A Birder and Her Boy

Testing, testing...

2011-02-21T09:05:00.000-08:00

Is thing on? I'm wondering if I updated this thing called a blog, would anyone even read it? If YOU would, let me know by commenting on this. Thanks! :) Oh, and Happy *insert every holiday from December 2009 until now* to you! HA!

Photo Shoot...

2009-12-01T11:18:00.000-08:00

So, my kid is fairly adorable! Here are a couple of pics I took while we were having an impromptu hike in Grace's ampitheatre...This is not a butterfly...it's actually two moths back to back...And just because he's so darn cute...
So...what do ya think?

So much going on!

2009-10-30T10:34:00.001-07:00

Wow...So, I got a new job. I am waiting for my pharmacy technician license to come from the state. Cole started preschool. Five days a week. I have an upcoming court date. It's Halloween tomorrow. I'm still single. I'm enjoying choir immensely. I still love birding. I would love to go birding sometime soon. I got a seasonal flu shot. I don't like working nights because I can't tuck my sweet boy in every night of the week. I miss far away friends. I love my sweet, double-chinned nephew Jackson. His dad, Brice has an interview with the L.A. County Fire Department in November. My parents are awesome. I'm incredibly thankful for praying friends and family. I saw a new Camaro the other day and was instantly envious. My cats like bringing half dead mice to our door as treasures. I still have 2 tattoos. I played my first game of Settlers of Catan the other night with Shaun & Kristal. I would like to play cards again soon with Emilie, Brice & Randy and whoop the boys booties again. I need to blog more often.

McGrath Family Camping Trip

2009-08-31T14:00:00.000-07:00

With that last quite long and "informative" blog, I left off at mid-July. We hung around the house, watched movies, played computer games, read lots of books and drew LOTS of pictures over the hot summer days.

In late July, the family (minus Dad) headed to McGrath State Beach Campground for the week! Our motorhome was vandalized while sitting in it's super protective storage lot, so we ended up renting a "motey" for the week! I went up early Sunday morning to get our sites and long story short, didn't even need to go up early. However, it was not for naught. :) I did get the chance to head out to Ventura & Oxnard and take pictures as the day was beginning. Here are some shots from that morning...

Ventura Harbor fogged into before sunrise.
House Sparrow...
Two snowy plovers scuttling down the beach...
Not quite sure what birds these are, but they were not very afraid of me!
This guy apparently forgot you need to push the kayak into the water first... ;)
Killdeer hanging in a field...
SO cute...a mama sparrow feeding her baby...Vibrant!
Immature gull in Oxnard...
Such a pretty beach...
After the sun rose...I headed up the coast just a bit to the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Bird Reserve and caught some pretty awesome shots!

Here is a turkey vulture...A mama mallard with her six ducklings...four were camera shy!Cowbirds....BOO!
Mute Swan looking quite regal...It looks so inviting...Now...onto the actual camping part of the trip....first night around the campfire!
Cole was pretty concerned about the stickiness of the smores...He really liked his own little bunk bed above the cab!
Jackson had a grand ol' time looking too cute!My friends, Shaun & Kristal came up with their two cuties, Natalie...
...and Landon!
We had a blast playing at a nearby park for a while...
Then decided to take a walk to the beach...
I figured I could practice with my new camera and take some family pictures for the Sawyers...
Cole and Natalie decided they wanted to get a play in the ocean, so I told Cole to take his jeans off...
Natalie apparently didn't care if her clothes got wet at all...she just had a blast splashing in the water!
Cole and Wyatt hung out in their camp chairs...
JJ looked all cute and cuddly...
On the 28th...I got a surprise birthday donut and coffee! :)
We all headed down to the beach to catch some rays and hang out...

A sea monster...Uncle Kyle...emerged from the deep to try and get Cole...
...and then the sea monster buried Cole alive!He then decided to practice his Baywatch run. :)
Mary and Wyatt went to the water's edge to watch Kyle body-surf...And I snapped a pelican diving into the waters!
Brice caught some wicked waves...
And then we all got cleaned up and headed over to the Ventura Harbor to celebrate my birthday! Dad drove up for the evening and we ended up at Andrea's and I had the best fish 'n' chips...EVER!
We continued the celebration back in the motey with some cheesecake, a highlighter yellow shirt, a purple ribbon in the hair and some white fan-friggin-tastic gloves. HA!

On the 30th, Mom and I headed up to Santa Barbara and got our 2nd tattoos each...Mom got an anklet...And I got an amazing hummingbird!
We finished the day off with some dinner at our fav spot...The Palms!
We had a wonderful trip with the Judy, the Richardsons and the Villaflors! Many fun memories were made and many crazy games of Pictionary were played!

So many things...

2009-08-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

...to blog about! Cole and I have been super busy this summer, along with the rest of the family, and I guess I'll start in June and try and catch y'all up in a few posts over the next week. So...June: Mom, Judy and I went on a bird walk down in the valley. We had a great time birding and saw a few new species. :) That always makes it fun!
Mom and I looking for some birds... :)A great egret fishin' for some lunch...Cole took his first swim lessons with his cousins and had a blast (most of the time) "learning" how to swim. Ashlyn, Addison, and Cole along with Abbey and Emily all took lessons at the same park. Cole, Addie and Emily were in the same group and they had SO much fun together...

Buds!They are SO cute together!Apparently Addie thought of something funny to say!
Abbey and Ashlyn were in the same level too...
Amelia was lookin' oh-so-cute...
And Andrew was such a handsome little man keepin' his mama busy! :)
For the 4th of July, Cole and I headed down to San Diego to visit the Obergs! It took over 5 1/2 hours to get there...
but once we were there, we had a blast!

We hung out at Amy & Russell's casa and had a great time in the pool...
and taking pictures of the cutest pup around...Roxy!
The 4th of July feast:
Take a whole bunch of seafood, potatoes, corn on the cob, onions and seasonings...
Throw it all in a big ol' pot and boil it...Add some melted butter and voila! Enjoy the amazing food!
All of us kids headed off to the Naval Base...
...to watch the amazing fireworks show over Mission Bay!

After the fireworks show...Seth decided to take us on a tour of his hangar...We got to sit in a helo...

And the girls and I had fun in the female officer's "head!"
In mid July, my best bud, Jamie and I headed to the Staples Center for a little concert...only the American Idol TOUR!!!
Inside, in our seats and ready for the show to begin!

Scotty McIntyre...Tied for my fav...Matt Giraud...oh man.

Scotty and Matt did some UNBELIEVABLE piano duets!

This girl sure can rock...Allison Iraheta!The other man tied for my fav...Danny Gokey...he was SO amazing!
The "Idols" sing together...

Out came the big guns...Adam Lambert singing "Mad World"
Then rocking out like nobody's business with Allison!The jacket came off!
The winner!!! Kris Allen was super cool!
And man who can play piano, guitar and sing is a fan of mine!
The Top 10 sing!!

That wraps up this post...I'm getting more together for this week! We'll see if I can get my act together and actually keep this thing updated more often! :)

Zack Morris on Late Night w/ Jimmy Fallon

2009-06-09T11:03:00.000-07:00

You have GOT to watch this video...it's absolutely HI-LAR-I-OUS! :)

Disneyland Date with my Cole!

2009-06-08T09:53:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Cole and I decided to have a totally fun date and go to Disneyland! It was a last minute thing, so we threw everything in the car and made our way down to the Happiest Place on Earth! We had so much fun, just the two of us, going on ride after ride after ride. Here are some pictures of what we did!

We started off with our favorite ride...Pirates of the Caribbean...Argh mateys...(We look a little greasy due to the sunscreen...no, it's not sweat.) :)
Cole and I took on the Matterhorn...looks pretty good so far...About 15 seconds in, he was a bit terrified, but still had a blast! "Whoa Mom...when's it gonna be overrrrrr?" :)
We took a boat ride on It's a Small World...
On this cruise line...We then strolled over to Toon Town and Cole showed off his strength while trying to lift the heavy weights... And was a tiny bit defeated.Cole became the Mayor of Crazy Town...I mean Toon Town...
We dared the Roger Rabbit ride and Cole got a little crazed when he saw the DIP container!We made our way through Frontier Land to the Pooh Bear ride and Cole made some funny faces while waiting in the 2 minute long line...
Then we jumped on the honey-mobile. (I love this picture!)It got a little crazy in there...
And we both came out a little crazed ourselves! Awesome.
Then we decided to hit the Tea Cups...a ride that Cole had not been on yet! Silly faces again...it's our thing.
Wahoooooo...round and round. :)
Cole carjacked Mr. Toad's Wild Ride...
And we also went on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster's like 5 times...in a row...We braved the Haunted Mansion and the Jungle Cruise, but were too scared to actually take pictures. :)

I've always LOVED the way Disneyland goes ALL out with their flowers in the park. Such beauty!

After all that fun...we decided to have some more! We went to Rainforest Cafe for dinner and had a blast! :)
Just me and my boy + anything fun = priceless!!

Milk(shake) Moustache!

2009-06-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

My silly boy Cole...
Cheese!
So silly!
His best Zoolander face.
The End.

Busy Bees!

2009-05-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I've posted...We've been busy helping Emilie & Brice with Jackson, taking naps,
having playdates with buddies,
going to preschool,
I hit up Vegas for 1 night,
...and all kinds of other things!

Also, I finished my pharmacy technician education course on the 16th. I studied my bootie off and ended up with a 96.5% on the final exam...not bloody bad! I probably have about 96% as my final grade. I'm very happy with that and I'm pleased that I now have my weekends back! Now, onto a pharmacy technician internship (not set-up yet) to log 120 hours so I can apply to the state for my official license!

Hopefully Cole and I will be able to do some mini-vacas to San Diego and to Big Bear in the next month or so!

