Dave & Mari's Blog

Mateo. Singing & Chatting. Cantando y hablando.

2011-01-28T18:13:00.002-05:00

A Mateo le encanta las canciones de Maria Elena Walsh y tambien hablar con su papa. Este es un video con su vocecita dulce y algunas de las miles de fotos que tenemos.

Mateo. The (unabridged) Birth Story.

2010-12-17T12:38:00.016-05:00

This is a long post, but I don't want to forget any more details about the wonderful arrival of our first son.

Mateo Jacob was supposed to arrive on October 23rd. Almost a whole week had gone by and there was no sign of him desiring to meet his parents. On Oct. 28th I went to the doctor and was 1 cm. dilated (the same as the week before). I was convinced that baby would not come on his/her own, and I would have to wait until Nov. 5th to see if baby was boy or girl. But baby had other plans...

Dave and I went to sleep around 10 pm, after doing our Bradley exercises and hoping we'd get to meet our baby soon. At 1:15 am I woke up wanting to go to the bathroom, only to find out that my water had broken. When you read the books they say you may confuse the breaking of water with other bodily function... I had no doubts that it was my water breaking. I yelled at Dave from the bathroom: "My water broke!" To which he responded: "Hmm?" (and back to sleep he went). "Dave! The baby is coming!" I said. To which he responded by jumping out of the bed and calling the on-call doctor. The doctor told us to go to the hospital, but not to rush since it'd be a while before we'd get to see baby. We changed (I had to do it twice), got our things ready, got in the van, and to Holy Cross we drove. We arrived at 2:30 am.

By the time they took all my information I had no water left in me and my belly was half the size it had been for the last few weeks! Once the admission nurse saw my (wet) outfit she told me they'd get me a room right away. When all was set and done, it was 4:30 am before I was in my (lovely and fashionable) delivery gown in my own room. Our "plan" was to avoid drugs at all possible and work together to bring baby into this world. I had the best coach (Dave) and the best assistant coach (Jess Marc). Dave and I walked around the hospital aisles in hopes that gravity would do its job and push baby down. Unfortunately we couldn't do that much because baby's heart rate decreased after a 20 minute walk. Although I was having some light contractions, there was still no progress or signs of the doctor rushing in to see me. In fact the doctor (not the one I'd seen during the pregnancy) came in at 9:30 am to see me.

After checking me, Dr. Kator told me that I was (ta-da!) 1 cm. dilated! Yes. That's right. I had not progressed at all after 8 hours of my water being broken! So, the dreaded words came: We'll give you Pitocin. Things moved along and I started to have stronger contractions. Dave and Jess were amazing in getting me through them. At one point my mom said: "I thought those classes (Bradley) were a waste of time, but it does seem to help!" It sure did. By 11:30 I was at 2 cm. Yup. Pretty slow. But it was (some) progress.

And now for the part that my husband and mother absolutely hated. I got two strong contractions that caused me to get sick to my stomach. Puaj. After that, Dr. K. told me that the baby's heart rate went from 152 to 80-something. If that were to happen again I'd have to get a C-section with full anesthesia. So, given the choice (not really a choice actually) I got the epidural. I was a bit dissapointed about having to go against "my plans." But I knew that this was not about my plans but what was best for baby S. I have to admit that it was nice not having to suffer through every contraction, even sleeping for a little while since my labor continued to be long. It was not until 9 pm that I was ready to push. I told the doctor that I was ready to push, and she told me to "practice" a few times. I did and she commended me on my pushes abilities, but told me I would not push "for real" for a while. Mmm, thanks Doc! Here is the ONE thing you can do to stop the discomfort (aka pain) and she tells me not to do it!? So, I labored for the next two hours or so (I don't know what happened to the epi by that time) and called (read screamed) for the doctor, nurse, anyone! They both came a few times and told me "No, not yet." Are you kidding me? By then I could feel pretty much everything (I think, though I don't have anything to compare it to) and I knew I HAD to push! Sooo, by 11:30pm the doctor came and started to get ready for baby's arrival. Yay!! Well, not really yay, since Baby S. did not make his appearance until 1:05 am. I pushed A LOT. At some point they were very much ready to take me into the OR for a C-section and I got energy from I-don't-know-where (read God's grace) and pushed some more. Finally, Baby S. (a boy!) made his entrance.

Since he had been in the birth canal for a long time and with no water for almost 24 hours, there was a team of doctors waiting on the side to care for him. He did need the help since his cord was wrapped around his neck twice and had swallowed mecomiun (yuk!). Since I had just been pushing for almost two hours and was extremely relieved not to be in pain any longer, I did not know much of what was going on. I did know that they had not placed Mateo on my chest (like on the TV shows) and that Dr. K. was very quick in handing him over to the doctors on the side of the room. That and the fact that Dave started to pray "Lord, You are good, please help our child!" over and over again. As it turns out Mateo's first APGAR score was a 1 and he needed to be resuscitated. By God's grace, he was fine after the doctors put some tubes down his little throat and his 5 minute APGAR was 8. All this was harder on Dave than on me since he was the one who saw Mateo come out with the cord around his neck and not showing any "newborn signs." It was not until later on that morning that I realized all that had taken place. I am so grateful that God protected our little baby and that he is doing great, growing, and developing.

So, that was the story of Mateo's birth. I'm glad I got around to putting into writing before he turns 18! He is almost 3 months now and is such a blessing in our lives! Here are also some pictures from the day he was born. I looked REALLY rough before and after he was born (no glowing, new mom look here), but hey, that is part of the deal!

Jess and I smiling (I think before the epi!)

Dave and I. He was the BEST coach!

Mateo out! He was so tiny!

Like I've said I looked ROUGH! But, oh so happy!

One of my favorite pics.

Mateo getting acquainted with his dad.

Ready to go home.

Baby's Nursery + 3rd Shower!

2010-10-15T11:26:00.012-04:00

I was supposed to continue with the Summer 2010 update, but I will probably move on...

Dave and I are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Baby S. (scheduled for October 23). We are ready (as ready as we can be)! Here are some pictures of Baby S.'s nursery. I guess if you want to find a "theme," it'd have to be "Dots, Letters, Numbers and Fun Colors." Is that a theme? I don't know. But we like it. We hope Baby S. likes it too since that is where he/she will be moving after upgrading from the tiny studio he/she has been living for the past nine months!

My sister Tere (Tia Tere) painted this cute bear for the room.

My mom made the curtain valance and the matching pillow cases.

The wall decorations were made by yours truly (found the idea online, since I'm not very creative).

Changing table + shelves.

I love the little picture friends!

On another Baby S.-related note, we were blessed by yet another Baby Shower! The first one was back in late July, given by wonderful friends and family. Then, in early September, Dave's friends from University Park Elementary, gave us another one and showered us with tons of gifts! Yesterday, came Shower # 3! Dave's friends at Hyattsville Elementary, gave us more gifts, love, and an amazing cake! Here is a picture of my mom (who arrived here last Friday) and me opening their generous gifts! We are extremely blessed to have so many people who love us and our baby!

