Sunday, September 25, 2011

Blogger Swap at Exponent and Doves and Serpents


Today begins our week-long swap between bloggers at The Exponent and Doves and Serpents.

I did a column called, "Ride to Church" featuring all of the churches I saw in my short 3 day trip to Europe.


I hope to be blogging more here as well, like maybe the kid's first day of school pics, you know since they've been in school for 6 weeks already.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Visiting Skopje, Macedonia



My work with the hemophilia community too me to Skopje, Macedonia last week. I'm evaluating the local patient organization for a potential twinning program. As an established chapter, we would spend 4 years helping the Skopje association work towards better organization, fundraising, programs, and services for members of the bleeding disorders community. Although this is my first trip to Europe, I'm amazed at how comfortable I feel, not only in the hemophilia community, but in the city. One of the well-traveled staff mentioned that Americans sometimes say that America is the "best" country. I don't believe that because each country has it's greatness and it's problems.

I loved the people, the food, the city. We traveled out of the city up to a beautiful lake called Matka (First photo). We ate at a restaurant up there and visited a very old Orthodox church. I learned from a Macedonian I met at the airport that Matka means "womb." I found it very fitting considering how beautiful the area was and how difficult it was to access.

The people of Hemalog, the Macedonian hemophilia society, were very kind and generous. One man, Simon, gave us some of his homemade wine and brandy. They also treated us to meals and showed us around the city and surrounding areas.

We toured the medical treatment areas for hemophilia and I was impressed at how well it seems

to operate. Many patients are now on home care for their bleeding disorders which is a huge step toward a healthier population. In the future, we hope to help them as they continue to advocate for increased access to clotting factor.

Despite some drama on the return trip home (Tony, my traveling companion lost his passport and I was forced to leave him at the last minute), the visit was really amazing and I am so glad I had the opportunity to go.

But, the twinning program lasts four years, so it is likely that I will return in the future. I look forward to it.

Here's my webalbum.



Sunday, September 04, 2011

Update!

We had a such a great time in Michigan, I can hardly believe we've been back for over a month.
As we gear up for fall travel, I'm thinking about what else we can do with our family.

Here's the link to our webalbum.

Jaxon (age 9) just started 3rd grade and Asher (5) just started Kindergarten. Both of them like their teachers. Jaxon has a pet hamster in his class named Brownie. Asher has 28 children in his class, but they are hiring a new teacher so he should be in a smaller class soon!

Finn is ready to start preschool on Tuesday. He's been soooo bored at home without his brothers. He asks to play with friends EVERY DAY. If you live nearby, let's get together and play.

Mark is loving BYU football season and is beginning a business venture with a friend.

I'm volunteering more with the AZ Hemophilia Assoc, in fact I am going to Macedonia this week for an initial visit for a twinning program between our chapter and theirs. I still teach Zumba 4-5 times a week and am looking to build my private class with friends and family. I'm thrilled to have a small following of people who follow me around to different clubs where I teach.

Recently I blogged at Exponent about getting ready to start a career. I got great advice from friends (and strangers) about how to get back into the workforce, go back to school, etc.

We love having my mom here living with us. She is such a loving person and a resource for our family. She has great ideas on how to teach and feed my kids, clean the house, and organize my life.

This fall Mark's brother, David, gets home from his mission and I hope we get to fly out to say hello to him.

Mark has a business trip to NYC this fall and I want to go with him and see The Book of Mormon, the musical. But I just looked at tickets and they are more than $200 each! Sigh.

Maybe when it comes to Gammage in a few years :)

Also, our family has a team for the Hemophilia Walk on Nov 6, 2011. The Walk is at the Phoenix Zoo and we're inviting all of our friends and family to join us. (Here are photos of the Walk we did a few years ago)

If you are interested in joining us or donating to our team, please visit this website.


Goodbye to Grandma Michele and Grandpa Larry at the airport!
That's us at the minor league baseball game that was rained out (it only rained 3 days the whole month we were there!)
Asher is holding some of his fabulous pre-school art.
Jaxon helps his Uncle David fix the soap dish in the shower. David is such a great kid, he's nice and so helpful!

So there is a lot of randomness from us, and a little update of what's going on in our lives.