We're looking forward to the summer...the warm summer nights, the June Bugs, the Lesser Nighthawks that come to eat the June Bugs. :) Cole only has 1 more week (after this week) of preschool left with Miss Anita and Miss Laura...we sure are going to miss them!!!

2009-05-01T21:19:00.001-07:00

You know you're doing something right when your kid says no to gummy worms for dessert and yes to fruit!! :)

Introducing...Jackson Jett!

2009-04-26T21:54:00.000-07:00

My sweet, amazing, adorable, beautiful little nephew, Jackson Jett, was born on Thursday, April 23rd at 9:05 a.m. Little JJ weighed in at a whopping 5 lbs 15 oz. and measured 18 1/2 inches long. He's super healthy, a voracious eater (poor Emilie) and undeniably cute!! I was fortunate to be in the delivery room with Emilie & Brice as their sweet boy entered this world. Emilie was unbelievable and Brice was just the perfect coach. To be a first hand witness to the miracle of life, what the Lord created women to do, was fascinating and certainly emotional. My mom (Grandma) and Auntie Lania were also priveleged to be in the delivery room with Emilie and Brice and it was so precious to see my sister and her husband support each other in the midst of adding to their family! It was overwhelming, exhilarating, and MOST excellent!!!! And the love for Jackson that I already have is SO much! :) Please lift Brice, Emilie & Jackson up in your prayers as they adjust to their new family life and the craziness that is the life of a newborn! :)

Here are some pictures from his first moments of life...

Jackson, I pray that you are abundantly blessed beyond your understanding throughout your life. I pray that your mama and daddy show you every day how much you are loved. I pray that your family and friends will be a constant encouragement to you in this crazy world you are now in. I pray that you will grow to be a awesome boy, young man and man of God and your love for Jesus will be ever-present! I love you so much, little man, and I can't wait for you and Cole to have endless hours of time together.

2009-04-23T02:02:00.001-07:00

Things are going well...Emilie is getting her epidural right now. Brice, mom, Laina and I are praying right now that it goes smoothly. Em's doing so amazing!!

2009-04-22T23:39:00.003-07:00

nd 100% effaced. Her and Brice are practicing the techniques they learned...please pray that things will go smoothly. I'll update later! :)

2009-04-22T23:39:00.001-07:00

So, Mom and I are heading to the hospital...Emilie is in labor and she's doing great. She's in the early stages and is about 1 1/2 centimeters dilated a

2009-04-21T17:43:00.001-07:00

Just testing this thing out...from my cell.

The Sweetest Thing...

2009-04-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

I was on my way out the door to go help with stuffing programs at Grace for the Passion Play this weekend and Cole starts yelling, "Wait mama...wait...I've got to tell you something!" Of course, I'm doing the mom thing and trying to get out the door as fast as I can so I can come back to him...and not really being patient. :)

"What Coleford, what is it little man?! Can you tell when I get back?" I say.

"No mama, just wait!"

"Yes darling?"

"Hey mama, I spy with my little eye something...beautiful."

"Hmmm. What is it Coley?"

With the cutest smile and a finger pointed right at me, whispered in a hushed tone..."You."

Pretty much enough to make my knees go weak. :) And of course I had to go back and give him a fifth hug before I left. This time, squeezing him a little longer than I usually do. :)

Ahhh...just the sweetest thing.

Beaches. Bridgeport. Bumps. Birthdays. Bums. Birds. Bugs.

2009-04-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

Hello all...(all three of you who actually look at my blog!) :) Spring is here! I have been able to head up to Santa Barbara 2 weeks in a row and get some fun pics... The first time is when Brice, Emilie (+baby in belly), Cole and I headed up the coast for a fun day together. We stopped off at...

in Ventura and had some great breakfast! We then headed up to S.B. and hung out by the pier and took some fun pics...

Then we headed down to Carp for their farmer's market and dinner at "The Spot."

And yesterday, Jamie and I drove the distance to SB again to pick up Cole (his daddy got married) and had a blast walking on State Street in the pouring rain for 2 hours!

On April 1st, we celebrated Emilie's 27th birthday by going out to lunch at Kisho as a family and really enjoying some good grub!
What Em didn't know was that Brice and I had planned a surprise party for her here at the house with about 20ish friends and family...here are some pics of that...

If you want to see an album from Em's birthday party...click here!

I had about 30 minutes on Emilie's April Fool's Birthday to go for a quick walk and here's what I was able to see...

Mom and I were playing cards out on the backyard patio and this little fellow made his way onto the table with us...

Overall, it's been a hectic but fabulous last few weeks! Now that all of the showers and birthday are over, I hope to be able to update this blog more often! :)

Emotions...

2009-03-25T09:52:00.000-07:00

Emotions are interesting...some days I wish I had less emotion pouring out from within me. Some days I feel I don't have enough. But most days, I'm emotional. Yesterday, I was emotional. I had the opportunity to run into our neighbors, Mike and Kim, and I'm so glad. Today, Mike is leaving to go out of the country...he's being shipped out to Iraq for 8 months. And I am really sad to see him go. His wife threw him a huge going away party on Saturday with tons of friends, family and neighbors there to see him off. There was an awesome impromptu flag ceremony that brought even Mike, the tough military guy, to tears. He said, "The flag now means so much more to me than ever before." He believes in going to Iraq and fighting for his country and helping another. He is a great guy and I hope all who read this send up a prayer for him once in a while for his safety and protection...physical, spiritual, mental and emotional. As I left the party, I really didn't get a chance to say "goodbye" to Mike but I did ask if they were going to be around the next couple of days. They said yes and I thought, "Cool...I'll run into them." And I kept looking out the window trying to figure out if they were home or what over the next couple of days. Well, Tuesday came and I had the pleasure of having my friend Melody and her girl, Julia Rose, come over to play and when lunch time came around, Mel was hungry for Mexican food. Being 38 1/2 weeks preggo, I figured I'd just let her pick! :) When we pulled into the parking lot, I was pleasantly surprised to see Mike and Kim in their truck. I was hoping they were eating at the same restaurant...they weren't. Before I walked into our restaurant, I caught eyes with Mike and he came over and gave me a BIG hug. I told him that I'd be praying for him like crazy and that I'll miss him. And I told him, "You come back." His simple response said with a smile, "I will." I sat down inside with a heavy heart and told Mel who they were. Then I remembered that I had just put my camera in my purse right as I walked out the door. So I rushed out and found them a few doors down grabbing Chinese food and asked them if I could take a picture. The picture isn't the greatest with the best background, but I love it. And I'd love it if you upheld this couple in prayer with me over the next 8 months. Here they are...

At the impromptu flag ceremony...Here's Mike talking before the flag went up...Derek, Dave, Dave's buddy, and Mike readying the flag!When I got home from Bible Study last night, I saw these ribbons and again, got emotional. I haven't seen them in a while and we've never had them up on this street. But I'm glad they are up and they are a constant reminder to keep those deployed in our thoughts and especially prayers. Thanks Heather for taking the time to put all the ribbons up! I'm sure Kim will be surprised and grateful!!

Lord, please keep your watchful eye on Michael. Please protect him and keep him safe from any and all kinds of harm, whether it be physical, spiritual or emotional. Preserve him and Kim through this trying time and allow them to be together again when You see fit! AMEN! :)

Wordless Wednesday...so I'm a day off!! :)

2009-03-19T10:26:00.000-07:00

Cole showing off his new helmet and bike skills...

Cole showing off his lady skills...

Cole showing off his "skateboarding" skills...Cole showing off his pouting skills...

Sonny showing off his posing skills...
And me having fun with the camera...
Comment away...

It was a SLO trip!

2009-02-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, Cole and I took a trip to SLO to visit the Roughtons. It was a BLAST! The kids had a great time playing together and running around like crazies with home-made super-hero capes on (thanks to Summer) and we were able to pop in and out of the house to do a few things as the weather permitted. We had SUCH a wonderful time and we are so thankful for you, Summer and Todd, Ashlynn and Jeremy, and for your friendship! Thanks for hosting us in your home and making us feel at home too! And thanks for all the delicious meals!! Here are some pics of the weekend...check them out. There are some REALLY cool pictures! Let me know what you think!

Birthday Time!

2009-02-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the 18th, was my mom's (29th) birthday and her best friend, Judy, called me a couple of weeks ago with a plan. The plan was to surprise her at work and take her away for the day. So, I called her boss and asked if there was any way we could pull this off and have her take a personal day without my mom actually knowing. She said yes and so the plan was on. And then the plan was off with the weather being what it was for the last week. And then when the weatherman said it was supposed to clear out on Wednesday...it was back on! :) So, my dad took the day off of work, he and Cole and I piled jackets, bird books, binoculars and snacks into the car, picked up Judy and headed over to Mom's work yesterday. We came in singing "Happy Birthday" and I videotaped us going in. And then Dad told her what we were doing and she was SO excited! She quickly shut everything down and we got the heck out of there! We headed up to our fav coastal spot...Carp(interia)...and had lunch at the Cajun Kitchen...SO tasty! We actually ran into Judy's brother and sister-in-law, Ted and Sue, and they joined our table.
After our great meals, we headed over to the Salt Marsh Bird Reserve and walked around for about an hour or so.
We saw the usual birds...Great and Snowy Egrets, a cute pair of Ruddy Ducks, a whole slew of American coots, a beautiful Green-winged Teal, good 'ol Mallards, many Buffleheads and a couple of Great Blue Herons.
Just as we were turning around, Mom called out "Hey guys...I see something HUGE! It looks like a little boat in the water, but I think it's a bird. Seriously, it's really big guys. Come check it out." Judy and I were like, "Sure Mom, okay...we'll come over and look," thinking "Yeah, sure. Whatever Mom." But low and behold...she saw a bird we had never seen before in the wild. It was an almost-adult Mute Swan. They are mostly on the East Coast and around the Great Lakes, so to see one in the wild on the Pacific Coast was certainly a treat. We were able to get right over it on the birding path and take a whole bunch of pictures...here are just a few. :)
And while we were checking out our Mute Swan, we looked overhead and saw this beautiful Sharp-Shinned Hawk. Another first for me. :)
After birding, we headed back to the car to open presents. Probably not the best setting to open presents, but my mom was able to sit down, which was necessary. :)
Then we decided to head up to Lake Casitas and check out the lake area and campground there. They have a pretty amazing campground up there, complete with trailer and boat rentals, a camp store, many playgrounds and nice picnic areas. Just after the sun set, we found a cute Great Blue Heron wading in the shallows looking for dinner. Speaking of dinner, we drove back down to Carp and ate at one of our fav restaurants, The Palms.
We had a great dinner and then headed home, tired from our fun all-day adventure! Happy birthday to the best Mom around...you are such a great woman, wonderful mother and awesome grandma. I love you SO much Mamua. :)

