The Hearing Wife

A few months ago we took a huge leap of faith. We left our beautiful home and Fayoz's job in Washington state and moved to Washington DC for Fayoz to attend Gallaudet University, the only university in the world designed for deaf students.  There have been many bumps, but at this point I can say I'm so grateful to be here. One of the best things about this area is connecting with the Deaf community. Our Sign Language church group in downtown DC is amazing (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). I have met some other hearing wives who have become my dear friends. All of them are musical and with them I have been able to incorporate Sign Language in a way our husbands can enjoy. We put together this song, it really reflects the feelings I've had through the craziness of this move! I love this song, and my hope is this version can reach someone who needs the message.

Dear Jesse, Today we went to Altitude trampoline park for the second time this week. We went on Tuesday because I mistakenly thought our that’s when our friends were coming. They were actually coming on Thursday, so we went again today to join our friends. You LOVE the jump park. I sometimes wonder how long you would have to be there to actually want to come home. We have been there for over 3 hours and you still throw a tantrum when it’s time to leave. I’ve learned I have to talk you through every aspect of the jump park, anticipating the most unpleasant parts, like waiting to get your wristband before storming the trampoline, taking a break to go potty and coming with me when the timer goes off and we have to leave. Poor Ona and Bobo didn’t know my tricks. They bravely took both you and Alora to the jump park alone the last time they visited. I packed for them some extra pants in a plastic bag just in case, along with even more extras in the diaper bag and encouraged them to take...

Today is last day ever that I won't be a mom. Tomorrow I will meet my little boy. My Pregnant Timeline I spent the first couple of months after I found out I was pregnant in shock. I felt that this was the right time but I had no idea how things were going to work out for us. I was working my tail off in NYC, I had very little support and I was depressed. I literally felt like an alien had invaded my body - a feeling that took me completely off guard and I never thought would be associated with my own pregnancy. I just didn't know how in the world I was going to care for this little person in our situation. I was so frustrated with my own lack of faith! Why couldn't I be like Mary? She simply said "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word" and then went on to sing a song of joy and rejoicing. She did this with no idea what would happen to her at that point and she could have been killed when her family and Joseph found out...

Humongous life changes around the bend for our family. We are pleased to introduce The Little Mister, making his debut in February. I know this is something you learn when you are two, but I am just in AWE that there is a human being inside of me, and this human will be a mix of me and my husband. It's just crazy! This baby my body is making (incredible!) will have characteristics of me and the man I love so much. I thought marriage was pretty amazing before, but now it's at least ten times as amazing. It's like we have superpowers. I feel like Edward Bloom on "Big Fish" when he learns one thing about his future wife every month as his payment for working at a circus. Every detail I learn about the Little Mister I moon over for weeks. He's a boy. He's super healthy. He's tall. He loves to move a lot (to the dismay of every ultrasound technician I've had). But best of all, he can sign! My ultrasound tech was like "What is ...

So remember that one time we asked if someone was a man or woman on the bus and they started signing to us? I sincerely thought neither of us would ever see that person again. I was wrong. Fayoz was taking the bus to work the other day and looked up to see a familiar face on the other side of the bus. With a start he realized this was the same person we had insulted about a year ago. His intimidating features were somewhat softened by his reading glasses as he was reading the morning news. When I saw him, I think I would have had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, but Fayoz is more brave than me. His only thought was that he must take this opportunity to apologize for last year's incident. He walked over, grabbed a seat in front of the person and boldly said: "Hello! I want to say I am really sorry." Looking at Fayoz with a growing recognition the person said "Ah, I remember you. You sat across from me on the bus." Fayoz said, "Yes, ...

I was just on the F train for my normal commute to work. It was rush hour and the train was overcrowded as usual. I was stuck in the middle and I needed to grab a pole, but there was a girl hunched over the pole nearest to me so there wasn't room for me to grab it. As the train started to go, I heard a huge smack. The hunched-over girl had fainted! She was on the ground, looking very strange with her neck bent and and head up against the side of a seat. There wasn't enough room where she had fallen to accommodate her body and she had smacked her head on the way down. "Is there an emergency button anyone can push?!" I yelled into the crowd. A woman yelled, "Is a there a doctor or medical professional on board?" People just kind of looked at each other. I wondered how I could help this girl breathe better or if I should even touch her. It appeared no medical professional was on board, so this might be some improv. I seriously hoped no CPR wa...