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ten on ten- jan two-thousand12

Published on January 11, 2012 in general. 1 Comment

I’m looking forward to participating in 10 on 10 each month this new year. how fun will it be to look back and get a glimpse into how we spent our year. i love that a single photo can trigger so many memories, by recording the everyday blessings around me, it will be fun to browse and reminisce over the images in the years to come.

today we had errands to run and activities to get to. the weather was gorgeous, and i have a strong aversion to the car, so we spent a lot of time on our scooters. exercise, vitamin d and tasks accomplished. a wonderful way to spend a day

New Years Celebration-

Published on January 5, 2012 in general. 1 Comment

we were looking forward to ringing in the New Year with our super fun friends. then we got a visit from the flu bug. change of plans.

we made the best of the extra time together with our little family. and fortunately the flu seemed to be a mild bug who didn’t stick around too long.

we spent time playing with our new gifts. daddy really enjoyed helping grow a few new friends

we had a special dinner with lanterns, candle light and “wine”

when putting away the christmas decor, we found a box with dolls we’ve had waiting to give the girls for over two years, so as a little pick-me-up we brought in a new years gift. i’d say the babies were a hit!

we all went to bed early and got some extra rest. we woke up to a beautiful day. after a morning of undecorating the house, we headed to the beach. winter days like this are why i love living in SoCal. truly a gift!

i’d say 2011 was pretty good to us. sure there were struggles, adjustments and financial strain but more than anything there was laughter, giggles, silly songs, lots of love and hugs. our biggest blessing was the arrival of baby meadow. she brought so much joy to us all, i look forward to 2012 with great anticipation of new surroundings, accomplishments and prayerfully a new job for mike. bring it

Christmas Adventures- part two

Published on January 3, 2012 in general. 1 Comment

When learning that we would be heading to Grandma’s for Christmas, Emmie had two things in mind. Going to see snow, and Ice Skating. Luckily both things are pretty feasible from the Bay Area. Tahoe is a three hour drive north, and downtown has a really great outdoor rink during Christmas.

On the 26th we set out to Ice Skate. Upon our arrival we saw that the rink was closed due to “technical difficulties” I avoided relaying this message to Emmie and instead suggested that we take advantage of the awesome carnival set up in the middle of downtown. They were thrilled!

Once Emmie had her fill of rides, she asked to go ice skating. I broke the news to her that the rink was broken. Her lower lip began to quiver. I quickly gave her a hug and reminded her of the fun we had instead. she looked up at me, smiled and said “I’m hungry.” Fiasco avoided.

The next (early) morning we loaded into the car and headed to Tahoe. Unfortunately, there was not a lot of snow. But we were there for the experience and the tubing. (So were a lot of other people.) We left Meadow in loving arms and headed out to enjoy time with the big girls.

After riding the tubes, I asked Emmie what she thought- “Those were super fun mom!”

“Really Emmie, it wasn’t too fast? Wasn’t scary”.

“No mom, you’re such a scaredy cat”. I better toughen up if I’m going to hang with this adventurer.

Christmas adventures- part one

Published on January 2, 2012 in general. 0 Comments

This Christmas we look a little road trip (if you consider an 8 hour car ride with three kids under five little) We packed a lot into our trip up north. It was great to be with family from both sides, meet new loved ones, take on new adventures and have uninterrupted time together.

Christmas Eve- Time to relax, time to play, bake a cake for Jesus, and prepare for the big day.

Christmas Day- Wake-up early, sneak downstairs, open stockings, wait for cousins, open gifts, venture to see more family, go to church, and pass out with our bellies full and our hearts warm, full of great blessing

Gingerbread House Party- Year two

Published on January 1, 2012 in general. 0 Comments

for the second year in a row, I hosted the gingerbread house party. this year i got smart. i moved the party into the clubhouse- best idea ever! I didn’t get as many pictures as i’d like. i was busy dishing out candy and houses for twenty-five preschoolers. it was chaos, but a good time for sure!