Summer 2010 Recap - Part I

2010-09-13T17:13:00.016-04:00

It is confirmed... I'm a horrible blogger! Oh, well. Here is my attempt at giving a little review of our summer.

In late June my friends threw me a wonderful Baby Shower. It was earlier than usual (8th month I guess), but I wanted my mom to be a part of it so we had to do before July, 4th when she left. Many wonderful ladies came and they truly showered me and our little one with tons of gifts and love!

Naajie, Becca & Janet holding baby Charlotte

Jane (fellow Towson graduate), Maggie (my wonderful mentor) & Sheila (adopted mentor)

My sweet friend Jan (another Towson casualty, I mean graduate)

Jane together with Lauren and Lori, who are both expecting too!

Bobbi y mi mama :0

There are way too many gift pictures. Here is one representing the rest.

In late July we had a blast spending a weekend with some very cool friends in Massanutten, VA. The Wilcox and Marcantonio families spent a week at this gorgeous resort and decided to have a little more company (in case they were getting bored with all five kiddos) and invited us and the Averills. We were blessed with very nice weather, a refreshing pool and ice cream. What else could you ask for? Their cool company, of course!

Annie and Cara holding baby Nate and Esme

The dads at the ice cream place

Emma and I reading a story

Not many people probably remember, but this summer was the Soccer World Cup. Remember? South Africa? Argentina NOT winning? There you go, now you remember! In any event, we did have fun watching games with the Campins and the last sad game against Germany with my bro-in-law and his sweet baby girl Lulu.

Lulu waving the Argentina flag.

This concludes the first installment of Summer 2010 Recap. Who knows, I may write the next one before Thanksgiving!

Auto Nuevo

2010-07-19T19:56:00.002-04:00

Despues de pasar cuatro meses compartiendo un auto, Dios nos dio la oportunidad de comprar una hermosa van al estar anticipando la llegada de Baby Spitzberg. Vivir en las suburbias de Washington, DC hacen casi imposible vivir sin auto, asi que estamos mas que agradecidos por el nuevo (para nosotros ya que es usado) auto. Aca estan un par de fotos en la puerta de la concesionaria.

Reviving the Blog

2010-07-12T17:41:00.014-04:00

In an effort to inform friends and family of what we are up to, I'm reviving this blog. Our first child will be arriving in October (yeah!!) and I have a hunch we will be taking many pictures of him/her. I hope this will be a media to share about our lives and our small, but growing family. As way of review, this is what we've been up to:

* Back in September 2009, we moved into our very own first home!

* Dave, his mom, and I went to Argentina for one week (in March) to celebrate my niece, Jimena's, 15th birthday.

* My mom came back with us to stay for 3 months (we miss her so)

* I graduated from Towson with an Elementary / Special Education Degree (very grateful to God for having accomplished this goal)

* Dave is getting in touch with his inner Hispanic man and joined a Latin band (The Mauricio Valerde Band) - Mama Carmen is in the picture because she is an honorary member.

* Our niece Lulu is growing and getting even more incredibly sweet, smiley, and just too darn cute! - Here she is showing off her hula skirt to celebrate her dada's birthday.

* Our baby is growing...

As you can see we are living a full, blessed life.

We are here and are moving...

2008-03-12T22:34:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the long post hiatus (thanks Janet for the shoutout). The reason for the lack of posting is two-fold. The main contributor (aka Dave) has his own blog and abandoned me. If you want to catch up with his own adventures, here is the link. As far as me, I've been working on our new Mac blog and have taken too long to figure things out. But, I'm glad to announce that the new blog is up! So from now on, you can read about our lives here.
Amigos y familia, hemos cambiado nuestro blog y desde hoy van a tener que visitarnos aca: http://web.mac.com/daspitz/Site/Blog/Blog.html. Esperamos que les guste el nuevo estilo de blogear!!

The Lady of Song

2008-02-23T23:29:00.010-05:00

If you have never heard of Ella Fitzgerald you are missing out on an amazing jazz singer!! Talk about scat! Dave and I had the privilege of going to see Ella at Arena Stage. Unfortunately, tomorrow is the last show and they are sold out, so if you hadn't seen it you've missed out :(

But, we had a wonderful time. The woman who played Ella is extremely talented. I had goosebumps during most of the show.
I am so grateful for all the opportunities we get to experience art in this area: museums, theaters, free events... DC (well, Virginia in this case since Arena's temporary home is in Crytal City) has a lot to offer and you can make some cool memories! So, go ahead go to DC and have fun!

El viernes, Dave y yo fuimos a ver el espectaculo Ella en un teatro en DC. Ella es un show basado en la cantante de jazz Ella Fitzgerald, que es increible! La actriz/cantante que interpretaba a Ella es impresionante, se me ponia la piel de gallina cuando cantaba!
Vivir tan cerquita de DC es buenisimo porque siempre hay shows para ver y sin tener que gastar mucha plata. Por empezar los museos son gratis, despues siempre hay eventos a bajos precios o gratis. Como Dave trabaja en el verano en la colonia de vacaciones artisticas en Arena Stage, nos dieron dos entradas gratarola!! Bueno, si nunca escucharon a Ella Fitzgerald, no pierdan mas tiempo y bajense una cancion o comprense todo un CD! Vale la pena!

Dia de San Valentin & Eclipse Lunar Total

2008-02-21T07:32:00.006-05:00

Simple, sencillo, sin mucha fanfarra. Asi fue nuestro primer Dia de San Valentin como casados. Y es la mejor manera que lo podriamos haber pasado! La noche anterior yo decore nuestro depto. con un poco de guirnaldas con corazones y diferentes notas para Dave diciendole como lo quiero, lo agradecida que estoy que Dios nos trajo juntos, etc. Todo muy sweet (casi empalagozo, pero esa es la naturaleza del dia, vio?). Despues me fui a trabajar como todos los jueves, y cuando volvi del trabajo, Dave me estaba esperando como un gran asador, haciendo vacio y chorizos! Que genio! Lo mejor de todo esto es que Dave tuvo que comprar la carne en un almacen latino con un chico que no habla ni j de Ingles. Parece que se arreglaron bien. Dave me conto que le dijo a Jose: "Um, yo mira" (indicando que queria ver la nerca antes de comprar!). Despues yo prepare una "mixta" y a festejar! Ah, tambien me regalo unas hermosas flores, y una tarjeta de I-tunes para bajarnos buenas canciones! Yo le regale un libro sobre el "otro" Steve (Wozniak) que creo el imperio Mac! Obviamente, Dave estuvo muy agradecido. Como veran, si no fuera porque nosotros creemos en Jesucristo, mi maridito tendria un altar con una manzana y la foto de Steve Jobs!

