My New Specs

Well, here they are: 

Like I said before, I still have 20/20 vision, but my eyes get really tired when I'm reading. These specs should help 'em out. :)  Check out Emma in the background...she could care less about my glasses.  haha!

Have a great Saturday!

Brody News

More and more it looks as though we'll be staying in San Diego (this is obviously a terrible year to job search) which is making me realize that I really need to keep the family in the loop even more.  So this is for you family.  (Let me know you were here - leave a comment.)

Brody is still not crawling (and I'm definitely not complaining) but he is getting everywhere he wants to (via rolling, scooting, etc.).  His latest discovery: Molly's kennel. 

Brody has also been trying new foods and snacks.  His favorite snack is Pirates Booty (puffed rice and corn, pretty much turns to mush as soon as it touches his tongue).  Brody had his first bitter biscuit yesterday evening and LOVED it!  They are for babies 10+ months and since Bro will be 10 months on March 2, we figured why not? 

I love this face:

Of course, Emma had to have one as well. ;-)

I'm not too sure how Brody felt about that.

And lastly, although I promised Mark I wouldn't, I just couldn't help myself:

The chunk after clean-up (if I knew it was going to turn out so cute I probably would have moved the diaper).  Look at those legs and buns!  This brings new meaning to 'baby got back'! :)

Wordless Wednesday

Hair Day!!!

Today is HAIR DAY!!! 

I'm getting my hair done today (FINALLY) and I'm stoked!  I love going to the salon and it being all about me for 2 hours...  Rarely does that happen.  And I really need some pampering/relaxation right now.

So real quick because my appointment is at 3pm - should I go from my long 'do (trimmed up of course...my bangs are longer than normal here): 

...to this short 'do (or something similar)?:

Story behind this: 

We were at Disneyland and I saw this chick and really liked her hair.  So I had to get pics and getting them from the back were easy because we were sitting behind her. But of course, I needed to get some shots from the front so I went in front of their table and pretended that I was taking  pics of Mark and Emma, who were seated behind her table.  Look at Mark playing along in the last pic! haha!  I'm SURE I looked ridiculous, but whatever.

I haven't gone short in a long time....so what do you think??  Stick with what works or try something new?  

Monday Musings

For today...February 23, 2009

Outside my window...trees with new buds.
I am thinking...that I need to take something out of the freezer for dinner - right now.
I am thankful for...naptime.
From the kitchen...dishes are clean, but need putting away.
I am wearing...a thermal from Old Navy and pajama pants.
I am creating...a crocheted blanket that I will be done with this week.
I am going...to coffee tonight with a friend and looking forward to it.
I am reading...The Shack and think its a really interesting take on the Trinity.
I am hoping...for a placement soon.
I am hearing...Emma working on penmanship and Brody attempting to nap.
Around the house...things need some straightening.
One of my favorite things...is naptime (haha...I have a case of the Monday's).
A few plans for the rest of the week: Bible study, getting my hair done (finally), picking up my glasses (!), game night with some friends on Friday.
Here is a picture that I'm sharing: My baby is using a sippy cup (this pic was taken about 2 weeks ago)!

Our Ministry

A couple years ago Mark and I began to discuss what our ministry as a couple would be.  We had never really thought in those terms before and were challenged by friends that we met at church.  

We thought about it and prayed about it and let the Lord know that we were open and willing for His use.  

Enter summer 2008 when we started exploring adoption and foster care options (something we'd never thought we'd do).  God put this on our hearts - strongly.  Since the timing wasn't right for adoption and since we still wanted to serve we started our foster care licensing classes.  

We learned SO much.  We were so ignorant of the magnitude of this need; our eyes were opened and our hearts were touched.

We attend a mega-church in Southern CA (weekly attendance is around 6,000) and we just thought...what if we brought this to the church?  What if there are other people like us who have adoption/foster care/orphan care on their hearts but who don't have the information front and center?  And what about all the families within our large church who have adopted, are providing foster care and do have hearts for this?

So I decided to start an Orphans Ministry (and dragged Mark into it...he loves me).

We got a group together and got the ball rolling and this weekend we brought this to our church, front and center, and had such good interest.

