Fishing with Lito and Saying Good Bye

Friday came and went by so quickly. We got up early in the morning and went to see Newel's co-workers, then we stopped over to my mom's job to, I guess, show off the kids?
Then, we met up with my dad for lunch. After lunch, my dad had to do run errands, and Arden thought he was going to go fishing with him. He was not happy that he had to go home and do a quiet time first and then go fishing. He still complied.

Finally, it was time to go fishing. I didn't think Arden would like it.

As a kid, I thought fishing was pretty boring, since we had to be quiet in order to not scare the fish...I think that was my parents' strategy to keep us quiet.

Arden and dad left and I had time to relax with Mayita.

A while later they showed up without any fish. I wondered, "Uh, oh, they probably didn't have a good time."

No way! Arden was so excited! He wanted to go fishing again. It turns out they left early from the pier because there was some jerk who snapped at Arden (for Arden throwing his fishing line too close to his or something lame like that), and my dad got into an argument with the man...I think this is where Arden and I get our super over protective gene. Arden was oblivious to the argument, and was happily talking to that man's girlfriend. She was showing him a big fish she had caught, and that was so awesome for Arden.

The following morning, Arden got up, early, got dressed, ate breakfast (without any arguments or protests), and said, "Okay, Lito, I'm ready. Let's go fishing."

And off they went. They caught a lot of fishes. It was really exciting!

Arden kept one of the fishes and he named her Joy.

He loved joy so much, he kissed it several times...Yuck. It was really cute how he talked about his fish. He wanted to fishing again...I guess we'll have to save that for next time.

Mayita has this wonderful skill of finding things she's not supposed to have/eat, and then she eats it.

I hid/threw away Arden's stretchy spiders, and somehow, she managed to find them.
She would walk around the house chewing on them. That can't be good for her. Who knows what kind of cancer she'll get from this plastic spider.

After fishing, it was time to finish packing and head out. I was excited to see Newel and family. This is the first time we've been away from each other this long (about 24-25days). We all missed each other. On the other hand, I was sad to leave my family.

We had such a great time with them. My parents had a chance to know their grandchildren better and my children had a chance to bond with their abuelos.

Also, there was a deeper sadness for me, it's the uncertainty. Will I be living in UT for a month, a year? Where are we going to go? This was really comfortable for me...I was in my comfort zone. I knew where to go, what to do, who to hang out with. It's not Stanford, but it was still fun and good for us. Now, as I would get on that airplane, I knew I was entering another phase in my life.
Part of me wanted to cry and wanted to stay there. But of course seeing Newel and our UT family would be great too. I was hoping by the time we left FL we would know where we were going after our UT visit. I was hoping it was just a short stay. Sadly, while we were in FL, the two companies that we were waiting to hear back from did not hire Newel...bad economy, everything is slow.

I felt a bit sad...this was the first time in our two year Stanford journey that I felt sad and kind of empty, a bit hopeless. I felt like we had nothing to look forward to when it came to prospective jobs. I've stayed so positive this entire time, there's been peace within me knowing that Heavenly Father is taking care of us...

However, our flesh is weak and at times we lose a bit of hope.

I know He's there. I know He hasn't abandoned us. I can see His hand in all aspects of our lives. If anything, I'm learning a lot. I'm learning that He's there and He's watching over us. Our plans may not go as we like, but He knows what's better for us. I see how much our family loves us and care for us. Our family really is there for us. He's the one who's really in control, not us, and we'll be better off if we really do His will.

I know in a few years I'll look back at this and say, "Wow, what a wonderful learning experience. "
My friend Suzanne told me something like this: When we're going through the hardest times, it's when we can feel Him more or closer to Him.

Throughout this journey, I've been able to feel His love. Whether, it's through support from our friends and family. Whether it's during a prayer, through my children, in nature, or something I heard or read...I've been able to feel His love.

Wow, I didn't mean to write all of this or to go on and on. I'm sorry.

We're fine. We have everything we need, each other.

I feel stronger when I'm with my family. I have hope. I'd just like to know what His will is for us.

Is it to stay in UT? It wasn't really in my plans, but I'll do it.

In the meantime, I've enrolled Arden in a pre-school here, and life goes on; no matter where you are. You gotta live life.