Around Here #7

it's been difficult lately. reed is precious and she's high maintenance! its true what they say-- every child is different. the other four, as babies, we're self soothing. this factor came in extremely handy as i home-schooled and needed some cushion room to teach and still care for a newborn. reed loves to be in the sling and only in the sling. if she's not in there her time alone is short-lived. some times i cry and feel so overwhelmed. then there's days that the circumstances have not changed but i feel God's grace calm my weary soul. don't get me wrong she's a huge blessing! we love her forever and cant imagine life without her but i'm human and i get overwhelmed too. even as i type this i'm struggling to keep her content as she's already well fed, changed and sleepy. but i lover her and she's worth the struggle:)

1. sometimes running a mile outside is our p.e.

 2. a new headband

3. our home in the process of becoming our home.

 4. fitting in science experiments with a new born can be a challenge.

5. school on my bed has been a frequent.

 6. oh city you're a ham.

 7. we are loving our church work days

 8. city's signature lip pose

 9. visiting the broad

10. the kids appreciating contemporary art

i celebrated my birthday with friends, music, and encouraging chatter. i was so blessed and refreshed. i love how God brings people into your life that are sources of fresh air. i love them all dearly.

TOP 10

the hustle and bustle of Christmas is over. by the way, i love this chilly time of year, maybe everybody does juxtaposed to southern california's past summer!

at the end of the year new toys come in from family and friends so we purge out the old, or highly unused, and make way for some new. the forgotten toys i pack up and store and in a few months i bring them out-- abandoned toys into new toys!

there's some toys that get used frequently, i mean the kids forget about them for a few days but then, there they are, pulling out those same ol' toys. many times things become toys : )

here's a few that have stuck with our family. but every family is different, so what are yours?

1. blocks

via diapers

2. legos

via wikihow

3. super hero costumes

via halloweencostumes 

4. small action figures

via amazon

5. hot wheels

via walmart

6. paper. yes paper

via office depot

7. kitchen toys

via greenbabyguide

8. string. yup.

image via wikipedia  

9. a bedtime soft toy

image via amazon

AND

10. cloth!

via joann

something we've been doing lately--celebrating boredom. when the kids complain about being bored we celebrate. i tell them "thats awesome!" and

Around Here #6

it's been a busy fun summer. i'm so sad the kids start school soon. God give me strength!

4th of july came and went.

 first try at making mediterranean chicken skewers.

 lots of fun at the beach.

 gender reveal party for my nephew's baby. speaking of gender, i have to share the pictures i took of the kids gender reveal surprise for them.

 these two, dear friends becoming one.

finally put up my map after years in storage.

relaxing in the hammock.

 key's jewelry shop established :)

summer nights with the kids riding their bikes around the block as city skates around with daddy.

a decade of sweet friendship

we celebrated our 10 year anniversary! i was super exhausted after the two day fiesta but definitely felt thankful throughout the celebration. 10 years is a big deal around here, well, at least for us it is. but when we are around our church family 10 years is just the beginning. our longest marriage in our church is 72 years! and all around us there's a plethora of wisdom that pj and i haven't tapped into yet...maybe in 40 more years?

as i reflect on our marriage, i can't help think of the marriages i see at our church that portray what marriage can look like in the long run. there seems to be a lot of: sweetness, playfulness, faithfulness, physical pain, and a pleading with God. the last one stands out. what i mean by that is, they seem to know-- know deep inside themselves-- that they can plead with God in prayer because he answers them. maybe a certain closeness to God because of the years walked with him. i'm not sure but i'm trying to watch and learn from these saints who know more about life than i do.

10 years together has been hilarious, fun, frustrating, eventful, sweet, deep, loving, spicy and much, much more. he truly does complete me. my weaknesses are his strengths and my strengths are his weaknesses. God has blessed us with a deep friendship and with kids that have strengthened us as humans and as believers in King Jesus.

It's been awhile

i didn't like this space for awhile. it made me nauseous. now that i'm out of my first trimester things are looking a little brighter.

i felt cooped up in my own body! i had ideas and things to write about so my head wouldn't explode but felt too tired and sick to express anything.

so much has happened that i can't keep track of everything. majority all good, praise the Lord.

we're in our new home and things are feeling a little more settled. it wasn't feeling like home for awhile but just recently it's feeling better--not home yet--but better.

summers here which means the kids are out of school, thank God! i needed a break, and i know they did too.

our 10th anniversary is coming up this thursday!!!! i'm not sure what we're doing yet (we both aren't planners:) but spontaneous is the way to go!

yesterday we celebrated father's day and i was reflecting on how God has been so gracious and kind to me. i found an old, handwritten list of all the things i wanted in a godly husband and i dedicated it to the Lord. i prayed over the list and asked God to please answer my prayer. he did! i'll have to share it after our anniversary. on the list was that he'll "love children." pj definitely loves children--you can tell, he wants lots of his own! i love him SO much!

 can't believe we'll have 5 kids!

 foods i'm craving.

 our new living space.

abba and his fam.

Around Here #5

It's feeling crazy around here. a lot of good stuff and a lot of hard stuff. but all-in-all, God has been working and things have been looking hopeful in the Lord.  

a vacation run in San Diego

in san diego

a must stop on our way to san diego rockin' baja lobster

the san juan capistrano mission

key doing math

my birthday gift

Since the last time I posted these are a few snap shots of what's been going on around here.