Christmas

This was taken during the Crescent Moon, Jupiter & Venus alinement. It was so Beautiful, Thank You GOD!

I am looking forward to Christmas now. The rain is here, the cold has followed. I love this time of year, lots of snuggles, games with the boys by the wood burning stove and lots of laughter at the lights and sounds of the Christmas decor. I am so blessed this year. With lots of "girl"friends and family that I have reconnected with. I feel the love everyday. This has been the most awesome year yet. I know it isn't like that for all, but try and find the blessings within, the overlooked ones GOD has given you this year. We are negotiating a home to buy right now, what a great New Year's gift, but if it doesn't happen, that's ok. It isn't GOD's plan for us and I am satisfied with that. I have learned to now question everything, be grateful for the good and bad.

I pray that you all have the most Wonderful Christmas this year =)

Please Take A Look At THIS!!!

Please take a look! My friends daughter was attacked in Ramona and he needs to be brought to justice!

Suspect in Ramona Stabbing.
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Sketch courtesy Sheriff's Department



The Sheriff's Department has released this sketch of a man who slashed a woman in the back of the head while she was walking home from a Ramona bus stop on Tuesday.


The 18-year-old victim sustained a two-and-a-half inch laceration, sheriff's officials said. The attack occurred about 3:20 p.m. on Sawday Truck Trail in Ramona. The woman was able to run away after the attack.


The suspect was described as white, about 20 to 25 years old, 6 feet tall, with a thin and muscular build. He was clean-cut with a large nose and short or shaved dark hair, wearing a dark blue sweat shirt and black Dickies pants.


He was seen leaving in a silver, late-model foreign sedan.


Anyone with information can call Det. Lori-Ann Wells at (760) 789-9157.

here is our family christmas card this year. i bought some from the church, they were more expensive than i am used to paying so, we didn't get very many =( so i will share it here with you all.

the women's ministry just put on our annual Christmas Dinner for ladies. i was the coordinator and although it was highly stressful, i would volunteer for this event next year. i was warned about the stress that would be involved so, i prepared myself as much as possible. we had 184 ladies that attended this event, calling me to come up until 2 pm the day of the event. boston market catered, yummy, except we ran out of chicken and the ladies weren't to happy with ham or no salad. the desserts were a plenty. i was blessed to have 27 tables decorated all up to host the ladies of the evening. our speaker was our pastor's wife, she was great. i was really happy with her message of "the gift giver". all and all, i think the event was great!!!

Thank You to all the Women's Board who helped so much at this event. You took a lot of my stress away. Your awesome!!!!

Happy 32nd Birthday!

Well my birthday week started off with my friends throwing me a surprise birthday party. Now I knew that we were supposed to be doing something the tuesday night before my birthday but, didn't know WHAT! I was told to meet my friends at 4pm and we would carpool. I met them at 4pm, they were all at my friend Miranda's house waiting for me. Miranda made me Enchilada's, there was chocolate fondue, freshly made salsa and a magnificent cake with Marvin the Martian on top. I have some pretty wonderful friends.

On friday, my actual birthday, we got together for our normal "friday morning coffee", it was at Harr's house. Harr made the most awesome tasting breakfast. Thank you Harr! We all enjoyed a wonderful breakfast followed by coffee and "FRANK" conversations. I am really enjoying getting to know my friends more and more and we learn about each other. I am so blessed to have such amazing ladies in my life. That night my hubby and I watched Things We Lost In The Fire, It was a really good movie. I cried the whole way through but, it was still a movie I would recommend you all seeing.

