Happy 14th Birthday Siloni Moriah!

I had to hold Loni's hands down, she was too impatient to wait for the cake so she ran her little hand across the frosting and tried to put it in her mouth!

It's Loni Baloni's birthday today. I called her first this morning to sing her happy birthday but her friends had kidnapped her and took her out to breakfast. My friends did the same thing for me when I was a little younger than her and I remember how exciting it was. I'm glad that she has great friends who care about her.

Siloni is my youngest sister, my Mom let me give her a middle name so of course I chose Moriah after my favorite singer Mariah Carey (she still is my favorite singer!)Today I was looking through my box of pictures and I have so many pictures, it was pretty difficult to select only a few to show off. One of the reasons for my elaborate collection of Loni pictures is because I was her babysitter 24/7. I'm not even exaggerating. I remember being resentful as a teen because I couldn't hang out my friends, I had Loni to tend to. All my high school friends remember her as my constant companion, wherever I went, she went. My mother was working so much so I had to tend to a lot of loni's basic needs like baths, diaper changes and feedings. We had a good time, I learned a lot from Loni. She was a curious but, shy child and full of affection for the people around her. I remember blasting my radio (as a teen) and she'd stun me by saying "Tiva turn it down, I wanna talk". She was only 4 years old at the time. We had great times together and my resentment turned into gradtitud for such an amazing sister.



Loni was happiest after a warm bath and a bottle.



Loni started dancing at a very young age, she started dancing before she could walk. We have footage of her pulling her self up to standing positon by the couch and shaking her little diapered bum:) Over the years, through many performances her shyness has turned into confidence.



Loni has taught herself how to play Piano, Guitar, Ukulele and to Sing. She continues to dance, anywhere and everywhere. My friends still call me to request a performance from her. She is definitely the one who posses all the talent in our family. Loni is excelling in school and has a supportive network great friends, which I hope doesn't change Lon! She is a light in our family, my brother is lucky to have her in his home, she gladly helps him out with my nephews.





Loni thank you for your consistent phone calls and sweet messages. We love and miss you, give yourself a hug from us!

Road Trip to Washington D.C

Last week, we (the Relief Society sisters in my ward and I) took a road trip to the temple in Washington D.C.. The drive to our destination and back is about 9 hours. It took me a while to recover from it, I guess every since we moved here to West Virginia road trips just haven't been the same for me. I've lived in many places, but never has a temple been so far away. Even when I lived in Costa Rica the temple was only 30 minutes away. I was grateful for the opportunity to get to know the sisters in my ward better and thankful for the time I was able to spend in the temple.








On Sunday Derek was called to serve in the Bishopric. He accepted the call to serve as the Executive Secretary. We no longer get to be complacent and just attend church. Alot is expected of us and we are happy to serve. I've had so much fun teaching the children, they always surprise me with how much they know. Derek is trying to plan his time more effieciently now that he has meetings on Wednsdays and early Sunday mornings. Overall, we feel blessed and we are thankful for the opportunity we have both been given to serve the Lord.

As for secular matters, Derek has just completed and tested on the Somatic Body...which encompasses a whole lot of information. Whenever he studies at home he paces around the house stopping occasionally to explain how various body parts functions, what their connections on and so forth. It really is like another language, so Derek is not surprised when I have a glazed over look on my face because my mind is obviously off somewhere else. He has done very well so far on his written tests. The practical exams are a bit more difficult but I know with time he will get used to identifying parts on the cadavers. We celebrate after each test, thanks again to the Sorber family for letting us grill at their home once again.


I love this man!
Last week I met up with Derek for lunch just shortly after he had completed his lab. I try to provide a variety of foods for lunch and on this particular day I packed coconut cream pudding with banana slices and coconut flakes in it. The conversation went like this, at the time I was a bit offended but it's humorous now that I look back on it.

Derek: He proceeds to open the Tupperware container and spoons out some pudding. He takes one look, seals it back up and says, "I can't eat that!"

