One week 'til Christmas

We have now been in Spain for almost 6 months. I can't believe it. It is going by to fast.  Life has been so busy that we still feel like we are trying to get used to life here.  All in all things are going well.  The boys have finished their first trimester of school in town and have come out ok.  They are all growing up so quickly through all their new experiences.  They are discovering a lot about themselves and their personalities are becoming more defined.  Caden continues to be slightly more passive, usually a little more mature for his age, and seems to be confident in his abilities to get by in this foreign country.  Max is the emotional, passionate one. He has discovered his ability to analyze and dissect even the most insignificant details, and will passionately and articulately defend himself in any language.  Jake continues to keep us laughing as he absorbs everything around him.  He is witty beyond his years and he knows how to use it.

A couple of weeks ago the school took classic-style, black and white photos of the kids.  They changed their shirt, put them in front of a studious looking map with a fountain pen in hand and took their picture. Caden and Max went along with things just fine, but Jake decided he didn't want anything to do with it. Anyone who knows Jake also knows that he can get pretty stubborn and give a nasty stink-eye when forced to do something against his will.  Well, this one was caught on film.   If you know Jake you'll be able to appreciate the photo.

We took a little road trip to a place called Grazalema.  It is one of the "Pueblos Blancos" that Spain is so famous for.  These are enchanted little cities built in the mountains and cliffs of southern Spain.  Grazalema is one of the better known of these cities.  It is has that feel of being trapped in time.  Things seemed like they had probably been the same for hundreds of years, but yet everything was clean and well kept. The video below is a clip of the short time we spent in the area.




We hope everyone has a very merry Christmas!

Come On In

Since we have been running behind on our blogging over the last couple of months, we are doing another catch-up blog.  It is a little random.  It includes a video of our new home here in Rota, Halloween pics, baby blessings, some travel pics, and more.  The pics are Flickr albums so you can click the lower right of slideshow to expand and see higher resolution pics if you want.

A THANKSGIVING STORY

Remeber the scene in "A Christmas Story" when the family goes to a Chinese restaurant for Christmas dinner? We felt kind of like them today.

Things have been a little crazy lately so we finally decided that we were justified in taking this Thanksgiving off from the cooking and preparation, and taking advantage of the galley on base. The galley is the on-base cafeteria. Imagine the Golden Corral on a budget (and minus the really old people). That's the galley.

Despite being Thanksgiving, we sent the kids off to school. They go to Spanish schools that of course don't celebrate Thanksgiving. That gave us some peace and quiet to enjoy. Nick spent the morning on a bike ride in the rain, the cleaning lady came, and Rebecca did some things around the house.

Around noon or so we heard the sound that for the last five years has been virtually our sole connection with loved ones--- iChat (shameless plug for the Mac- if you don't have one it would make a great Christmas gift). We video conferenced with a group of friends that we have considered family for the last 3 years in Okinawa. They were gathered together for the traditional friends Thanksgiving dinner. We were flattered and even a little emotional that they would think of us even though we are now half way around the world. We had the chance to touch base with the whole group at once and introduce them to the babies. It was the next best thing to being there with them. We felt missed, and that felt good.

We then picked up the kids from school at 2 pm and we were off to the galley. The galley was an adventure. I did my best to covertly video the event. See the short clip below to get a better feel for the experience. In a nutshell, we paid $21 for the family, picked up our tray, and made our way down the "buffet" line for the traditional fixin's of roast, turkey, patatoes, ham, stuffing, and something they claimed was green beans, and discussed a mural on the wall that Jake claimed was a "half naked man peeing" (I will include the picture below for you to decide).

Rebecca didn't like any of the food much, and Caden and Max discovered they didn't like eggnog. Dad showed the kids how to make impressions of their fingers by sticking them in the molten wax from the melting candles. We drank lots of chocolate milk and finished it all off with ice cream.

We arrived hungry, left full, and didn't have to clean any dishes (unless you count the part where you have to take your lunch tray to the mysterious man in the dishwasher window).  I would say an overall success. And while it may not rank up there with our best Thanksgivings, it will surely be one of the more memorable ones.

Rebecca is finishing off the day with a midnight showing of "New Moon", leaving Nick home to try his luck at breastfeeding the twins.

They Speak Spanish in Spain

Of course we haven't kept up on the blog over the last while. We still have lofty goals of doing so, but just haven't found the time. We're not sure anyone reads it anyway so it may not matter. But I have a second right now so I figured I would give a glimpse into our Spain experience.