Saturday morning, 6:15 am, my dad arrives to watch the boys. You see, my sweet hubby is taking me to Disneyland. I am so excited, it has been 7 years since our last time there. I was looking forward to spending the time with my hubby at Disneyland. On the way up we ate at Carrows, I worked for the restaurant change for 4 years (little side note). Food was great and we were full. Then we were off to DISNEYLAND!!! 9:30 am, we arrived and I of course needed to have my pic taken with the flower head of mickey mouse. We tried to get on Indiana Jones first, but It was broken. Then we were off to our first ride on the Pirates of the Caribbean, a favorite. It was awesome. Then we went to the Haunted Mansion, which was transformed into The Nightmare Before Christmas Haunted Mansion. It was really cool to see something different. I enjoyed it! A stranger even offered to take Daniel and my photo. We rode Splash Mountain, Awesome! Big Thunder was our next stop. There was a dad and his two little girls that got on with us. They must have been 4 & 6. I heard the dad say, "no honey the bar won't keep the snakes back" I just started laughing. As we rode the ride the girls had big smiles on their faces. We were climbing the hill for the next fast section and we see the "rattlesnakes" on the side of the train. When the ride was over one of the little girl said to her daddy, "those were fake snakes" and the dad replied "WHAT" It was so adorable. It made we wish for a short moment that my boys were there with us, LOL! and then off to "Fantasyland" for Pinocchio, Snow White, & Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, then to Storybook Land, where I saw 4 people in line with Happy Birthday buttons. I asked a little boy where he got his and I got one of my own. It was so much fun walking around all day with the attendants saying "Happy Birthday" to me. I felt special =) After Fantasyland we were off to Tomorrowland, where Daniel and I drove in Autopia, went on Space Mountain (a FAVORITE) and Buzz Lightyear, that was a cool ride too! I beat Daniel on that ride =) Oh Yea! It was 3 o'clock now and we needed to check into our hotel. We left and got our things out of the car and walked to our hotel. On the way back we ate an early dinner at Denny's. Keeping the food cost down. We then were off to the California side. Our first stop was the Monster's Inc. ride, It was pretty cool. Then Daniel and I took a photo opt when we saw another couple doing the same thing, we offered to take their pic and they took ours. Thank you! Then we were off to ride The TOWER OF TERROR, I was scared. It was a fun ride, but holy cow!!! It was scary fun. It shot you up fast and drop you down fast. WOW! We then walked to California Screamin' and had to get a Fastpass for that. As we waited we walked through Bug's land, and rode Mulholland Madness, Never Again on that one. The California Screamin was a great ride. As we walked around we noticed the loooooong line for Toy Story Midway Mania. So we decided to wait in line 45 mins to see what the fuss was about. OH MY! that was a great ride, it was like a big video game, Daniel kicked my butt. It was a must do ride for sure =) By the time we got off this ride it was time for the park to close @ 8 pm. So we headed back to Disneyland! Daniel and I checked on the Indiana Jones ride, it was a 55 minute wait so we got in line for coffee and 30 minutes later we were in the Indiana Jones line with our HOT coffee and ready for the long wait. The ride was like no other I have been on, I am glad we did it but, I don't know if the almost hour we waited was really necessary. Oh well! We then went on the jungle cruise. that was ok. Time was running out, 11 pm now. So we decided to get our shopping for souvenirs done. We bought the boys some starship troopers guns, buzz lightyear guns and pirates of the caribbean candies. Daniel bought himself a starship troopers shirt. I found a shot glass to add to my collection and a purse to add to my purse collection. It was time to head to the car and off to the hotel, it was midnight. By the time we got to the hotel and in bed it was already 1:30, I was surprised to see Daniel still awake, it was way past his bedtime. We tried to sleep in but there were lots of children at our hotel, running around, screaming. We finally got out of bed and headed to the lobby for coffee at 10:15, to discover that we were to late, coffee was over at 10 am. We quickly took showers and headed off to breakfast at IHOP. We then headed to my dad's to pick up our boys. We arrived at there home about 1:30 pm to a Kolby crying saying "I don't want to go home" so we stayed for cake, It was Grandma Mary's birthday too. We got her a mickey mouse shirt. Basically, we came home, ordered pizza, went to blockbuster and watched Kung Fu Panda, put the kids to bed and started to watch 88 Minutes before Daniel and I crashed out!!!

It was a long, soar but a most FANTASTIC WEEKEND! Thank You Daniel!!!

P.S. I tried to add pics but the files were to big =( I have them posted on my myspace & facebook if you want to check them out.