Me: I respond, "why?" (keep in mind, cooking and cleaning is my only job and has been since we arrived here. I get a little sensitive when my husband doesn't like the food I prepare for him)

Derek: "It looks like Coagulated Blood!"

Nativa: "What's Coagulated Blood?...and do I want to know what it is?"

Derek goes on to explain that in lab, he had been extracting the Heart out of the Chest cavity. It's been over a month since school has started and he hasn't had any problems with cadavers but now that they're digging into the cavities the smell has worsened. Coagulated blood is when the blood has transformed from liquid to a soft semi solid mass that looks very similar to curdled milk and pudding . There are four students to every cadaver and typically the stronger students are doing the extracting. Derek never imagined how difficult it would be to peel back skin and remove body organs.It's a good thing he explained why he didn't want to eat the pudding, I simply responded, "no more pudding for the remainder of Anatomy?" In relief Derek sighs, "Yes, please!"

This week we look forward to Derek's White Coat Ceremony on Saturday. My father-in-law (Derek's Dad) will be visiting for the occasion. We're really excited to introduce him to our friends, take him on a tour of the school (Derek really wants to show him the body he has been working on eh!) and go on a few hikes to see the water falls out here. We're so excited to see family, we miss them so much!

Only in West Virginia

Saturday morning I met up with several women in my ward (their husbands are 2nd year in medical students). It was pouring rain but we all wanted yummy rasberries and I had never been berry picking before.



Left to Right: Me, Sammy Fredricks,Emily Loder-holding Benjamin Fredricks(Derek served his mission with her husband Bryce Loder),Lisa Fredricks-Micheal, Racheal Lewis and Arianna.



Racheal & Becki in the backround, don't they look so happy picking fresh rasberries?



Yum! 1 lb rasberries $3.00, I thought the price was a bit much at first but I ended up getting a lot for my money.

I forgot to mention that I recieved a calling at church, I am the 2nd Counselor in the Primary for children. The kids are great,I look forward to teaching them and participating in all the activities that we have planned for the year. I took several pictures of the children, they were having so much fun. The Fredricks brothers are the best behaved in class so naturally I favor them.









West Virginia State Fair August 15-22,2009


Joey and Kathyrn were quiet excited to ride on the elephants. I told Derek that we should invest in an elephant. We would make millions charging $5/person x 5 persons per ride. The ride only lasts less than 2 minutes.




We weren't very interested in riding the over priced calapsable rides ($6 and up per ride), but we were excited to try all the deep fried goodies! We stood in lines that lasted forever just to try all the deep fried calorie rich food.



This line was over an hour but we were told that we had to try a cinnimon roll if we went to the fair. It was well worth the wait, it was delicious. Derek and I shared a roll.



I've heard about the battered dipped deep fried candy bar but I'd never purchase one and eat it. Our friend James has a sweet tooth sweeter than Dereks, he bought a fried Milky Way and we all tried it. It taste like a mixture of grease and chocolate...gross. And we wonder why obesity is pandemic in America!


and last but not least, a few of my favorite girls!

Greenbrier River Trail

This week I finally went out to discover the Greenbrier River Trail with my friends. Several weeks ago while running outside on the narrow roads, my dog Skofeild got a little anxious and ran after a truck. I ended up tripping over him and I skid on my whole left leg. The fall was so hard that I scraped my leg and both legs were very bruised.


I took this picture after I healed a bit, it doesn't look so bad anymore, but I was sore for days
I haven't ran outside since then, I've opted to cross train on the elliptical for now. The Greenbrier trail is 77 miles, no moter vehicles are allowed and it will be great to run on. I was put in charge of the running group so I think I've found the best place to run now!

There are lots of bugs out there so this netting came in handy, this is Arianna Lewis, Racheal's daughter


Racheal and Becki


The river, at first I thought it was muddy and gross but it's actually the rock formations. It's a very pristine river.