Zoom en el asadito

En otras noticias, ayer (miercoles 20/2) hubo un eclipse lunar total a eso de las 10 y algo de la noche. Supuestamente se podia ver desde los dos hemisferios, asi que ustedes alla en el Sur me cuentan si lo vieron, OK? Nosotros tratamos de sacar fotos y obvio no salieron muy bien. Pero estuvo bueno ver el eclipse. Yo nunca habia visto uno.

Aca es cuando empezo...

Cuando estaba por terminar ...

Una vez que toda la Luna estaba cubierta por la sombra (o penumbra, no me acuerdo cual es cual), ya no podiamos sacar fotos. La Luna se volvio como rojiza o violetiza (existe esa palabra?).

Bueno, voy a tratar de postear mas seguido, despues de que cierta persona, amiga mia que no quiero nombrar (ejem, Ceci) me escracho como a de la Rua en el 2001! Asi que ya estare posteando en que andamos.

Generosity, wii on the Road, Birthday, Mari, & Brew Crew

2008-02-17T22:20:00.016-05:00

Right now I (Dave) have a heavy heart ... whatever that means. I am just aware of friends who are experiencing pain and loss that I can't comprehend. Below is a recap of our weekend ... it is a little random and brief. I guess I'm writing this intro more for me, but for all the things that are written below, I think it's important to remember who God is and what He has done. I want to remind myself that God exists, He sent His Son to die for my sins, and that He rewards those who seek Him. God has been very good to Mari and me this week, and I need to remember that His goodness is not dependent on cool gifts or fun weekends.

Due to the generosity of my Mom, Mari and I were able to avoid transferring to windows vista. We purchased a new apple iMac. Thank you Mom for this great gift!!!! We also used gift certificates that we received from my Dad's friends. Back in July my Dad threw a party for Mari &myself. The people who attended also contributed to our new iMac. So, thank you Dad and V also for throwing the party!

Here's my cute Mom w/ a great smile. We had lunch together at Panera after Church.

Here it is ... Mari likes the screen savers.

On Friday Mari and I headed over to Gene's house to hang out and play the wii.

Here are two of God's great creations ... the wii and fire.

February 9th was my Dad's birthday, but Mari and I drove up to see him on Sunday. We had a great time.

My Dad plays the saxophone and I teach trumpet, so we played "Old Joe Clark," a song my students performed at a recent concert.

Mari and Cleo pose for the camera.

One of the cool things about my wife is that she irons our sheets ... and pillow cases.

One of the women in our Care Group has a niece who has cancer. Just wanted to solicit your prayers for the Brewer family.

Weekend Update ...

2008-02-10T22:40:00.001-05:00

Friday night before the ONE meeting we had our Care Group over for wii and bring your own dinner.

Here we see Jason, Juliana, Hye Joon and Scott playing tennis.

Here is Annabel watching tennis. She took a break to give everyone an opportunity to play.

On Sunday I had the privelege of playing drums w/ Roger and John.

This is me wishing Mari was with me.

Representando a Argentina!!

2008-02-07T18:09:00.001-05:00

Most of this post will be in Spanish, so pick up a dictionary and enjoy!!

Ayer Dave y yo fuimos a ver un partido de basketball. No cualquier partido, sino que los Spurs de San Antonio, con el grande Manu Ginobili (y tambien Fabricio Oberto!). Que forma de representar a la Madre Patria!! Estaban jugando con los Wizards de aca (Washington, DC).

En fin, conseguimos las entradas re-baratas porque era "college night" - noche universitaria. Estabamos donde el diablo perdio el poncho, pero la vista no era mala y el partido y la emocion eran las mismas. En las fotos pueden ver donde estabamos nostros en comparacion con la cancha.

En fin, la pasamos barbaro. Yo me fui vestida con ropa comun pero en la cartera me lleve la camiseta de Argentina (obvio). Llegamos a nuestros asientos y este pibe tenia una cara de Argentino que lo mataba. Me mira y me dice: "Vos sos de Argentina?" "Obviously", le conteste! Me puse la camiseta y a empezar a alentar el equipo que aca representa el Estado de la "Estrella Solitaria (Texas)", pero que para cada Argentino presente nos representa a nosotros. Asi que entre el pibe Argentino (que se llama Ignacio - te mando saludos se lees esto) a gritar con todo y a tratar de sacarle una foto al jugador que nos hace tan orgullosos! "Dale Manu!! Aguante Manu!!" Dave no se junto a los cantitos, el hinchaba por los Wizards. Amargo!! Pero igual lo quiero!!
Bueno, Manu se paso todo el partido. No anoto muchos tantos, pero le hizo unos pases increibles a Duncan que es este morocho que mide mil metros! En la segunda foto lo pueden ver a Manu haciendo un tiro libre. El partido fue y vino toda la noche, siempre estaban a unos 2 o 3 puntos de diferencia. Hasta que llegaron los ultimos minutos del partido. Los Spurs se pusieron las re-pilas y la defensa de los Wizards se fue a dormir or algo asi! El partido termino 77-85. Mi marido quiere que clarifique que lo que desalento a los Wizards fue un foul que fue mal cobrado en contra de ellos. Pero cuando llego el final, los Spurs ganaron y los Wizards perdieron. A llorar a la Chacarita!! :)
Bueno para mi fue mas que un partido, no se me dio un sentido de Argentinidad muy grande (musiquita de fondo con bombos y todo!). Fue re-lindo estar viendo a dos Argentinos triunfando en la NBA. Lo mejor tambien fue hablar con otros Argentinos, ya que no tengo la oportunidad de hacer eso muy seguido. Cuando salimos del estadio, este chicho Americano, me dice: "Great shirt! Me encanta el futbol Argentino y los Spurs!" Yes!! Y despues como para terminar la noche con broche de oro en le medio de la calle M, un grupo de Argentos con banderas y remeras sacandose fotos! Asi que Dave y yo nos sacamos una foto con ellos tambien. Si estan leyendo esto les mando saludos! Es una familia militar que estan aca por dos anos. Esperamos poder juntarnos y hacer un asadito por estos pagos.
Bueno, fue una muy linda experiencia! Ahora hay que esperar hasta Septiembre cuando empieza la temporada de futbol ya que los D.C. United (el unico equipo del estado, si uno por estado solamente!) compro a Marcelito Gallardo!! Asi que obviously, los vamos a ir a ver! Bueno, eso es todo por estos pagos. Esperamos que esten disfrutando el verano, nosotros no estamos teniendo unos dias muy frios que digamos. Aguante el calentamiento global!! Just kidding! (de mentirita!)