This is Nick speaking. Anyone who knows me knows that I have always enjoyed Spanish and was of course excited for the opportunity to come to Spain and immerse ourselves in the language and culture. We've done our best so far. We live off base, enjoy Spanish food, shop at the Gypsy Market, eat olives, and I even drive a Spanish vehicle. This immersion comes with it's challenges of course, but we are feeling more and more comfortable by the day.

The language is usually the limiting factor for most of the non-Spanish here. Most make a valiant effort to learn so they can more fully enjoy their experience. We have been fortunate in that regard. We also attend a Spanish-speaking branch and have the kids in Spanish public school. With all of the effort to immerse ourselves I wondered when I would start seeing some sort of effect on the boys. School was eye opening at first. Caden quickly assimilated but Max and Jake were a little slower. They now seem very content. Parent teacher conferences have been positive and any language barrier that may have existed at first appears to have vanished and is no longer the limiting factor there.

I have had a couple of "ah-ha" moments over the last couple of months as I have seen the boys meld into their new culture. I was thinking about these experiences today and decided I would share them so they wouldn't be forgotten.

The first of these "culminating" moments was when I was in primary listening to Max give a talk on families. He gave the talk first in Spanish and then repeated it in English. I noticed he read better in Spanish than English. Reality check. The following week Caden did the same thing. I realized I was living an experience I had never thought I would.

We started noticing that as the kids speak English they have developed a funny accent. They often phrase and emphasize sentences in English as if they were speaking Spanish.

Caden is in 4th grade. Spanish school is widely accepted here to be a little more intense than English schools. I realized how real their immersion is when I sat down with him to study geology... in Spanish. As we reviewed the make up of the earth's crusts, I was amazed at his ability to recite definitions word for word from his textbook. Photosynthesis and plant reproduction produced the same sense of amazement. He scored a 19.75 out of 20 on his test.

We have started making friends with other Spanish families that live near by. You almost feel embarrassed by your ignorance when you suddenly realize that despite all the differences, most of us are exactly the same. As I walked next to Caden and Alejandro and listened to their random conversation I was amazed at how natural their conversation was first due to Caden's ever-improved Spanish, but also due to the universal language of kids- laughing. While some words may have been lost in translation, I doubt any real meaning was. These two have become the best of friends.

Rebecca has even found herself using her Spanish on a daily basis. She surprises herself regularly with her extensive knowledge and finds that she is more anxious than she thought she would be to learn more.

Jake attends preschool at the same public school as his brothers. At 4 yrs old he spends 5 hrs at school each day. At dinner last night he told me that they are studying "otoño" (fall) and that they will be going to the park the following day to collect "ojas" (leaves) and "castañas". This was a new word for me as it should be since I have never been exposed to the word "chessnut" in my Spanish adventures. I think he was a little disgusted that I didn't know what it was- he made this clear as he explained (in Spanish) that this was a fall fruit.

Today was the kicker, and what sparked this post. We were discussing that he needed to take peanuts to school tomorrow (another fall fruit). During our conversation he repeatedly called them "cacahuetes". Finally, to save him the embarrassment, I corrected him and told him that it was "cacahuates". He proceeded to tell me that it could be said both ways. I told him he was wrong and that the dispute would be put to rest by the online dictionary. Turns out that in Spain it is said cacahuetes and in other Spanish-speaking countries it is said cacahuates. This was a proud moment for him. However he handled it well, not rubbing it in my face and waiting until I had left the room before he told his mom that he knows more Spanish than Dad does and later claiming to have taught himself Spanish.

Sorry for the journal entry. If you have read this far then we know you are a true friend (or a family member who knows that any of the preceding stories could be referenced in conversation so you'd better be up to speed). If you're still awake leave a comment.

Pictures are to come.

Life in Spain

Our life has been so nuts over the last couple of months with moving, twins, new jobs, etc, that we haven't been able to travel too much. However, this world is so new to us that we have been able to find adventure in a few places that are close to home.

I have embedded a couple of different video clips from our first couple of months. Watch if you're interested!

We happened to catch Spencer's first smile on film:

The Rock of Gibraltar is English territory at the southern tip of Spain.

These are some cool horse races they do each year on the beach.

Cadiz is the oldest city in western Europe. Neat place.

Never saw anything like this in the states:

Birthdays and goodbye's

(I wrote this on the 4th of October but am just getting to post it now on the 20th!)

