This will be our first international flight with Noah.  We aren’t looking forward to it.  I’m not going to engage Murphy’s Law and assume the worst, but I’m not expecting it to be as laid back and simple as it would be if it were just the two of us. Oh well.  It will be really great to see what he thinks about it.  I wonder if he will remember any of it?

Here’s some good advise I got from a friend regarding international travel with an infant:

As soon as you can, call the airline and explain that you are travleing with an infant in your lap and that you want seats in the bulkhead. Which airline are you traveling on? The bulkhead seats are the ones directly behind the bathrrom walls, and most big jets have holes in those walls where they can attach a bassinett for the baby to sleep in. Your son might be on the bigger side now to fully spread out in the bassinett but he can curl up at least and lie flat and hopefully get some sleep. It’s almost like having an extra seat and you guys can set him in it while you eat and stuff like that.

Another thing, overpack on clothes and diapers (I found that our kids seemed to have blow out diapers when up in the air…maybe it was the altitude or maybe just a coincidence but I always pack for it now). And it’s also good in case you get stuck in an airport somewhere. I put them in clear ziplock bags so I don’t have to carry the entire big diaper bag into the tiny airplane bathroom.

Underpack on the toys, they hardly play with them anyways.

Bring snacks–you never know if you’ll get stuck in the airport without any kid friendly food.

My girlfriend gave her toddlers/babies Benadryl on flights so that they’d sleep. I never tried that but now that I think of it, I think I’ll bring that with me on the plane.

But I think more than anything, getting seats in the bulkhead with a bassinett will make the trip easier. If you’re on United, they are clueless, so be prepared. And their bassinetts don’t attach to the wall, the one time we flew on them it was just a disaster. Johnny was 8 months old and crawling and the bassinett was on the floor (we had bulkhead seats so at least there was a lot of room for it on the floor) and he was trying to crawl away and after a few hours we just gave up and let him crawl around on the disgusting airplane floor.

Which reminds me, bring lots of hand sanitizer. And remember you can only have 3oz or smaller bottles of liquids that have to be in a clear ziploc bag as a carry-on.

Good luck!!!! It won’t be nearly as nerve-wracking as you think it might be.

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years”
- Abraham Lincoln

So another year has come to an end, can you believe it? – almost 2010. As we usually do at the end of the year, we enjoy looking back at what we’ve done and where we’ve been, and sharing it with all of you.

Noah continues to be an amazing blessing. I have to say, things have gotten easier as he’s gotten a little older. He’s at a great age right now, he runs to hug you, talks a little bit, does really funny things, and (knock on wood) usually sleeps through the night. He’s starting to develop his own little personality, and it’s nothing short of a miracle to watch him grow and learn.

Silvia recently got a promotion at BigLots. She is now an Associate Manager. I am so proud of her for taking the initiative to talk to her boss about moving up. Surprisingly, her boss really took her request to heart, and started almost immediately showing Silvia some additional ropes, and within a couple weeks promoting her to Associate Manager. It’s a real testament to the power of simply asking. Now she’s learning about inventory, scheduling, sales, and other managerial tasks. She likes it but says it’s actually not much of a change since she’s been doing the same types of tasks for a while now.

I’m enjoying my work at UCLA Medical Center. In addition to desktop support, I have started to do some more programming. I have been giving the task of redoing the Family Medicine website. I also found and helped setup an online help ticket system for our group to use. I enjoy it, but at the same time feel I need to improve my skills and grow in my responsibilities. I’m hoping to start the process of getting a Masters Degree, either in Computer Science or an MBA next year.

