Lilypie Fourth Birthday tickers
Lilypie Third Birthday tickers

Monday, January 25, 2010

RYAN!!!!!!!

This weekend Ryan (best guy friend from college) came for a visit!! We had such a great time. It was too short, but wonderful. His wife and kids are in Idaho visiting her parents so he seized the opportunity to head down here. The boys LOVED him and I think the feeling was mutual.

We love you, Ryan!! Thank you so much for coming down to see us. It was the highlight of our year thus far. :)

Ryan is a cop and is currently working graveyards. So, being the stud that he is, he got off work Saturday morning and just drove straight down (from the bay area). Once here, he decided to just stay up and not sleep. So he was awake for like 31 hours!!! What a guy. So here is him sound asleep on the couch this morning. You should know that the boys were running around crazy, watching Veggie Tales, and he just slept right through it. Now THAT'S talent!!!


Reading to the boys this morning...

Bestest buddies!!!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

still alive!

I know, I know, haven't posted in awhile. Things have been BUSY with Dan starting back to school and entertaining two young children.

Eli had his 18 month check up last week.

23 lbs., 14.5 oz (25th percentile)
31.5 inches (25th percentile)

So still small but definitely proportionate. To give you an idea, Jayden was 33 inches at 18 months. But he was also 24 pounds. So longer and skinnier.

Don't have much else big to talk about so here's a cute pic to tide you over.. :)

These two little boys are the bestest of friends. Its pretty stinking cute.

Saturday, January 09, 2010

bestest buddies

18 months old...wow

Eli is 18 months old today!! Hard to believe. His first year felt kind of slow and long, full of sleeplessness and exhaustion. But these last six months, they have FLOWN by. I really feel like I BLINKED and bam, here we are.

What's he up to?
*He has 8 teeth now and is working on cutting his molars.
*He is walking, running, climbing, falling...basically doing all the things a little daredevil 18 month old would do.
*He is taking just one nap now, which is very nice cause it means we can be out and about all morning.
*He still loves his early bedtime and crashes at 6:30 every night. He sleeps till 6:30 or so in the morning. We are very blessed!
*He is definitely talking much more. He isn't stringing together two or three words much yet but he has TONS of words, too many to list here. He is repeating all sorts of things and tries to say anything we ask him to, including things like velcro and Jello and the like.
*He is wearing almost all 18 month clothing and a size 5 shoe (small feet).
*We have taken a break from cloth diapering for a variety of reasons and Eli is in size 4 diapers (same as Jayden, ha ha).
*Eli is as mellow as they come for the most part. He loves his mommy and daddy, loves his brother, and loves to be outside. He can get quite mad when he decides to be but for the most part is content to play and go with the flow. He is quite the cuddler and will often reach up and say, "Ma-meee" (his name for me right now) just so I'll pick him up and cuddle him. Needless to say, this MELTS my heart.
*Other than that, he has recently had an ear infection so bad that his eardrum ruptured. In his mellow, unaffected way he complained just a little. We took him in thinking he had an ear infection but had no idea it had gotten so bad! This kid amazes me!! He also has been fighting off a stomach bug the past week or so. Poor little guy. You wouldn't know it from him, though. He just cruises along, happy as can be!!!

We also think he is just ADORABLE, so feast your eyes on these shots from today!



Sweet Eli, we could NOT love you more but somehow manage to still fall more in love with you every day. We thank God for your surprise life, and the gift of raising you and calling you our son!!

Friday, January 01, 2010

a new decade

So my friend Jenny did a cool look back over her last decade. I decided to borrow a page from her book and do the same.
*A side note: This turned out to be REALLY long so if you can't get through the whole thing, I understand. :)

So, here we go...rewinding...

New Year's Day, 2000. I was in San Diego with my friends Ryan and Ann having a blast! It was our first of many New Year's spent together. Unfortunately, we have married (well that's not unfortunate..) and scattered and birthed children so we are not able to be together anymore. I still miss them every New Year's. When I think of the people who God has most used to shape who I am (with the exception of parents and Dan) these two top my list!

Summer of 2000 I spent in Colorado interning with Youth for Christ. Made some of the best friends I've ever had. Didn't sleep enough. Worked a lot. Had a blast. Fell in love with Colorado. God changed my life!