The babies aren't the only things going on to keep us busy right now. Of course life in general with all five boys feels like a daily marathon. Jake and Max both had birthdays in September and we had to say goodbye to our beloved Aunt Emme and Grandma Packer. We couldn't be more thankful for them and miss them soooooooooo much. Not just because they were such huge helpers, we just love them and miss our family.

Jake turned 4 and wanted a pirate birthday cake. We decided to just have a small birthday party with our family since so much was going on with the babies. I usually love to have big parties so it was hard to not make a huge deal about it. This time their cakes were the only things I was going to try and make special. I made Jake's pirate ship cake and it turned out cute. He wanted to go to get pizza and take it to the park so we loaded the cake and his presents and went to the park. On the way, the cake fell apart and was not salvageable. I didn't cry but almost. It was the only thing I tried hard on. Jake actually liked how it fell apart and said that it looked like it had been blasted with a cannon. So the pirate ship cake was a blasted pirate ship and he was OK with it. So I guess I couldn't be too upset. He got a lot of fun things. His favorite toys were all of the star wars figures from Grandma. He's obsessed. So it was a hit. Happy Birthday, Jake. We love you!

Then four days later on the 23rd was Max's 7th birthday. He was so cute and thrilled for his special day. After school we went again to get pizza for dinner ( there aren't a lot of restaurant options here) and took his presents but left the cake at home this time. He wanted a Spiderman cake and that was interesting. I couldn't come up with anything really exciting other than making a web and putting figures on top. I had made the web and left the room for a minute. Then Jake yelled from in the kitchen saying that he couldn't get the figures to stay on the cake. Another cake problem! He was just trying to help but made some big unnecessary holes. At that point, the babies were screaming to nurse so I was done trying. My mom helped finish it and Max enjoyed it in the end. After pizza, he opened presents ( more Star Wars and Bakugan). Then we went to see the movie G Force. He had a great birthday and we're so thankful for him. We love Max.

Happy Birthday Boys! We love you both.

Update

Two weeks have gone by and I'm feeling a lot better after my surgery. The first week was pretty hard but I'm up and moving around much better. I know the babies are what everyone wants to hear about, so I'll move on. I LOVE them!

It was so fun to finally have the mystery solved as to if they were identical vs. fraternal. The entire pregnancy we thought they were identical because the technicians could only see one placenta but when they were born, there were actually two placentas right next to each other that were fused together. And with blood tests, they found they have two different blood types. So we have fraternal twins. Just looking at them it's so obvious. They look nothing alike!

Spencer who was born first is our little guy and such a sweetheart. He is so relaxed all of the time and only fusses when he really needs something. He will sit through his twin brother crying in his ear and not even budge. He looks %100 like the Peterson side. So cute and melts my heart.

Tanner is our younger but bigger one. He is a little more high maintenance but still a great baby. I still can't see any resemblance in him with anyone in our family. I keep staring at him to figure out who he looks like but I think he has his own look. He is beautiful.

They love to be by each other. They sleep better when snuggled up in the same bed. I love that they already have a special bond. Here are a bunch of pictures of their first two weeks of life. They are already growing up too fast. Knowing that they are my last babies, I want them to slow down and let me enjoy each stage. They are so sweet and I feel so blessed to have them in our family.

Note: I know there aren't a lot of pictures with Jake. When we got home from the hospital, he had a skin infection on his face. So we kept him away until he finished his medicine. Also, the beautiful blonde is my sister Emme.

Welcome Baby Spencer and Baby Tanner

Just returned from the hospital. I am going to keep this to the point as there are sure to be many posts to follow.  Here's the scoop:

We went to the hospital this morning at 6 am for a scheduled c-section. We had practically the entire hospital on hand for the delivery. There were an estimated 20 to 30 people present at all times during the delivery. Two of every team. You couldn't hope for more personalized care or attention to one patient. The surgery started about 8:25 or so and by 8:35 there were two perfectly healthy boys screaming (and peeing).  In a nutshell things couldn't have gone any smoother. Spencer came first at 8:35 weighing 5 lbs 5 ounces and 18.25 inches long. Then Tanner arrived at 8:36, 6 lbs 15 ounces and 19.5 inches long. Obviously a discrepancy in size. However, the doc said that size alone has nothing to do with being identical or not at this point. They do look very different, but again, the weight could make all the difference.  They both have all fingers and toes, breathing great from the start.  Perfect.   At this point we are leaning toward not identical since one has O+ blood and preliminary tests show the other having O-.  More tests will be done know for sure. 

Mom is doing great. She is drugged up and a little nauseous  but over all said the experience was very stress free. A sharp contrast compared to previous births. She will continue to recover for a couple of days with the babies in the hospital.