My friend Ana and me, manning the table.

We had over 30 families show interest in this ministry who signed up for more information. (30 interested families may not seem like a lot to you, but I had been praying for 20, so God more than met my expectation!)  In March we are hoping to have an informational mixer for those families who are interested in learning more about adoption and foster care.  

We are so excited and I wanted to share!!!

And yes, we are STILL waiting for a placement.  Its been almost a month now since we were licensed and I am just trying to hang on to patience and trust.  But seriously, this kind of stuff kills me.   Please continue to pray for us if you think of it.  

One last thing...yesterday was my 50th post!  wow.  Who knew this blogging thing would become such a fun hobby?!  

Okay...off to finish watching the Oscars (not that I've watch half the movies nominated, but whatever).  :)

My Birthday Night

I had a really great Birthday!  Mark took me to a fabulous restaurant and we had a wonderful time!  The only thing that could have made it better would have been to spend it with my family and friends!  I miss you guys!

Here I am at the restaurant (btw, I got that dress for $24.99 at Target about a month ago -love it).  Oh...what's that you notice?  The necklace?  I bet you would like a closer look. ;)

Well, this man...the love of my life...

completely surprised me with this:

A beautiful vintage diamond necklace (yes, those are black diamonds...I have a thing for black)!!  Which I was completely not expecting.  He led me to believe that I was getting this:

Which I would have been THRILLED with, but I definitely preferred the necklace! :)

And here we are, the happy couple.  Can you believe we've been together since we were 15?! (well, mostly.)  I absolutely love this man!

Making a birthday wish...I have so much to be thankful for!  I am so looking forward to this next year!

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Today is February 20th....my FAVORITE day of the year! :)  My Birthday!!!!!

And it just so happens that 20 is my favorite number...interesting fact: I turned 20 on 2-20-2002 (and now for those of you who didn't already know my age - 27, another number I love).  

So to celebrate my Birthday I....

...went to the optometrist.  You thought it'd be something cool like, "to celebrate my Birthday I'm going on a 10 day cruise" right?  Not quite.  (Although my husband is taking me to one of the best restaurants in the city and we have the sitter until 11pm.  Good stuff!)

My optometrist is a family friend of ours.  He and his wife are in our small group and we love them.  Really great people.

Anyway...to celebrate my growing older, I got a pair of these babies: 

Well not these specifically, but they are still the same expensive stylish brand and look very similar to what I actually got.  A picture will follow soon.

I still have 20/20 vision, but my eyes get tired really easily now when I'm on the computer or reading.   So to KEEP my great vision, I need to take care of  'em and that now requires reading glasses.  Did you know that your eyes and feet are the two most neglected areas of your body? Just thought I'd share. 

So I'm off to celebrate the rest of my day!  Thank you friends and family for the cards, gifts, emails, texts, etc.!  I love you guys! ♥

Alison

Wordless Wednesday: Dedicated to Uncle Awesome

And The Worst Mom Award Goes To...

ME!!!

Today was Brody's 9 month well baby appointment. The following is an EMBARRASSING accurate account of how the appointment went:

It was pouring when we arrived and we were all mildly soaked by the time we walked into the office.  Emma has a tendency to act a little crazy in these its-raining-so-run-as-fast-as-you-can situations and of course ends up taking twice as long to get inside.

But we made it.  And on time (punctuality is something I pride myself on).

However, we waited in the waiting room watching The Little Mermaid and then Alvin and the Chipmunks for nearly 1 hour.  *side-vent: If I am expected to be on time, shouldn't they show me the same courtesy??*

We finally get to the room.  I tell miss Emma to stay seated when the nurse comes in and to be obedient.  

The nurse asks me to undress Brody *Emma disobeys, gets up and is in the way; I reseat her* so we can weigh him (btw: he weighs 23 lbs. 14 oz. - now that he is much more mobel, he has only gained 5 ounces in 2 months).  The nurse tells me that I can put his onesie back on *Emma disobeys again, I reseat her* and wait for the Doctor (who I really like...we lucked out).