Women's Retreat

I went to my very first Women's Retreat. I had a lot of fun. To be perfectly honest, I only went because I am on the Women's Ministry Board. I didn't go with a friend, so I was a little nervous about what I was going to be doing. I knew the girl I was staying with wouldn't be there until late afternoon and I was going to carpool up around noon. I helped set up the camp site and then just went around to the different RV's and chatted with the ladies. Almost all of the ladies in my Fireside Community Life Group were there, the Women's Board Members and other ladies I knew around church. So, although I didn't go with a friend, I had lots of friends there. Some of my friends only came up for Saturdays events and it was great to see them. "Recipe for a Fruitful Life" was out theme for the event and we all made an apron to take home. I will be going next year too!

My friend Chandra and her daughter Abbi are now in Idaho, training for their trip to eastern asia. I am going to miss them so much, they will come home in december and leave again in february. They are doing GOD's work and I am so proud of them all.

I will blog again some more soon, I promise!

Kolby's Birthday Party

We spent Kolby's birthday morning with friends.  Miranda came over with Josh & Cheyenne.  Kolby opened his gift from Nana and put on his dinosaur jammies right away.  He wears them almost every night.  I have to wash them when he takes them off in the morning or I he would be wearing them dirty at night.  He likes to wear them everywhere.  I made him cinnamon rolls and we put a candle in one and sang him happy birthday.  

When Daniel got home he opened his gifts from us and was so excited to get some new legos.  My boys love their legos.  After dinner we went to Daniel's work for a football game.  Kolby and Auston were so excited, they were going to play in the band.  Auston on his clarinet and Kolby on his trumpet.  He doesn't know how to really play, but he sure likes to try.  It is so cute.  I don't have any pics of that, my camera broke.  Before we left I started to make Kolby's "train cake" he was so excited, he had been asking me to make the train cake for 3 months.  I was nervous on how it would turn out. When we got to Daniel's work, a lot of the kids were saying "happy birthday kobly" and kolby would say "thank you" with a big smile on his face.   Before the band walked over to the football game they sang "Happy Birthday" to Kolby.  He was so embarrassed, he started to yell at the kids.  I am not going to lie, I laughed a little.  He was fine after they finished and went on his marry way of being the big birthday boy.

When we got home from the football game, I started icing the cake and putting the fun stuff on it.  I was a little worried on what Kolby would think, it didn't look exactly like the picture he picked out in the magazine.  The next morning I showed it to him and he got so excited he went and got Daddy and brother to show them.  That made my heart melt.  I pleased the only one that mattered, It was his birthday and I wanted it perfect for him.

On the day of his party we went down the hill to San Elijo Hills park, they have a spray zone that Kolby loves to play in.  There is a playground in the sand with a large sun shade over it too.  This is the second year we have had his party there.  He was so happy with all the people that came and the gifts her received.  I was so happy for my little 4 year old birthday boy!

Thank You to Everyone Who Shared in Kolby's Special Day =)

Home Buying

This is a picture of Kolby with his birthday gift from his Uncle Jimmy & Uncle Nette =)
 

I haven't written in a while.  Why?  I can't tell you that.....  I have been so busy with my friends and my son's 4th birthday and ummm..... Trying to buy a house.  We put in an offer yesterday on a home here in ramona.  We are really excited, our offer is the only one on the table right now.  That makes our chances really good.  We are putting it in God's hands.  I don't need to add any extra stress to my life, I am giving it to HIM!  Thank You LORD to taking it.  Hopefully we will hear back from the agent before the end of the week, Wishful Thinking???? I hope not.  

I have learned a lot so far from this home buying process and know that a lot more knowledge is about to come during the escrow process.   I am so happy to just be given the chance to own a home in california.  I have had a few family members leave california so they would have that chance.  I feel so blessed.  So grateful.  and so Loved.  

End of Summer

It is the end of summer, school has begun.  I am looking forward to what this school year has in store for us.  Auston will start going to the JR High youth group on a regular basis.  Kolby turns 4 is a few weeks.  Daniel is starting his 6th year at the high school.  I am getting used to the school routine again. We are still looking to buy a home.  So, juggling the school routine with my hubby's job it is going to be a challenge to find a home to buy.  If it is in GOD's plan for us, it will happen. 

