Halloween 2009

Enjoy The View

This is a photo of what I see everyday on my drive to and from work. I love glancing over at the crashing waves as I fight through the morning traffic. It reminds me that it's really not a big deal if the lady trying to brush her hair and put lipstick on at the same time cuts right in front of me. Or the garbage truck that has trash flying out and landing on my windshield. How can I be so frustrated when I can't help but see God's beauty right outside my car window? Nothing calms me more after a long, hard day in the office than seeing the sun shining down on the dark, blue ocean waves. At times, it literally takes my breath away. I am so blessed to live in such a beautiful place! Seeing the waves sweep over the sandy beaches reminds me that each day, each moment, is brushed away just like the sand. I can do all I can do to accomplish great things in each moment, or just let them pass me by, leaving me feeling empty, frustrated, useless. God has taught me many things on my drives to and from work. Some days the waves are raging with all their might, yet other days the ocean is as still as glass, not a ripple in sight. Sometimes my mind is so filled with "stuff" that I don't even notice the ocean is there at all! That is a metaphor of life for sure. Sometimes crazy, sometimes calm; but always beautiful. I am so glad God is in both the craziness and the serenity of my life. He's even near when I don't even feel Him. He's so good. Well, it's time to take that drive and, today, I am going to enjoy the view!

Lunch With Liz

I got to have lunch with my sister Liz today. It's not too often that we can meet for lunch because of work schedules, but today it was a much needed lunch date. Liz and I have many a memory of lunches together. She's my sister, but she's also my friend. It's nice to have a sister-friend who's known you your whole life, knows everything there is to know about you, and still loves you despite it all. I can share just about anything with her without being judged. Usually it's her that I tell the honest truth to. I tell her what I WANT to tell people to their face, but just can't. She just laughs at me and or tells me I shoulda' told 'em, or agrees with me with a "that's right!" LOL I'm so glad we have eachother and I thank God for my sister! Oh, and this was my 'healthy' lunch: organge chicken, kung pow chicken, rice and noodles. Next time we get to meet for lunch we'll make a healthier choice.....maybe.

Beauty And The Beast

Saturday was such a blast! After a great day at the Pumpkin Patch, Alliah and I had a Mom & Daughter date night. The weekend before I was glancing through our local newspaper and saw that Santa Catalina was putting on the play "Beauty and the Beast." Now this high school theatrical department might as well be Broadway because every performance we've seen there is AMAZING! We've seen their past performances of "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Nutcracker" and are looking forward to seeing, "The King and I" next April. The cast and costumes were outstanding. Here we are in our seats, waiting for the production to begin...

We had great seats. Honestly, I don't think there is a bad seat in the house. From the stage to the lighting, program, costumes, acting, even the intermission...top notch! We can't wait 'til the next one!

The Pumpkin Patch

We took the kids to the Pumpkin Patch last Saturday, October 24th. We went to the Young Life Pumpkin Patch in Salinas. There was live music, jump house, corn maze, face painting, a couple of cheesy games (which the kids loved) and the kids got to pick their own pumpkins. If a picture paints a thousand words then we have lots to say...

My Babies Are Back!

After a really long week, I am glad to say my babies are back. It's amazing how big they looked to me and they were only gone for a week! Angel and Alliah spent time in Fresno with Larry's side of the family and loved every minute of it. Alliah got the nickname "Junior" because she really does look alot like my sister-in-law Diane. Acts like her too (I hear). Uncle Joe (Di's husband) was dying to see Alliah's mad face so he could really let her have it telling her she looked JUST like Tia Diane and I heard he saw the mad face - everytime he called her Junior. LOL Angel loves his cousin Daniel and would live with Uncle Joe and Diane (part-time) if we let him. Angel and Daniel are two peas in a pod...inseparabable. And when they do have to leave eachother the tears start a'flowin. So cool that they care so much for one another. Alliah got to spend time with cousin Alexis, too. Those two girls are going to be something else when they get bigger. It's not too far away that Alliah will want to spend a couple weeks a summer in Fresno and her and Alexis will paint the town for sure! The kids said that had a great time with the family but were so glad to be home to see Grace. When Grace saw Angel and Alliah walk in, she started flalling her arms all around, kicking her legs hysterically. She was in heaven (aka Alliah's arms) for the rest of the night. I think she got at least 20 kisses goodnight from them. I just wanted to hold on to them for a few minutes, wrapping my arms so tightly around them. This week of Angel and Alliah being gone sure did remind me of how precious those two are to me. I love them with every fiber of my being....and then some. Such gifts!

