Egg Hunt

This past weekend was another busy one. First, let me say congratulations to Jason's softball team who won their league championship game on Saturday night. Go Cobra Kai!

On Saturday, we also attended our HOA's egg hunt. The children always have a fun time. This year, Mercy moved up an age category for the hunt.

This is Joshua checking to see how many of his eggs had prize numbers.

Raining and Pouring

This week God has showered us with his love and mercy. And I am so very thankful!

Our week started with Mercy's sickness, and my grandmother's hospitalization. Mercy is feeling much better with just a little runny nose. Mama Te is home from the hospital, still recovering and feeling pain, but her blood sugar is down!

On Wednesday night, Jason and Joshua were on their way to prayer meeting when they were involved in a car accident. They were stopped on the Blaine Street off-ramp when a car hit them from behind, pushing them into the car ahead. The airbags deployed. They are both unhurt (mostly). The car is a total loss (most likely).

Yesterday, we spent the day calling insurance companies, and waiting for call backs. The insurance company is supposed to look at the car today to see what is to be done. As of now we have no car. My sister Bri, ever giving and loving, has lent us her car for a few days.

Today, Joshua woke up with a fever and sore throat. Jason is back at work, but he says his whole body still feels sore from the accident. Also, his left arm is hurting.

In all the events of the week, I am thankful. We are in His hands, and that is comforting.

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Trusting and Praying

I post this evening asking for prayer. I just learned that my grandmother is in the hospital. I am told that her blood sugar is extremely high and continues to climb, she is vomiting black, and the doctors say she needs a blood transfusion. My grandmother's name is Esther, she is 80 years old, and has been experiencing declining health and spirits for a few months now.

I really want to be at the hospital with her and my family, but Mercy has come down with a fever and vomiting this evening.

Please pray that the Lord would help the doctors to treat my grandmother, and that she would have a strong desire to be well. Also, please pray for me, that I would fully trust in God and His Divine Work in all things.

Our Valentine's Dinner

Sorry, I have been remiss in my blog posting of late. We have been happily busy with activities.

This weekend is the Little League Opening Day and if the rain doesn't prevent it, Joshua will have his first ball game of the season. Go Tigers! Jason also is set to have a game that day. We are also looking forward to the Winter Music Festival of the Western Society of Chamber Music on Saturday night. It is a great way to introduce the family to classical music.

We had a very enjoyable Valentine's dinner. The children helped in the kitchen, and had a blast decorating the table. They did an awesome job.

They wanted lots of candles! So I lit up the candelabra and tea lights.

We had champagne and sparkling apple cider. The children were so excited that they got to use the glass champagne flutes.

Sugar Cookies!

The children each arranged a vase of flowers. Mercy decorated place cards. Joshua made construction paper hearts and wrote a Bible verse about love on each one, he then placed one under each plate as a surprise.

It was a special family dinner. We all agreed that we should make it an annual tradition. I am already thinking of ideas for next year!

Valentine's Dinner

The children & I have decided to cook a nice Valentine's Day dinner this year. We are planning on steak, baked potatoes, and asparagus cooked in white wine. We also will be making sugar cookies!

Right now, Joshua and Mercy are trying to decide what to make for a centerpiece. They love doing crafts! Joshua says there should be hearts. Mercy says that it should be "mantic." So we will probably have a romantic heart-shaped centerpiece!

Well, I hope that everyone has a very "mantic" Valentine's Day!

Our Dating Anniversary!

On this date, 13 years ago, my husband and I started dating. We don't celebrate this occasion any longer, but we did for the almost 5 years that we were dating.

God has really blesssed me since he brought this wonderful man into my life. I am a wife to a wonderful, godly man, I have two healthy, beautiful children, a lovely home, a loving family, and a supportive, God-honoring church.

Jason's senior prom, May 1995

Summer of 1995

The Year is Flying By - Already!

Today is the last day of January. Can you believe it? That really flew by. Of course we have been very busy with activities. Jason started a new softball season. Mercy is in gymnastics. Joshua continues his violin lessons, & his first Little League meeting is tonight. Add to that field trips, family get-togethers, library visits, home schooling, and life in general. Wow!

I am so thankful to God for blessing our family with all these opportunities. My family is happy & healthy. I look forward to the rest of the year and what the Lord brings our way!