Derek had his first real test on Friday. His schedule has been so crazy this week. Every morning we get up together, have breakfast and we leave together so that he can grant me access to the school gym. I'm supposedly going to get my own pass but until then I'll just have to use Derek's.Derek typically has lecture from 8:00am-5:00pm(with one hour of lunch), he'll study until 6:00pm and then come home for dinner. Once he's eaten dinner, I usually pack him a second dinner or snack and he returns to school to study (he can't concentrate at home with me and Skoey around and I don't blame him). He typically returns home at 12am but this week he has been coming home at 2:00am. I try to wait up for him but I conk out at 12am. We don't find out what his grade is until later on this week so we're anxious to find out how he did on his very first test.

Meanwhile, I've been keeping busy with the girls from my ward and the Spouse groups on campus. I'm in charge of the running group and I joined the sewing, exercise and outdoor discovery of WV group. My calendar is packed with lots of fun stuff now. I've also been baking a lot more than usual. We can no longer afford to splurge on the processed foods like Oreos, candy bars, Costco muffins that Derek seems to enjoy so much. It's been great though because I really do enjoy baking.
On Friday we met up with the other students of our ward to celebrate their first medical school test. We had lots of yummy food and lots of good conversation. Here are a few snapshots of our fun times:)


We're pretty excited that at least one of our buddies has a grill!


One of my new favorite friends, I finally got this little girl to like me enough to let me hold her:)

Happy 3rd Birthday Audric

It was my nephew Audric's birthday yesterday. I was so excited to call him to sing happy birthday to him but when I called he was far to occupied to come talk on the phone. Several weeks ago when I spoke to him on the phone he asked me when I was going to come over. I explained that we live too far, I even told him that Skofeild (our puppy) misses him. He laughed as he replied 'that's silly Tiva'...'Tiva we gon save you som cake k?' We miss him so much. Derek and I have been using his most common words whenever we are together, our favorite one is 'your gonna be sad!'





One of the last times we visited my brother's house before we moved to West Virginia he played most of the time with Derek. He loves to jump on him and Derek throws him in the air. When we were getting ready to leave he asked 'Derweck...do you wanna play?' when Derek responded, 'no we have to go bud' Audric became frusteraed and said 'I'm gon bweck your car' we didn't understand what he was trying to say so we asked him to repeat himself. He said 'I'm gon bwek your car and your gonna be sad!' It's funny to think that a child so young has the ability to understand that with out our car we couldn't leave.What a smart little boy. We miss you Audric, happy birthday!

We miss you too Braxten! Our last picture at Liberty Park July 11, 2009

Somewhat settled in, a virtual tour of our new home!

Things have been going really well, Derek has completed his first week of Medical School and he is still very excited to become a Doctor. I continue to submit applications for work on a daily basis, I'm really getting tired of people asking me if I've found a job yet. No more updates on endless submissions of applications until I find a winner o.k everyone? Until then, I've enjoyed cooking recipes from the Food Network channel and watching the Baby Show on TLC, I've decided that I want to have my babies natural (actually, I've always wanted to have them natural but the show has been inspirational)I'd like to give birth in a jetted bathtub..at a birthing center. I doubt this ity biti town has a birthing center, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I do other things as well besides watch t.v., I should enter clips titled 'The Housewives of West Virginia', we're husbandless, jobless and penniless, we have to make our own fun in this great town:)

My sister Kura insists on seeing pictures of our new home. So here they are (one of the many reasons why I have a private blog).

This was once a house, it was converted into an upper and lower level apartment. We have a lot of random spaces for that reason.

ENTRANCE:
This is pretty random space, I don't have anything to put in it yet but I think a sofa table would look great against the wall opposite of this photo. This door leads to a ton of storage and the cellar. My favorite part of about this random space is the old school window unit. It cools down our living room quiet nicely.