Prayer

2009-02-10T10:55:00.000-08:00

On Sunday night, I had the privilege to sing with an incredible choir...the choir from Cal Baptist University. Our GBC choir sang with them on 2 songs and I think we sounded pretty good! After we sang our two songs, Emilie and I sat back in our seats and enjoyed the rest of the concert. As soon as I sat down, I saw my sweet boy, Cole, come down the aisle and join me. I was excited that he came with my mom and dad and was able to see me and Auntie sing! Towards the end of the concert, we had a short prayer time and while Pastor Peter was praying, Cole was SO concerned and wanted to know..."Do you like cheese dogs?!" And the question wasn't whispered. I seriously lost it! It was one of those moments in church where you can't control yourself and you feel like everyone is looking at you. I just laughed so hard that my laugh was silent and my whole body shook. I think he asked the same question, "Do you like cheese dogs?" five times and with each repeat, I laughed even harder. Leave it to the kid to make me lose all control!

Happy 4th Birthday Cole!!!!

2009-02-05T10:05:00.000-08:00

My favorite picture of you as a baby!

I cannot believe you are four years old today!!! It seems like yesterday that I had you in my belly and was so excited to feel you kicking and moving around! And now you are my little man who loves to do everything!! I love watching you play outside, watching you ride your little red tricycle as FAST as you can round and round! I love watching you build tall, crazy building and robots with your Legos. I love watching you sleep. I love hearing you sing songs, either by yourself or with me in the car! I love getting you all cleaned up and walking around with you at my side. I love when you draw awesome pictures of me, write my name on them and then give the picture to me like a present! I love that you like protein milk. I love that you are my boy. I love that you have rad dance moves. I love that you are so polite to (most) people. I love that you make friends easily. I love that you will sit with me and read story after story after story. I love taking you to Disneyland and Magic Mountain and experiencing new rides with you (and old ones too!) I love playing hide and seek with you, playing catch with you and playing t-ball and golf with you. I love teaching you new things. I love your little inquisitive mind. I love to hear you pray. And I love you.

Your first vacation at 7 weeks old!

Your first day at the beach...Carpinteria, of course!
Chillin' in your favorite chair!
First time at the pool!Teether biscuits are the best!
Lookin' mighty cute on the couch!

On your first boat ride in Big Bear!You certainly love bath time!
Your first Halloween...as the cutest tiger ever!!!
Showin' off for the ladies!
You're always so silly!!
Howdy, cowboy!!
Helpin' out at Children's Hunger Fund!
Your 3rd birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese!
Just wiggin' out!

Your first day of preschool, September 2008!
With Miss Laura at preschool!Tux snugglin' with his favorite boy!

Argh matey!Always climbin'!
Happy birthday Cole...I love you beyond measure! :)

Irked

2009-01-29T10:30:00.000-08:00

So, at the end of December, T-Mobile was having a super awesome sale on phones and I was able to get a "texting" phone for free-99. :) Basically, it retailed at $199, I paid $50 for it, but I got a $50 mail-in-rebate for it, so it'll be free. Wahoo! And...to make the deal even sweeter, I received a free companion flight as well! I didn't even know that I qualified for that special and was pleasantly surprised when I was handed all the literature. And I've been dying to go to Portland to visit Mary, Kyle & Wyatt and all the bald eagles up there, so I was super-excited! You had to go through a whole month-long process just to get a pin number to look through possible flights, so I needed to be patient. Okay, I can handle that. Well, I got the booking pin yesterday, one month after I bought the phone, and thought I'd give the flights a little looksey. ARGH! The cost of one flight on their so-called deal is more than the price of 2 flights going through several other websites. The cheapest flight that was available from here to Portland was $541. I could get 2 tickets for the times I want for $380 through JetBlue. What kind of freakin' deal is that?????? I'm definitely miffed and I think I'll call T-Mobile and see what I can do. Very frustrating, don't ya think????

Good times with the Davis'!

2009-01-28T12:08:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, the 17th, my family had our annual Davis Get-together...we can't even call it a Christmas get-together any more as it's usually in January due to everyone's busy schedules. Most of the Davis clan was able to make it down to Laguna "Goonie" Beach for an afternoon/evening full of family time! Cole was so bummed as his "cousin" Zachary was still on vacation in Hawaii and his other "cousin," Savannah, was really sick at home. He did get to meet his newest "cousin" Phoenix and really thought she was cute! We had a great time of catching up and I was so excited that Cole could finally meet my Aunt Sue and Uncle Jim. They came in from Florida and everyone was glad they were able to make it out...it's been a LONG time! Here are a few pictures...

They sure do have beautiful sunsets from this balcony!!
Cole and Dusty playing Legos and building something together...good thing Dust is an architect!
Pretty darn cute if you ask me! :)Dusty and Cole playing with the huge bouncy ball from Aunti Di & Uncle Roger!
Uncle Roger, Emilie and Dad comparing bellies...I think Uncle Roger won! Or lost...I don't know!Dad strummin' some tunes for everyone to listen to...Aunt Sue getting her fill of Phoenix...what a sweet girl!
Thanks Uncle Roger & Aunti Di for opening up your home to all of us yet again. We had such a great time and I hope it's not another year before we see everyone again! KATO! :)

I've Been Tagged!

2009-01-15T11:12:00.000-08:00

Thanks Laina!!

1. Where is your cell phone? On my nightstand
2. Your significant other? Well...he's working...if you want to still call him my sig. other.
3. Your hair? Needs a cut!!!
4. Your mother? Is working right now and still not feeling great! :(
5. Your father? Is also at work, probably writing a song :)
6. Your favorite thing(s)? My God, my son, my family, my friends, birding, reading, the beach...
7. Your dream last night? This is weird...that Cole's jaw popped out of place, but he was okay and I was FREAKED OUT! Dude...I don't know about that one!
8. Your favorite drink? Tie between hot tea and Dr. Pepper
9. Your dream/goal? To raise my son to see a difference in me and follow the Lord. To go on an Alaskan cruise. To go to Florida and Texas to bird. To read my Bible EVERY day!
10. The room you’re in? Cole's room...pretty soon I'll have my own desk in my own room with my own computer! YAHOO!
11. Your fear? Not being able to protect Cole
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Walking with the Lord and in my own place.
13. Where were you last night? With Emilie and Laina at Kaiser for a birth class
14. What you’re not? A messy person. A boy. An atheist. A germophob.
15. Muffins/donuts? Donuts...all the way!
16. One of your wish list items? A REALLY nice camera and a spotting scope w/ camera.
17. Where you grew up? Santa Clarita
18. The last thing you did? Paid bills :(
19. What are you wearing? Pj's...for another couple of minutes and then it's shower time!
20. Your TV? In storage
21. Your pet? Tux - the best cat ever and Cleo - the love bug who annoys you every chance she can. :)
22. Your computer? In the garage in a box...waiting to come out!
23. Your life? Blessed, busy, exciting, challenging, prayerful, and FUN!
24. Your mood? Calm
25. Missing someone? My two puppies that I gave away last year.
26. Favorite pastime? Birding, beaching, watching (TV and movies), playing (cards & games & catch with Cole) and reading!
27. Something you’re not wearing? Jewelry
28. Favorite Store? I don't know...probably Walmart ;)
29. Your summer? is going to be busy
30. Your favorite color? Blue
31. When is the last time you laughed? Yesterday afternoon when Cole was pushing me around the backyard on HIS tricycle...it was hilarious! I don't really fit at all!
32. Last time you cried? At Tinna and James' wedding on Sunday. :)
33. Who will re-post this? Who knows!
34. Four places I go over and over? Church, school, Trader Joe's and Walmart
35. Four people who e-mail me? Kohl's, Emilie, Jenn & my Yahoo reminders. :)
36. Four of my favorite foods? Chips and dip, Vegetables, Chicken Enchiladas, and Brownies
37. Four places I would like to be right now? Carpinteria, done with my class, feeling 100% and in someone's arms...it's been a while. ;)
38. Four people I tag? Julie, Kristal, Kim and Summer :)

Busted!

2009-01-13T18:18:00.000-08:00

So I caught a couple of furry creatures stealing my birdseed from one of the feeders yesterday morning...and they were pretty cute. :) I was able to walk right up to the little guys and take pictures a few inches away. Here they are feasting away...

My mom wants to "get rid of them," however, I think they are too cute for words.

Maybe I'm just a softy. :)

SORRY!

2009-01-07T10:01:00.000-08:00

Cole received many games for Christmas and we have only just begun digging into them and giving them a whirl. Here are some pics of the first time he played SORRY! It was very fun!
Cole and Grandma starting out the game!Cole getting the winning card and...doing the victory dance, card in hand! :)
He very much enjoyed saying, "SORRY!" with quite the silly accent. Oh what fun it is to play games with a youngster. :)

Tea Time!

