My Brock is 2 years old!

My Brock is 2 years old! I can hardly believe it. It seems like yesterday that we brought  him home. He is such a loving little guy! I can't get enough of him. Although he is showing some traits of the "terrible twos" he is still a sweetie. He loves his big brother and baby sister and is very quick to tell her not to touch this or that. My little enforcer!
I asked him what kind of cake he wanted and he asked for a Mickey Mouse cake so, I went online and showed him a pirate one and he smiled and said "ese" which means "that one" in Spanish. He smiled and said "Aaarrghh"

As always, I had fun making it with my mom and my sister and he absolutely loved it! That made me zoo happy!
Happy Birthday My Sweet Love!!!  Te Amo!!!

My mom and my sister are soo talented!

Look mom!!!..I make a cake and talk on the phone at the same time!

Isn't  he cute!

Brock was thrilled!

My pirate girl!

Memorial Day Weekend 2012

We were in San Diego this weekend for the AAPD meeting and one of my favorite things to do in San Diego is to visit the USS Midway. Greg and I love history, we joke about going back to school for a history major...someday!

Sorry, the picture is blurry...

The more history I learn about this country, the more I love it. I also love how much Greg loves this country, it is contagious!  We try to teach Bennett, in simple terms, about freedom and how it has come with an enormous sacrifice from many. 

He was very interested and asking a lot of questions...as usual...we stopped and listened to a veteran tell some stories and when he was done I shook his hand and thanked him for his service. He turned to Bennett and shook his hand and Bennett said to him, "thank you for your service, sir". I almost cried. When I looked up, I saw that the man had tears in his eyes as he thanked Bennett for talking to him and he said to me, " he is so precious! Don't let him go into the service. I felt as if he had a deep sadness, a sense of loss... I wanted to ask him more questions but, I didn't want to upset him more. I can only imagine what he has seen and the pain he has endured. 

Next to him, there was a poster with these words:

The veteran,

Not the reporter,

Who has given us freedom of press.

It is the veteran,

Not the poet,

Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the veteran,

Not the campus organizer,

Who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the veteran,

Not the lawyer,

Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the veteran,

Not the politician,

Who has given us the right to vote,

So true! I am thankful for the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much for this great country. Freedom is not free.

One day, we will be able to tour the whole carrier from top to bottom without strollers, frozen breastmilk, baby food, bottles and diapers. 

The kids loved it!... We were exhausted!!!!

Peace and quiet!

Love it when I can have a conversation with my husband without interruptions!
I love my babies.... but its nice to have a few minutes of time with my sweet love!

Sent from my iPhone

The little girl I am going back for in July.

I am on a mission. When we visited one of the villages and we were doing crafts with the kids, I noticed this little girl was holding the cross right in front of her eyes, I also saw her hold her crayons super close to her face.  I wondered why but, I was not very close to her until I got her on the chair to pull a tooth! 

Once she was close to me, I noticed she had a cataract on her left eye. You can see in the picture that her left eye has a white spot on it. She was likely born with it and as time has gone by, it keeps getting worse and it will continue to worsen until she goes blind. 

I asked her if she had seen a doctor and she said "yes, but they told me I was too young to have surgery" which is not true.  If she waits longer she will be blind in a few years. 

So, in July we are going back to Valladolid and I am going to look for her and bring her to the hospital for surgery. I am excited for her even though she has no clue! Our family donated a ophthalmic microscope and we are trying to help purchase more equipment for eye surgery. I can hardly wait. 

If you or someone you know is an Ophthalmologist or an Optometrist, please....PLEASE consider coming!

You may save a life!

 A man that had surgery told my dad he was going to kill himself because he did not want to be a burden to his family anymore...he could not work because he was blind!  Do you think it was a coincidence when the ophthalmologist chose him and 79 more patients out of a crowd of almost 300? NO way, not a coincidence. A MIRACLE!

How Spoiled Are We?

Every time I go on a mission trip, I am reminded of how much we have and how spoiled we are. In every way possible. Food and water, anywhere and everywhere, endless ice cubes...air conditioning...I can just go on and on and on, I suppose that is one of the reasons I keep going back. It helps me appreciate things and people more. It helps me focus on more important things and not sweat the little things.

Where are the parents of these kiddos?

Playing outside no shoes, no water, gatorade or smart water.

Our team!

More on this little girl....later

Our Favorite Oral Surgeon, who has come with us every year since we invited him!
Thanks Matt for always being willing to serve!

A Short Video of the School

Yalcoba

Yalcoba is one of the villages we visited. I have been there before and enjoy it very much. Most of these villages have something special one way or another, good or bad. The Mayan population is very sweet, they are very warm, welcoming and loving people. 

When we got to Yalcoba, we were greeted by many people. One of those people, is a gentleman from the US who has made Yalcoba his home. After he retired, he moved there with his parents because he fell in love with the people there and I am sure his money goes a long way there.

He has worked with us before and he was wanting to show us what he had been working on...a school to teach kids English. Why? so they can get better jobs at resorts or as waiters in restaurants. So, we went to see the school and oh my! we were so impressed by the kids and their eagerness to learn! There are no chalkboards, they write everything on the walls, when they are done learning what is written on the walls, they paint over them and start over! He charges them $1 a month and they have class twice a week for one hour.

Kids are different ages 

Check out the hammock for the teacher!

We were there with the "C" boys and I think they were a bit surprised! I know I was! 

On this trip, I played more with the kids and did less dentistry. I was actually looking forward to that! I love making the kiddos happy and giving them something to look forward to.

 We did not have enough soccer balls to give to all the kids so, we organized a soccer tournament, we had 3 teams of 10 children, boys and girls. The winners took the soccer ball and promised they would each have them one week. This picture below shows the children playing, you can't quite see their feet but some of them were playing without shoes, running on hot rocks!

No gatorade, smart water or even plain water for these kids! No soccer moms with tents, fruit and ice chests full of drinks!

After the game, the kids that did not get the ball got presents anyway, we gave away toys, flip flops, necklaces and lots and lots of Love!

To say that doing dentistry in these circumstances is challenging is an understatement, after you are done you feel like someone used your back as a punching bag! We get better at it every time, soon enough we will be able to do some fillings as well.

We always have an audience, everyone wants to watch!

If you have never done a mission trip, consider it and consider taking your family, it will change the way you see many things and it will make your family bond stronger.
More to come!