Before and After

Since church is canceled today due to inclement weather, I decided I'm going to invest a little time in recording some of our family stories. I'll work backward from present day and see how far I get, given that all the usual distractions are still hovering around. (Have I mentioned before that my kids LOVE the computer...especially when I am on it). For the moment, they are happily engaged in what has become a ritual Sunday morning activity: watercolors. Spencer, per custom, is still in his pajamas, while Emma has donned her pink shirt and skirt. She refuses to come down for breakfast until fully dressed for the day. In addition, she picks out her own clothes and most of the time matches quite nicely. She has strong opinions in these matters, so if you see her in a lime green skirt and pea green shirt...just go with it. They are both green - therefore, they match, and she will readily remind you of that fact.

Watercolors have ceased to be captivating, so in an effort to involve the kiddos, we'll post their commentary with the pictures that follow.

Emma: "That's Emma and Spencer and a bag. So, there's tigers in that place, and Lukie was in that place. So, that's it. Do another picture, Mommy!" (My addition: Spence and Emma were so cute when we were getting ready for Spencer's preschool carpool one day that I decided to take picture. They were snuggled up on the carseat booster. Little did I know this would become the "Before Preschool" picture. Scroll down to see the "After" one.)



AFTER preschool, this is what greeted me at the doorway. My friend Meagan dropped off the kids. Her son Luke is one of Spencer's best buddies, and we took the opportunity to take a little photo of the tiger cubs. Spencer loved this look SO much that he slept with it on so he could show everyone the next day. We even skyped with a few family members at Spencer's request so we could share his look. When Emma woke up from her nap, Spencer ran in to greet her. She was terrified that we had sent a boy to preschool and that he came back a tiger. She wouldn't let him within a 10 foot radius for a full half hour. After that, she adjusted nicely to having a tiger for a brother and they played out their stories for the rest of the day.

Spencer: "Once upon a time, Spencer got painted as a tiger. I did it at preschool. And I, Spencer, played with Luke. We were playing with tiger cars. Really deep in the bucket (at preschool), there are some tiger cars. GROWL! SNARL!!!
(We need some video to capture how truly he has mastered the tiger sound).

Snow Apocalypse 2010

That's how it's being referred to: a snow apocalypse. Record-breaking snow for the second time this winter. We have a hearty 2 feet on the ground here in our neck of Northern VA - more in between houses and places where the storm from earlier this week hadn't yet melted. We're making the best of it, though. Adam and the kids have shoveled a maze around the driveway and are at present playing hide and seek WWI style - in the trenches. Since I'm 6 months preg-o, I'm off shovel duty this round and have been the official photographer and soup-maker.

The neighbors and snowblowers are out now that our 36 hours of straight snowfall has finally come to a close. I like how a big storm brings us all a little closer together. Too often, we become too busy within the walls of our own homes to spend any face time with the folks up the street. Adam's already helped push one adventurous neighbor up the street. We're going to be staying close to home for the next while; no chance of our little Toyota Corolla making it up the hill at present.

Here are a few photos of our snowy day (in no particular order, since I don't feel like fighting that blogger battle):








Noteworthy consequences of this snowstorm:
-VA governor Bob McDonnell has declared VA to be in a state of emergency
-A good chunk of our ward was without power starting at 5AM. Ours flickered off briefly, but we were lucky enough to have heat all day.
-Loudoun County has already canceled school for Monday and Tuesday. (This coming Tuesday, we are supposed to have ANOTHER snowstorm, so who knows when school will be back in? Spencer didn't go to preschool at all last week since Monday was a teacher work day, Wednesday we were out because of last Tuesday night's snow, and Friday school was canceled because this granddaddy of a storm started at 10AM...and just stopped a few minutes ago.)
-We realized that as part of our emergency preparation, we need a basic phone that plugs directly into the phone jack and requires no additional power. When checking in with several friends, we weren't able to get through on land lines because we all have cordless phones.
-One of our bathtubs upstairs is full of some "just in case" water. Gross thing is that it looks like pool water (a strange blue tint). We'll be using our water pitcher with the charcoal filter more faithfully after this. (Don't worry - the bathroom door is locked to prevent any potential safety hazard from the little ones).

