december

what a crazy busy month!! 

full of activities, performances and parties! 

and i've got pictures to prove it:

This was just the first week of December (and last week of November)

Next up were Jackson's Christmas programs:

2 with our church MVCC

1 with his school 

We were so proud of Jackson. No crying at his performance this year. YAY! 

Hoping your busy Christmas season was Merry, too! 

me minus sugar plus camera equals happy

minus sugar

The month of October was a good one. For 30 days I decided to give up or fast from processed sugar. Crazy? Um, yeah. Pretty much. But when I saw a co-worker/friend of mine and how skinny she had become, giving up processed sugar was her secret. I want(ed) to be skinny, too, so I decided to try it. Just so happened the church we currently attend was encouraging us to "give up" something for 30 days as we were going through a certain study. Giving up sugar was hard. And there just happened to be a handful of birthdays at work in October. How 'bout that?! The first few weeks were the hardest, but it did get easier as I got into a routine. By the end of the month I lost a total of 5.2lbs. AND I only worked out maaaaaybe twice. maybe. Unfortunately, when the fast was over and I indulged in baby crack sugar again, I gained some back. Which sucks. But it does show what sugar does to me. There are things I'm sticking to, like only eating bread from Trader Joe's that doesn't have sugar. Did you know that in Oro Wheat's whole wheat bread the second ingredient is sugar? I was shocked. There are a few other frequently eaten food items that we buy only from Trader Joe's that do not have sugar, and I'd like to keep it that way.

plus camera

I might have lost a few "el-be's" but I gained a new toy. A toy I'd been wanting and researching for a month or two.  After one of the two nights I went to the gym I came home to this!  Matt totally surprised me. I thought we might get one for Christmas. might. To say that I was excited would be an understatement. And I just might have peed a little. This new camera is even  more incentive to blog and post pictures. Thanks, Matty; you delight my heart. 

*happy mama*

halloween

this year for halloween, we made our kids costumes. it came from a request from jackson to be a "funny guy." thankfully, my wonderful mother-in-law volunteered to make it. thank you, Doris! ashlyn told me "i want to continue your obsession with owls, mom. can i be an owl for halloween?" of course i said YES! and decided (with a lot of help from the m-i-l, again) to make her a pink owl. here are the highly anticipated pictures from halloween...

it was a fun evening. nobody asked about jackson's costume. but even when i explained what he was, he wouldn't do his "funny guy." oh well. thanks, again, Doris, for all your help! we love you very, very much!

GO GREEN MACHINES!

GO GREEN MACHINES! 

just had our last game.

what a great season it was. 

makes it even better when shared with good friends!

 GOOOAL!!!

 love these kids

jaxon. bella. jackson. 

...looking forward to t-ball...

August 10, 2011

August 10th, 2011

*I've been wanting to post this (since I had written it like eons ago)... so here it is. one of my favorite stories of all time.*

On our way to Break the Barriers, Jackson asked me "Why can't I see God?" He's asked this before, but not having an answer that he could possibly understand, I sort of dismissed it. This time, though, I prayed a little "Lord help me explain..." type of prayer and this began our conversation.

Me: "well, it's sort of like the wind... we can see the trees blowing, but we can't see the wind." Jackson nods. Some how we start talking about what is "alive" and what is "dead." I explain how alive is when we eat and grow and breathe. But dead... is when our soul goes to heaven.

Jackson: "what's heaven?"

Me: "that's where God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit live. Did you know Jesus is God's son?" Jackson shakes his head 'no'. I then begin to explain how God had his son, Jesus, come to earth to tell people about God. I tried my best to explain the gospel in the most simple and understandable way I could... praying this makes sense in my little 3 year old's mind. I check in with him every few sentences to make sure this is getting through to him. I ask him "have you ever asked Jesus into your heart, Jackson?" he shakes his head 'no.' "Would you like to ask Jesus into your heart?" A huge grin appears on my little boys face and he says "YES."

I lead him through the prayer... (which he has been spontaneously praying lately thanking God for things and praying for friends and family around us... so I shouldn't have been surprised when he took over at the end) I realize that he wanted to pray on his own, without me leading him, so I said "go ahead, Jackson, you can finish the prayer..."

Jackson:"...and thank you God for living in my heart. I love you Jesus, so much. In Jesus' name, amen."

We were almost to BTB, but I couldn't help but let the tears rolls down my face, thanking God for this little man who has placed his faith in Jesus. I told him he needs to tell people, like Daddy and Grandma, that he has Jesus in his heart and he starts rambling off people he knows that love God. I laughed. He's too cute. But sure enough, when we see Grandma, he tells her "GRANDMA! I have Jesus in my heart!" This happened today, August 10th, 2011 around 9:40am. I know Jesus has a special place in his heart for children. And days like today, I can see why. :-)

meeto's

after soccer today we went to Deli Delicious for lunch. Matt and I learned a new spanish word...

Jackson: do you know what meeto's are? meeto's is spanish. cheeto's is english.

matt & me: *giggling* oh really?

me: *still giggling* where did you learn that?

Jackson: a long time ago, I was in high school, I learned that.

*insert full fledged laughter here*

Oh, Jackson that story coupled with you scoring your first goal in soccer... you delight my heart!

ashlyn's first birthday

There are a few highlights from this summer that I've wanted to post. Ashlyn's birthday is one of them. So... almost 3 months later, here it is.

July 1st, 2011 was a very hot day. We had A's party on her actual birthday. Crazy, I know! We also invited about a kajillion people. Lucky for us, only about 1/3 of them showed up. *phew* But seriously, there was a ton of people and our house isn't gigantic. Nor is our backyard. We made do, though. And so did our air conditioner.

I have to give some shout outs to those who were a HUGE help to me: Joni (my beeeauutiful sister in law!), Doris (my AH-mazing mother in law) and my always-helpful-never-complains-uncondtional-loving MOM. And thanks to those of you who came! If you never received your thank-you card... well, I never did get around to writing them... so Thank You for your gift. It was really special. *smile*

*pictures are from the previously mentioned beautiful sis in law*