He is Risen

Published on January 1, 2012 in general. 0 Comments

This is our third Christmas living in SoCal. Being new to the area, we’ve had to search out our own holiday events and traditions. We have tried several events around the county, only a few have we made an annual tradition. At the top of our list is the Horizon Living Nativity. This event is AMAZING. The church goes all out, converting the campus into old time Jerusalem. They add in a petting zoo, some camels and this year an ice skating rink.

What I love most is that this is not your typical “manger scene” nativity. They take you on a walk through the bible, starting with creation and ending with Jesus as King who has risen from Death.

Often, when we recommend this event to friends with little kids, they ask if the crucifixion scene is too intense for little kids. The answer is probably “yes.” The scene is intense and it is uncomfortable, but I want my children growing up knowing that the cross was intense, it was horrifying, it was undeserved. The cross is not something new to our girls. It is something we discuss daily. We thank Jesus for his obedience and sacrifice. We talk of sin and our need for forgiveness. If anything this reenactment has been a great learning tool, reference and visual aide to enhance the story of the Gospel. For weeks after there is great discussion about Jesus dying on the cross, but we are quick to point out the tomb is empty… and He is Risen Indeed

10 on 10- SoCal December

Published on December 11, 2011 in general. 6 Comments

So appreciative for rebekah and her project of 10 on 10. a great reminder to soak in the day and see beauty in the ordinary. a morning run, a Christmas tea, sisterly fun, and a dip in the pool,- this is a little glimpse into our SoCal December.

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check out other inspiring collections here

Picture catch-up

Published on December 5, 2011 in general. 0 Comments

Wow… Is it really December already? The Holiday festivities are in full swing. We’ve enjoyed a tree lighting, christmas parade and a christmas concert. But mostly we’ve enjoyed the sunny outdoors, special time with visitors, our christmas decorations, designing some “interesting”outfits, the horse ranch up the road and Meadow’s favorite game of picnic.

Thankfulness

Published on December 1, 2011 in general. 0 Comments

We enjoyed an awesome Thanksgiving with great friends and our awesome family.

The night before thanksgiving, the girls and I realized, we would need a turkey for our dinner. We set up a little trap, in hopes of catching our bird. Emmie helped decorate the box, drawing a few turkey’s to lure him in. We were not sure if he preferred sweet or savory corn, so we left both.

In the morning we awoke to find, he had escaped our trap, but left us a little turkey poop behind as a treat

One of my favorite traditions of thanksgiving, is the Turkey Trot. In the past few years, we have not participated, as they aren’t conveniently located to us. I thought, why not make one of our own. So the “Family Fun Turkey Trot ” was born. I was pleasantly surprised, when several families came down to the park to join us. The kids did awesome!! It was a really fun start to our day.

We headed over to friends for the big meal. I neglected to get a shot of all the food, but it was delicious! There were beautiful centerpieces, lots of books read, games played and scooters ridden.

Some great dessert finished of the evening and was topped off with some homeade ice cream, and hand whipped, whipped cream. yum!

We have so much to be thankful for! Mostly I’m thankful for our great God who loves us, lavishes us with blessing upon blessing and sent his son.

Snowy Retreat

Published on November 14, 2011 in general. 1 Comment

Last weekend we were blessed with the opportunity to attend our All Church Retreat. The forecast called for colder temperatures than normal, and some rain. So I packed up all the winter clothes we own (very few) loaded the car and headed for the mountains. After a very entertaining drive through rural California, we arrived at the last leg of our drive. Cars started passing us with at least three inches of snow on their roofs. Mike became very excited about the possibility of driving up to the snow, realizing we did not have clothing needed for snow, I called a friend. She assured me we would need to tack on a lengthy drive if we wanted to see snow, but that she would bring up some extra supplies for us. As we were chatting, Mike looked at the thermometer, “37 degrees, one more degree and it’ll snow” just as he said it, the snow began to fall! So exciting! We had a little detour getting up the hill, but with some help, thanks Josh, we eventually made it to our cabin.

The snow white backdrop provided such a unique experience for us. The girls built their first snowman, experienced their first snowball fight, snow tasting and icicle sword fight. The time spent together as a family and couple was just the little referesher we were desperately in need of. I hope next year we are blessed with the same snowy conditions, only I’ll come prepared with gloves and boots.