Introducing Molly and our new home!

We've had some fun changes in the Fox Household! In October, we decided it was time to move out of our little Fox Palace and upgrade to a larger Fox Palace. We found a lovely condo in San Ramon. It has two bedrooms and two bathrooms complete with a fireplace and an actual dining room that does not have to include our desk. Our new place is located just down the street from out church (literally about a minute drive), close to the freeway and Target; three places we frequently visit. We love visitors and actually have room for you now (not that that stopped us before when we crammed 15 people in our little place!).

We've been so happy with the extra space that we decided it was time to have our first child! Yes, 7 months ago a beautiful white lab gave birth to the newest addition to our family: MOLLY! She is, of course, the most beautiful puppy ever! We've had so much fun playing with Molly. For a lab, she has a very calm temperament but of course loves to fetch and play with her mommy and daddy. She came to us very well trained already, so we've had it pretty easy.

For this Christmas, we were able to cut down our very first real Christmas tree. It was quite the adventure!

This is such a fun season but a time that can be stressful as well, therefore we invite you to take time out of your busy schedule to reflect upon the birth of Jesus Christ and the price He paid for our sins.

Enjoy the pictures of our Christmas tree and adorable Molly! 

Merry Christmas!!

Ruth Fox OTR/L

When I graduated from Azusa Pacific University in 2006, I knew two things, Nate was the man I wanted to marry and "holy *&%^!" I have a lot more schooling left. Well here I am, after two years of unpleasant prerequisites, 100 volunteer hours, the GRE, two years of grad work, two internships (one of which included nightmarish toilet experiences), one frightening BIG EXAM, licensing, I have finally landed A JOB! No, not a job, a BIG GIRL JOB! It's been quite a road, but with constant love and support from my amazing husband, family, and friends it has been an altogether life-changing and growing experience. The cool thing is this is just the beginning! I am looking forward to a long, fruitful, always-changing and exciting career.
I have been hired by Progressus Therapy. They are a company that contracts to schools. They have placed me in the Mt. Diablo School District in Concord, not too far of a commute. Therefore, working in the schools I will have a caseload of children whom I will evaluate and treat. School therapy usually includes one-on-one work with a student outside of the classroom, sometimes inside the classroom. I'm not sure which schools I will be at, our how big my caseload will be, but more details to come.

Can I just stop here and give a toast to my amazing husband???? Seriously, he has been pretty spectacular through all of this. Of course my goal was to get through school, but getting me through school was as much his goal as mine. Not just for financial reasons, but he knew this is my passion, and I must pursue my passion.  He shared in my triumphs and disappointments and felt them just as much as I did. He calmed me down in times of stress. He let me poke and prod and move his limbs around when I had to practice my manual muscle testing, wheelchair transfers, and range of motion testing. He listened to my tirades of "am I doing the right thing?" and "Why did I decide to go to grad school again?" He was a huge contributing factor of where I am now. Now it's his turn to find that fantastic and satisfying job he deserves so much. Please keep him in your prayers. So let's all raise our glasses to my husband and hero, NATE THE GREAT! (*clink, clink*)

Anyways, I begin my job August 30th. I am very happy to be working for Progressus, they seem like a solid company, a company I can see myself with for long time. I will of course keep everyone updated on the details of my job. I look forward to this next journey in life!

San Diego

One of our summer adventures this year was our trip to San Diego. Nate's grandfather (Dan's father), Andy, lives in San Diego with his wife, Lometa. So the Fox clan all went down for a visit. We had a lot of fun spending time with Andy and Lometa, going to the zoo and to the beach. Enjoy the pictures!

                                                                Plum-tuckered out!!

Harry Potter Week

That's right folks. It's Harry Potter week! The last movie is finally coming out, and we are a little more then excited over here. After reading the entire series and watching the movies, we are ready for this moment! Tickets to the midnight showing have of course been purchased. We are having a Harry Potter marathon with some friends this week. Each day (we started yesterday) we are watching one or two of the HP movies in order. The schedule is as follows:

Sunday: The Sorcerer's Stone
Monday: Chamber of Secrets and The Prisoner of Azkaban
Tuesday: The Goblet of Fire and Order of the Pheonix
Wednesday: The Half-Blood Prince
Thursday: The Deathly Hallows Part 1
Friday at 12:05: The Deathly Hallows Part 2

So now you REALLY know the extent of our nerdiness! We are even going to make a batch of butterbeer. Good times!

