over the edge was that staying in Hawaii for 7 days meant that the plane ticket was half as much as if I stayed 4 days. So we realized that Rudi, Samuel and I could all go to Hawaii and stay for 7 days for the same price as me going alone for 4 days. So we all went for 7 days and made a vacation out of it.

Anyway, my first order of business needs to be thanking God for answering my prayers. Anyone who knows me, and especially anyone who has lived with me, is aware of my test anxiety. It is pathologic. I have been praying every day for a few months that I would have a more normal level of anxiety about this test. God granted me that request and I am very thankful. I won't say I wasn't nervous before the test, but I was normal (at least for the medical type). So, whether or not I pass (we don't get results until January), I did meet one of my goals, with God's help.

The first few days on Oahu were mostly dedicated to me being able to have a little time to study/review. Thankfully, Rudi's mom was there and was able to keep Rudi company and help with the baby in order to allow me to have a little time to study. I think they had a little fun, but they didn't really do anything because they hung around close to the hotel so I could feed Samuel.

On the day of my exam, my mom flew in from Pennsylvania. Rudi and his mom picked her up while I was taking the afternoon portion of the test. It was awesome to be taking my exam thinking, 'I get to see my mom when I get done!'

Then, the last 4 days of the trip, we hung out on the beach, went snorkeling, and saw some of the sights on Oahu. It was great having Samuel's grandmothers there to help so that Rudi and I could actually swim and snorkel together! I would say one of the highlights was seeing a sea turtle when we were snorkeling. Another swimmer said that he got a picture of Rudi and I underwater swimming with the turtle. He gave us his number so that we could call him and he could send a picture to us. If we get the picture, I'll post it later.

                                                        Close-up of Samuel--almost 5 months.

    I took my mom out snorkeling in Hanauma Bay...it was her first time and she did very well!

                                               My mom, Samuel, me and Rudi's mom

                                           Rudi and I prior to snorkeling at Hanauma Bay
                                                            Family picture at the beach