Famous Folks in Loudoun County

Over Christmas break, we went with the entire Wride clan to see "The Princess and the Frog." A little too much voodoo for my tastes, but a fun film overall. As we were exiting the theater, we saw several members of the Leesburg Ward...and if that wasn't fun enough, Sinbad was there with what appeared to be HIS entire extended family.

Adam convinced me that it was poor form to snap a secret photo, but said if I asked first it was okay. There were others doing both, but I let the opportunity pass. However, as we headed to our car, we came across this car:

which had this license plate:

So, to verify our famous person sighting in the middle of Broadlands, I took a picture of Sinbad's fancy Escalade. There you have it, folks; Loudoun County is the place to be. At least, Sinbad and I think so.

The last gift of Christmas

We had our ultrasound for Baby #3 (affectionately termed "Lemony Snicket" by Mom W when the doctor, a few weeks back, said the baby's head had grown to the size of a lemon). Because the ultrasound date was Dec. 22nd, Adam convinced me that it would be fun to seal the boy vs. girl news in an envelope and open it Christmas morning. Fun it was! It was a REALLY long wait from Dec. 22nd to Dec. 25th, but SO fun to share that moment with the entire Wride clan. And here is our news:

(Written in the card, in case it's hard to read from the picture, is: "(It's a...BOY!!! We have the pictures to prove it, but I thought I'd refrain from blasting those out on the world wide web. My son will thank me later.)

Here's how we feel about the news: THRILLED!!! Emma has been calling this baby (and any baby for that matter) by feminine pronouns (she, her...), but she has quickly adjusted and now loves to talk about how much she loves our baby boy and how handsome he is. Spencer is happy he guessed right and that he gets a little brother.

Later Christmas Day, we took the news over to the other side of Leesburg for opening #2. Everyone was happy (see clapping hands, and Celeste's barely visible upraised arm).

Grammy and Papa, who opened the envelope for round 2, were especially happy. This makes grandchild #6 for the Cummings. On the Wride side, this will be baby #7.
Now, the countdown begins. If you know me well, you know that I spend the year counting down to one of two things: Christmas and Family Beach Week at Nags Head over Memorial Day. This gives me something even SOONER to look forward to. May 8th cannot come soon enough; I can't wait to meet the little man who has such persistent and powerful kicks.

A new spin on an old favorite

I post this with no intention to make light of what is one of the most moving and powerful pieces of music ever created.

However, I must admit the coordination this takes is quite impressive, and I found it highly

entertaining. Celeste, Melinda, and Dan - I thought you would particularly like it

(if you haven't already seen it).

Argentina: Residencia Faiek

UPDATE (11/27/2009): Donations still welcome!

Adam and I spent a week and a half of the month of October in Argentina. There were many purposes to the visit: touring Adam's mission, reuniting with old companions and friends, and getting my FIRST South American passport stamp. The focal point of the trip, however, was to further the long-held dream of helping members of the church in Argentina, specifically in the area of education. This venture started shortly after Adam and I were married when he, along with other like-minded individuals, started a website entitled Bellota a Roble (translation: "Acorn to Oak," the title of which comes from when Elder Melvin J. Ballard dedicated the land of Argentina and prophesied the the church would grow as an acorn to an oak tree). After a few minor projects (a successful series of GMAT classes organized in Buenos Aires to help LDS students seeking entrance to the MBA program at BYU), the time has come to start the next venture.

Education in Argentina proves an interesting dilemma. We had many conversations with people on the topic - people in all walks of life, some members, others not. The consensus is that the system is broken. While Argentina has public universities which are very affordable on paper (a mere 90 pesos - or US$25 - per year for tuition), the professors are often on strike; the class buildings are terribly rundown because there is no money to fix them; and class schedules are assigned such that you could have one class in the morning, another in the afternoon, and a third in the evening. Those facts, combined with a culture where part-time work does not really exist, the economy is depressed, and very few people are wealthy enough to go to school without having to work, make it so that Argentina is a land where only 7% of the population finish with a university education. Within the membership of the church, the numbers are even lower (an estimated 3-4% completing university level studies). LDS students are often coming from families where the parents were not university graduates, so the expectation does not exist that students will complete their studies. In addition, there is increased difficulty if a student has the responsibility of providing for a family.

