.::MOPS Outing::.

I am so lucky to be able to be home this year so that I can spend some time with Caiden. I get to go to Women's bible study, and MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). It has been a great year, one that I will always look back on with fondness. I am so lucky to have had this time, and am enjoying every day until I have to go back to work. My MOPS group went to a fire station where one of the Ladies husband, Curtis Mueller, works. We had a great time, and I look forward to doing more things with these ladies.

Mr. Mueller talking about parts of the firetruck right before....

They got a call!! They got 3 calls during the time that we were there, and had to leave.

One of the only fire poles left in Visalia

Caiden was being a turd and didn't want to smile for the camera.

                                                            Caiden playing with Emily and Jake

Such a handsome boy!

So this started out... "So do you guys like to do arts and crafts with paper and scissors? This is our version of arts and crafts. This can cut a car in half !!" So funny!

In full garb

Talking to the kiddos telling them not to be scared if firemen come to their door.



 Caiden got to drive the firetruck!



Thanks to the people at the Visalia Fire Department for letting us come and learn about fire safety!

.::Basketball::.

So this year we decided to put Christopher in Basketball at the Naz league. It's non-competitive, so he can get the feel of the game without having to worry about being so caught up in scoring points and letting his team mates down. He has actually done indoor soccer, fall soccer, T-ball and Coach-pitch baseball through the Naz so far and has done well at all of them. Although I asked him recently what his favorite was, and he definitely prefers Baseball and Basketball. He is getting better and better at being aggressive and going into the mix of things and not just standing off to the side. I am so proud of how he is growing and maturing, and I can't wait to see how he continues to grow and mature in the years to come. He is currently almost 7 years old and already 4'4" tall, so I think Basketball is well suited for him. :) Here are some pics of his season.

Christopher is in the back by the scoreboard, he just shot the ball... It's still in the air.

Christopher shooting again... Don't think he made this one.



There's my # 4

Chilling with some of his teammates waiting to trade in.

Can't believe how big he's getting... He's almost 7!!

Christopher and his Coach, Bob

It was a great season, and we are looking forward to many more times being able to watch our boys play sports.

.::Tyrone Wells::.

We love Tyrone Wells. Well, his music anyway. His voice is AH-MAY-ZING. Like the goosebumps up and down your whole body kind of great. No editing necessary. He is an amazing individual. He loves Jesus and it shows in the way that he interacts with his audience. He stays around after every show so that his fans can talk to him, and purposefully sells his tickets so that people can afford to go to his shows. I have been to so many of his concerts (Seriously... I've lost count. I think it's like 12 now) that he remembers me and comes up to give me a hug every time he sees me. If you haven't, I reccommend that you check out his music. It's available on iTunes. His concerts are great, so if you have a chance to go, I HIGHLY reccommend it. I've never paid more that $20 a ticket, so it's super affordable. And if you don't have anyone to go with, ask me. I'd LOVE to go with you! Here are some pictures of the highlights of our day on Saturday, including some pics from the concert, and a video clip or two (if I can figure out how to upload the video).



Spent the day at Downtown Disney

Where we waited in line for the concert for 2 hours... that's dedication!

February Line-up

Got to watch the guy making these awesome caramel apples at the candy store.



Too cute to eat!

Looking forward to taking Christopher here for his birthday.
You can desgn and build your own RC car. He'll LOVE it!

Dinner at the Rainforest Cafe'.

Tyler Hilton opened

Tyrone!

Mike Kopulos, Tyrone Wells, Aaron Bishop

Tyrone and his wife, Elina, sang a couple songs together.

This is one of my favorite songs. He talks a little bit before he sings, and this gives you an idea of the kind of guy that he really is. He is definately in this business for a reason, and blesses many many people with his music.

.::A Walk Down Memory Lane::.

Eric and I got to take a little weekend trip this weekend. We were going to a concert in Anaheim, but while we were down there, we thought we'd take a walk down memory lane. We both grew up in the LA area. I was born in Orange, and Eric was born in Norwalk. We took some time to drive past each of the houses that we spent the first few years of our lives in.



This is the house where Eric spent the first 7 years of his life.



This is where I was born



This is the house that I spent the first 6 years of my life in.

.::Golden Opportunities::.

Our family has been blessed beyond measure in the past year. So, with change comes new opportunities.
         Let me start by prefacing this: I have always wanted to move out of the Central Valley, California, etc., ever since I was old enough to think for myself. I had some great times growing up, made some awesome friends, but I had always felt that I was meant to live somewhere else. However, the older I get, the harder and harder it has been for me to think about leaving my family. My family is my world, and to think about not being a 10-15 minute drive from them is hard to deal with.

