Catching Up...

Birthdays, Birthdays & more Birthdays!!! In the end of December my little Brenden turned 7!!! Wow how did that happen; when did that happen? And in January my little girl turned 10!!! Never in my dreams did I think that would have flown by as quick as it did. It seems like yesterday we were potty training these two.

" If Motherhood teaches us anything; it's that we can't change our children...we can only change ourselves. So...instead of wishing that the kids could be different somehow, you try to see everyday whats already good in each of them and love that...because any moment now your going to be hugging a daughter that's turned into a Woman, or standing on your tiptoes saying goodbye to a son that's suddenly 6 ft. tall and heading off to college half way across the country..." - Katrina Kenison

Here is a picture of my little munchkin at 2 years old- is she not just super adorable? I just love her laughter...
Here she is now at 10 years old; wearing bump its on occasion (lol) seriously; and spending a lot of quality time in her own room. I so remember being her age; constantly imagining what my life would be like as a teenager. If there is one thing I hope I can teach her; that is to slow down and not grow up too fast. Maybe she's not growing up too fast and she's right on track- maybe I'm just afraid of her growing up. This is something I need to pray about and not be afraid of.





And my handsome 7 year old boy; who's so far grown up to love Star Wars, Motocross, All Sports & making friends. He is just like his Daddy. He is a total "friends" kind of guy just like my husband. My husband has a group of best buddies that are literally there for eachother in every aspect of eachothers life. They can all count on eachother and share such a close friendship that I absolutely admire. That's the kind of boy Brenden is; already at this age he takes his friendships seriously. He's an AWESOME friend just like Daddy.
And then there is my birthday... I am 31! Now talk about time flying I don't even know how I got to 30; much less 31! I had such a nice birthday; I kept the kids home from school all because it was stormy and I was baking red velvet cupcakes from scratch. YUMMY!!!
This was a 1st time for me... so I had to take pictures. I just love the color!
My beautiful children made such a big deal out of my birthday. They even crowned me Queen for the day...This is what the scroll said...He even got down on one knee when presenting me with the crown!!! How precious...
And it didn't end there; my dear friend here in Sacramento called me to see if she could come over with her boys and bring me a birthday cake to share with me; I feel so blessed to have met such a sweet friend up here. I've said it before and I'll say it again adjusting to Northern Cal. would not have been easy without her. I feel so blessed to have met someone as genuine as she is.
Oh and this woman can cook!!! She has such a passion for culinary arts she inspires me. For my birthday she gave me a great cookbook; I've already tried 2 recipes- and they were so easy and so full of flavor. 1.) Pulled Pork chipotle sandwiches (not pictured) 2.) Pulled pork soft tacos in the crock pot (below)...

Thank you so much Debbie!!! And I'm sure my husband is thankful for this cookbook too! :)

Here are some more pictures of sweet Jimmy Cocoa Puff. He is such a sweet boy.

Heres Jimmy home sick from school; laying on our sweet Hailey Dog!

Happy Valentines to everyone this week! If I get around to it I'll update my blog again for that holiday. All though...look how long it took to blog our birthdays. ;)

Playing around with my blog...

So I have changed background pages like I change clothes. That's it I think it's time to order a customized one! hmmmmm...maybe someday.;)
I have so many pictures to share from mine and Shianne's birthday this month. Can't seem to find the time to download them though. Thought I would also share a special something I read last night...might I add LATE last night. It was written by Greg Laurie. Boy oh boy did I need to read this last night. I just love how God works. I mean really... just look at the title! Did I mention I was up "late" last night?...
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God Works the Night Shift

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Yesterday at 4:43pm

It’s 3:00 A.M., the house is quiet, your family members are asleep, it is warm, it is dark, and you should be asleep . . . but your mind is racing, your heart is pounding, and worries overwhelm you.

You might be thinking about the pressing needs of a tomorrow that will find you unprepared, or it may be an area of concern—financial, relational, or employment. You may even find yourself continually in a place where you are out of hope and out of peace. A place that points to a spiritual separation from God that leaves you vulnerable and open to attacks of anxiety and the enemy.

There is something about this part of the night that seems to magnify all of these problems, and I am not sure exactly why that is. Maybe that is why the psalmist said “He guards us from the flaming arrows at night.”

Pray, and let God worry

I am convinced that we need God’s help, not only when we are alert and awake but even when we are sleeping. I think that it’s a great thing to end the day in prayer, as you get ready to go to sleep. I know that I do. It has been said that God works the nightshift, and it is so true.

