Month: August 2012

I am writing this with huge gratitude to my God to thank Him for all that I have in life. Often we complain and get stuck on the negative, but what we don’t see is all the positive. Lately, I have been appreciating all that God has blessed me with. I look at my two most precious miracles and just can’t help but smile and thank God for allowing me to have my Isabella and my Joshua to raise. I ask nothing but to help us raise them the way He intended for them. I want them to be His children, that will soon become adults and will make their decisions based on what we will equip them with. My only desire is for these little people to be godly human beings, that will only add the positive to this world and be the light for those that do not know Christ. Then I look at both of our families, our parents, our siblings and think- Wow! God, how did I deserve to have a family like mine? What did I do that you granted me people that love me so very much and wish only what is best for me, when there are so many unwanted children in this world. My heart cries for those children and adults that never knew what being loved feels. Often, my head starts spinning, because I want to do so much for people in need and then somehow things get put on a back burner and I do not follow through. My goal is to change that this year and we will start with birthdays. We will try to do acts of kindness for every birthday in our family, no matter how small it is, whether it’s paying for someone’s meal or going to visit someone very alone at the hospital…there are so many opportunities. I can not wait for my children to learn that we were put on this earth to do good and to be the light for those that are in the dark without any hope. Sometimes my heart stops when I think that we are surrounded by so many people that we care for and they know nothing about our precious Christ and how much He loves them. I can’t help but wonder, what they think will happen to them after death and yet I get so scared to ask. Barry and I were just talking how easy it is for us to think that we will live forever on this earth, we age every year, but yet we do not feel any older. The truth of it all is yes, we will die and I can barely contain the joy of knowing that I have my God and I will go to be with Him when my time comes…but what about those that don’t?!? Our time on this earth is so short, it’s a blink of an eye and yet we treat it like it’s forever. Dear God, help me to always be the light, help me tell those that do not know of You. Thank you for every single miracle in my life, for the little blessings that I get to wake up to every day and for the families and friends we are surrounded with, thank you for breathing right now, thank you for giving us a reason to celebrate each day, no matter what it brings, thank you for picking us up when we fall and feel like we don’t have strength to get up, thank you for giving us lavished homes, food and clothes, thank you for providing for us, thank you for health, most of all, thank you for your love and for letting Yourself be known to us! Life would be dull and absolutely worthless without You!

After a long thought of what we can do that would be fun for the whole family, Barry came up with idea to go to the Rail Road Museum. As soon as he pitched the idea, I thought what a brilliant idea, especially with how much Bella loves trains. We packed pretty much our whole house and left for our half day trip. I often forget how fun old town of Sacramento can be. It has been a long while since I have gone there, but have certainly enjoyed it with our little family. The last time I visited the museum, was probably about 15+ years ago, so it was like looking at everything for the first time. We all loved it, including Joshy 😉 Bella has never seen a train so up close, so we had a little bit of drama with fear, but she got over it pretty quickly. Barry and I both enjoyed reading some of the history and checking out the trains inside. It is funny how things change with time. I got to a point in life, where I am getting excited about museums again, because I want my kids to learn as much as possible, but if you asked me to go visit one about three years ago, I would nicely decline 😉 We have so many exciting things to look forward to. God give us wisdom, strength, health and most of all patience 🙂

I honestly can not believe I am writing this, where did the time go, how did my tiny- tiny boy, became old enough to eat more than just breast milk? Before he was even born, I told myself that I will not rush him when it comes to solids, because it’s truly not necessary if baby nurses. Little did I know, it was not about when I decide that he is ready it was about when he decides and he certainly decided that he is ready. This guy has been eyeing real food for a while now and I could barely drag it out to six months as he would literally sit on your lap and watch you bring your fork or spoon from your plate to your mouth and open his, just in case it would make it in. Every time he does that, I can barely eat, as I know his hope never dies and he still thinks that one of those bites will make it into his mouth 😉 Bella was a very picky eater since the very beginning and I am almost certain that it’s maybe because it was not her time to eat yet, but I was overly excited to get her started. Joshy on the other hand is in love with everything I have given him so far. His first food ever, was a banana. He was not sure what he thought at first, but then got the hang of it and absolutely loved it. So far, he has tried bananas, rice cereal, avocados, butternut squash, peaches and yogurt. He loved all of it! As soon as I put him in high chair, this little guy gets so excited that he doesn’t know what to do. Every bowl of food is always finished and he waits for more…This little guy is going to be a little giant 😉