Short summary: Dave and I went to see the Spurs against the Wizards, primarily because Manu Ginobili (great player) is from Argentina. So is Fabricio Oberto, but he's not as famous or good. We had a wonderful time. For me it was more an "Argentina" game. I guess it was the same for a bunch of other people, who were there representing our country with jerseys and flags (like the family in the picture). The Spurs won 85-77. My husband wanted me to make clear that the the ref made a bad call on the Wizards towards the end of the game and that demoralized them. All I have to say is tough! So that you can see how my hubby spoils me even when I cheer for another team, look at the "rock" he got me. It shines in the dark! Just like the man who was selling them said: "Bling, bling, bling, men make sure where your lady's at!" Here are the pics of Mr. Bling and myself showing off the rock!

My man will always know where I'm at!

Kennedy Center with Friends, a Hammer, and the Super Bowl

2008-02-02T20:12:00.000-05:00

This weekend was fun. Mari and I went to see a friend of mine from college perform with the NSO. We enjoy the Kennedy Center, especially when the tickets are free (the link takes you to a yahoo group that will inform you of free Kennedy Center tickets).

My friend Danny is the one playing the xylophone.

Paul and his girlfriend Mandie joined us.

In case you're interested, the Lion King is coming to the Kennedy Center.

One of the highlights of the night was being in the 4th row. We were just a few feet away from when a giant man played this giant hammer. It was a little distracting hearing a beautiful string line while seeing a large hammer about to be swung down on a huge wooden box. I think Mahler might be the founder of 'junk percussion.' Here is a video with someone else playing the Hammer.

Just like half of America, Mari and I watched the super bowl. It was a great game.

Here are our fearless Care Group leaders posing for a family photo.

Mari is starting to enjoy football. Well, maybe enjoy is too strong of a word. Check out our care group glued to the game.

The best part of this weekend was hanging with Mari, whether at the Kennedy Center or watching a football game I love being with her!

Collage of Pics ...

2008-01-28T19:33:00.000-05:00

Collage in the Encarta dictionary is defined as “a combination of different things.” So here we go (Captions will be below the pictures).

I think my wife has an amazing artistic eye. She looked through her glass and said, "I think that would be a good picture." So I took it and I think she was right.

While shopping in Annapolis Mari saw this plate ... I think spaghetti would taste great on it.

Mari shopping.

Annapolis .

ibid

This was when I decided to play w/ my food. Thanks Gene (even though you don't read this blog) for the onion rings.

We had Lew, Laura, Mark, and Brandy over to play the wii on Sunday. They did great!

Mari and I have a 'house rule' ... no wii during the week. So we played RummiKub

This is Mari showing off how she used the chipotle raspberry sauce my Mom bought for us.

So Mari said to me when we came back from Annapolis: "Do we have to 'post' about everything?" and I said no, but the thing about blogging is that it helps your friends and family participate in your life. Like I read the Marcantonio blog and I got to see how Jack is hanging with other kids. I would not know that. Plus with having Mari's family in Argentina, I think it's cool they can get a glimpse into what we're doing here "up North".

New Attitude 2008

2008-01-24T17:29:00.000-05:00

The following quote from DA Carson helped me become grateful for the upcoming New Attitude 2008 conference:
“The danger in contemporary evangelicalism is not formal rejection of Scripture, but an unrealistic assumption that we know the Bible while in fact we press ‘on’ (in reality, slouch backwards) toward endless conferences on leadership, techniques, tools, gimmicks, agendas. Some of these might even be useful if the Bible itself were not so commonly sidelined.” (D.A. Carson, October 31, For The Love Of God: Volume 1) This year's theme for the conference is "knowing God's Word". Mari and I hope to attend so we can truly embrace God's Word without having "an unrealistic assumption that we know the Bible".
For anyone who may be interested, check out the website. Registration is now open.

1789 Restaurant

2008-01-21T14:40:00.001-05:00

My Mom took Mari, Ed, and myself out for dinner last night. I have never heard of 1789, but supposedly it is a 'movers and shakers' restaurant. A place where the business people and politicians complete deals. The food was great and we enjoyed spending time with our family. I had the Lamb, Mari had the something or other that tasted like fish. 1789 is continuing their restaurant week prices so it's not too late to partake.

Here we have my brother and my Mom:
I'm experimenting with not using the flash. This was dessert. I think it was called chocolate hole cake .. or something like that. It came w/ coffee ice cream:
It was fun to dress up with my beautiful wife:

Saving lives

2008-01-19T11:47:00.000-05:00

A few posts ago we shared about our Care Group doing a different type of white elephant. We put all our money that we would have spent on some trinket, which would have most certainly ended up in the trash, and gave it to a charity. The charity that won the debate was the Shady Grove Pregnancy Center, located here in Gaithersburg.

I've had the privilege of serving at the Center for 2 years and then being part of their staff for another two years serving mostly Hispanic women coming to the Center for help. In case you don't know much about the Center, it is a non-profit organization, funded mostly by local churches and people like you and me. They help women in crisis pregnancies with life-affirming alternatives, and they also help women who are in hard financial situations to get diapers, formula, clothes, etc.
Jackie, the director of the Center, is a godly and wise woman and it's my privilege to know her. She was kind enough to send our care group a letter to thank us for our help. In the letter she shared how in December, with the help of the wonderful volunteers and staff, three lives had been saved! This is no small task and I thank God for this place of life and light in a world that doesn't value life like our Creator does.
If you are interested in serving at the Center and/or help them financially, I encourage you to check out their website and email Jackie if you want to help in some way.

It's not everyday that you can say: Today I helped to save a life!!

New Tech Toy & Transferring to the Dark Side ...

2008-01-18T17:54:00.000-05:00

At one of my schools I received an interwrite interactive white board. I used the below screen to teach a variety of musical concepts, one of which being "Pick-up notes" and the students loved it. They all asked if they could use the cool "interwrite" pens to write on the staff and I told them no, maybe next week. I look forward to using this new tool/toy.
Now, about the dark side ... After years of being a committed Apple user (has everyone seen the macbook air?) I will be purchasing a Microsoft Windows computer. There is something that almost makes me sick about the idea, but since Mari and I are hoping to buy a house, which means saving money, it seems like we will have to be content with a lesser computer. Actually, I am excited to get a new machine because that means Mari and I will have a good computer over the summer (during the year I have a real computer from PGCPS). We will probably get a Dell with Vista Home Premium.

Dallas and Leigh Play the wii

2008-01-13T21:50:00.001-05:00

Well, it has been almost three weeks since I had to get stitches. And ever since then Mari and I have been bowling and playing tennis with the absence of injuries.

Here is Mari practicing her tennis game.

On Saturday night Mari and went to play the wii w/ some other wii addicts, Dallas and Leigh. They crushed us in bowling and tennis. Obviously Mari and I have more practicing that needs to take place.

Dallas and Leigh have a Dachsund dog.

I think I am starting to like Dachsund dogs. Beemer and Guido are turning my heart from hating small dogs to almost liking them. Who knows, maybe Mari and I will own a small dog. We will see ...