So that is it in a nutshell. There are pics below and video will likely be added a little later today. 

We'll be interested to hear who you all think the babies look like. We're a little stumped at this point. 

Getting closer

I know these posts are just info and no pictures but we still have a ton to do before the babies come and I'm sure it will be picture overload when they arrive. So I thought I would just share thoughts right now since I can't really do much other than just sit. We are getting settled more everyday, thanks to the help of my mom. She has not stopped working to get our things put away and organized. She is truly saving us right now. I don't know how we would do this without her.

I'm very big and uncomfortable. I'm now 36 weeks and grateful to have gotten this far. Everyday that goes by helps me feel the babies will be OK and healthy. I have one more week before I'm scheduled for a c-section. The countdown is on. As uncomfortable as I am, I still want to make it as long as I can for the babies. I really want them to be full term and as developed as possible. I can't wait to see them and hold them. I really love babies and I still can't believe that I get to have two at the same time. As hard as it will be, I know it will also be so special. We know what their names are but we are going to wait until they are born to announce them. So stay tuned.

Caden, Max, and Jake are such great boys. They have endured so much this year but they are still as sweet and good as ever. I'm lucky to have them. They are so excited to meet their baby brothers. It's a daily conversation now. I hope their enthusiasm continues through the crying and struggles we will face juggling two.

Nick is working hard in his new dental clinic. He is really enjoying the people he works with and the work itself. He has a lot on his plate as well. A couple of weeks ago in church he was asked to be a primary teacher. Most of the kids speak Spanish so they were thrilled to have him come. I thought it would be great since that's simple and he will still be able to help me and the babies on sundays, etc. Well last sunday when we showed up, our Stake President was there to meet us and asked to talk to Nick before the meeting. As members, we all know what that means. They have a new job to give. Well the new calling, is for Nick to be the 2nd counselor in the Branch Presidency. Wow- that's huge and it is not going to be easy. Our current President and counselor only speak Spanish, so we both felt that he would have the opportunity sometime since he's bilingual. But we thought that was down the road a ways. AND they are NOT going to release him from his primary teacher calling. Somehow, I'm going to have to juggle all five boys on sundays without Nick. How is it possible? I sure am glad that I have faith in our Heavenly Father because it seems too much to handle.

I keep thinking, what else could possibly happen this year for our family? 2009 will be unforgettable. I better go put my feet up. If I sit in this position for too long, they swell even bigger and they feel sprained.

We will post something exciting next time for sure. The 28th is the deadline. I'll be at 37 weeks!

Nothing New

This isn't going to be too interesting, but at least we are posting something.

Our household goods came yesterday so now we are trying to put the house together. It's getting there and should be good to go by the time babies come. Rebecca went to the doc and they said everything was great. So far she has lucked out. No need for steroids or bed rest, just taking it a little easy. She is 35 weeks and going strong. They set a date for her to be induced at her 37 week mark, the 28th of August. From the looks of things she should make it. She is measuring 44 weeks pregnant right now! So you can imagine that the body is wanting to get this over with. Her mom showed up today to spend a month and a half. She will be well utilized while she is here! We were realizing yesterday that we were being spoiled... They showed up at 8 am to remove our loaner furniture and deliver all of our new furniture, and even assemble it. Then someone from church showed up bucket and rags in hand to clean our house and bring us dinner-- dinner we couldn't eat because out neighbor had already offered a spaghetti and meatball meal (Katie if you're reading, it made me think of you), then family shows up today to help. Spoiled.

Totally unrelated, check out the cool videos below. I know they are random, but thats what happens when I do these posts.

Un Saludo Desde España

The blog is alive... and so are we. This is going to be a quick summary of our current state. We will post more regularly once a few more things get settled. I will post a few photos below as well.

Here's the latest:

Rebecca is still very prego. 34 weeks. Goal is 37. Measures 42 weeks. Healthy, swollen, minimal signs of delivering, trying to take it easy.

Nick has been working some, got out on the bike a few times through the Spanish country side, trying to keep up with life on the move. Is currently getting over feeling deathly ill.

We are in our beautiful house out in town, but with temporary furniture. Shipment coming in a couple of days. House tour to come to the blog later.

Haven't had a chance to travel too much. Live 150 yrds from the beach, went to Gibraltar (English territory), traveled a little around the local cities.

We are enjoying speaking Spanish. The boys think they are pretty cool. Jake says Rebecca's Spanish "doesn't sound good 'cuz it sounds like English." They are brutally honest.

