What a Week

There has been a ton going on these last couple of weeks. We have felt overwhelmed with blessings and since we are in November we thought it would be perfect timing to share!

Every-other year the DeKorte side gets together for Christmas. In the past we have sometimes been at home (Mom and Dads house) and sometimes we rent a cabin at a resort in central Oregon called SunRiver. Oh boy do we love it there. Almost anything you want to do there, you can. They even have a wave pool where you can surf. Grandma and Grandpa DeKorte come and I just can't describe how amazing it is to have everyone together. We string cranberries and popcorn and those are our tree decorations. We make cinnamon rolls, play cards, and get in the hot tub each night. This year was going to be especially awesome because each of the siblings are married and now we have 1 niece and 2 nephews (on the DeKorte side, and 1 niece on the Lewis side)- and because we are so far from Oregon we haven't met our nephews yet (ok given they 8 months old and 2 months old....). We had been looking forward to it for a long time, can you tell?? Well anyway, Brad was going to be in the middle of surgery rotation at that time and we were told we would be required to stay in Iowa for Christmas. We were heartbroken. Yeah, that's a pretty major understatement! But this last week we got news that the school changed the calendar and last weekend we bought our tickets to go home to Oregon for Christmas!!! We. Can't. Wait.

While all this you-can't-ever-leave-Iowa nonsense was going on, Erica's side- the Lewis side- was also planning a reunion. My side is spread out all over the West coast from California to Oregon to Washington and Idaho. Then we have some rebels in Texas... just kidding sis! It is pretty rare for us all to get together but since Grandpa Lewis recently passed away my cousin Anastasia took it upon herself to organize the clan. I can't wait to eat pie oh so much pie. We miss our families so much! So the second miracle occurred when not only will we be in Oregon for Christmas but the reunions are happening on different days! Oh my friends. If you are married or juggle two families you will totally understand it is very difficult planning these things and it was the best news of all that not only will we get to attend the Lewis reunion we thought we would miss, but we will not have to 'pick' where to go and won't feel torn. Sigh. Different days, another true miracle.

On other good news, my cousin Almira put our adoption picture/profile up on Pinterest oh... I don't know now. Awhile ago. My sister texted me last week to say she randomly came across it! Score!

I did some newborn photography a couple weeks ago for a good friend of mine here in Iowa. While I was over, her mother-in-law had come to stay for a couple weeks to help out. So since she was there and it was a tender moment (her first grandchild) I asked if she wanted a few pictures with her perfect little grandson. Fast forward to this week when she and I happened to comment on the same facebook post and I realized she had made her profile picture the one I took! I felt all prideful (hopefully the good kind haha...) and then oh wait it gets better. As I clicked on her name/the picture it had 136 'likes'! It was really cool to read through the comments as most were saying ya know what a great picture and you look so happy etc. It made me feel good that I was able to capture this precious moment in time. It made me want to be a better photographer and to keep trying to catch these moments we can't get back.

And last but not least at all... Brad is in his Neurology rotation at Mercy Hospital right now. Although he has tremendous respect for the doctors who take their time, often uncompensated, to help him learn, they are pretty tough on the students. They do not compliment and push them harder each day. He is nearing the end of the 4 week rotation and so on Tuesday he had to give a 15-30 minute presentation on any topic that he found interesting. In front of all the doctors, residents, nurses, NPs, and other students. Yikes! But he did an amazing job. The top doctor said his was one of the best presentations he had ever heard. He loved his original idea and even said that in 19 years of teaching nobody had ever talked about what he did and he was incredibly impressed! I was beaming with pride :)

Well this is getting kind of wordy and they say people only spend 87 seconds on a blog. So I guess I shouldn't even be writing this sentence since you won't get here anyway. lol. Really, though... there has been even more going on and we can do nothing but try to show our gratitude to our loving Heavenly Father who has blessed us so much.