2009-01-06T11:26:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, Lindsay and Bev took my mom, sister and me out to afternoon tea at The Gilded Rose Manor in the valley. We had such a nice time catching up, sipping some great tea and eating some tasty tea-time treats. :)
Emilie, Mom and me...
Linds and Bev...
I love the details...
All of us girlies...
Thank you, ladies, for such a wonderful afternoon filled with friends and fellowship. I love you all!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2009!!!

What a year this has been!

2008-12-31T11:36:00.000-08:00

I hope and pray that you had a marvelous Christmas with your family and friends! I certainly did! I, however, did not get too many pictures of Christmas Day. :( It was a day of family and friends surrounding us, good food, gifts under the tree, entertainment by a 3-year-old, and lots of great memories! Remembering that amazing birth so long ago, in a town far, far away was the center of everything this year and Cole reminded me of that every time he looked at his own little nativity scene that was given to him by his friend, Faith. :) He also loved arranging and rearranging Mary, Kyle and Baby Jesus! :) He would then correct himself and say, "Oh no, no, not Kyle...it's Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus." He certainly loves his Auntie Mary and Uncle Kyle, although they are so very far from us now. On that note, I would like to post a very BIG congratulations to Mary & Kyle on the birth of their beautifully handsome son, Wyatt James, on Christmas Eve! Wyatt made his way into this world of ours at 3:14 p.m., weighing in at 6 lbs 10 ozs and measuring 18 1/2 inches long. Wyatt, we can't WAIT to meet you, little man. We are so thankful for you, your mama and your papa. :)

This year has been one for the books for me. It has had SO many ups and downs, highs and lows, and has been a constant reminder that I need to rely on the Lord to give me strength and hope. Although this year has disappointed me in so many ways, it has been so encouraging and wonderful. Knowing that God has me and my son in HIS hands at ALL times is wonderful! Knowing that things WILL be alright is encouraging! Knowing that my family is ALWAYS there for me, no matter WHAT comes my way is wonderful! Knowing that I have countless friends that will CONSTANTLY support me and PRAY for me is so encouraging! Thank you to those who have kept me and Cole and my family in your prayers...I do not have any way to clearly express how much it has meant to me. THANK YOU!!!!

How exciting that a new year is upon us! What will this new year bring? Who will it bring into our lives? Where will we go over the next 12 months? Only the Lord knows and we will just have to WAIT UPON HIM! I think the biggest test that I have had to go through this year is waiting. Waiting seems to be one of the hardest trials to endure, as there is no end in sight. You just have to wait for the answer and wait with patience, confidence and more patience! And with the right attitude and mindset. Isaiah 40:31 says, "Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary." I have certainly gained a new strength in this process!! Although I have needed some time to rest along the way, rest my soul, I have not grown tired and weary but have become energized by the Lord!!! I pray all the time that the Lord will continue to give me that strength to endure. 1 Corinthians 10:24 exclaims, "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win."

I will run.

I will run to win.

Run with me.

Frosted Friday!

2008-12-19T11:09:00.000-08:00

Pictures taken this morning in our backyard! :)
Let me know what you think...I love 'em! :)

What a weekend!

2008-12-17T13:05:00.000-08:00

Wow...I'm glad it's over, but it was GREAT! Here are how things went down...

On Friday, we had our first performance of the SCV Candlelight Christmas Concert at Grace. I had my camera with me the whole time, so unfortunately, I have no pics of the choir and orchestra. We all did wonderfully, including mom with her bum hand, and afterward, we went out to In-and-Out with Cheryl, Zach and Emily. We had a blast watching my little man entertaining everyone with his stories and songs...thanks guys for making it out for the concert and hanging for a bit! It was a lot of fun!!! Now, home to study for a midterm at 8:00 a.m....

On Saturday, Which ended up being at 10:30 a.m. because my instructor's car broke down. :( But me and all the classmates ended up studying in the hallway and crammin' for the last bit of info. It worked and I pulled off a 96% on the midterm (which is 20% of my grade for the class!) WAHOO! :) The fam and I had lunch and then I had to get ready for the 4:30 p.m. call time for the next concert. It went very well again and Cole and I took some pictures...

Me and my sweet boy...
Mom, Cole and I...We, of course, needed to throw in a silly one!!! :)
And then we headed off to Aaron's Graduation Party at the Precht's home...Aaron graduated from the Nursing program at C.O.C. on Wednesday and there was a big bash for him celebrating his success!!! Aaron, I'm so very proud of you and can't wait to hear all your future nursing stories!!! Here are some pics from the party!
Aaron and I...
Sam and I...
Seth and I...
Samantha and I...
Jill and I -
Mom, TJ and Tyler warming up in the living room...
And Mom, Judy and Seth warming their buns up by the nice fire...
It was a VERY fun and very late night, so...

On Sunday, Cole and I slept in and enjoyed a quiet morning. We had lunch together and then I had to get ready for the last Christmas performance. The Grace choir is certainly something special to be a part of and I'm SO very grateful to have been a part of it for 1 year! I started the first week in January and have been carried through this last year on prayers and support from my choir family. Thank you!

After the concert, Cole and I headed out to dinner at Stonefire with mom & dad, Emilie & Brice, Aunt Cheryl & Uncle Tedd, and Aunt Jenny & Uncle Rod. We had such a good time eating and chatting the evening away! It was super-loud in there, but we still had a great time. Good food, good family...how much better can it get??? :) We said our goodbyes and headed home....to my sweet bed! Cole and I had a fun night reading Christmas stories and snuggling up! :)

You've Gotta Check this out...

2008-12-15T09:41:00.000-08:00

So Kandi's put this music video on her blog and you need to check it out...

Leave a comment and tell me what you think. Richardsons and Villaflors, be sure to check it out...you will definitely enjoy it. :)

Conversations...

2008-12-12T23:55:00.000-08:00

Cole - "Hey Mom, do you know what an adult is?"

Me - "Yes, an adult is a grown-up."

Cole - "Yeah, yeah...an adult is a grown-up. Did you know we have to be so, SO very careful with grown-ups?"

Me - "Why do we need to be careful, sweetie?"

Cole - "We need to be care not to punch them in their face."

:)

Check out Summer's latest posting...

2008-12-11T17:39:00.000-08:00

It's too cute for words...

Here it is...

Yup...they are WAY too cute!!!

Stitches, Thanksgiving, Terrific Tots and Christmas Cuteness...

2008-12-11T10:07:00.000-08:00

So here are a bunch of updates that have happened over the last month...I know, I'm a slacker. The first picture may make you queasy...proceed with caution. ;)

My mom's stitches after the dressing fell off...it wasn't a pretty sight. She sliced her finger open somethin' fierce while trying to flatten a box outside in the backyard. Blood gushing...the whole she-bang. This all happened 45 minutes before Mary's baby shower for little Wyatt James a couple of Sundays ago. I immediately told her to just GO and get everything stitched up because there was NO way that wound was going to stop bleeding on it's own. Thankfully, she only missed about 45 minutes of the shower and we all just ate and chatted so she could join us for the fun stuff. :) It's healing pretty nicely, although when they took the stitches out, it was still just gaping...weird! She's playing in the Grace Christmas concerts this weekend against her doc's orders! YIKES! There are no replacements for harp, so apparently she just needs to suck it up. She'll do wonderfully!On to Thanksgiving Day...
Brice, Mom and Uncle Tedd (always goofing off!) getting some GOOD grub! :)
Thanksgiving dinner with the Duncans...MMMmmm! Thanks Aunt Cheryl and Grandma Vi for such a tasty meal and fun time with the family...we need to do that more often!
The cousins...Emilie, Kacy, Renelle and Philip...on Thanksgiving Day!

We all enjoyed playing a couple of rounds of Cranium after the big feast...here are some pictures from the games!! Kace reading "a question out loud and passing it to the team." :)Aunt Cheryl SO EXCITED that Brice was guessing the right thing!!!
The other team deep in thought, trying to figure out the question...
Brice and Phil had to act something out...together...quality laughs!
Time for Terrific Tots...
Cole's Preschool Christmas class picture!
Cole with Miss Laura and the one and only girl in the class, Morgan, having so much fun outside!
Auntie Emilie and I conducted Circle Time and sang "Holiday" :( songs with the kiddos...we sang The Twelve Days of Christmas, Jingle Bells (as pictured below) and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. It was a blast!
Cole opening his gift exchange book...it was a Kung Fu Panda book...he LOVED it!
Cole with Miss Anita and Miss Laura on his last day of Preschool in 2008! They are WONDERFUL teachers and we are both so thankful for them!Cole looking pretty cute (I must say) in front of our Christmas tree this year!
He even knows how to pose...I seriously didn't tell him anything...what a natural stud! :)
I have my first midterm for my Pharmacy Technician program this Saturday and would appreciate any and all prayers you can send my way! So far, the class is going very smoothly and I have a 95% in the class. :) YAY ME! :) I'd love it to stay that way and this midterm is 20% of my entire grade in the class...hopefully I'll do well. It's only happening on the most busy weekend of all for me with all the GBC Christmas concerts going on as well. I'm hoping to get some studying done today and tomorrow morning, then it's all up to the brain retaining and spitting it out at the right time. Next week, I'll try and post some pictures from the concert and Aaron's Nursing Graduation Party from this weekend!! Enjoy yours and come to the concerts if you can! :)

Halloween & Fall Festival...

2008-11-06T15:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics from Halloween & the Fall Festival at Grace...

Gutting pumpkins is SO much fun! :)

"Ew Mom! Check out all this goo!"