        On to the new opportunities: About a week and a half ago, we found out about a job in Livermore, California. For those who don't know where that is, it's about 190 miles northwest of Visalia, closer to the Bay Area, about 44 miles east of San Francisco. The job would have been a promotion for Eric, getting him out of the mechanics position and into the office. Eric interviewed for the position, it was offered to him, but he turned it down, because it would have involved a decrease in pay. His boss was dissapointed that he didn't take it, and implied that he really wanted him to work in Livermore, where his boss works. Because Eric turned the job down, his boss told him about a mechanics position that is going to be opening up at the Livermore shop in the coming months. The job isn't open yet, but Eric was told by his boss that he would be the first to know when it did open. From the response that he got from his boss, We think that it is a sure thing that Eric would be offered the job.

        So, our goal in letting people know this is that we want people to pray for and with us. We need prayer that:

* God would make it very apparent either if we are or are not to make this move.
* That if this is God's will, that the details would be worked out (our house sold, house for us to live there, a job for me, school for Christopher and Caiden, etc.)
* That we would be able to fix up the house here so that we can sell it.
* If it happens, that the transition with the boys would be smooth, and the boys would feel safe and  loved during this time of transition.

Nothing is set in stone yet. We don't know what the outcome will be, but we do know that we need guidance, we need prayer, and we need answers!! We are asking you all, our family, and anyone else to pray with and for us as we consider and pray for God's guidance in this decision and for His will to be apparent in this situation.

Thank you for praying with and for us, and we will definately keep praying that God's will is done in this situation.

.::Precious Moments::.

When the typical couple gets married, they have what they call the "honeymoon" period. No kids, able to pick up and go wherever and whenever they want, stay up late, sleep in on weekends, etc. Well, needless to say, Eric and I never had that. From the beginning, my fear was that Eric would resent that. That he would get upset that we couldn't just be carefree and fun-loving with no responsibilities. As it turns out, he has been so wonderful. He has accepted the boys and loved them from the moment he met them. I am so blessed to have a husband who not only minds that I had kids, but loves them and enjoys every moment that he spends with them. For those of you who know me, know that I love to sleep in. So I am lucky that Eric is a morning person and doesn't mind getting up early with the boys when he can to let me sleep in a little bit. It's heaven. 

So even though we have a wonderful life, we also need some time for just the two of us. It's so important that we don't get so busy in the day to day grind of life that we forget to invest in each other. Even though by definition, we are still "newlyweds," we have both commented that we feel that we have been married so much longer than 3 months because of the way our life is. But neither of us would have it any other way, despite the fact that our life is so crazy with school, Awanas, homework, work, basketball, etc. 

We don't have lots of time to spend together, but we do have "moments." We have tried to take advantage of those moments. Whether that is just a few hours together after the boys go to bed, or dinner together while they are spending time with their dad a couple nights a week, or a weekend away every once in awhile. Luckily, our parents recognize the need for us to spend time together, to connect, to laugh, and to be husband and wife without the pressures of being Mommy and Dad. For Christmas, my parent's present to us was a weekend away in Pismo at the SeaCrest Hotel while they watched the kids. We had a great time together.

While we were there, we did something crazy. Eric had been wanting to get a tatto

o since he was 18, but in his words "never knew the right thing to get." So after talking and thinking about it, he finally took the plunge.  Here is the picture that we took in, along with the final product.

    







We were super happy with the result, and it's something that we will remember forever. We had a great experience, and will definately remember that day forever. I don't know if it's visible from the picture, but our wedding date, (10.16.10) is tattooed on the bottom left of the wave.

  We had so much fun, and enjoyed every second that we got to spend together. 

   





We got there in time to see a beautiful sunset on Friday night



 





.::Bulls-eye::.

My first time shooting in like 20 years.

So awhile back, Eric bought me a membership to the gun range in hopes that I would go shooting with him. So this past weekend, we were finally able to go together. Here are some pictures of our time out at the range. 



 

Mine was the top target and Eric's was the bottom

















More shooting





Eric shooting



We had a lot of fun shooting together, and

I'm sure that we will spend more time at the

range together. I know Eric is looking forward

to teaching the boys to shoot and having many

bonding times with them.

   

 



My target with the bigger gun... not bad, if I do say so myself!