FRONT ROOM:
This space is a bit small, I've always liked wooden floors they make a room feel so classy. I have to sweep everyday, sometimes 2x a day because Skofeilds hair everywhere, I would hate for anyone visiting to see it. The nifty square box is our heating system, I've never seen anything like it. I hope it keeps us warm






OFFICE/PERSONAL GYM/ GUEST ROOM:

The office needs a bit more work, I have a few projects that I've been working on. I still have two huge boxes filled with frames. My treadmill is next to the window, I don't plan to use it until it's frigid cold outside.
We also have a comfy air mattress so if your ever passing through and need a free place to say you'll get the pleasure of staying in this room. Derek doesn't use it too much as an office, he has his own office at school that he prefers to use.



BEDROOM:
Our bedroom has two separate spaces. Our bed is right next to a window and a walk in closet. The second space serves as my vanity area since our bathroom is so tiny. We're thinking that it will be a great space once we have a little one, if we have one during the two years we live here. My brother Simi tells me that it's a horrible idea. We'll see about that.





BATHROOM:
We defiantly downgraded from our previous bathroom, even our toilet seems miniature. Oh well, it serves its purpose.



UTILITY ROOM:
This is by far one of the greatest rooms! We've been doing laundry at our family's homes for the past two years. I can multi-task now, I no longer have to spend my whole day away from home waiting on laundry.



KITCHEN:
Derek says the kitchen was the heart of the home during his childhood because his mother spent so much time in it. My childhood of course was the opposite, we ate ramen noodles raw and cold cereal. I definitely need to work on the decor, I'll have to watch more interior design shows to get inspired. I have photos of family up right now but it still needs serious help.



KITCHEN FRIENDS:
One night we had Honey Walnut Shrimp for dinner and we saved the oil in its original bottle. Several days later, I noticed the wrapping was clawed off in pieced and mice droppings near it. We went through all our covers and bleached everything. We purchased rat poisoning and humane mice traps. It only took two days to catch a mouse, we were too freaked out to pick up the box so thanks to our friend Stuart, we got it out of our house. Since then, the mice have mysteriously disappeared. I think we killed them off with the poisoning. Supposedly it's normal to have mice in this area.



So this is our new home and we've enjoyed it. Next week, I'll post a virtual tour of our neighborhood, it's beautiful here.

Life thus far in Ronceverte, WV

For the past couple of weeks Derek and I have been discovering our new surroundings. We've hiked several trails, biked through narrow pathways near the Greenbriar river and I've found several running routes that will work for me. Our puppy Skofeild is getting a lot of exercise. I eventually want to train him to run/bike with us with out a leash. He just turned 1 on July 21 (Actually June 21st but we didn't bring him home until July 21st), we didn't do much to celebrate good thing he is a dog and dogs don't care whether we celebrate their birthdays or not.




Each week we've looked forward to attending church, we've met several other 1st year medical students. This year there are 5 LDS first year medical students, 2-2ND year and 2-3rd year. It's been great because the 2ND year students have been so willing to answer questions regarding what to expect our first year. I'm really excited that all the students have wives that I get to hang out with, it has made our transition a lot easier.



Future Doctors! Pictured Left to Right: Jonathan Lewis (TN), my good looking hubby, Stuart North (ID), James Bishop(UT), Joey Sorber (UT)



My new friends! Left to Right: Racheal and their eight month old Arianna, Me-childless...but maybe soon!, Becci-childless too-, Jame's has a wife but she is due to deliver in Utah, Kathryn and their two week old Ozzy-such a cute little boy.

I'm still looking for employment. A lot of people are out of work here in West Virginia. I'm actually o.k with a break after having worked a full time job and a part time job the majority of this year. I still have a lot to do to get settled, I enjoy living in a clutter free, organized house. I have a whole lists of tasks to complete so it's not like I'm at home twiddling my thumbs waiting for my husband to get home.

Today was Derek's first day of school, he is pretty excited. He already has a group a friends from our ward to support him and his own office space at the school reserved for studying (a recommendation that most students don't know about, thanks to the 2ND year med students). Tommorow we have an orientation scheduled for the wives/partners, I look forward to it so that I can have a better idea of what to expect. It still is crazy to think that we are finally here accomplishing a goal that seemed so far away. We're thankful that everything has fallen in to place for us, we know that this is where we need to be.