But the best place to start is back at the beginning of each new day. Start your day in prayer, committing your decisions, your challenges, whatever you are going to face that day to the Lord. And then, as I suggested, end your day with prayer too. In each instance, our prayer should be, “Lord, here it is. I commit it to You.”

It reminds me of a quote from Martin Luther, “Pray and let God worry.” I like that. Not that God worries, but the idea is that you should pray about it, rather than worry about it.

Is something troubling you right now?

Let me ask you right now, is there something troubling you? Is there something eating at you? Bothering you? Irritating you? Causing you to be afraid?

Pray about it, right now. Just say, “Lord, I can’t handle it.” Philippians says, “Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. And the peace of God that passes all human understanding will keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.”

So don’t worry. Pray. You will sleep, and live, much better.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

I found the following page on the internet this morning...just had to share. Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!!!!

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Question: "What does the Bible say about racism, prejudice, and discrimination?"

Answer: The first thing to understand in this discussion is that there is only one race—the human race. Caucasians, Africans, Asians, Indians, Arabs, and Jews are not different races. Rather, they are different ethnicities of the human race. All human beings have the same physical characteristics (with minor variations, of course). More importantly, all human beings are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to lay down His life for us (John 3:16). The “world” obviously includes all ethnic groups.

God does not show partiality or favoritism (Deuteronomy 10:17; Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9), and neither should we. James 2:4 describes those who discriminate as “judges with evil thoughts.” Instead, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves (James 2:8). In the Old Testament, God divided humanity into two “racial” groups: Jews and Gentiles. God’s intent was for the Jews to be a kingdom of priests, ministering to the Gentile nations. Instead, for the most part, the Jews became proud of their status and despised the Gentiles. Jesus Christ put an end to this, destroying the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:14). All forms of racism, prejudice, and discrimination are affronts to the work of Christ on the cross.

Jesus commands us to love one another as He loves us (John 13:34). If God is impartial and loves us with impartiality, then we need to love others with that same high standard. Jesus teaches in Matthew 25 that whatever we do to the least of His brothers, we do to Him. If we treat a person with contempt, we are mistreating a person created in God’s image; we are hurting somebody whom God loves and for whom Jesus died.

Racism, in varying forms and to various degrees, has been a plague on humanity for thousands of years. Brothers and sisters of all ethnicities, this should not be. Victims of racism, prejudice, and discrimination need to forgive. Ephesians 4:32 declares, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Racists may not deserve your forgiveness, but we deserved God’s forgiveness far less. Those who practice racism, prejudice, and discrimination need to repent. “Present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Romans 6:13). May Galatians 3:28 be completely realized, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Recommended Resource: Bible Answers for Almost All Your Questions by Elmer Towns.

This page is also available in: Chinese, Indonesia, Hebrew, Korean, Română, Arabic, Thai, Español, Russian, Português, Nederlands, Polski, Tagalog, Français, Srpski, Hrvatski, Italiano, Deutsch, Greek, Bulgarian, Japanese, Slovenčina, Cesky, Melayu, Sinhala, Trad-Chinese, Malayalam, Urdu, Việt

JUST FOR FUN!!! :)

LOL... NOW THERE'S AN EXPRESSION...

WE GAVE THE DOG A BATH TODAY... SHE WAS VERY GRATEFUL...

YA... BIG DORK I KNOW... LOL

MISSING ALL MY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FAMILY & FRIENDS... CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU!!! LOVE YOU!!!

Thanksgiving Morning ...and more

Last week was the kids last week of school until January. I think I'm loving this year round school schedule! :) I get to have them home at the "PERFECT" time of year.


Thanksgiving was certainly different for us this year; being away from all the people we love so much. The kids got up and played cards while the famous Rose Parade was on. We played a game of tennis, played at the park- all the while my hubby was at home watching football and baking a tri-tip roast and sliced ham. We were way too late for Turkey- they were sold out. Jay doesn't like turkey much anyway- so we really didn't make a big deal out of it this year. Dinner was great! The best part was sitting down together as a family saying our prayers, and talking about what we are all thankful for.

Now... we've just been putting a lot of puzzles together and getting the house ready for Christmas. I can't wait to go down South and see all our family! The picture above pretty much shows how I feel about seeing everybody! ;) LOL ABSOLUTELY GIDDY!!!

"Joy came down on Christmas Day
As angels came to earth
Heralding the miracle
of our Messiah's birth."""

-Anon