I still can not believe that my dear friend Toma is now married and a wife! I can not be happier for her and Elijah. What a blessing to find your soul mate and have God guide you through the new beginnings that bring both of you to the altar before Him. It was such a joy to watch them as they exchanged vows and just were both glowing every minute of the wonderful celebration. I felt honored to be part of it and was very happy to be there right by Toma’s side as she took yet another big step in life, she became a wife 🙂 It’s so much fun to have her tell me about all the things she loves about Elijah, who is now her husband and how much she waited for this day. They were married at Kearney park in Fresno, on a very hot day of 106 degrees, but nothing was more memorable than the two of them looking each other in the eye , very much in love with contagious smiles 🙂 Thank you precious Lord for guiding them to find one another and I pray that you bless their marriage as they begin this brand new and exciting journey together.

Yet another wonderful holiday that reminds us at what cost our freedom comes. Today, I feel grateful to all men and women that have and are serving our country so that our families can sleep peacefully at night. I can’t help but always think about the cost of my personal freedom that God granted me. What a high price for Christ to pay for all of our cruel sins and yet so often we are very ungrateful. I just pray that not only on 4th of July I remember this costly truth but every day as I take another breath.

Our little family had a chance to get away with Lois and Robert to Santa Cruz, where they rented a house for their vacation and asked us to join them. Of course we gladly accepted, since we do not get to get out much these days and it was a perfect opportunity to spend some quality time together. Before this, I have been to Santa Cruz only once and it left somewhat of a sour taste in my mouth, so the location did not get me all that excited, but I was happy to give it another chance and I am glad I did. This time around, I have seen quite a bit more of what Santa Cruz has to offer and I realized that it’s not just all about the Boardwalk and a dirty beach. We spent quite a bit of time at the beach, went on walks, ate yummy food and tried to relax, but I have come to one conclusion that vacations are not quite vacations anymore. Now days it is more about changing a scenery, because you pretty much do the same thing as at home with the kiddos, it’s just in a different place. The feeding, changing, bathing and laundry all come with you 😉 We had a great time and are grateful to Robert and Lois for inviting us on this little get away. Hanging out with Sarah was a great bonus to the trip, we were bummed Bobby was called to go on a fire.

I am blessed beyond measure with my Papi! The words can not describe how much I love him and how much of a role model he has been in my life. His quiet and humble nature, brings me nothing but joy. Our heavenly Father has blessed me with the most amazing dad who loves me very much and my mind does not even fathom how much love my God has for me. It is truly a day of celebration and reflection of how much love I have in my life. I love watching my dad with Bella and how much she adores him. Papa has a very special place in her heart and I hope she always knows how blessed she is to have such Papa in her life. My sweet husband celebrated his first Father’s day as a daddy of two 🙂 What a blessing! Thank you precious Lord for gifting me the most amazing dad and for being my Heavenly Father.

Our princess has finished her first round of swimming lessons and even got her first report card upon finishing it.  Is she swimming? No.  But, she loves the concept and she loves to kick in the water.  Her favorite ting of all is “play time” where they go into shallow end and pick out the toys they want to play with.  This girl is quite a character and I can’t help but laugh just remembering all the drama while trying to make her go under water or simply ask her to blow bubbles.  I am proud to report, that she has mastered the bubble blowing and kicking.  She goes under water if I or Barry put her under water, however she still very strongly dislikes that 😉  We are looking forward to taking both her and Joshy to swim classes next year.  I am more than certain she will love it more next year.  In the mean time, she is practicing her bubbles in the bath tub, almost daily 🙂  Oh how I love that girl!  Below are some pictures of memories created.