"Mom, get it off!!!! I need to wash my hands RIGHT NOW!"
The only pumpkin that I actually carved...but it was pretty cool. :)

Cole's preschool class picture for their Halloween dress-up day! (2 days before Halloween)

Pretty much the cutest bat I've ever seen! Showing off his wings during Circle Time at preschool!
Cole and I all ready to go trick-or-treating around our neighborhood before heading to Fall Festival at Grace. I had my grandma's leather dress on from the 1940 or 50's that she wore to a costume party way back then! It was fun. :)

Trick-or-treating at Heather and Adam's house...
At the Fall Festival...he looks so happy here...most of the evening was spent in tears or tired fits...but he did have a blast going through Box City. :)Auntie Jamie met us and rocked out with us at the Fall Festival!!! What a punk! :)
Cole flying through the Conference Center showing us his skills. :)
At the end of the night, the Brache's took down their life size Spiderman from the roof of their car and we snapped a picture with him. Here's Cole shooting some webs with Spiderman! :)
All in all, we had a good evening and we got a TON of candy...which we are still trying to figure out ways to get rid of. :) Now, to my favorite holiday of the year...Thanksgiving!! :)

Autumn Greetings to you!

2008-10-20T10:11:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture from our family trip to Lombardi's Ranch!! We enjoyed the day so much!!

I took lots of pictures...to see the rest of the album, click the link below and check them out!!!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=35708&l=43e79&id=505919576

Hope you enjoyed the pictures...and enjoy your fall season! :)

Happy Birthday Bricicle!!

2008-10-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Brice's 26th birthday on Saturday the 11th by going to Red Robin, going to a home C.O.C. football game, and then coming here to play cards games! We also went out to dinner at Sisley's on his actual birthday, which was the 13th! It was a celebration weekend!!! Here are a couple of pictures from the Saturday celebration!

Brice, I hope you had a wonderful birthday and I'm so very thankful for you and all that you are to me and to Cole! I pray that the Lord will RICHLY bless you and your FAMILY this next year! :)

NKOTB Concert...Really.

2008-10-10T12:23:00.000-07:00

So, Lindsay and Brian have a hook-up at the Staples Center and were able to get tickets to the SOLD-OUT New Kids On The Block concert that was on Wednesday night. Linds and I were not feelin' the love before we left and weren't all that excited...I had had a major migraine that day and was not feeling good at all. Thankfully, my migraine meds worked wonders and I was able to go with Linds and we had a GREAT time. Once we got there, we felt the love and the excitement. It was loads of fun listening to and groovin' to music from SO long ago. NKOTB was actually really good and their voices were even better than I remember. They put on an excellent show and we were so happy that we went! We even got to see Natasha Beddingfield perform about 5 songs for the preshow. She's got some serious lungs! Here are a few pics that I thought were pretty good...we were sitting in the VIP section on the left side of the stage. :) Thanks again, Linds, for taking me...I had such a good time!!! And thanks to you, I've renewed my MAJOR crush on Jordan Knight. :)

Linds and I in front of the...
Natasha Beddingfield...
And the crowd goes seriously and absolutely berzerk!!!
Oh Oh uh Oh oh, Oh oh uh oh, Oh Oh uh Oh oh, The Right Stuff... :)
Yes...Jordan was singing to me...
The Staples Center was completely packed...it was awesome...and deafening!
Singing "Forever"
They were so sneaky and somehow teleported to the back of the Staples Center and sang on a rotating stage and Jordan played the piano...they sang about 3 songs out there...very cool...
And had a dancer on top of the piano...
Joe McIntyre dancing with a lucky lady...
Jordan singing a solo song...with his shirt unbuttoned...blowing by a fan...OH LORD!
Joe singing to the ladies!
Donnie saying, "This goes out to Renelle, baby, wherever you are..." LOL!
Spotlights are fun.
There goes Jordan again, singing to me...
Do you see the halos about them...I think they're my angels. :)
Wish I was in the front row right then! :)
End of the concert...and "Hangin' Tough!"

"Good night Lindsay and Renelle...thanks for coming!" :)
Great show...Fun times! :)

I'm interested...

2008-10-03T16:36:00.000-07:00

I know I'm weird...I've accepted it. I've got to know...who brushes their teeth when they shower? Does anyone else beside me? Just wondering...

P.S. You should just accept it too...

A Long Time Coming...

2008-09-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

So, last week, I was able to do something that should have been done 5 years and 4 months ago...put my specialized, personalized, Renelle-icized license plates on my awesome car. When I traded in my super-rad Ford Escort (*sniff, sniff*), I, of course, took my plates off before I handed her in. BUT, I never put them on my sparkly, shiny new car (back then). So, after searching and wondering where they have been all these years, Mike was able to find them hidden away in his garage and he handed them back over to me! :) I promptly made an appointment at the dreaded DMV to see if I could still use these plates. I did NOT know that you are required to pay a fee just to "hang on" to or "retain" them, if you will, and you also have to pay a fee to "reassign" them to your new car. Needless to say, after two trips to the DMV, sitting next to people that were super-weird in the DMV, waiting in lines, and well over $150 to get these bad boys back in action...I was successful and they went on as soon as I drove home and was able to get my hands on a screwdriver. :) Here's a pic...
Yay for my uubercool plates! Thought I'd share my happiness with ya! :0)

I know, I know...I'm so bad at this...

2008-09-16T12:07:00.000-07:00

Okay...So I really need some reminders to do this on a consistent basis. I do have good intentions and take pictures all the time with the intent on posting them on this blog...but I never actually sit down and do it. Well, now that the summer is (almost) over and the family is back into the swing of things, I'd like to do more updates. Here's the latest on us...

Cole started preschool on Sept. 8th! I can't believe the day really came, but it did and I'm so proud of my big boy. I ended up staying the entire time with him on his first day so he could get acquainted with everything and by the second day, he was off and running...literally! Here are a few pics from that historic first day...

Cheeseball!!!! :)

Fun with playdough...what's with the face, dude?!
So precise...
Mama helping the preschooler with his all-important cubbie page...
We decided to do our funny faces for the camera...YIKES!

Off to stamp art time... hmmm, which one should I choose...Cole's favorite part of the day so far...SNACK TIME!
"Hang on to the donut rope kids...
...because we're off to the park!"
Park time with his new buddies!!

Sand is so cool...Cole loves the swings...now...for so long he was afraid when he went in them. Now he reminds me (or his teacher) that he's slowing down. When she pushed him way up high, he replied with, "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" :)
Cole, Miss Anita, Miss Laura, and the rest of the kiddos in the class!
Circle Time!
What a fun time this is going to be! I'm looking forward to helping out in the class. I have signed up for about 6 days that I'll be helping. It should be loads of fun. And I really think Cole's going to enjoy the interaction with his buddies and the teachers!

Cole recently learned how to draw happy faces and this was the result of the first try on a page. I think it's quite good! :)

So there you have it...it's been a crazy four weeks! Emilie, Brice and I sang in a trio at church 2 weekends ago with the choir and had a wonderful time praising our Lord! We've had some good family evenings involving great food and fun card playing. We've enjoyed the nice weather we had last week. And we're excited to see what Fall brings to the table!

How to read these next few posts...

2008-08-13T22:42:00.000-07:00

So I should have posted these from finish to start to have them in order. Oh well. If you want to read from start to finish, start with "It All Started With Vegas," then read, "On to Utah," after that check out "Commissioning and Party Time with the Obergs," and finish with "Back to Vegas...then home sweet home." Sorry for the confusion! Hope you enjoy the stories and pictures. Be sure to leave me a comment or two! :-)

Back to Vegas...then home sweet home...

2008-08-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

We left Utah after breakfast on Monday morning and started to trek down the interstate to Vegas...we hit a bunch of summer thunderstorms and saw QUITE the display of lightning. It was very cool...I did take a few pictures from the car on the way down...

Look at the clouds on the right side...I thought it looked like an eagle's eye or the "eye of God."
Just outside of St. George, Utah...

Coming into Vegas at sunset....

The first time in Vegas, we attempted to go to the Pirates show at Treasure Island. Dad dropped Emilie, Cole and me off right in front of the show, however there were definitely about 5,000 people already there to watch it. We stayed for about 5 minutes of the show and took off...Cole was pretty bummed, so I promised that we would come back and see it. Well, this time we went about 45 minutes early and got right in front of the main Sirens ship. We waited and waited and really enjoyed the show. Here are a couple of pics...

After the pirate show, we headed over to Fremont Street to see the overhead light show...here's a peek off the strip off of the parking structure at T.I...Cole and G-Pop checking out the light show overhead...
The theme of the show was Queen music and it was AWESOME...WE WILL, WE WILL ROCK YOU!!!

After an evening of dinner at 1:00 a.m. with my dad and gambling on penny slots until about 5 a.m. (I did win $$$) I finally headed off to our hotel room, but was up for basically the entire rest of the "night" with some major stomach issues. And I was able to get an hour's rest while Grandma and G-Pop took Cole down to the cafe for breakfast...however, when Cole came back in with them, he wasn't really feeling good. Well, I needed to finish getting ready, so I set him on the counter in the bathroom so I was right there...which wasn't such a hot idea. He ended up puking a WHOLE bunch on himself and the bathroom floor and into the trash can. Poor boy. Once that was over, he was a new kid. Totally fine, no issues at all! :) I had issues the rest of the day, however my pops thought it would be a good idea to hit up the historic...
We had a great time exploring the mines and checking out all the cool gift shops...

This is the railroad that is still in working order and we were able to take a ride around the mining area of Calico...pretty cool. Although it was 118 degrees outside...
Inside one of the museums where you can enter into the mine...all original mining equipment and office equipment...
Most of the quaint mining town burnt down...twice. These are mostly replica buildings, however there were a few originals from the 1800's.

We headed home in the nice air conditioned car and finally made it to our sweet house at about 7:30 p.m. My bed never felt so good!! We all had an AWESOME vacation and are so glad we were able to go together! Lots of fun memories and lots of cool pictures! :)

Phew...that's all folks!!!

Commissioning and Party Time with the Obergs...

