Peace Like a River

A few weeks ago, I had a really good problem: whether or not to accept a job offer. I had applied to a clinical nutrition position in late March, every step of the way feeling like things weren't going well. I guess I had failed to remember that things take a while in big hospitals. Before the third interview, described as a "meet and greet" I finally felt like maybe a job at Stanford was really in my future. But I happened to be about 8-weeks pregnant at that interview, so maybe not feeling very energetic or interested in starting something new? I came home and told Nate that I felt like the diabetes team could see through me...I was sure they could tell that I didn't really want the job. Did I though? Not really, even un-pregnant me. There were many pros and cons, but in the end I decided that pediatric diabetes was not what I was aspiring to.

I won't bore you with the internal (and occasionally external...thanks Nate, Marcia, Mom, Tina, Stephanie) dialogue I had before I turned the job down five days after the offer, but it was tough! I was texting with Nate on the morning that I had to let them know. He said, give Lou something quiet to do and pray about it. Cora was sleeping, so I did. At the time we were listening to iTunes radio, some kind of kids station, and right after I finished writing my prayers and felt God say, nope, this isn't the one, the song Peace Like a River by Elizabeth Mitchell came on. We have one of her albums and love it, but I had never heard her rendition of this great, comforting song. I smiled, breathed, thanked God and called the recruiter. It's been about a month since then and I can confidently say I've had no regrets.

Do I still want to work more than one day per week? I think so. But through this process I learned a few things:

1. God is still speaking and guiding my struggle to balance motherhood with the professional me
2. I have a passion for wellness nutrition, and would ultimately love to design and manage a wellness program
3. I need to appreciate the small moments at home, like I used to...

Photo Stamps or Passports?

A few weeks ago, Nate's ultimate frisbee team traveled to Toronto for the championship tournament. It was a last-minute frenzy, but I was lucky enough to go too...without my dear, sweet children. Well, okay, I did take the wee one inside me, but other than that, FREE! We're so thankful that Marcia was willing to miss her weekend retreat in Northern Wisconsin to come out and stay with the girls. It was a quick trip, but I have no regrets about choosing to go alone. Nate's team even took home the trophy.  Very fun.

Toronto is a very cool city and the stadium was right downtown

The San Jose Spiders

Champion!

This technically international excursion got me thinking about whether or not it would be useful to have passports for the girls. While I don't see any family vacations to Italy in our immediate future, I thought it wouldn't hurt to apply for passports while we don't have a timeline. Nate thought it would be useful too since a few weeks ago, taking Cora on a flight as a lap-child was more stressful than it needed to be. Easy fix - next time, just remember the birth certificate! You're probably wondering why a passport would be easier to remember than a birth certificate. I'm asking myself that too. But all that matters is that in the end, we decided we might as well get passports for the girls. Step one (the decision) complete.

My in-house photographer set up a studio in the bathroom this morning to take photos of the girls. Which is really my reason for writing the post. I just think the pictures are too cute not to share. We have an appointment at the post office in a couple of weeks to submit the applications, so the pictures may not even pass the test, but for now, they're making me smile. They are also giving me side-by-side photos in the same light to really analyze how similar (or not) the girls look. What do you think? I was struck by how similar their hair colors have become over time. Thanks Nate for the pop-up studio and photo services!

The title of this post refers to something funny Louisa said as we were preparing to go to the post-office. Last time we went, she helped pick the stamps (flowers won) and so I think she was confused about why were were taking photos to the post office. As we walked out the door she asked if we were putting the pictures on stamps. Cute idea, Louisa, and I know you can buy them, but not this time.