Island Easter

A renewed life in Christ is the greatest inspiration to re-new relationships with our fellow man. And even deeper grow the roots of a family tree when we actually take the time to talk and walk with those who should really know us best.

For Easter weekend, we had the privilege of sharing the beauty of Guam with Mike's brother Sidney and my dear cousin Nikki. And of course, like part of the family, we were honored to have Beverly come out from Saipan and visit, too! Max was smothered with love from his aunties and uncle and has enjoyed re-acquainting himself with his inherited guardians. :)

Overlooking Cetti Bay with Uncle Sidney

Auntie Nikki crossed the Philippine Sea (and more) just to see us!

The boys standing watch at the old Spanish Fort Soledad

Grubbin' on kelaguen at Jeff's Pirates Cove...
and awaiting comments from Bev the food critic!

Catching coconuts with Nikki... What a team!

The one-man show!

"Wild" bananas outside Micronesia Mall

Someone to watch over me :)

Now this is a vacation!

Max And a Half

Who would've imagined that such character and personality could be developed in just 18 months of eat, sleep, and play? Now 1-1/2 years old, Maxwell has been unfurling his true colors throughout the past several months and revealing to us little glimpses of who this little man really is.

Daycare was a new frontier which he boldly explored and made himself at home in. As much as he blossomed there, so did the microbes. (Unfortunately, it comes with the territory.) Mike and I were desperate for an alternative, and God apparently anticipated that. Last December, a young couple had arrived to Guam: Mike Woods accepted a call to work in the SDA Clinic's IT department, and his wife Larae "happened" to be a certified nanny. Before starting my job at the SDA Clinic and while looking into childcare options, we had heard about her soon-arrival, even saw a copy of her resume, and actually contacted Larae via e-mail about possibly working for us in caring for Max. Because of the timing of my start-date and their arrival, however, things didn't work out... until early February when Max seemed to have an eternal cold and we found out that Larae had not yet found a long-term job!

Since the beginning of March, Larae has been coming to our home 3 days a week and giving Max the quality of care that we had been praying for. With a predictable meal and nap routine AND a variety of indoor and outdoor activities, Max's personality and enthusiasm for life has grown tremendously... and we're much happier to not be chasing him around with a Kleenex. ;)

Here are snippets of Max's adventures over the past few months:

Max explaining the proper use of a sphygmomanometer...

...as would be used by the next American Idol.

Bailamos!

Calmly allowing Dr. Krejci to perform the 18-month well-baby exam

Auntie Larae and Uncle Mike

Sun-kissed by a Guam sunset (15 months)

Max's 1st visit to the dentist! (Dec '07)

Showing off those pearly whites

Max with dental hygienist and Loma Linda alum Shoshanna Ordelheide

Max... the real Super Mercado!

Some of Max's favorite hobbies:





A sampling of Max's photography!...

FORE!!

I wish I had pictures. I just wanted to take a few minutes to document today as the first day that I played on an actual golf course. Apparently, my nurse, LVN Ayala (male nurse... just needed to clarify) is an avid golfer and needed a partner today. We hit the par 3 course so I only used my 8-iron, 9-iron, and PW (pitching wedge for the golf-naive) although I really wanted to give my new Sumo Nike Driver a test "drive". Even though I played horribly, I still felt the most genuine sense of accomplishment. Ahhhh nothing beats a beautiful Guam day, a free afternoon off from work (gotta love Thursday afternoon "training"), and good company. Good times!

The pictures below were taken on the fairway in our "backyard":

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. ;)