Having a blast!

What a blessing our trip has been so far. The beach is directly across the street & fairly empty all day long! Nothing like a private beach. The weather has been great despite the forecast & we have made so many fun memories all ready! Can't wait to post all the pics.
Highlights for today were having popcorn & a movie in bed for BREAKFAST...the boys loved that! & playing catch with Daddy on the beach.

Happy Easter

It was a gorgeous, warm day today! A perfect day to celebrate the perfect Savior.

We had a blessed morning at church and then we headed home for a quick egg hunt by some sleepy boys. They loved slowly wandering around the yard, munching as they went. After that we went over to the Hamiltons who graciously open their home to those without family in the area! So kind, and we had such a nice day.

Tonight we have been busy packing for a week trip to the beach! Can't wait to spend an entire week with my handsome crew...

Found his basket!

everything gets a kiss from sweet Gabe, even the bubbles :)

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

5 years ago today...

2nd year

Our second year was filled with highs and lows and lots of growing spiritually and closer together in our marriage. Shortly after our first anniversary we found out that I was pregnant! We went in for our appointment to see that there was a placenta, yolk sack and a healthy blood supply to it all, but we couldn't find a baby... I had a blighted ovum. It occurs when the egg is fertilized, implants into the uterine wall but fails to mature past that point due to too many chromosome problems. When the egg implants it starts the whole pregnancy process and my body was moving full steam ahead even though the baby had stopped growing very early on. I was told that I would miscarry within a week or two...well 3 1/2 weeks went by and nothing happened. This was a very hard time for me as I was experiencing morning sickness and all the other pregnancy symptoms and I knew that the baby was not there. The waiting was so hard. I finally called the doctor and he was shocked I didn't miscarry and had to come in right away to have the placenta removed before it ruptured and caused alot of damage.

This was also very hard and very scary...not what we expected my first pregnancy being like!

But the Lord's timing in it all was perfect. The day of the procedure was the day before we were leaving to go to Palm Springs for the Resolved Conference...that year's theme being heaven and hell and living life with an eternal perspective! For 4 days I heard teaching from God's word on how not to live life focused solely on this life's trials and successes but on what is truly lasting and eternal, the gospel and who I am as a child of God. Being a child of God is what should define us first and foremost...not being a wife, MOTHER, girfriend, employee whatever~ WOW! I was so encouraged and refreshed and turned my sorrow into joy in light of who I am before Christ and not what I felt I had lost. AMAZING.

This is us at the conference.

That Thanksgiving we had the joy of traveling to Michigan for some sweet time with my extended family and for some snow!

Here is my Dad and Andrew shooting targets in my grandparents back yard.

My sweet Opa. He gives the best smooches :)

Here are all the cousins after our Thanksgiving meal, during which my cousin announced he was engaged! ...and we announced that we were Pregnant again!!! Such a special day to celebrate and thank God for his goodness to our family.

That Christmas we spent with Andrew's family and though I felt sick most of the time, I didn't mind at all :)

We had a special evening in San Francisco celebrating Papa's birthday

The peanut

In march, We both were a part of the Shepherd's Conference at our Church and our dear friend Suzie threw us a surprise baby shower during the conference!

Right after that the Lord provided a different place for us to live to suit our growing family. Here we are moving from our 1 bedroom apartment along a busy busy street with CRAZY neighbors :)

Our dear friend Hohn told us when we found out the sex of the baby he would take us out to Italian if it was a girl and to steak if it was a boy. Boy it was and we went to Ruth's Chris!! Perfect, since I was craving red meat my entire pregnancy! It was such a special night

In April Andrew's family threw us a wonderful shower- Baseball theme!

From the shower weekend we went straight to Carmel, where we were engaged, to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. We had a relaxing time and loved reliving our engagement memories

Thank you love for all the love, care and support you showed me during our 2nd year. You are such a kind man and I have always felt safe and loved with you. Thank you for continuing to pursue me and know my heart. You love me so well and I love you so much!

Newlyweds

Our first year of marriage seems like ages ago!... We had so much fun getting to know each other and learning to live together. I have always hated being alone in a house, so marriage suited me just fine! Andrew moved into where I was living so the change wasn't as big for me. A month after our wedding we traveled to Europe as chaperones on a high school World War 2 tour. It was amazing. 3 months later Andrew went to Seminary!

We attended more weddings than we could count that year, but we loved it.

In this pic we are at my high school and college friend/room mate Kamian's wedding in La Jolla

We loved visiting family together...especially seeing our only (then) niece joy who got all our love and attention!

Celebrating Joy's first birthday. I loved watching Andrew interact with her...made me excited to have kids and see him be a daddy!

It was fun to be a part of an office with office parties to bring my handsome hubby to: this was my office Christmas party in Westlake. Andrew was such a support and encouragement to me as I balanced learning to be a wife, caring for our home as well as working full time.

Our first Christmas together was spent with my parents in AZ. We had so much fun! My dad rented quads for the week and we tore up the neighborhood :)

For our first Anniversary, my parents spoiled us with a romantic getaway to Sedona AZ. What a beautiful place! We had a relaxing time thanking God for our year together and were so excited as we looked toward the future and all that we had planned (and not planned!)

I have so many happy memories from our first year: evening walks after dinner, hanging out with our friends, talks in the car during our long commute to and from church, moving from suburbia to the crazy valley ( I had a slight meltdown and was convinced I was going to die in the 405/101 interchange) dinners out, late movies, crazy apartment neighbors, picnics, most of all coming home to each other every day.

The Lord blessed us with a sweet first year with little conflict and lots of fun!

I love you babe and love our marriage!

Garden Bisque

Another soup recipe because we love soup! This is a great spring soup packed with veggies...use whatever you have on hand!

Garden Bisque

5 carrots diced

5 red potatoes diced

4 garlic cloves minced

3 crowns broccoli chopped

2 leeks thinly sliced

1 onion diced

Combine all veggies in a large soup pot with 5 cups chicken stock plus water if needed to cover the veggies. Throw in some dried basil, parsley, dill and a couple bay leaves ( or herbs of your liking) and bring to a boil. Simmer until veggies are soft.

Puree the veggies and broth, then return to pot. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 1/2 cup half-n-half. Serve with a drizzle of good quality olive oil and Enjoy!

Celebrating Palm Sunday- Hosanna!