I put Bro's onesie back on while Emma CONTINUES to disobey.  She is nearly 4 1/2 and typically very well behaved.  This was blatant.  I was irritated.  I once again tell her to get back in her seat, she protests by saying she doesn't want to so I pick her up and put her there when......

WHACK

I look over and poor Brody, at his 9 month well-baby appointment, has just rolled off the table onto the cold hard floor!  I almost couldn't believe it!  He is screaming, Emma is screaming.  I felt like screaming.  I call for the nurse who immediately gets the Doctor.  Luckily, Brody hasn't broken anything - he fell on his very fat thigh.  I felt: terrible, worried for Bro, embarrassed, pissed at Emma for disobeying (because we all know that had she not disobeyed I would have not been distracted), but ultimately, I felt like the worst mom!   

I should have known better than to leave him, even for a second.  Brody has been rolling for months.  He has never had a fall at home because we are so careful. I was so distracted by Emma that I shifted my attention from Brody to Emma and in that 3 second shift all hell broke loose.  

So there you have it.  I deserve the Worst Mom Award today.  Thankfully, tomorrow is a new day!  

Make me feel a little better.  Has anything like this ever happened to you?

A Few Things

First of all, I just have to say thank you to all the cool chicks who stopped by to welcome me to SITS!  I was so surprised to see so many comments waiting for me that I thought for a moment that I was saucy (haha)!  It was so great to read your welcome comments and then visit some of your blogs.  I plan on stopping by every single one to take a read and say hi! :)

Secondly, how darn cute is my little basketball player?

This was her last day of basketball at the Y.  Here the Dad's are playing against the kids (the kids won, of course!).

Emma made 2 baskets!!

Me and my girl after the big game.  

Chowing down after playing hard (yes, Emma was the only girl). 

Emma wants to do soccer next, so we'll give that a go.  I am just dying to see her in little shin guards.  Too cute!  :)

Monday Musings

For today...February 16, 2009

Outside my window...a dark rainy night.
I am thinking...that the day flew by.
I am thankful for...the wintery day and the fire in the fireplace.
From the kitchen...the smells of the pork roast I made for dinner.
I am wearing...my Newport, RI hoodie and cozy pants.
I am creating...as little chaos as possible.
I am going...to watch Heroes tonight and I'm looking forward to it.
I am reading...Created still, but got The Shack for V-Day and plan to start it tomorrow.
I am hoping...and praying that Mark gets the job that he wants.
I am hearing...Mark and Emma play the sentence game (a game where Mark writes a sentence out on the white board and Emma reads it.  If she gets them all right, she gets a prize).
Around the house...everything is picked up cozy.
One of my favorite things...is watching Emma try to play basketball. 
A few plans for the rest of the week: Bible study, Bro's Dr. appt., me and Em have eye appts., hopefully get my hair did, cause it NEEDS it, my BDAY on the 20th!!!
Here is a picture that I'm sharing: the Faja das Almas.  I haven't been there in 8 years and I'm dying to go back. My grandparent's live there 6+ months a year.

Valentine's Cookies

Emma and I baked Valentine's cookies today!  

I wish that I could say that we had tons of fun, (well, she did) but I was mostly stressed out. For those of you who don't know, I am very type-A and suffer from mild (self-diagnosed) OCD.

Let me paint you a brief picture:

Flour was everywhere, Emma asked me a million questions, she wanted to do it all and I had to keep explaining that she couldn't, she kept moving her step stool all over the kitchen and I tripped on it several times...lol.

But, the cookies were successfully completed and Emma loved it, especially the decorating.  

Our ingredients for some YUM-O sugar cookies (my favorite)!

My sweet Emma with her heart-shaped cookie cutter (the purple one behind her is a butterfly and she insisted that we make 3 butterfly cookies - 1 for me, 1 for Daddy, 1 for her).

Emma's first time handling a mixer.  It scared her a little at first. 

Look at the mischievous look on her face.

This was Emma's first time cutting out cookies.  And honestly, I can't remember the last time I did this.  Mom?

 Excited to try one!

We made our own icing too (this was a first for me - I'm not a huge fan of icing)!

Decorating time! (Notice Brody in the background?)

Naturally Emma went for the pink icing first.  My girly girl.

