The February Chapter

With or without that extra "leap day", February seems to disappear before I'm ready to let it go. It was such an action-packed month for us that I didn't even get a chance to stop and blog about it! Well, speaking of action, we had our share of faith-testing events this month--as minor as asking God to start our car engine, and as major as praying over the decision "Uncle Sam" was to make about whether or not Mike would be sent to Afghanistan for over a year. God is always worthy of praise, and in these instances... well, we drove home safely that Valentine's night, and Mike shall continue to enjoy the ocean view from Guam with Max and me! Many thanks to those of you who joined in our prayers... for the car and for Mike!

To start it all off, Dr. Merrick Lopez along with wife Lynne and daughter Mia flew all the way from CA just to spend the month with us! Well, actually, Merrick is a third-year pediatric resident at Loma Linda University Medical Center, and he came to do a rotation at the SDA clinic as his mission elective. Joining him in the clinic was his fellow resident Krisha (Igo) Torgerson, who also happened to be a former classmate of ours! The Lopez's are like family to us and were the primary reason for all our "galavanting" this month. Merrick's dad and Lynn's mom went to high school with my dad, so our ties go as far back as the generation before us! Plus, Mike & Merrick spent a lot of time together during the pre-med school days, especially out on the basketball court... you guys know tight those bonds can be.

Here are some pictures to summarize the month:

Hafa Adai! The Lopez family's first trip to Guam.

Max welcomes Mia with a hearty high-five.

Sushi party at Grandpa and Grandma Jimeno's house
...complete w/ turon and halo-halo!

The start of a beautiful friendship. :D

Our little Mercado-Lopez-Lee barkada!

My, how we've grown!

Valentine's Day dinner at the Firefly Bistro -- a quaint restaurant with a romantic atmosphere... and a memorable place for a suprise triple-date! (with the Lee's and Lopez's, of course!)

Featured here are the vegetarian Portabello Mushroom Napoleon (foreground) and the non-vegetarian Rack of Lamb (Merrick's order)!









And the course that Mike had been waiting for all night... dessert! None other than a freshly-baked chocolate souffle. Mm-mm.













The end of February brought more than one farewell. Besides bidding good-bye to Merrick, Lynne, and Mia, Maxwell had his final days at daycare. This was another big household decision that came about after much prayer and divine providence (more on that later).

We were very pleased with the atmosphere and care that Max received at Amazing Kids daycare, and Max himself had a grrrreat time there. Unfortunately, his frequent colds and other illnesses were starting to take a toll on him (and us), and that is just the nature of daycare. His last week there, miraculously, was runny-nose-free, and the obvious joy he received and gave made for a sad good-bye.

Miss Lynette -- Pre-Toddler group leader and Maxwell's favorite!

Chowing down on oatmeal on his very own!

Sharing tickles and giggles with Miss Lynette and friends.

Max's last day at Amazing Kids.
Adults (left-right): Ms. Leona (co-director), Ms. Tania (Toddler group leader), Ms. Lynette
Joined by friends from the Pre-Toddler and Toddler groups.

I just wanted to include this clip of Mike & Ken -- a little reminder that there's a time for work ...and a time for play. ;)