More to come soon. Please drop us a line or comment so we know if it is worth keeping this thing updated!

If you zoom in on the marker on the map, you will see the row of houses the the lower left corner. We are the third one in going from left to right. They are some of the bigger houses around so we lucked out. Our backyard is the forest area and about 100 yrds to the beach. Zoom the map out to get a better view.


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3+2=5

We are so happy to be adding two more boys to the Peterson house.  The Dr. said everything looks good and both baby boys look healthy.  As far as she could tell, there was only one placenta which is a guarantee of identical twins. Even though they are a little more at risk during the pregnancy, (one could take more nutrients than the other) identical boys will be so fun. We already have three beautiful boys, it will be so fun to see who these little guys resemble.  I know the phone is going to be ringing off the hook from all the girls who are after my cuties.  I love my boys and am thrilled to meet these two and see what fun personalities they bring to our home.   

Hello again... time for a BIG update

If anyone does look at this since we never blog,  I'm sorry  I'm not posting pictures.  I want to just post the upcoming crazy things going on with us.  I'll try to make this short but there are no guarantees.  So in a nutshell, I'm 17 weeks pregnant with TWINS and we are moving from Japan to Spain.  I know that sentence seemed short and simple but it's not.  It has been quite crazy for the last four months around here and it's only going to get worse for the next couple of years. 

First, I couldn't be more happy about adding two babies to our family.  I LOVE babies.  I feel so blessed that I get two more when we were expecting to be done after one more.  I know it's going to be one of the hardest things ever, but I am thrilled to add two more to my gorgeous three boys. We are finding out what they are on the 13th.  Five more days.  We are ready and thrilled for whatever they are.  As much as we are going to love having twins, we know it will add some craziness to our  lives along with this move to Spain.  

As much as we know we will enjoy Spain, it means we have to leave our friends and life in Japan.  Those that live here know what I mean.  Those of you that don't, I can't express how hard it will be to leave the "family" we have here.  When you move to a new country across the globe from family, your  friends and neighbors fill in for the time being.  I will miss my Okinawa family so much.  When someone goes through something hard, they fill in.  When, someone needs a hand with kids, they fill in. When it's time to go to the beach, our crowd fills the sand.  When someone is pregnant with twins and moving to another country, they bring dinner over three times a week for THREE weeks! Parks, holidays, sightseeing, impromptu desserts, etc.  I could go on forever but I will always remember the support system we had here.  I hope I can find it in Spain.  As much as I've been homesick for my family in Utah, I know when I leave here, I will be homesick for my Japan clan.  It will be hard to go.  I love you guys.  

Moving is not a good thing for me.  I'm not the best at dealing with change.  When I was little, my siblings would tease me because I would cry after they would repave the road in front of my house. Or if my dad would prune the trees.  Or when my mom wanted to redo my whole bedroom with new wallpaper and a beautiful bedspread.  I cried because I didn't want to forget the old stuff that really needed to go. Did I just admit to all of that?  And I wonder why Max is so emotional.  I grew up in the same house my whole life and threatened my parents they could never sell that house.  Now as an adult I moved away to Cleveland for four years, came to Japan for three, and now we are moving to Spain for three more.  THEN COMING BACK TO UTAH!  

Anyway I should be used to leaving places by now.  It's not fun getting attached and then leaving with the knowledge, that we'll never live here again. 

I think right now, I'm sad mostly for my kids.  This is all they know.  Jake was ten months when we moved here.  He loves his friends and his cute little three year old life.  Max was three and is now a big six year old.  He too has friends that he will miss terribly.  Caden is old enough to know what is going on.  My nine year old! He asks me everyday if he will see them again. It's just not an easy answer.

This has gotten too long.  I guess I needed to get this all out.  At least through this move I get to see my family I haven't seen in three years.  I'm leaving in a week and a half and Nick has another 6 weeks.  I get to fly from Japan with my boys, pregnant with twins, all by myself so I can spend more time with my family.  We have a week and a half.  I leave on April 18th.  It's so soon.  I know I will go through culture shock going back to America.  Japan is so familiar to me. But I can't wait to go back to the country and family I love.  Then after two months, we leave for Spain.  We leave on June 26th so I can get there at my 28 week mark.   I think that is all I can post.  I have major work to do to prepare for next week.  I hope you made it all this far.  I will try to post what the results of the ultrasound are after monday.  I know the big question everyone wants to know is if we are going to have five boys or if there is one or two girls in there.  Pray for healthy!