In June we had a flood in our condo. I remember it like it was yesterday, and it’s one of those things that plays out in my mind in slow motion. It was about 9pm, and we were winding down for the day, I was about to start making my breakfast for the next day. All of a sudden, I heard a strong water running sound. I figured it was probably the washing machines next door to us. But after about 30 seconds, I started to hear and see drops of water come from the ceiling! Oh the thoughts that went running through my head at that point! Craziness ensued, and within about 15 minutes the ceiling in our kitchen and dining room were raining. We spent the next 2 hours sweeping the water out onto the patio, and making repeated calls for someone to come out and shut off the water. Since the unit above us (where the water was coming from) was for sale, there was no one there, and only a key lock on the door. Additionally, turning off the water for the complex was no easy task: the contracted plumbers had to come out and get it off. After 2 or 3 hours the water finally stopped, and at least the panic was over. The damage was done, and our minds were now on clean up. Rebuilding was a mess because they found asbestos in the ceilings. The ceilings had to be replaced, so the asbestos had to be dealt with. We ended up having to wait about 3 weeks before we could get clearance to remove the asbestos ceilings. Once the asbestos removal was Ok-ed, the process of remodeling began. We stayed in a Hotel during the whole process, which lasted about 5 weeks. In the end we got a new ceiling, new walls, new paint, and new floors. Luckily the owners of the unit above us were very professional and paid for everything including the hotel – not shying away from any responsibility.

One goal I had for this year was to get more involved at church. Around July I started volunteering in the Kids ministry. There is a separate building, and church for the kids, and I’m part of the A/V team for the 3rd-6th graders Sunday morning service. I have enjoyed making new friends, meeting new people, and helping out with the technical stuff.

In conclusion, I just want to thank you all for your friendship and love over the years. Life wouldn’t be life without you. We wish you a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

Love,
- Russ, Silvia and Noah

Can you believe it’s almost 2009 already? It seems like this year just flew by. When I stop to think about what we’ve done this year, it’s amazing to think that all that happened in only one year. If I had to sum up this year in one word, it would be Noah. Our first son was born April 18th, and that pretty much changed everything, period. Now it’s hard to imagine what life would be like without him.

Silvia and I are doing fine. I continue to work at UCLA Medical Center, doing IT. Silvia’s is attending classes at Cerritos City College and working at Big Lots. I, along with my business partner, have done well. We’ve completed a bunch of websites and continue to have new business. We launched a new site called www.usfinances.info that we hope will become a major source of financial news and resources.

Here’s a recap of the significant events in 2008:

• March 9th: Silvia has her baby shower, and I take the guys to a BBQ in the park. We had a great time, and thanks to Monica and all those who helped put it together!
• April 18th: Noah’s born by c-section at 10:21pm Friday night. Weighing in at 8 lbs 12 ounces, he’s perfectly well and healthy. What an amazing time that was.
• June 21st: Family reunion in Pine mountain. It was great to see everyone, and to show off our new baby.
• August 30th: We visit my Dad and family in Reno. This was their first time to meet Noah, and we had a great time. We made the stop on our way up to Washington.
• September 1st – 7th: We visit friends in Sequim Washington, and have a great vacation there. We had a great time, thanks again to our Hosts Dagny and Denny Lord. We saw Seattle, Victoria Canada, Sequim, and Port Angeles. What a beautiful state, and a fantastic time!
• November 27th: We visited my Grandma and Uncles in Arizona for Thanksgiving. That was a real nice time. Relaxing, and the first time my Uncles got to meet Noah.

One goal we had for 2008 was to find a home church. Somewhere we could get involved and really feel a part of. As we sought out something close to us, we found a church called Cottonwood. We enjoyed the teaching, and felt God leading us to become a part of it. In October I went through the membership class, and became an official member. Silvia was working that day, but plans to take the membership class as well. Our next step is to become a part of one of their small groups. We really enjoy the church and look forward to the next steps God has for us there, as our family changes and grows.