2008-08-13T14:57:00.000-07:00

So the real reason for this entire trip was to attend the Naval Officer commissioning ceremony of my good friend, Sam Oberg on August 2nd. We arrived at our destination (Wolf Creek, Utah) on Wednesday, July 30th and just relaxed and enjoyed the views from our balcony (too bad I forgot to take any pictures of that!) On Thursday, we headed down to Ogden to visit Sam and Ashlee and their 3 boys, Trent, Braden, and Kyler. We were able to go to lunch together and just have a great time catching up. Cole fell asleep on the car ride back to their house, so we ended up just heading back to our timeshare (about 12 miles away from their home into the mountains)

Here are some pics from the Commissioning Ceremony of Ensign Samual J. Oberg. It was held in Bountiful, Utah at a beautiful banquet hall...

Sam swearing the oath...
Seth, Sam's brother, saluting the newest Naval Officer...very cool moment indeed!
TJ, Sam and Seth posing in uniform...
Sam, Camille, John and Seth...these parents are VERY proud of their boys!
The OSB...Seth, Aaron, Ensign Sam, Stevie, and TJ...
Mom and Dad with the Oberg boys...proud "parents" too!
Here are the Prechts with the Oberg boys...I'm sure glad Judy was able to make it and survive the day...she woke up with a horrible migraine. Sad times, but she ended up being okay!
Sam and his beautiful wife, Ashlee, posing for the cameras...
And I finally get a picture with the man of the hour...
Seth and Sam...two of the best buddies a girl could have...seriously...
Cole looking pretty darn cute with Uncle Tink....I was messing around with my pops hat and this picture actually turned out pretty good! :)
Sam is one decorated Naval Officer!
Samantha and Seth enjoying the AWESOME food they had catered in...YUMMY!
What he's worked many years for...

After the amazingly emotional commissioning ceremony, most of the people headed over to Sam and Ashlee's house in Ogden, about 45 minutes north of Salt Lake City...

Party Time at the Oberg's Pad!!!

Cole and Cooper playing in the boys bedroom...they were in heaven!!!
Samantha, TJ, Stevie and Aaron chillin' in the backyard and sippin' on some "juice."
Dad and Peter strummin' away and Sam looking very happy he's an officer!

Sweet little Cooper looking on as Dad and Chris play some tunes...
Aaron and Mary making some extremely odd faces...TJ, Jessica and Stevie relaxing with a beverage...
Ryan looking a bit crazed...
TJ sporting the shades...

The boys singing a song ...Camille, Sam's mama teaching Cole how to fish...in the garage...
Thank you to all the Obergs for making this trip well worth the gas money! :) We had SUCH a blast with you all and I'm so grateful to be considered friends with all of you!!! I hope we can do something together like that soon.

From Wolf Creek Utah, we headed towards Vegas again on Monday, August 4th...

On to Utah...

2008-08-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

So on Tuesday, July 29th, mom, dad, Cole and I left for Utah for 6 nights. Our original plan was to drive from Vegas to Zion National Park, spend a few hours there and trek it up to Ogden where our other timeshare is. However, we decided that Bryce Canyon National Park was to awesome to pass up and we took a detour. We ended up spending the night in wonderful Beaver, Utah and then pressing on towards the goal of Wolf Creek Mountain, Utah... Here are some highlights of Utah and our adventures.

We're on our way!!!
Some beautiful works of the Lord along the way...
We hit Zion National Park first...
Cole and I right outside the Zion tunnel through the mountains...
My boy and me in Zion...SO PRETTY!
Along the highway in Zion National Park, we came across some cool sheep/mountain goats that were right alongside the road, up on a BIG rock. When I went under the rock to take some pics of this awesome animal, here's the stare down that I received. I promptly picked up the pace and moved away from being right under this guy...he was VERY intimidating. There were 5 altogether. They totally stopped traffic on the tiny 2-lane highway...many people got out of their cars and took some photos of them!

On the way to Zion, we stopped in at a local rock shop and looked at some cool rocks and fossils.
We also spotted a herd of buffalo along the way and he was the biggest one of all, right in front of the fence...

We took the beautiful route to Bryce Canyon and finally made it to Inspiration Point. What a privilege to see this amazing creation of the Lord's twice...

Grandma showing Cole the amazing view from Inspiration Point! I think that might have been her favorite moment of the entire vacation! :)

Cole and I snuggling up close enjoying the view!
Dusk in Bryce Canyon National Park...

We went to a few other vista points, but my camera died after Inspiration Point. We were fortunate enough to see many mule deer and even some pronghorn deer, which look sort of like antelope. We ate dinner at the famous Ruby's Inn in Bryce Canyon, went shopping in their souvenier shop, bought way cool rocks and postcards, and finally left at about 10:30 p.m. Dad pulled off the highway and turned off all the car lights and we stargazed for about 10 minutes. We were able to see the Milky Way and so many amazing constellations...even a few shooting stars! We drove through a tiny town called Panguitch, Utah, couldn't find a hotel room and finally made it over to Beaver, Utah around midnight. We found a Comfort Suites and were very glad for a comfy bed and a great breakfast. We even chatted with a family from the Netherlands about the differences in prices between the US and the Netherlands...fascinating conversation! We then headed up the 15 for a LONG drive to Ogden, Utah. And that marks the end of the trip from Vegas to Wolf Creek Mountain, Utah.

It all started with Vegas...

2008-08-13T11:18:00.000-07:00

Our summer family vacation started on Sunday, July 27th and this is how it went...

Ahh...The open road! Vegas, here we come!!!!'Nuff said!Emilie, Cole and I in front of the famous Vegas sign...at about 11:00 p.m.! :)

We were so lucky to be able to see Kristal, Shaun, Natalie and Landon Sawyer the first night we arrived. We went out to a birthday dinner for me at an incredibly tasty restaurant, Brio Tuscan Cuisine. :) After dinner we hauled the kiddos to the exquisite Bellagio to watch the fountains.
Here is Natalie and Cole with their first row seats to the show! :)
Ahh...so cute...Natalie and Cole awaiting the show together! :)Side by side...LOVE IT!Kristal and her sweet boy Landon watching the fountain show!Emilie, Cole and I inside the Bellagio hotel checking out the gardens...awesome!
Inside the gardens, below the awesome "eagle chicks" :)
The way-cool fountains in the gardens...I have never seen the likes of this!
On Monday, I was able to go over to Kristal's new apartment and check it out and have some girl time. We talked for quite a while and we were able to catch up in between taking care of the kids and laughing at Natalie totally showing off for me. :) It was great...thank you Kristal for your hospitality and your incredible friendship. I'm so glad you're only 4 hours away instead of 8! :) That night we went to the MGM Grand and checked out the lion attraction, grabbed dinner at Panda Express, and hit up the M&M factory...here's dad kissing his fave color!
Cole and me at the MGM Grand!

The beautiful lioness posing for the cameras...she gave all of us quite the view when she came right up to the glass and also played in the water with her ball. :)
Just had to take a picture of this one for Mike. :)After our night out on the lit-up town, we came back to our timeshare, got comfy, and Cole and I had a dance off to my new Leona Lewis CD. We had SO much fun!

Emilie and I at the Vegas airport on Tuesday morning...she was only able to join us for the Vegas part, but I'm so glad she was with me on my birthday and we were able to have a ton of fun together!
And we're off to Zion National Park and Bryce National Park...

June Update...

2008-06-19T10:32:00.000-07:00

Hello! I've been so busy (and lazy) and haven't updated this blog in a LONG time! :) So, here goes! I'll give you the personal updates first: Cole just started Summer Day Camp - Camp Clarita - through the city and he's doing really well. It's very similar to preschool and yes, this mama cried when she walked away and left her teeny tiny son at "school" for the first time. He did very well the first day, no tears as I left, and had many cool things to show me when he was finished. The second morning did not go very well, many tears and screams, but ended up doing well throughout the morning. And again, he had some awesome art projects to show me at the end of the day! I'm so in shock that he's old enough to be going and doing something like this...yes, they really do grow up that fast!!!
Picking up his macaroni art project from his "cubby."
So excited to show me what he's made today!!! :)

But we've been enjoying the warm summer nights and days.

Emotionally, Cole has had a very tough month. He's been able to express verbally what he's going through and how our situation makes him sad. It's just heartbreaking hearing him say the things he does. But, we try and talk through his tears and I really try and help him get through the emotions. It's terrible to hear your son cry, "I just want my daddy to come back." But, the Lord is good and he is helping both of us get through and heal. I've had a tough past couple of weeks, but really feel that this week has been better and there has been more healing. I've had the chance to get some counseling through Grace and am SO thankful that they have the resources they do and are willing and able to share them!

Cole and I had the opportunity to house-sit for the Parsons family last week and had a BLAST! We had their whole, beautiful house to ourselves for 9 nights and really took advantage of it! We watched movies and hung out and just had some mommy and Coley time. It was SO great!

We celebrated my dad's 64th birthday on May 29th and just had dinner up at my parent's house and hung out...good family times!! Dad, I'm so thankful that we've had "extra" years with you and I'm so grateful for you and the example you are for us! I LOVE YOU!!! :)

Cole has been loving having a great big backyard to play in over the 4 months we've lived here...he's picked up a few sports as well. Here is him practicing his t-ball!!!

And he swings...
....it's a HOMERUN!!!!!! And the crowd goes wild!!! :)

My good friend, Jamie, and I were able to "get-away" a couple of weekends ago and we went to Huntington Beach for a Friday night and then were able to catch our fave band, Dizmas, play at the Huntington Beach Summerfest. We had such a blast! On Friday night we hit up Duke's on the beach for a tasty seafood dinner and an evening walk on the pier. On Saturday we hit up the local Denny's, had a blast singing to the seriously awesome tunes they had, and then hit up the beach for the rest of they day. After most of the bands played, we were able to hang out and have dinner/chat with a couple of the Dizmas boys and their friends and get some face time in before they leave to go on the road for most of the summer. Thanks Jamie for GOOD TIMES!