This is where Residencia Faiek comes in. There is a National University located in Cordoba, where there exists a massive student population. We spent some time in Cordoba, which is a BEAUTIFUL city, complete with a rich history, classic architecture, a plethora of cathedrals, and a strong Institute program. An Argentine named Federico Sanz (from Adam's mission) is doing the groundwork to establish an LDS dorm (or residencia) in Cordoba for students attending the university there. It will start small, with just one apartment of 6 male students all agreeing to abide by essentially the same standards as the BYU Honor Code. While this doesn't solve any of the immediate financial concerns individual students might have (they will be paying rent), these students will provide a support network for each other and will commit to finish their university education as one of the qualifications of participating in the residence.

This residence begins in January with the start of a new academic year. This is fundraising month for the residence. The goal is to raise US$6,000 to cover the costs of acquiring a lease and furnishing the apartment. If you are looking to contribute to a good cause this Christmas season, and you would like to help strengthen the members of the church in Argentina, here is the website you can go to to donate. However, there is some urgency. The donation window is open only until November 21; after that it is time to sign the lease!

As I said, Cordoba is a beautiful city. Here are a few samplings of the sights. And now, a walk down the lanes of Cordoba with Adam and Marie...

All of the rainwater collects in a central canal system.

This is a gorgeous new art museum, formerly a women's prison. It was to open the end of the month, so we didn't get to tour it, but the grounds were beautiful and already it serves as a gathering place in the center of the city.

Directly behind the art museum is the Iglesia del Sagrado Corazon (Sacred Heart)

This is the Manzana Jesuitica (Jesuit Block). Education has long been a central purpose of the city of Cordoba; as long ago as the 16th century, Jesuit priests had set up universities in this area. The buildings now serve as a private high school.

Here's Adam in front of another magnificent iglesia:

This is the residential district by the National University. It is the equivalent of BYU's "south of campus," but much bigger. There are many shops, and it is a lovely, tree-lined area.

Here are Adam and Fede in front of one of the administration building at la Universidad Nacional de Cordoba.

Heidi Sanz (Federico's wife - an amazing woman), Fede, and Adam in front of another university building. (Notice the lack of grass - a trend in South America).

We stopped by the Institute one evening so Adam and Fede could tell the students about Residencia Faiek. They were excited about the opportunity, confirming the interest and need for just such a project. This is the game room where the kids hang out after Institute.

Here is the room where Adam and Fede presented to the students. (Note the web address on the whiteboard.)

Remember how I said Cordoba is a beautiful city? Well, at night it becomes absolutely MAGICAL.

If you made it this far in reading a rather lengthy post, I'm impressed! And here, lest you should forget, is the web address for donations to the Residencia Faiek. You can also follow that link to learn more about the venture and the history behind its name.

Fun Fall Craft: Leaf Pictures

I love living near my mom. She is a fabulous Grammy, and my kids LOVE to do projects with her. The other day, we made leaf pictures. Emma and Grammy took a leaf walk with Aunt Trina to gather all the colorful supplies necessary. Then, we assembled the leaves into whatever picture or pattern suited us individually. Here are the steps in case this was not one of your childhood crafts:

Step 1: Put leaves on a piece of wax paper in desired arrangement.

Step 2: Put a second piece of wax paper over the top of your leaf picture.

Step 3: (Parents only, please): Put the wax paper and leaves between sheets of newspaper and, using a hot iron, heat the entirety of the leaf picture. Note: Do not leave the iron on too long. A simple once-over will do. Otherwise, the wax paper gets TOO hot and won't stick.

Step 4: Cut the perimeter of the leaf picture to your desired shape.

Step 5: Display with pleasure and pride! I love having leaf pictures decorate our windows in the autumn. Encased in wax paper, the leaves keep their color longer, and they look a bit like stained glass. Thanks for a great day, Grammy!