A L-ahhhhhh-ng Week

Boy, oh boy, have these last few weeks been crazy! It all started on what was a wonderful Monday off from work. Larry and I were visiting with two of our favorite friends, Pastor Chuck & Naomi, when we got the call that Larry's dad was being taken to the hospital. We were so thankful that our friends were with us because we immediately went to prayer. Later, in the afternoon, we got another call with more details of what had gone down with Larry's dad. As soon as the kids got home from school we packed up and headed off for Fresno. Larry's dad is a diabetic with high blood pressure. He takes about 8 pills a day and sometimes he doesn't take them when he should. Without giving too much detail, the paramedics found him with no pulse. By the time Larry's sister arrived to the hospital his pulse was at about 30. He stayed in the hospital for three days. The doctors at Kaweah Delta in Visalia took great care of him...wonderful staff. Now Lupe is back at home, with is loving daughters keeping on eye on him like hawks. lol On what we thought was going to be an over-night trip, turned into a six day stay. Yep, six days. Needless to say, we made a couple of Wal-Mart trips for diapers, baby food, clothes. Even though it was not the best of circumstances, the trip ended up being a great time of family getting together - enjoying one another's company. We saw Larry's aunts and uncles we hadn't seen in years; even some cousins and their kids. Angel and Alliah had the upcoming week off from school so when we were packing up on Saturday morning they wanted to stay another week with Grama Silvia and Grampa David. They are having a blast! Here on the homefront? It's waaaay too quiet. Me, Larry and Grace are missing my two babies so much. Gracie even grabbed Alliah's picture from the sidetable, held it up to her cheek and started to cry! We got Alliah on the phone and the biggest smile danced across on Gracie's face. Can't wait until my little boogers get home!!!

Cannery Row

On Friday Nicole and I loaded up the vehicles and ventured out to Cannery Row in Monterey. Yes, I said "vehicles" because with two strollers, one baby carrier, two and a half diaper bags and three car seats two vehicles were completely necessary. We parked at Fisherman's Wharf and walked over to Cannery Row. The weather was georgeous and Nicole and I had a great time talking and walking - somewhat exercising. lol Here is Gracie sitting on Cannery Row enjoying Mom's MYO Yogurt. While she didn't eat the whole cup, she did put a pretty good dent in it. I submitted this pic to the MYO website. If it is chosen as "Pic of the Week" then I'll get a $10 gift certificate! Of course she's gotta win.

Who can resist this cute picture of my baby girl?

Here Grace and Isaiah are sitting on the a "big rock" as Isaiah put it. A bird landed right in front of them, thus the huge grin on Gracie's face and the look of "what the heck is that?" on Isaiah's face. They had a blast!

Grace is saying "cheese" as the was chillin in the Monterey sun...
Isaiah takes a moment to just "take it all in." He is such a sweet boy and is growing so fast! I call him "my boy" and I love him so, so much!

Here's a close up of Grace. She's 9 months now - crawling, standing up on her own, wanting to walk so badly. I'll give her another month before she starts walking. Tomorrow is her 9 month check up. I'm also making her 9 month picture appointment tomorrow, too. What should she wear???

MYO Yogurt Shop

Yesterday I drove to Cannery Row to get my favorite snack of all....frozen yogurt. I brought my lunch from home, but it was gone by 10:30am due to me skipping breakfast so I thought, "why not?" and off I went. Cannery Row is only a 10 minute drive from my office so, what the heck. MYO Yogurt shop (MYO=Make Your Own) opened not too long ago and is the only frozen yogurt shop in the whole Monterey Bay area. I think there may be one in Carmel, but that's too far to drive at lunch time. It was about 1:30pm when I got in my car and started for Cannery Row. I got an awesome parking spot with money already in the meter (so happy) and I strolled down the sidewalk, trying not to let on how excited I was that I finally was going to get a yogurt I didn't have to share with any kids. LOL I got in line and chose 1/2 Vanilla Cream and 1/2 Dutch Chocolate. They have an incredible "toppings bar" with every kind of topping imaginable. I got "my usual" almonds, chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips....and lots of them! Mmm....it was delicous! And for three bucks? What a treat! To top it off, if you're a local you get 20% off! That's right....20%. I think I'm gonna have to make a once-a-week trip to Cannery Row. I work hard. I'm worth it! I can spare three bucks a week. Shoot, that's cheaper than a coffee at Starbucks! Okay, I've talked myself into it. Next week I'll be more adventurous and try a new flavor...maybe I'll try a new topping, too. I'll keep you posted.

The Crawler

We were so excited the first time Grace crawled. It was on Monday, September 20,2009, at about 8:15pm. My mom and dad were over to watch the football game when Grace decided it was time to start moving. She was rocking back and forth with a determined look in her eyes that she was going to crawl! She loves the TV remote control. So, what better way to try to get her to crawl? I put it about 5 feet in front of her and let her go for it. It worked! In this video, which was the next evening, you will see she also loves my cellphone. She'll crawl for just about any electronic gadget (or anything else she knows she shouldn't have for that matter). You'll also see Larry trying to jump in on the action. He is one proud Daddy! Now Grace is crawling like mad all around the house. I just emptied out my camcorder today so now I'm gonna try to catch her when she's mad. Oh the girl gets EM AY DEE (translation: mad). She yells at us. Plain and simple. Yeah, it's cute for now but in time, yelling with be a no-no for sure!