We had a great summer.  Daniel went to school in Oregon, we went on a family vacation.  And we had some good family time before school started.

We went to the beach, zoo, wild animal park and hung out at home playing around with the kids. My kids love the beach.  When we go we spend all day playing and make hot dogs dinner before we start

 to head home, stopping off of course for a milk shake on the way.  Our kids usually fall asleep on the drive back up the mountain.  

Although we go to the Wild Animal Park and Zoo a lot, the kids still have a lot of fun.  We just go at their pace, going where they want to go and seeing the animals they want to see.  At the zoo, we rode the bus, it was Kolby's first time on the bus and he had a blast, wanting to go again and again.  We only went once.  Then we rode the sky ride, fun but a little scary for me.  Bouncing all around.  The kids love it.  Kolby's favorite animal to see at the zoo is the Hippo's.  

 It was a great summer, Next year we will go to Oregon and watch Daddy graduate with his Masters.  I have never been to Oregon.  I hear it is beautiful.  

We plan on taking the kids to the dive in this weekend to watch Star Wars Clone Wars and Papa is going to take us all Kayaking.  We won't have to many weekends together, due to my hubby's work schedule, so we take advantage of the ones we do have together. God Bless and have a great Labor Day Weekend Everyone!!!

Family Vacation

Trying to write in between the pics, I can't seem to figure out. Oh Well! We had a blast on our family vacation. We traveled with my brother and his fiance. The first pic is taken at Zion National Park on our first day of traveling. We stayed in Torry, Utah the first night. The second day we went to Arches National Park, it was so beautiful there, that is were the second pic is taken. The next is taken at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, the cave dwellings are really cool. You have to take a tour and climb down ladders and steep steps, the kids had a blast. Daniel and Auston did a second tour that was a harder climb, Kolby was to young for it. Auston got to go Water Rafting, that was a lot of fun. His Uncle paid for him to go, they wanted him to have the experience with everyone else. Daniel, Kolby and I couldn't afford to go, but we were sure glad Auston could go. The last pic was the last tour we did in Silverton, COlorado at the Old Minning place. We got to go into the mine and then pan for silver, gold and other precious gems. The kids had fun. We enjoyed our time with our family and are looking forward to our next family reunion in two summers!!!

Sad

My hubby left for college in Ashland,OR early thursday morning. It was so sad to see him go. I know that GOD will protect him while he is away and protect us here too. I was trying to be strong when he left, hugging him and not crying. As I pulled away to kiss him, HE was crying. I love him so much and although he is going to college for his family, to get his Master's, so he can make more money at his job, I am still sad to see him go. He will be gone for about 2 1/2 weeks. Kolby already asks 10x's a day, is Daddy coming home now? When is daddy coming home? when he went to bed last night he cried for daddy about and hour and then I just called Daniel. Kolby settled down and fell right to sleep. I am going to have to keep him busy for the next 2 weeks so he doesn't miss his daddy so much. Auston is doing fine, he misses daddy and is handling it much better.

GOD is GOOD to us and I know that he is watching out for us and daddy while we are apart! Thank You LORD!

Beach Days

We went to the beach for Miranda's Birthday. It was a lot of fun.  I have made some new friends and am really happy about it.  I started having coffee with these ladies and was invited to the beach for the night to celebrate Miranda's birthday.  It was a BLAST!

We took this pic inside the camper! 

We took a lot of pictures on the beach.  We were a bunch of goofy girls.  We went out to Coronado.  I have never been there.  We set up the tent trailer and said goodbye to Jason.  We had virgin margaritas and made carne asada for dinner.  YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!  Later on we went out for a walk on the beach and took tons of pictures. Later on we ate again, a chicken salad.  It was just as yummy.  

                                               

Some pictures were artistic.  After we got done with taking pictures we went back to the camper and ate some smore's.  Who doesn't eat smore's when they are at the beach?  Then we all went to bed.  3 out of 5 of us have kids and were looking forward to sleeping in, it didn't happen though.  Oh Well!  We got up and ate a fabulous breakfast, by Chef Heather, egg, sausage burritoes.  Oh My were the Delicious!