To follow as He leads...

2008-01-12T14:15:00.001-05:00

I have been struggling with anxiety and the uncertainties that our future holds. But, I have been encouraged by my husband and friends who remind me of truth. I've also been grateful for great reads like Jerry Bridges' new book "Respectable Sins". I highly recommend it! He writes on discontentment, pride, selfishness, etc. So far Dave and I have been reading the chapter on anxiety and frustration. Such a wealth of sweet truth to comfort our hearts! He had this neat quote from John Newton, which is amazing! The whole thing was good, but here is a little taste of it. Enjoy and run to get the book!

"... if all things are in His hand, if the very hairs of our head are numbered; if every event, great and small, is under the direction of His providence and purpose; and if He has a wise, holy, and gracious end in view, to which everything that happens is subordinate and subservient; then we have nothing to do, but with patience and humility to follow as He leads, and cheerfully to expect a happy issue... How happy are they who can resign all to Him, see His hand in every dispensation, and believe that He chooses better for them than they could possibly could for themselves."

Matthew 6:28-33 reminds us...
"...Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Costumbres Americanas

2008-01-09T09:03:00.000-05:00

Por estos pagos celebrar la Navidad significa muchas tradiciones. Desde cortar su propio arbolito de Navidad hasta elaborados almuerzo/cena el 25. Mucha gente me preguntaba que tipo de costumbre tenemos en Argentina para celebrar. La verdad es que mi familia no es muy complicada y no tenemos grandes celebraciones. Uno de los mejores recuerdos que tengo de Navidades es las que festejabamos en Villa Rosa con toda la familia, en la pileta y despues comiendo todos juntos. Pero mas alla de eso, muchas tradiciones no teniamos.

Pero ahora, Dave y yo vamos a tener nuestras propias costumbres. Basicamente, vamos a robarnos las costumbres que vemos en otras familias! Ja!
Por ejemplo, nuestros amigos los Hydoski (Isaac es el pastor que nos caso) van todos los anos a Washington DC a ver el enorme arbol de Navidad que tienen en el parque del Capitolio. Aca pueden ver esta foto:
Asi que esta es una tradicion que vamos a adoptar (adoptar suena mejor que robar!). En el parque de la Casa Blanca tambien tienen un arbol de Navidad pero este es mas grande, y menos gente se junta a verlo.
La otra tradicion que adoptamos es la de la familia donde alquilamos. Ellos se juntan a hacer galletitas Navidenas. Una noche nos invitaron y decoramos quichicientas galletitas (como se escribe quichicientas?). Ven que no miento?
Aca les muestro las 3 galletitas mas especiales que hicimos Dave y yo. A que no adivinan cual hizo Dave?
Las galletitas en mas detalle:

La idea era hacer un venado de River pero me salio mas de Independiente. Es para vos Lole!
El pinguinito, que no refleja mi afiliacion politica hacia ciertas figuras del gobierno Argentino. (Sorry, Andre!)
Finalmente la obra de arte de mi marido, a la cual he llamado "Hombre de nieve brasilero". Simpatico el tipo, no?

Y ahora la pregunta permanece, cuales son las tradiciones Argentinas en tiempos Navidenos? Pueden dejar sus propias respuestas. Pero estense advertidos que si nos gustan nosotros las vamos a "adoptar".

Mediocre Musicianhood

2008-01-06T22:09:00.000-05:00

So I would consider myself a mediocre musician. As a Christian I'm called to pursue excellence in everything and that includes increasing in skill as a musician. It just seems I choose to check my email more than practice drums, percussion, violin, and trumpet. May God help me to repent of laziness and start to practice.

In light of the fact that I am currently a self-proclaimed mediocre musician, I consider it a pure joy to play w/ excellent musicians. I remember before I was a Christian I played in a band w/ this guy who could play harmony with two trumpets at the same time. It was amazing. I must have seen this at least 50 times, and every time I would say to myself, "Wow, that's pretty cool."

On Sunday I had the opportunity to play drums while Bob Kauflin lead worship. Bob is an amazing musician and a very godly man. I thoroughly enjoyed participating in worship with a skillful piano player. Thank you Lord for the opportunity.

Here is something I get to play periodically at Covenant Life Church. It is called a Cajon. Mari and I received a DVD wedding present from a friend in Argentina. The artist's name is Jesus Adrian Romero. He is really good. His percussionist played it and I knew I wanted one.

This is the percussion set-up at Covenant Life.

Here is Mari playing brushes on my snare drum. Random note: this will be the last picture with Francisco. He has gone to the place where trees go at the end of the Christmas season ... aka the chipper. Neesham, we'll pretend he's going to Florida with the cows.

New Years Update

2008-01-02T23:02:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone ... even though it's past new year's. Here are a few pictures from our outing to first night Alexandria. It was a blast.

On New Year's day Mari and I spent some time w/ my Dad and Virginia. Check out my Dad's outfit.

Christmas Update

2007-12-28T17:08:00.001-05:00

So here we are ... the end of the Christmas season and embarking on the beginning of a new year. What a great year 2007 ended up being. But I'll save the 2007 wrap up for another post. Below are a wide variety of pictures.

We will start with a picture of us by the Capital Christmas tree. We went downtown with the Hydoski's:

Here we have a picture of our Christmas lunch table. Check out our previous post for more Christmas day pics.

This is me cooking breakfast for Mari ... I guess this is called self-promotion ... but Mari took the picture. My brother-in-law from Argentina thinks I should cook breakfast for Mari more often, here is proof that I did it least once recently.

This is the breakfast we had at the beach. Do people like pictures of food? I think my Mom would like this picture, do you Mom?

This is an example of how not to take a self-portrait. Notice the camera shadow and Mari's squinting ... two things to avoid when taking a self-portrait:

Mari is an incredible photographer. She takes cool pictures like this and the ones below:

Check out how she got the Capital, Christmas Tree, and the Moon:

This is cool too:

I had the privilege of playing Timpani at our Church's Christmas Eve production.

While we were driving back from the beach one day, Mari stopped me and said, "Watch out for the cow!" Below is the cow she was talking about. From a distance I guess it looked like it might walk into the road.

This is a picture Mari wanted to take so we could remember our first Christmas together. Thank you Lord for brining Mari and myself together to celebrate your incarnation. Happy New Year everybody!

All I want for Christmas are five stitches??

2007-12-28T09:34:00.000-05:00

2007 marks the year of our first married Christmas! It was ever so calm and relaxing. Late morning, lunch with Mama Spitzberg, and then a drive to the beaches in Delaware. Kind friends of the family allowed us to use their beautiful townhome. What a Christmas blessing!
We had a very chilled (literally) time at Millsboro, drove to Rehoboth, shopped at the outlets till my hubby was getting green and enjoyed some country food at Cracker Barrel. Even though I had a cold the whole time we really enjoyed our stay in Delaware! Here are some pics from the beach:

God protected us on our way back home. When we arrived back to the apartment we decided to perfect our tennis and bowling skills. See, Dave got a Wii from his mom for Christmas and we love it! We played on Christmas day together. Here are Bobbi and I playing:

After being away for two days we were having withdrawal symptoms so we decided to get in a couple of games before going to bed.