Here's Jamie at the pizza place where we ate dinner with Edwin (roadie) in the background.
"Under the Boardwalk...under the sun....Under the Boardwalk..."
I've loved being able to take many outside pictures in the backyard lately. I love photographing plants and flowers for some reason. Here are a couple of cool ones of recent times...

Here are the cute baby sparrows that were right outside our back door...it was so awesome watching them from tiny, blue eggs to peeping babies to flying birdies!!! WAY COOL!! :) (Their nest was on top of our outside speakers in the backyard.)
Well...that's about it...sorry for the long blog. Hopefully you can leave some comments. And I hope you are doing well!!! Have a great upcoming weekend!

Bedtime chats...

2008-05-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

So, today Cole and I decided to lay down for a nap together after reading a bunch of books from the library. He wasn't quite ready to sleep as he kept messing around and being silly. This is what our conversation sounded like:
Cole (with a silly smile on his cute little face): Are you a monster?
Mom: No...
C: Are you a fridge?
Mom: No...
C: Are you a fly?
Mom: No...
C: Are you a daddy?
Mom: No...
C: Are you a fan?
Mom: No...
C: Are you a G-Pop?
Mom: No...
C: Are you a boulder? (Where did he get this one?!)
Mom: No...
C: Are you a (then about seriously 50 more things)?
Mom: No...
C: Are you a Davis?
Mom: Yes!
C: No..you're a mama!!!

I thought it was so cute. A couple of the things made me laugh really hard! He kept going back to me being a fridge...maybe he was hungry or something! What a precious boy! Just thought I'd share. ;)

Random pics from the last couple of weeks...beware...crazy ones!

2008-05-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Cole and Ashlynn chillin' on the couch lookin' oh-so-cute! I watched Ash & Jeremy while Todd & Summer were down visiting Summer's dad in the hospital...fun times!!!

I think this should be my new profile pic...what do ya think?? Dude, I'm SO hot!

Dad, posing with the wig, too. Seriously, I'm related to him?! :)
And Mom too, of course...lookin' sexy, mama!
And we had to get Cole in the wig too...I personally think he looks like Snoop Dog from Starsky & Hutch... :)
Here's the latest fiasco with Tux...what do you think it is??

Well...it was two giant rose thorns piercing his nose...why didn't you just say you wanted a nose piercing Tux? I would have taken you! :)
Catching Cole and Cleo napping on his bed...I did put him in there the right way about 20 minutes prior to the picture...he's definitely a mover!
And last, but not least, the adorable baby shower cake my mom and I decorated for Brad & Lynda Beers...I thought it turned out adorable. I stemmed off the cake Kristal and I decorated for Nate and Debra's first girl, Annabelle! :)
Let me know what you think of the pictures...all comments will be looked over meticulously for any wisea%$ remarks. :) Have a great day!!!!

Argh...

2008-05-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

I wanted to give an update for those wondering how my skin tag/mole removal went...it was fine, although I'm TOTALLY bummed. I was under the impression that what I thought I was going to have removed was skin tags and they were all covered under the same dollar amount. It was $100 just for the appointment and $25 for 1-25 skin tags removed. Well, it turns out that I didn't really have any skin tags, they were all considered moles...and they cost $145 to remove...each ONE!!! So needless to say, I was only able to get one removed (the one in between my "breasticles" as Emilie would say) and it didn't really hurt at all. They numbed that sucker up and "shaved" it off and then cauterized the wound. Well, the cauterization didn't work very well and it "sprung a leak" as the doctor said so they ended up putting a pressure bandage on it. SO fun. Anyway...more info than you probably needed. If any of y'all have an extra $300 laying around, I have 2 more moles that I want to have removed and would appreciate the donation...we'll call it the "Renelle's Beautification Process Fund." :) I'm totally joking...I would love to have 2 more removed, so I'll be saving up some mula for those procedures. Now I know what to expect and am not so nervous! Thanks for your prayers.

On a sad note, the Coleford is puking this evening and not feeling great at all. So far, only 2 times, but I'm ready for more...he's finally resting on the couch and hasn't thrown up since about 7:00 p.m. Hopefully it stays that way, but I have a feeling I'll be in for a LONG night. I'd appreciate your prayers for his little belly.

So, wow...I'm really bad at this!

2008-05-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

Life has just been crazy over the last 6 weeks. I'll give a quick update....on Sunday, June 6th, my family left to visit my Uncle Tedd & Aunt Cheryl's new house in Indio (Palm Springs area) and had SUCH a great time. They have a beautiful home there with a pool, spa & bbq in the backyard on the 3rd hole of their country club golf course! :) Yeah...that's how our family rolls! :) We were able to relax and have fun, watch the end of the final 4 in college basketball and just have a great time catching up and chatting! On Monday morning, Uncle Tedd, Brice, Emilie and I played the Indio Municipal Golf Course. Although it was loads of fun, it was so frustrating not playing very well! I am a beginner, but I've always done pretty well for a beginner and it was NOT evident when we played. I think I cussed more than I have in a LONG time at the stupid golf clubs and balls! :) Here are a couple of pictures from our game...

Neat palm tree shot on the golf course...

Uncle Tedd looking so professional...

What a nice shot...yeah right...can you see the blur of the ball shanking to the right?!!!

Good form, Brice, good form! (Hole 17)

Em looking pretty nice on Hole 16.

Cole driving around Uncle Tedd & Grandma in the golf cart near the house...

On Tuesday afternoon, after a great breakfast and a little pool time, Cole and I took off on a long adventure across the desert and drove to Higley, AZ where one of my best friends, Kristal lives with her awesome hubby Shaun and their TWO kids, Natalie and newborn baby boy, Landon! We had SUCH a wonderful time visiting and talking, catching up, playing with the kids, and I had a great time bonding and cuddling with little Landon. On Tuesday night, Kristal made a wonderful spaghetti dinner (her first homemade dinner since Landon was born) and we just hung out. On Wednesday, (minus Shaun cuz he had to work) headed over to the Phoenix Zoo with the kids in tow. We had such a great time looking at all the animals and feeding some ducks. Awesome zoo...if you have the chance to check it out...definitely do. We then met Shaun at Texas Roadhouse for some GOOD steaks and had a nice time chatting. Thursday morning was just hang time and it was so nice to just get to talk and let the kids play together! Thank you, Shaun and Kristal for a WONDERFUL time and for hosting Cole and I...we had a BLAST!!!!! We love you guys SO much and are so thankful for your friendship and love!!! :) Here are a few pics from Shaun & Kristal's...

Kristal and her sweet double stroller and the 2 kiddies...

Uncle Shaun and Cole hanging out reading Cole's fav book for that week...Marvel Heroes!

Cole and Natalie checking out the turtles and ducks... 5 turtle bumps on a log... A gorgeous lioness posing on her rock...her man was behind the rock...

The carousel ride on the way out of the zoo...so fun!

Sweet, little Landon chillin' in his swing...

A beautiful, Arizona sunset from Shaun & Kristal's housing tract...
Cole and I made the long journey back to CA on Thursday afternoon and had a great time singing songs and messing around the whole drive back to Indio. On Friday, we (Uncle Tedd, my mom, Cole and I) went to the Indio Living Desert Zoo & Botanical Gardens...SO RAD! They had some of the coolest animal exhibits and lots of fun things for kids to do and go in. They had the most awesome giraffe exhibit...the wild giraffes could come right up to part of the exhibit and eat leaves from your hand! And most of the walkways were either covered with trees or had misters that made it do-able in the desert heat. They also had a beautiful butterfly exhibit where you could go in and see up close and personal, about 20 varieties of butterflies. They would land on people's hands and everything. Here are some of the cool things we saw -

A buckeye butterfly...

Hmmm...this might be tasty... YEEHAW COWGIRL (well, it was really a warthog, but still fun!)...
Cole grooming the goats in the petting zoo...
He's a master at the bongos!

A gorgeous American Kestrel...

A mountain lion...look at the size of her paws... A close-up of a laughing hyena...
Two mourning doves posing in the aviary...

And here are a few more shots of the time spent at the house in Indio!

Cole practicing his surfing...

A cool fly next to some hanging flowers in the backyard...

Some beauties of nature...

"Hey mama...look, I'm naked, naked!"
On a walk through the country club grounds, I found this tree branch cut off that looked JUST like an owl's face...pretty awesome...
On the same walk...hanging flowers from a tree...I thought it was a cool shot...

Mom, Cole and I finally headed home on Saturday morning, hit up the Cabazon outlets for hours and I literally came home empty handed...that's how disciplined I am! :) But sure had a lot of fun window shopping...well, I did get a couple of shirts for Cole from the Carter's outlet. We got home just in time to hit up Rattlesnake Slim's to hear Trout & Co. play for the evening.

Most of the rest of last month was pretty standard. Mike and I had our first court date on the 16th, which went relatively smoothly. I was able to have lunch (which turned into dinner too) with my good friend, Megan, on the 19th. We were able to catch up with each other's lives and hang out for a while. I also attended a Tea Class at Clarice's cake shop on the 22nd with my mom and Judy as well as Lindsay and her mom, Bev...here are a couple of pics of what we were taught to create...

Just this last Saturday, May 3rd, my family attended the 40th anniversary for Bouquet Baptist Church, now Bouquet Canyon Church. We attended there from about 1985-1993. It was so much fun seeing old faces from the past and reminiscing with friends! They had a wonderful catered meal from Wolf Creek and a great service comemorating the 40th anniversary.