                                                                    

The ladies taught me how to play BOGIE! It was so much fun that I won the game, Sorry Miranda :( 

                                             

The ladies were so nice to me, I am really happy to have been able to attend this most wonderful event.  I am looking forward to getting to know each of these wonderful Christian women more.  Thanks for the laughs Heather, Miranda, Jessica and Heather :)

Daniel's bday day but, Auston's Party!

The Nerf Gun Capture the Flag Boys!  They had so much fun playing the *95 degree weather.  Auston told us at the end of the night that "this was the best birthday ever" it made me feel so good for him.  Daniel had a great time running around with the boys, Kolby too!  Daniel fell and scraped up his knee, poor guy.  he is my BIG kid a heart!  I love my Boys!  The boys played Nerf for almost 5 hours straight, stopping for pizza, cake and water.  At the end of the party they were playing legos and still having a "Blast" hehehee!  

Auston

How time has flown by.  Auston was a little boy not too long ago.  And here he is in his 6th Grade Promotion picture.  Two more years and he will be in High School.  Oh My!  Being a parent is so wonderful.  Auston and I have had our struggles, like every parent does.  I am a little scared of what is to come with adolescence!!!!!!  I am so lucky to be going through all of this with my Hubby and GOD!  I feel so blessed.  GOD has truly blessed me with two wonderful boys and a fabulous husband.  I am scared, but also looking forward to this middle school chapter in our lives.  I pray that Auston will grow in CHRIST and be a GODLY Man.  I want him to be involved with the Youth Group at our church, our youth Pastor is a Great Man.  I want the very best for him and Kolby, just like all mother's want the best for their son's or daughter's.

Thank You LORD for Auston!

Now, what is up with the new format???? i can't move my pics around.... 

In a while

I haven't written in a while and I am not writing often either. For the last few days I have been sick. Thank goodness it was only me and my kids and hubby show no signs of it. I missed out on walking with my lady friends and going to the gym. Well, back to normal next week. My son Auston is leaving with my Father to embark on a family tradition of Ice Fishing opening day at Virginia Lakes here in California. It is outside of Bridgeport. My dad has been going there for years and my Uncle Paul from Idaho joins them, my Papa Bo will not be going them this year. My hubby will drive up on Sunday to spend time with the boys. Kolby will have a hard time with this but, he will survive.

The next few months are going to be busy ones for us. It is my hubby's 34th birthday and Auston's 12th birthday in May, besides Mother's Day, my mother's birthday and a brother's birthday. In June, Auston graduates from the 6th grade. Daniel and I will celebrate our 10th anniversary. I still can't believe it has been 10 years. 10 more here we come! Then Daniel will go off to college for 3 weeks, he will be gone for the 4th of July. Next year will will travel to Oregon to watch him graduate with his Master's. When Daniel returns in July he will have a weeks rest and then off to Durango, Colorado we go. We are having a family reunion there with family from Idaho, Texas and Tennessee. We are going to be traveling with my brother Jimmy, his girlfriend Anjeanette and their two dogs Bailey and Cali. It is sure to be a lot of fun. When we return home, my mother-in-law wants to return for a visit. THEN BAND CAMP WILL START, bye bye Daniel!

Spring Break

My cute boys acting silly in the front yard to start off our spring break Thursday night. We also went to Daniel's High School performance. It was some great music, Delfina went with us to see Daniel in "teacher mode".

We started our spring break a little early with my mother-in-law, Delfina, coming into town for two weeks. We haven't seen her for almost a year. It was so great to see her. On Good Friday Daniel and I took the boys to the Wild Animal Park while Delfina went down the hill for some shopping. The butterflies were there and one decided to land on Auston and stay there for a long time, we finally had to ask someone who worked there to remove the butterfly so we could leave the enclosure. A butterfly landed on Kolby's hand but flew away as soon as I tried to take a picture, bummer.

Here is a pic of Kolby feeding a Lorekeet bird.