We played a couple of rounds of tennis, and my husband completely crushed me and then we moved to bowling. First game was fine. And then, there was the second game...

See, it states very clearly when you start playing that you have to clear everything away from where you are playing. But our coffee table was in the way of my hubby and another strike. Ouchhh!!
After a visit to the ER Dave got 5 stitches. The moral here is follow the directions!

Update - CG Christmas Party & Ornaments

2007-12-18T22:23:00.000-05:00

Well, tonight was the first annual Spitzberg Care Group Christmas Party. So we thought we'd put some pics up. Also, we wanted to post about our two personal ornaments.

Here are some peeps enjoying way too much sugar.

We had a 'charity debate.' Mari came up w/ the idea that we give money to a charity instead of doing a white elephant. So I came up w/ the idea to have a debate to see which charity we'll give the money too. Everyone brought $5 and they had to think about which charity they would want to receive our funds.

We also played a game called 'Hoopla,' which Mari rocked at ... she's cool like that!

Now we turn to our Christmas ornaments, but first ... here's Francisco w/ no flash.

This is an ornament that our good friend Millie gave to me 2 years ago. I love it!!

This is an ornament that Mari bought for us last year.

Introducing Francisco...

2007-12-17T16:41:00.000-05:00

Our friends Dave and Cara Wilcox name their Christmas trees after U.S. presidents. For instance, this year's tree is called William Howard after the fattest American president. So, following in that tradition we wanted to get our tree and give it a president's name. But, we'd choose an Argentinian president.

On our quest for a tree the idea was to get a fake one (in order to save money). Since it was going to be a fake tree, I had the perfect name for it. President Carlos Menem. Those of you who know something about Argentinian history will understand why, and those who don't, well you can figure things out....
But alas, fake trees are very expensive (I guess someone has to pay Martha Stewart's legal fees)! So, we ended up buying a real tree. When we brought "him" home I could not think of a president's name that fit him, but the name Francisco came to mind. And so, we baptized him Francisco Spitzberg. Catchy, uh?
As I was thinking about the name Francisco, I remembered that the nickname for it (at least in Argentina) is Pancho. The word pancho means hot-dog, but it also refers to someone who chills. Like: "El tipo estaba muy pancho" - "the guy was chilling." I guess our tree Francisco is very pancho, he likes to chill.
Dave and I had a great time decorating Francisco! He did all the lights and then we both worked on the decorations. We went with burgundy colors, ribbons and pine cones. Pretty simple. Here are some pictures of the before and after:

Mari-Vana showing Francisco before the decorations

Ta-da! Dressed-up Francisco

Up close and personal with Pancho

We look forward to making many more memories decorating our Christmas trees. Maybe next year we'll give our tree a President's name...

Mom's Birthday Party #1

2007-12-16T21:29:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Mom! Even though she will not officially turn 26 until next Saturday, last night we had a little birthday party. Mari, myself, Gene, and Cleo all went over to her house to have dinner. I found out that pot roast actually takes 90 minutes to cook, not 45. Now I know. Here are some pictures from the birthday get-together:

My Mom and Mari's famous pumpkin cheesecake.

It took about 10 attempts to get this picture, and I still had to crop it. We made some memories though.

Mari & Mom!

La primera nevada de la temporada

2007-12-11T22:39:00.000-05:00

Mientras todos usteded en Argentina (familia y amigos) estan disfrutando del comienzo de los calorcitos veraniegos, por aca estamos disfrutando de un poco de nieve. En realidad, a esta altura toda la nieve desaparecio. Pero yo saque un par de fotos para compartir con ustedes esta primera nevada que fue un poco inesperada. Y nada, me siento emocionada, y con ganas de comer una empanada... En fin, como podran ver estuve en Argentina suficiente tiempo como para que los comerciales se me pegaran! Aca estan las fotos que saque desde el fondo de mi depto.

Cayo bastante nieve por se la primera nevada!

Bueno, no tengo mucho que contar porque estoy a full con la facu. Hoy termine una de las clases y la semana que viene tengo los ultimos dos finales. Despues un descancito navideno y a mediados de Enero de nuevo a la lucha. Si Dios quiere, en Junio del 2008 me recibo de los 2 primeros anos y me transfiero a la Universidad de Maryland para los dos ultimos anos. Ya veremos que pasa...
Aca los dejo con mis fotos mas "artisticas"...

Un candy cane!

PG Update

2007-12-08T15:32:00.001-05:00

What is it like to teach Instrumental Music in PG county? Well, it is great. Most of the time I'm tempted to complain about my job, but today there is nothing but gratefulness. In my youth I had the dream that I could change the world through music. As I've gotten older, God has helped me to see that the only way to change the world is through the gospel of Jesus Christ. But I still dream that I could use music to brighten peoples lives. Today, God gave me the opportunity to do just that. I had the privilege to take 20 of my Wind students and 10 String students to Independence Court, a retirement home in Hyattsville MD. The students were able to perform outside of their school and the residents at Independence Court received a concert. My students got the better end of the deal, because not many people want to hear 2nd year elementary students play their instruments (unless Ben Chouinard teaches them). Anyway, it was a great time today and I'm grateful to be a Prince Georges County instrumental music teacher. Check out the pics below.

Me, the students (blurred for their protection), and some residents.

Not only am I grateful for the concert today, but PG uses 'real' computers ...

This is one of my classrooms.

Ed & Neesham

2007-12-07T16:52:00.000-05:00

Mari and I are excited to have a new link next to 'friends blogs.' My brother and his wife have their own blog, so if you have time, check it out.
This has been an exciting year for the Spitzberg brothers. We both got married! Below you will find pictures of my brothers wedding, which happened the same day as Mari's 30th birthday: October 13. Now, I will never forget Ed's anniversary ... well, as least I hope I never forget Ed's anniversary.
I love my brother! He has been supportive my whole life and I have always looked up to him. I remember watching him in all his musicals and thinking to myself, "I hope I can someday perform with him." That day happened when I played drums and Ed performed the role as 'Nicely Nicely' in Guys & Dolls at Rockville Musical Theater.
I love my sister-in-law as well. I have always wanted a younger sister and now I have one. Neesham is one of the most classy women I have met (except for Mari ... of course). The four of us always have fun when we get together.
Ed and Neesham, we love you guys and look forward to many more times together of laughing and Beemer spilling coffee on me. Check out some pics of their wedding.