Tomorrow I'm going to have bunch of moles/skin tags removed from various parts of my body, and I'm fairly nervous. They have to "punch" the ones out from the top of my head, and I'm afraid it's going to go to far and "punch" part of my brains out...just kidding! It's a little nerve-racking so I'd love some prayer over the situation if you read this before Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. Thanks! Everything else is going pretty well, considering the circumstances. Cole has had a pretty hard week with missing Daddy and crying a lot. I've been trying to take lots of time to sit with him and try and explain, in the way a 3-year-old can understand, what's happening and what to expect from here on out. It's been a challenge and I would appreciate any prayers on this matter. It's so hard to see my little boy sad because of the situation we're in and I love him to death!!! :) Other than that, we've had some pretty fun days. This Sunday is Mother's Day and it will be so nice to spend it with my mom and the rest of my family! I will try and give another update next week and not make these so few and far between!! Thanks for your patience, thanks for your prayers and thanks for your support!!!

I believe an update is needed...

2008-03-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

Hello...my, oh my, has it been a long time since I updated our blog! It's been a little hectic over the last couple of months and I've been overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with the love and support of my family, my friends, strangers who have heard about what's going on in my life and are praying for us, and overwhelmed with the incredible strength the Lord is able to give us when we have to go through a trial. The Lord has been good, as He always is.

Cole and I moved into my parent's house at the end of February once our lease was up at our house over by Henry Mayo. It has been chaotic here, but it's been wonderful having my family surrounding me and Cole every step of the way. Each week has been a little easier and little less messy and we figure out how to handle everything. :)

Mike continues to live in his new apartment. There has been no change in our situation for the better that I can report. Everything has been made pretty clear to the both of us where the direction is going. I filed for legal separation a few weeks ago to establish custody of Cole and financial support, as I have not worked since Cole's birth. It's been a very emotional roller-coaster, but I feel confident in the decisions that I've made. It's amazing to see the hand of God at work in very real ways in your life. I am in awe of how the Lord can use my trial to encourage others and to strengthen their walk with the Lord as well as mine. This is truly the closest I've been with the Lord since I became a Christian. I feel His presence with me all the time and am SO grateful that I have Him...I couldn't get through this without Him! Please continue to pray for Mike and his walk...he is at a crossroads in his life that will take him down one road or another and I truly pray, EVERY day, that he chooses the godly road. Pray that the Lord will lift the hard-heartedness away from him, pray that the Lord will reveal Himself in new and fresh ways to Mike, and pray a new understanding of what it means to submit yourself to Christ.

On a lighter note, we've been able to visit some friends recently and catch-up. Here are some pictures of Cole and I visiting my best bud from elementary school, Kori, at her parent's house in Hasley Canyon. They have a beautiful property with horses and a river bed and lots of fun things for kids to check out. Kori had her beautiful daughter, Ella, there with her and Cole had a blast playing with her.

Cole riding Ella's awesome trike!

Colie just looking adorable as usual on the property
Ella cruising in her awesome car...with mama's help!

Here are a couple of pictures from Easter this year...I am so thankful that I've been involved in the Grace adult choir since January. It's been such a blessing. I sang in all 3 Passion play performances for Good Friday (and Saturday) and then for both Easter morning services. Brice, Emilie, Cole and I went up to the amphitheatre and took a few pictures after the services, then we all, with mom and dad, went out to eat at Thelma's Morning Cafe. Then we headed up to our house for a Resurrection Easter Egg hunt...so fun. 12 plastic eggs filled with little representations of the death of Christ with a book to explain it all to children. It was great!

Em and I being silly in between Easter services!

Aahhh...sisters and BFF's!
The Villaflors...so very cute!"Look mama...I found an egg!!! Yay!" says the Colester!
Learning about the Resurrection through our Easter Egg hunt!

And just this last weekend, Cole and I had the opportunity to go to San Luis Obispo and visit some of my best friends, Todd & Summer Roughton and their kids, Ashlynn & Jeremy! And bonus...Katy Fetters was visiting for her spring break, so I got to visit with her as well. We had such a blast. We arrived in the early afternoon on Thursday, went to dinner at a great place in downtown SLO called Mondeo Pronto...great salmon dish, then walked around downtown for their awesome Farmers Market. We watched "Enchanted" and then fell off into dreamland.

Jeremy & Todd at the Farmers Market!
The boys running around like crazies in the park right next to Grace Church.
The sleeping arrangements for the boys...pretty cute!

On Friday we were able to go to Montana de Oro, a beach/hiking place. We mostly went to the beach part...had great fun looking at all the beautiful rocks and climbing through "pirate" caves! We watched "The Devil Wears Prada" that night and then headed off to bed.

The kiddos eating breakfast together...so cute!
Cole decided that he really wanted to check and see how cold the water was...with all his clothes on!
Montana de Oro...beautiful!
The entrance to our "pirate" cave we explored! SO FUN!
Cole attempting to wade through the river...again, note the clothes!

And there he goes...at least Ashlynn was right there to help him up! Love this one of Ash & Todd...a keeper!
"Look mama...I'm tryin' to catch some fish for you," Cole explains!
Artsy pic of the "beach" rocks...very pretty though.
Summer & Ash on our adventure at Montana de Oro!
Jeremy & Cole...BFF's! SO CUTE!

On Saturday, the girls headed to Pismo and I got my very first (and maybe last) tattoo!! It was a pretty rad experience and I was able to capture a few photos of it...

Aren't I crazy?! :)
The beginnings of the tattoo...the outline and some shading done...
Breathe, Renelle, breathe....
Kris, the tattoo artist, finishing it up with Cole's name...

The finished product...my new tat!

We also hiked Bishop's Peak in SLO that afternoon and had a great time with the kids. We were able to see basically all of SLO from the top and the views were beautiful!

Todd & Ashlynn being quite adventurous!
A view from our hike...beautiful SLO!
Keep going...we're almost to the top...NOT!
From inside the "Raspberry Forest" as the kids called it!

Another beautiful view of SLO!Todd & the kids on the steep trail...
Katy & Colie...new BFF's!
My feet by the end of the hike...I know, silly to wear flip-flops, but I couldn't put shoes on yet because of the tat...I still had the wrap around it with tape. The reason they look so different is that they put a solution on the tattoo when they are done, so one foot was more sticky than the other and it attracted more dust! :)

On Sunday we all headed off to Grace Church, the church where Todd pastors the high schoolers, and we listened to a great sermon in their service. I'm looking forward to being able to visit again soon! Todd & Summer...thanks for such an awesome weekend. Cole and I had a blast and I'm so very thankful for your friendship and support...I'll be up again soon. Love you guys. And Katy too!!! Thanks for riding home with me!

This coming week is Spring Break for the school districts out here in Valencia, so my family is heading down to the Palm Springs area to visit my aunt & uncle's new vaca home. I'm also going to have the opportunity to be able to visit another best friend, Kristal, and her family. I will be able to meet her new little man, Landon Shaun, who was born on March 17th! I'm so very excited!!! Thank you for your continued prayers for Mike, Cole and I and I will definitely be giving updates more often, now that things are a bit more calm! :)

It's Been a While..

2008-01-31T20:15:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a while since I've had a chance to update this. I'm not even sure what to write down, as my life has kind of been turned upside down. To keep this short and P.C., I would like to ask for prayer for Mike and I and our marriage. It has certainly had its ups and downs over the last almost 7 years, and we are definitely in a down right now. Most of you know that Mike and I are separated right now. Mike moved into his own apartment two weekends ago and is in desperate need for prayer right now. I would appreciate any and all prayer warriors to step up and send those prayers to our Lord. He can work miracles in a heartbeat or in a lifetime...it's up to us to have the faith!

I find so much comfort in knowing that the Lord walks with us every step of our lives. It's amazing to me that even in times of sorrow, disappointment, anger, happiness, joy, He is still there. And even when we sin, He is still right there to pick us up when we ask for His forgiveness and repent from our evil, sinful ways. I know that the Lord promises us He will never give us more than we can handle...and knowing that makes me stand amazed thinking how He has allowed the trials in my life to come my way and that I'm a strong enough woman of God to handle it all. Sometimes I think He may have chosen the wrong person as I tire spiritually when so much is going on. However, when I start to let my spiritual life "sag," I am encouraged by so many friends and family to keep my faith in the Lord and to delve deeper in my relationship with Him every day. I think I've prayed more over the last 4 weeks than in the last year. Sad, but true. Thank you for those who have been such an encouragement and shoulder for me to cry on over the last month....I cannot express what you mean to me in my life right now!

My hope and prayer is that the Lord will say "Well done, my daughter. I'm proud of the way you handled yourself and the trials I've put in your life." I feel that I am doing Him proud now, and I pray that I continue to have that attitude towards life. When I feel anger or bitterness or sin to creep up in my life, to be able to recognize it swiftly and to stomp it out! And even in the good times. Because there will be good times again. There will be happy days for my family. I have the confidence that the Lord can do ANYTHING! Please continue to pray for our little family...for Mike and his walk with the Lord, for myself and patience, faith, courage, and joy, and for my sweet, sweet Cole, that he would know how much we love him and that the Lord loves him, too.

I'm looking to find new homes for my adorable puppies, Neo & Trinity. The are a combo of white lab and boxer, but look just like black labs. Neo has the white patch on his chest and looks a little more boxer than Trinity. Trinity is almost completely black. If you or anyone you know is willing to even take a look and consider them, I would be grateful. I have the home I'm living in right now until February 23rd when our lease is up and then I'll be moving in with my parents. They are gracious enough to allow me to bring my 3 cats for a trial run and see how that goes, but it would just be too much for everyone if the puppies came too. They have new furniture in their home and I respect their wishes for it not to be ruined! So, that being said, I would love if the puppies could find a home together...that would be my wish for them. They have been together since birth and I don't want to have to separate them, but if need be, that's what will happen. Here is a fairly recent picture of them in our backyard...

Thank you for your continued prayers and my hope is that you would also be encouraged to deepen your relationship with the Lord, wherever your walk may be. Be bold for Christ, that's what He wants us to be! Be joyful in all circumstances! Be faithful!