Fall of 2000 found me at APU. By the way, Dan will enter the scene in a starring role very soon but at this point, he was the guy who would show up on my doorstep in Azusa randomly and everyone wondered if he was secretly in love with me.

Summer of 2001 I moved home for the summer and spent a lot of time with Dan, who was working and hanging out in L.A.

Spring of 2002 I graduated from APU! Wahoo! Dan didn't make graduation cause he was in Mexico. I saw him that weekend and poured my heart out to him about my recent broken heart (he just keeps popping up huh?).

I also started working at Hillview Acres Children's Home right as I graduated. It was a wonderful and challenging time in my life. Life changing for sure. Made some of my best friends of all time.

January of 2003 Dan up and moved to the east coast, which really left me very sad, even though I would have said that I didn't care at the time.

March of 2003 Dan returned home for his birthday and we had another "random cuddling incident." Back he went to the east coast and I said to Ryan and Ann, "I think I MIGHT KIND OF like Dan." Ryan celebrated quietly in his own mind as he had been wanting us together for quite some time.

May of 2003. Dan returns home again. During another random cuddling incident he says, "So is this a good idea or does it happen just because its comfortable?" We agreed to think and pray about our relationship. He returned again to the east coast, leaving me near heartbroken. At this point I was definitely "in like."

At this point I was still working at Hillview. That July I flew out to see Dan and attend a conference with friends. When the issue of our relationship came up, Dan said to me, "I love you but I'm not IN love with you." Heartbroken again. The rest of the trip, though, the sparks were flying and I kept thinking, "Ok either Dan was lying to me or to himself."

August of 2003 Dan flies home again and we spend mounds of time together.

August 30, 2003 we start dating.

That next February we got engaged.

In March he moved back to L.A.


November 20, 2004 we say "I Do!!!"

May of 2005 we experience a miscarriage. God really showed me a lot through that but one big thing was how amazing the man I married is. His love and support through that time was incredible.

September of 2006...PREGNANT again. This time, with the Jayden boy!



may of 2007...Jayden arrives!!

November of 2007...a trip to the ER for a possible kidney infection turns into finding out Eli was on his way! 6 weeks pregnant and had no idea. It takes about a week for the shock to wear off.

May of 2008 we moved back to L.A. so Dan could start school in the fall.
Jayden also turns ONE, just a mere seven weeks before his little brother is due to arrive. Craziness!


July 2008...Eli arrives!
November of 2008- The Thanksgiving 2008 Stomach Flu hits our house. Wow, talk about A LOT of people VERY sick at the same time, with two very small children to care for.

December of 2008- Our first Christmas as a family of four. We managed to survive the first 6 months of having a 1 year old and an infant. At times it felt like it we might not, let's just say that!


January of 2009- We head to Seattle for a family vacation, visiting the Trumans and Lyndsey and Mark (pictured below). Fun fun fun!!!


May of 2009

Jayden turns TWO!!!

June of 2009. My dad undergoes quadruple bypass, flatlining twice on the table. We're told he might be brain dead. He wasn't. Praise God. Flatlined again in the hospital a few days after the surgery. Got a pacemaker. Had a stroke. Clot miraculously dissolved, leaving him with just a slight limp. We all praise God again.


July of 2009- Eli turns ONE. I marvel at how fast a year can go and simultaneously rejoice that Eli is one and mourn the end of his babyhood. Life is weird like that.

September 2009- Dan starts L.A. Term, a required semester for his Global Studies degree. Four months of exhaustion ensue, accompanied with a nasty bout with strep throat that leaves him with weird tremors. Many medical tests follow- everything comes back clear. Life is weird like that. I am reminded to not take my wonderful, amazing, incredible, handsome, Godly husband for granted!!

November of 2009- Dad lands back in the hospital with blood clots in his lung and his leg. Enough medical stuff already, God!! :)

December of 2009- Dan finishes L.A. Term and the entire world breaks out in rejoicing. Ok, maybe it was just me. Hee hee.

December 31, 2009- We say good riddance to 2009 when it comes to an end!!! Ok that's a bit dramatic. God has used this year to teach us a lot and we are thankful for that. But I would say it has been, by far, my most challenging year yet. Challenges in parenting, in marriage, in trusting God with my dad's life, etc. have continually driven me to my knees, even if to just say, "God forgive me..." for handling it all so poorly. We are looking forward to what God will teach us in this next year while also hoping for less "drama."

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!