Fa La La La La ... La La .... La La

2007-12-03T22:12:00.001-05:00

Well, I have been reading about a war on Christmas lately (read more here). My friend Kerrin has made himself the general of this war. I believe last night Mari and I lead people to attend an event that benefited Kerrin's opponent (whoever that may be) and this event was filled with "ridiculous symbolism." We went to Wolf Trap for their "Holiday Sing-a-Long." Mari was the one who first had the idea to attend, but I had a great time too. This could become an annual tradition for us. Check out the pictures below and then I will post my beliefs about the war on Christmas.

Here we have Kip, Kate, Mutiga, Paul, Dave, Mari-the most beautiful, Jason, & Juliana w/ candles. The guy who took the picture suggested we turn off the flash. Good call Mr. nice guy who took the picture.

Wolf Trap invited "The Presidents Own" Marine Band to lead us singing holiday favorites like: "Jingle Bells" "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" "Joy To The World" "Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer" "O Come, All Ye Faithful" "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" "Hallelujah Chorus (My favorite because I will be playing the Timpani part at our Church so it was pretty cool seeing one of the best Timpani players in America hit em)" & "Silent Night"

Mari, Mutiga, and Paul enjoy some hot coccoa while singing their favorite holiday song.

Juliana and Jason sing their favorite song: "Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer"

One aspect of the evening I found very interesting were all the 'Jesus' songs. It was a blast singing the songs our Church typically sings for our Christmas Eve service. Speaking of Christmas Eve service, I think that Kerrin's war on Christmas has some good points and some unnecessary points. (Please know that Kerrin has a unique sense of humor and I hope you get to enjoy some of his postings, but read at your own risk ... if you find yourself getting tempted or angry, stop reading.) I think any holiday has tendencies to be overcomercialized (sp.). But I think that Christmas is slamming and that there's no need for a war. In light of that, I appoint myself as the 'United Nation of Promoting Peace Not~War During Christmas Time.' Plus, if we change Christmas to September 29th, I'd have to change my calendar all around, and that would be a pain. I'll post more later about my new role as peace manager during this time of war. Or I may join the dark side w/ my wife who is a lieutenant for Kerrin. She was doing '24-type' survey lance of the enemies territory last night.

While I'm posting, I wanted to tell you that I got new shoes. First I will show my old shoes and than my new ones. I typically by shoes every 18 months, but since I've been married Mari has helped me to see that it is better to buy shoes before the sole is all gone.

Can you guess which are the old shoes and which are the new ones?

Well, the last bit of rambling is that I had the opportunity to play percussion at a friends wedding this weekend. I love going to weddings and love playing djembe at weddings. There is something very sobering to hear a pastor give an exhortation to a brand new husband. May God help me to live out my vows I made to Mari every day. Here's a picture of the djembe I played.

Toma mate y avivate

2007-11-28T20:45:00.000-05:00

Como veran la familia Spitzberg (Dave y yo) estamos continuando una tradicion bien argenta: tomar mate mientras manejamos. El sabado pasado antes de irnos a la casa del papa de Dave para festejar el Dia de Accion de Gracia, Dave sugerio que llevaramos el mate en el camino (el papa vive a una hora y media). Resulta que se me esta convirtiendo en todo un Argentino, hace asado, toma mate y dice: "Como te va?, Yo, todo piola!"

Mariana sin maquillaje... ahhhhhh!!

Asi que desde ahora en mas, en cada viaje de media a larga distancia el mate viene con nosotros!! Pero no solamente tomamos el mate asi no mas!! No senor! Tambien compramos unos bizochitos de grasa 9 de Oro y los dulces Don Satur!! Que tul?
Bueno, esto es todo por ahora en el comentario nacionalista del mes!! Ya tendremos mas anuncios argentos desde Olney, Maryland.

Failures and Successes in Bakery

2007-11-26T21:14:00.000-05:00

So, it's true! I am not a baker! It's not in my pool gene, I guess. I can cook, but bake, not so much. As you probably know from my husband's previous blog, I almost poisoned my family with a plastic-spatula cheesecake! Some of you may wonder, how did the spatula ended in the mix? Pretty simple: take ginger snaps, butter and scrape the sides of the food processor with the spatula, turn on the processor and boila! You have a spatula cheesecake!

I'm glad to report that I could still provide with a dessert that didn't send people to the ER on Thanksgiving! The Joy of Hospitality (book) came to the rescue in the shape of a "freezy pumpkin pie" (I owe you one Heather Castro!). This pie was a piece of cake (Ha!). No cooking, no making the mix, and, most important, not making the crust!! Oh, and they are very tasty! I will post the recipes some other time....

But, I was not going to let my lack of baking experience, or my pity party (that I thoroughly enjoyed until corrected by Dave) dictate my future on cheesecake making!! God was very kind in that we got to celebrate two Thanksgivings! On Saturday we celebrated Thanksgiving with Dave's dad, Virginia, and the DC Spitzbergs (Ed, Neesham & Beemer).
So, on Friday I tried to make the pumpkin cheesecake again, and I'm happy to report that this time I was successful and I did not include plastic utensils in the mix!! That's good to know, right family? Well, the cheesecake was very yummy (thanks Rachel Ray!) and I will also post that recipe some time. I do have to warm everyone: it's very time consuming, but worth it.

Finally, I learned some lessons from my baking extravaganza:

Plastic spatulas against sharp objects get cut
The food processor can process food and other materials
This one is crucial: you have to read the whole recipe before starting! As I was working on cheesecake numero dos, I read: "introduce spring-form pan in roasting pan, cover with boiling water...." I thought: "A roasting pan? Oh, oh! I don't own a roasting pan!" Mind you by then there was no turning back, the mix was finally done, and so was the crust! Again, God provided in the shape of a kind landlord who found a roasting pan and lent it to me
Follow instructions. Period. So, like I said I cook but mainly it's "a ojo" (that stands for I-don't-measure-anything-just-add-ingredients-and-test). But, with baking it doesn't work like that! So, if the recipe reads: "touch the cake in the middle and sides" it does not mean: "insert a knife and when it cools off it will break in the middle!"

OK, I think that's if for now in the baking world. For those of you who are baking queens (or kings) my apologies for what I just put you through. And for those who are baking-deficient like me, I say: see, there are people who are more clueless than you!
Here are some pics from the second Thanksgiving celebration.

Check out the garganchuan turkey!!

This is the cheesecake. Notice the nice cut in the middle!

Dave braved the cold a grilled some lamb chomps.
Notice Ed's face of: "why am I here?"

Beemer getting ready for the season!
He did say he'd rather be in his giraffe suit though! How un-festive Beem!

Update ...

2007-11-24T13:15:00.000-05:00

It has been a great thanksgiving holiday for Mari and myself. We have eaten too much but have enjoyed spending time together and with my Mom, Brother, and Sister-In-Law. God has been kind to give us such a fun family. I'll post some pictures now and hopefully we'll give a longer update soon.