We also went to our annual Strawberry and Lasagna Party at our dear friend Claudia's house. You bring a dish to share and it needs to be a strawberry dish or a lasagna dish. We also bring eggs and have a huge egg hunt. There were a lot of lady bugs in the grass that kept Kolby busy for a while. He would pick one up and show me and it would fly away, he would try and try again to get them to stay but they wanted to catch the wind. That night we relaxed and watched "Premonition" at Nana's request.

This is a pic of Daniel, Delfina and the boys in the water friendly garden.

Here is a pic of my boys with my mom.

Wednesday we went to the Wild Animal Park a second time with Delfina, AKA Nana, and were able to see the butterflies again, none landed on us this time but, we still had a nice time.

Daniel, Nana, and Kolby on the train.

My silly kids cracking out of the egg, who doesn't have this picture?

Thursday night we stayed home and watched "Michael Clayton" at Nana's request as well. To say the least it was and interesting movie, I don't know if I liked it or not. Friday morning Daniel took Nana to the airport. We were sad to see her go and Kolby threw a fit at her departure. When Daniel returned we packed up and went to the beach to end our Spring Break. My kids love the beach. It was cold but that didn't stop us from having a great time. We ran from the waves, Auston made a shell necklace, Daniel and the boys made a sand castle and we made hot dogs on the beach for dinner. I will look forward to spending many more days at the beach with my kids this summer.

6th Grade Musical

I know that this picture is a little fuzzy but, it's the best one I have of my son Auston playing a solo on his clarinet in his 6th Grade Musical. We are so proud of him. He was so good. His friend played a solo on the piano right before him. I can't believe how grown up he is. Next year he will be a teenager. Oh, My!








This is a picture of Auston playing an instrument in the percussion for another part in the musical. His friend is also playing in this picture. They really seem to get along great. I am so glad he is making good friends.

I am so proud to be Auston's mom. I pray for him everyday, that he will grow up to be a great man of GOD and keep his family close. I want the best for both my boys. Being a mom is the best gift GOD has given me.

Proud Mommy

I am so proud of my son Auston. He was in the awana games for our church and the boys got 3rd place. They didn't make it to the finals but, they tried really hard. Auston was disappointed but, he was happy to be a part of the games this year. Our girls team won 1st place over all. Good job girls.

My mother, one of my brothers and Anjeanette all came up the hill for this event. We had a great time watching the kids race around the track and throw bean bags. It is a lot of fun watching kids compete. They were all having so much fun.

I am so proud to be a mommy. I love my boys so much. It is so great to see them grow and experience life. Auston has really seemed to blossom this year. He has some close friends and loves playing the clarinet. He loves awanas and the LORD! He will be graduating from elementary to the middle school this summer, scary. I know that GOD will HAVE to be a big part of his life to get him through the tough teenage years. I am so excited about him being in the jr. high youth group this summer, I pray that he continues to grow in CHRIST.

The Reese Family

My Prayers and Love go out to my friends, the Reese family. My friends Yvonne (aka Essie) and Dewy tragically lost their nine month old baby girl, Hailey, on thursday January 10th. Both parents are in the Marines. Dewy took Hailey to the day care thursday morning. Her day care provider put Hailey down for nap around noon and checked on her around 2 pm. She found Hailey blue and unresponsive, the police were called and another father started CPR on little Hailey. Her brain was so swollen that you could not recognize it in the head scan. Essie and Dewy had to make the agonizing decision to allow their baby girl to live the rest of her life on life support or turn the machine off and let her go and be with our LORD. They bought her a pretty dress and held her in their arms until she died, at 7:25 pm thursday night. Her death is under investigation, the autopsy showed no signs of abuse, but Hailey was a healthy baby and the police had a toxicology test performed on Hailey. This test takes 2-3 months to get results.

I will update this story when the family finds out more.

When I think about the Reese family, I just cry. I can ONLY imagine what they are going through. Until you loose a child yourself, you can not put yourself in their place. It is to painful to imagine the hurt. I pray that GOD gives them peace in knowing that their little girl is safe with GOD in Heaven now and that she will have saved other children from her tragic end.

GOD please wrap YOUR loving arms around Essie and Dewy.