Wrapping up 2013
This has certainly been a wild year for Brooke and I. It started off with both her and I being sick on New Year's Eve 2012 and going to bed before midnight. As first month of 2013 progressed and the holidays were over we had gotten back into a routine of work and school since at the time both of us where in graduate school and Brooke had just transferred to the CUNY Graduate center. Everything was going pretty smooth and then one night while I was at school Brooke got really sick with a stomach virus that ended with me rushing her to the ER. We proceeded to spend the entire night there (which was eventful in and of itself). After the visit to the ER I also got sick with a minor case of the Flu, got over it and then Brooke also got it too! Finally after getting over being sick and hospital visits we seemed to be getting back to our routine once more. Except this time Brooke had something on her mind and she shared it with me. She felt that she no longer wanted to be in graduate school and so we talked through it and we decided that it would be best if she withdrew from her classes. So she talked to the school and we had decided that we'd lose some of the tuition money we had spent but that was fine, however when she did withdraw we got all of the money back even though it was after the deadline! It was definitely a blessing and not something we had even expected.
Also the year started with me still working at a job that I really didn't like (ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you) but I was always looking for a new job. Finally a buddy of mine told me about his job and that they were hiring and so I immediately applied to Squarespace, where I work now (and love it). A few days later I got an email to schedule and interview and went in. To be honest I walked out of there thinking I'd had a great interview but that I wasn't going to get the job like so many other job interviews I'd been on. I was very pessimistic about my chances. However about a week later I got another email saying that the job was mine if I wanted it! I can't tell you how happy I was when I saw the email. It was definitely an answer to prayer. Through the entire process of job searching and interviewing I see God's hand at work in my life and in the life of my family. I had gone on plenty of interviews walking out thinking I'd definitely gotten the job, only to get a rejection email a few days later. Yet now I am at a job that I love, that provides for my family, that has an awesome work/life balance and where I'm learning new things everyday and am challenged by the work I do. I could have gotten another job elsewhere by my own merits and perhaps I would have been just as, if not more, miserable than I was at my old job. Lamentations 3: 25--27 says:
The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for a man that he bear
the yoke sin his youth.
Taking a look at what Jeremiah writes here I can honestly say that waiting on the Lord and seeking him will eventually allow you to experience his goodness. Something that I have struggled with is this very thing. Waiting silently as Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane for the Lord's delivery is a great practice that we as Christians should try to cultivate.
Two days after finding out I got a new job, we found out that we were going to be having a baby! This was the most exciting news we had all year. We were quickly overcome with various emotions ranging from happiness to the anxiety of being a new parent. Brooke made an appointment to see a doctor and confirm the pregnancy. That first appointment was also a scary one as Aly was measuring smaller than what we thought. You could read about that here. The next few months were a whirlwind of doctors appointments for Brooke as we got to see the progress of our baby, which we did not know it was Aly yet. In between the baby craziness I had to get knee surgery, specifically ACL reconstruction. You can read about that adventure here.
After waiting for nine months it was finally time for Aly to come, and she was not budging. Brooke was in labor for 60 hours and after all that, out baby girl came into this world and has forever changed our lives.
2013 has certainly been a roller coaster of a year for Brooke and I, but I wouldn't change one thing about it. Everyday I am more and more grateful and more and more in love with Brooke and now my beautiful baby girl.
Our family is very excited to see what the Lord has in store for the Arévalos in 2014.
-Ron