Mari & I had the joy of going to the International Dinner at Church. Gene organized the event & did a great job.

I like being around drums and making funny signs w/ my hands.

This is my wife before she tried to make pumpkin swirl cheesecake for Thanksgiving dessert.

This is the spatula after Mari did some creative baking. She ended up making a sweet pumpkin pie instead of cheesecake. It was GREAT!

Thanksgiving table @ my Mom's.

Ed & Dave successfully change the battery in my Mom's carbon dioxide detector. It was quite an event.

The happy family!

The next day Mari wanted to go shopping. So we went to the Christian Family Bookstore @ 7am.

Happy Shopping!

After our first stop, we went to Target & Ann Taylor Loft. Then it was off to Bed, Bath, & Beyond. My Mom gave Mari money to buy a new pillow ... here it is. Hopefully this will help her neck.

Mari will post soon w/ some cooking updates. If you're reading this, thanks for taking time to check out our pictures. Have a great day!

Forgetful Friends

2007-11-17T22:04:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday I got together with some friends for a little reunion. A few years ago we spent a great vacation in Florida and we now try to keep each other updated in what's going on in our lives by doing these reunions. I love these times!

One thing that I noticed was how each time we get together we always end up talking about how God is showing us how much we need Him in our different "seasons" of life. Single, dating, married, pregnant, no matter where God has us, there is always a temptation to want to find our satisfaction in things, people, etc. But, we always remind each other that the Only One who can fully satisfy is Him. He is our portion! God wants our all, and to be our all! One of the girls was saying how it'd be so much easier to know what God's plan for her life was, and another wisely answered that if she'd know then she wouldn't have to trust God. So true! God is not interested in getting our partial trust, and nor is He interested in being our partial portion. I read the following in Morning and Evening and it reminded me about our conversation:

"The Lord is my portion, saith my soul"
Lamentations 3:24

"It is not 'The Lord is partly my portion', nor 'The Lord is in my portion'; but He Himself makes us the sum total of my soul's inheritance. Within the circumference of that circle lies all that we posses and desire. The Lord is my portion. Not His grace merely, nor His love, nor His covenant, but Jehovah Himself. He has chosen us for His portion, and we have chosen Hims for ours.... The Lord is our all-sufficient portion. God fills Himself; and if God is all-sufficient in Himself, He must be all-sufficient for us. It is not easy to satisfy man's desires...But all that we can wish for is to be found in our divine portion, so that we ask, 'Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee.'"

I pray that God continues to use friends like these to remind me of His truths. Girls, thank you for the way you always point me to our Savior and His sweet promises!

Mari's 30th Birthday Slideshow

2007-11-11T15:21:00.000-05:00

Here is the slideshow I made for Mari's party. It turned out great. The only problem I had was with the letters of encouragement (which many of her friends and family wrote for her). For some reason when I burned the DVD, the first word of each line was cut off. Mari still liked the video and we thought for the purpose of the blog we would just use the pictures. Thank you very much to those who wrote letters to Mari and to those of you who wrote letters to her in your hearts.

Este es el video que me hizo Dave para celebrar mi cumple. Incluyo fotos de mi familia, mi visita a Argentina, la otra cuando fuimos juntos y fotos de aca en los EEUU. Espero que les guste.

Fiesta Sorpresa!!

2007-11-08T14:53:00.000-05:00

So, as most of you probably know I'm from Argentina. I've been living here for close to 9 years, but all my family is still back home. My wonderful mom, sisters, brother-in-law and sweet nieces and nephew are still in Buenos Aires. One of the biggest reasons why we liked the blog idea is to keep them informed about what we are up to. Obviously, that means posting in Spanish every now and then so that may understand! So, here is your opportunity to practice your Espanol!!!

El sabado 3 de Noviembre mi querido marido me hizo una fiesta sorpresa para festejar mis 30 primaveras!! Que dulce!! Sin que yo supiera organizo una fiesta en la que participaron mis amigos de la iglesia y trabajo y me trajo un poco de mi familia desde Argentina!! Bueno, no pudo traerlos en vivo y directo pero le pidio a una amiga mia que habla espanol (Evy) que mandara un mail a mi sobrina Flopy y ella les pidio que me escribieran cartas y deseos de cumple!!

A Dave le encanta darme sorpresas y a veces no es muy exitoso!! Pero esta vez se paso! En realidad la mayor sorpresa fue cuando me pidio que nos casaramos!! Despues de esa, esta fiesta para festejar mis 30 es la mejor!!

Les quiero agradecer a mi mama, hermanas Nene y Tere, mi cuna (no tengo enie), mis sobrinas Jimena y Flor, y mi sobrino Matias por mandarme las cartas con deseos cumpleaneros!! Los quiero mil y los extrano otro tanto!! Son lo mas! No me aguanto las ganas de volver a verlos!! Aca un par de fotis mas que sacamos en la fiesta. Gracias por ser parte de mi celebracion!!

Mi maridito con mi torta!!

Random Update

2007-11-04T21:14:00.000-05:00

We had a great few days. A date night outside, and Mari's surprise birthday party. So far I'm 2/4 when I try to surprise Mari. No surprises in the near future. I'd like to get in the habit of telling Mari the truth instead of trying to hide things from her, like why she can't check my email.

Our date night outside on our patio.

Mari's cream of brocoli soup w/ crutons.

This is not an optical illusion, the steak fell inside of the grill.
Anyone want Dave to grill for them?

Since I put the steak in the grill, Friday was Chicken Out and the the first DVD of season 3 of 24.

Mari loves fall flowers, and taking pictures of them.

Some shots of the surprise party.

I asked Evy to email Flor (our niece) in Argentina to get the family to write an encouragement letter to Mari. Our friend Jeff Vega read the letters to her in Spanish.

Wild and crazy Mari w/ Juliana, Jessica, & Larissa.

Sherades to end the night.

Spooky Path

2007-10-30T18:33:00.001-04:00

This is a picture that Mari said we should take. I asked her if she's artistic and she said, "I don't know ... I don't think so." I think she is, every time we go on these walks she points out cool stuff like how this path zig-zags. She named this picture "Scary Path." Or was it "Spooky Path." I'm not sure. That's my good memory at work. Anyway, here are some more pictures of our walk yesterday.

Yesterday I was struggling w/ anger from the moment I left the house until I came home. Mari asked me a great question, "How does the gospel help you to take steps to change?" That was helpful, so I sought the Lord and God brought this quote from John Pipers Book What Jesus Demands From The World: "Becoming angry is not a choice we make. It is a fruit on the branch of our lives."
Anyway, married life is great, especially when my wife is the coolest person in the world.

Our First Post

2007-10-28T22:03:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures from our outing to Lake Needwood. Poor Lake Needwood has received the nickname "Marsh Needwood" from Mari and I. But we realized today it seems to be a real lake.