A New Season is Starting

Summer has officially arrived here in the bay area! Wasn't too sure if it would show its 100 degree face until recently when it finally began to warm up. Forecast calls for 100 degree weather by Sunday! Now we're talking! Not only is the weather beginning to change, but changes are happening in the Fox household. I guess you can say the topic of our lives have been jobs, jobs, jobs! Nate's job hours have recently been cut in half due to lack of funding. I still have not found an OT job, and my job search has left me looking and feeling like this:

However, God has been faithful. He continues to provide for our little family. Once subbing stopped, I got a part-time tutoring job to tide me over for the summer. Nate has been getting some side business from transferring old VHS tapes to DVDs and making slide shows. So here comes the plug: If you need any old VHS tapes transferred to DVDs or slide shows made, let us know!!

Anyways, both Nate and I have been vigorously looking and applying for jobs. Nate has already found a couple of exciting job leads. I finally signed up for the American Occupational Therapy Association's (AOTA) OT Job Link. I set up a profile about myself with an attached resume that is searchable for OT recruiters. Once I signed up for this, I received 7 calls the next day from companies interested in hiring me! "Woa Nellie!" I said to myself. It was nice to finally have OTs calling me. Most of the opportunities I am applying for are in school based therapy. In school based therapy, OTs go to the schools and work with children with various disabilities. The OT sets up a treatment plan they follow throughout the year. OTs will work one-on-one with the children and may offer extra support to the teacher. I also have a few leads at a couple of pediatric clinics. I don't have a huge preference where I work, I just want to work with children. In the meantime, we are praying for whatever jobs God has in store for us.

In addition to searching for jobs, we had the opportunity to go with our high-school kids to summer camp a couple of weeks ago! Nate and I have been helping out with our youth group probably for the past year now. Summer camp was great, we did a Southern Cal tour and went to a water park one day, Disneyland the next day, and then ended with a trip to Balboa beach. Nate led the group of fresh/soph guys while I lead the fresh/soph girls. We all had a blast! We also had a great time of worship and an awesome speaker. A lot of lives where changed and exciting commitments made.
Here are pictures of our groups:

The last day of camp, we had the infamous "gong talent show." Nate's team won! It was pretty awesome. On the beach, they performed a skit called, "Men Without Shirts." Enjoy!

So fun! After camp, I went to Oregon with my family. Unfortunately Nate couldn't come because he could not get time off work. I had a very relaxing time with the fam and hanging out with the adorable nephew, William:

While I was gone, Nate was having his own fun with our other nephew Wyatt:

The job situation has been a challenge for us, but we know God has a plan for both of us. We are trusting in Him because He has constantly provided for us. In the meantime, we are going to enjoy this extra time we have together!

Philadelphia

This last April, we had the opportunity to go to Philadelphia. Last year, I was accepted to present my graduate research at this year's American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Annual Conference. My group's research was on Integrated Play Groups, an intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder addressing social and play skills. Our group interviewed expert OTs to investigate the efficacy of this intervention. It was interesting stuff and I was thrilled we were chosen to present at the conference poster presentation. In case you are unfamiliar with poster presentations, basically I made a giant, professional poster that gave an overview of my research. I stood in front of my poster for two hours while OTs, and OT students came by to read my poster and ask me questions about my research. I felt like a real professional! I also enjoyed interacting with other OT professionals.
Nate came with me because he has a friend in Philly, Steve. Steve was nice enough to let us stay with him. I was at my conference all day Saturday, presenting my research poster and attending OT seminars. Nate had fun that day spending time with Steve. On Sunday, we all went to a Phillies game. It was a fun game and a beautiful stadium (still doesn't beat the charm of AT&T park or those garlic fries!). Later we checked out some of the popular sites (Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the Rocky statue!) and then had dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant. We flew out Monday. It was a short but fun trip! Enjoy the pictures!

Presenting my poster

My professor who was very helpful and supportive throughout my entire research process.

Independence Hall

Things We Love

The following are things we love as a couple. Over the past almost 4 years of marriage it has been fun to see the things we have grown to love as a couple. When we go running around Disneyland on our own schedule that we have mastered so we can get most of the fast rides done before lunch, I think to myself, "this is such a Nate and Ruth moment!"

Things we love:

The Lord and our church, Church of the Valley

Christmas 2010, at Church of the Valley

Our Families

Fox Family

Hudson Family

Our Friends, you know who you are!!!!!  

Food/Wine

The Beach

Camping/Hiking

In case we lose our way....

DISNEYLAND!!!

San Fransisco GIANTS!!!

The Simpsons

Our Guilty Pleasure, ICarly

Surprises!!

Music (playing, singing and listening!)

Movies

Most of all, we are head-over-heels for each other!