The finished product.  We were very proud.  Mark came home and ate the pink one with the red heart in the middle right away - to Emma's dismay - I forgot that she wanted that one!  oops.  We gave her a different cookie and she forgot about it real quick. :-)

Brody's Latest Photo's

I never expected that I would love having a son so much.  Because I only have sisters, all things girly has always been comfortable.  We are so blessed that God has given us a son.  Brody had brought his Momma and Dada so much joy.  Here are some pictures from earlier this week:

I love this little face and those sweet eyes.

These were taken right after bathtime.  Do you see his little curls?

Bro wasn't very happy about me taking his rubber ducky away.  But I had to get a shot of those teeth!

Look at that big ol' thigh! :)

Brody has been getting into things that he's not supposed to.  He loves getting into these old books of mine.

More pics to come.... Emma and I made Valentine's Day Cookies today!  Those should be up later today or tomorrow. 

Heartache

Earlier in the week I stumbled across this blog and my heart has ached ever since.  Little Cora Paige was diagnosed with cancer a little over 3 weeks ago and went to be with Jesus this past weekend.

I just don't understand God or His plans.  Which is one of the reasons I began this blog.  I don't understand why He would take sweet Cora.  She reminds me a lot of Brody with her thunder thighs and chubby round face.  As a parent, I cannot even begin to fathom the pain associated with the loss of a child.  No parent ever expects to lose a child, especially so suddenly and so young. Cora would have celebrated her first birthday next month.  And as a Christian, their experience has reminded me that no one is invincible.  Not even the God-honoring believer.  I suppose not even Christ Himself, who also suffered and died unfairly.

*sigh*

I really don't know what else to write.  Sometimes things affect me so deeply and this is one of those times.  My faith has been shaken and I've been in prayer about this all week.  I almost don't want to admit that this has stirred such grief within me because I am afraid that God will test me in this area.  

I would fail miserably.   

I pray that I never have to walk in Jessica and Joel's shoes.  They have handled Cora's sickness and loss with such grace and steadfast faith in the Lord.  I admire them, I hurt for them, and as a parent I cry with them.  

Wordless Wednesday

Some Random Updates

In my (typical) impatience I called the placement coordinator about 10 minutes ago because, HELLO, why have we not received that call yet?!  

Its driving me crazy.  

She reassured me that yes, we are on the list, yes, there is a big need, and yes a watched pot never boils (she actually said that).

So I continue to wait in complete anticipation that I swear is the result of my heartburn today.

****************

In other news, somehow, I have lost a couple pounds.  I hopped on the scale this morning, which I rarely do because its usually depressing and throws me into a funk, and to my absolute delight I weighed... 

well I won't disclose THAT...

but I am only 2.5 pounds away from my pre-Brody weight.   Which looked like this:

Ahh... Mexico.  I need to go on another cruise soon.  

But back to my goal...I'm almost there.  Tone, tone, tone.  Run, run, run.  I can do it!

Monday Musings

For today...Monday, February 9, 2009

Outside my window...a (rare) raining day!!!  I thoroughly enjoy rainy days!
I am thinking...about when we will get the call for a placement.
I am thankful for...I know I've said it before: My husband.  I am so, so thankful to be married to such a wonderful person.
From the kitchen...DISHES!!  I should be doing that instead of this.
I am wearing...jeans and a purple long-sleeved Dave Matthew's Band shirt that I got at his concert last year.  
I am creating...a reader!  My Emma is loving to read (just like her Mom and Dad) and I am so proud of her.
I am going...to do CrossFit today!  I have lost a couple more pounds (to my surprise) and will blog about that later.
I am reading...Created to be His Help Meet.
I am hoping...that I have a very productive week.  And that I don't get sick.  Its going around.
I am hearing...Emma doing school work, Brody just waking up from his nap.
Around the house...again, those darn dishes.  And some laundry, too.
One of my favorite things...eating out, which I get to do this week since Valentines Day is approaching!!
A few plans for the rest of the week: Bible study, possibly selling Mark's civic and buying a van, a date with my man.
Here is a picture that I'm sharing: We order this HUGE pizza for 4 adults and 1 child.  It was awesome!