Thank you all for your love and friendship. We enjoy each and every one of you, and look forward to seeing and spending time with you soon. I leave you with a verse that bring inspiration and motivation to us for 2009…

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” – Hebrews 10:24-25

With Love,

-Russ, Silvia and Noah

Silvia’s Baby shower. She had a lot of fun, and felt so blessed by the encouragement and friendships.	Noah, 10 minutes after he was born. I think that roller coaster ride, also known as birth, made him tired.
Family reunion in Pine Mountain CA. Kudos to Pam and Rex for organizing it.	Our visit to Reno. My Dad first meets Noah, and enjoys every minute.
Our friends Dagny and Denny and family in Sequim Washington.	Grandma, Uncle Bill, and our visit to Arizona for Thanksgiving.

Time for another update. We are fine, making final preparations on our condo, for those that don’t know, we bought our first property, a condo in Seal Beach this past month. The loan documentation should be going through this week, and hopefully we’ll be able to start moving this weekend (knock on wood).

Everything else is going good, we are preparing for Christmas, we’ll be going down to spend time with my mom and sisters and brother-in-law for Christmas.

We sent out a yearly update to our friends and family, if you didn’t receive one and want one just shoot me an email. I’ll also try to add it to this site sometime soon.

Merry Christmas everyone, we love you!

Hello Folks!!

We just returned from a trip to Romania. It was very nice. Not only was it great to see all our friends and family, it was also very nice to have a little break from work. Now we are back in the states and back to work.

One of our objects for our trip this year was to begin a relationship with the orphanage there to provide sponsorship and support for kids who wish to attend college, but don’t have the funds. If any of you are interested in donating, please contact me, I can give you plenty more details on how we will be sponsoring and helping the youth there attend college and university.

Thanks for visiting!

Welcome everyone to our home on the web. Our most popular pages are our pictures pages, and faq pages. Feel free to poke around and get to know us.

We are doing fine, just working hard and keeping busy. Web development is going good, it keeps me busy and I’m still enjoying it. Silvia is looking at starting school soon. We have talked about moving out of LA to somewhere more affordable like Santa Clarity, Palmdale or Lancaster. Housing is still affordable out there, and we would really like to own something soon. We have started sponsoring a child in Rwanda through World Vision, we are curious to see how it goes, and anxious to get to know ‘our boy’, his name is Feston.

We are also looking at getting a second car, something for Silvia. If any of you know of any good deals out there, either property or car, we are all ears. Love you guys, thanks for visiting.

Hello and welcome again to our webpage. Many have advised me that our page is poorly out of date, so here I am to update it.

We are doing just fine, Silvia is still at BigLots, she made it through the Christmas rush, and she has remained there as one of the head cashiers. She is looking into various paths in getting experience as a teacher, and her teaching credential. I’m still doing freelance programming, I’m keeping really busy, which gives me little time to market myself, or look for new clients…which is fine – as long as I can pay the bills and save for the future we are doing just fine.

God is good, and has been helping us through a lot, we are thankful for all the good things he is doing…we are starting to get more and more involved with helping the kids in Romania. Some of our plans for this year include setting up a scholarship fund for kids that want to go to school, but can’t afford it, and also helping kids with dental fees.

Keep in touch, Russ & Silvia

Welcome to our home on the web. Feel free to look around, and find out about my wife Silvia and me. We are usually updating our pictures page, so be sure to take a look at that.

We are both doing fine; I’m working as a programmer, building a web application called “SalesBuilder” for a marketing company called The Marketing Architects, while also doing small side projects for individuals and smaller clients. Silvia has just received her diploma from Romania, and is working to translate that and find out what steps she’ll need to take to become an elementary school teacher.

Feel free to contact us at any time, we love to hear from you.

God Bless You!

Good news everyone, Silvia has an appointment at the embassy next week, and should be joining me in LA in just a few short weeks. It’s been a long 3 months without each other, but it looks like that period will soon be behind us. Thanks for all your prayers and support.

Other than that we are both doing fine, I’m keeping busy with my new job as a PHP Developer with a marketing firm. Silvia is getting her documents together and preparing to go to Bucharest next week, and will soon be preparing to leave. She would benefit from your prayers for strength during this time of transition and traveling for her.

Thanks for stopping by the site.