Planes of Fame field trip with our homeschool group

Mercy on her way to gymnastics.

Carbon Canyon Nature Trail

This past Saturday we headed out to Carbon Canyon Park. This time we decided to hike the 1-mile nature trail that ends in a beautiful 10-acre grove of Coastal Redwood trees.

Mercy and Joshua pose at the trail-head.

Joshua was our fearless leader.

Here is Mercy posing next to a baby Redwood tree.

The trail was an easy one, mostly level and straight. Mercy found lots of sticks along the way that she called "Swords of Truth." Usually when we take the children to a park, I like to bring a brown paper bag for each of them. In it they put the "treasure" that they find - interesting rocks, pinecones, flowers, etc..

After the hike we had a picnic and relaxed. It was another beautiful day at the park.

Mercy's 1st Haircut

Yesterday, Mercy had her first haircut. I should say she had her first professional haircut. Her first haircut was last July when her brother cut a big chunk off the top and out of the side.
Before we left the house she was so excited about going to have it done. On the way there she practically jumped out of the car because she changed her mind. When we arrived, the stylist told her to pick any chair she wanted - Mercy walked out the door!
We eventually coaxed her into the chair with bubbles and she did a wonderful job of sitting still.

Lake Arrowhead

Our family spent the week of New Year's up in Lake Arrowhead with Jason's father, step-mother, and siblings. We had a relaxing time hiking, playing games, and just hanging out. The children were dissappointed that there was not any snow, so we took them to a sledding hill with man-made snow. That is where Mercy (above) made "the smallest snowball in the world."

We stopped at a turnout on the way up the mountain because Jason was scaring me trying to look at the view while driving.

We were able to play lots of games on our trip. I lost count of how many times Joshua beat his dad at Stratego.

Here is a family shot near the lake.

Merry Christmas!

We pray that you have a blessed Christmas!

"And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace,
good will toward men."

Luke 2:9-14

Holiday Festival of Trains

Last Friday I took the children to the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda. I had seen on the news that they are having a special exhibit called A Holiday Festival of Trains and since both my little ones love trains I decided it would be a fun excursion.

Here are Joshua and Mercy right outside the exhibit room. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to use the flash on the camera so I didn't get any good pictures of the trains (they were all blurry). But it was a large setup with at least 8 trains running through various villages and Christmas scenes.

After looking at the train exhibit, we toured the entire library. The children enjoyed looking at the decorated Christmas trees throughout the library. Each tree was themed. They had trees decorated for different countries, trees dedicated to the presidents, and even one with the first ladies. Next to the trees for the countries, there was a short description of how that country celebrates.

Overall, it was an enjoyable day. A perfect way to spend a rainy day. I didn't think the children would be that interested in the history side of the library, but I found that certain exhibits did pique their interests (such as a piece of the Berlin wall, the life-size statues of 10 world leaders, & the White House East Room reproduction), which led to some interesting questions and discussions.

Joshua is 7!

On November 12, our little guy Joshua turned 7!
WoW! Where does the time go? To celebrate, we went to John's Incredible Pizza in Montclair. It was a surprise for the boy, when he arrived and saw his grandparents and aunts and uncle waiting for him he was so happy!

After we chowed on the all-you-can-eat buffet, we had chocolate-chocolate cake which is both Joshua and Mercy's favorite.

Joshua went home with a trunk-load of gifts. His Uncle Isaac gave him this nice Stratego game which Joshua loves to play. He can already beat his dad.
After pizza, cake, & gifts, we all went over to play games.


I don't know who had more fun playing - the children or the adults. This is my sis-in-law Cathy, and Jason getting carried away at the shooting gallery.

Remembering Our Glory Babies

Today was one of those days when my heart felt like it was breaking all over again over the loss of our babies. Sorrow and grief are strange emotions, in that they can come and go with such an intensity - for what may seem like no reason.

One of the things that is hard in losing an unborn baby, is that you don't really have anything to remember them by. This may sound odd...I guess what I mean is that when I am feeling sad and missing my uncle who has passed, I can remember what he looked like, the way he would rub my ears, or his pet name for me. But with someone you have never met, there is a certain lonely longing or emptiness because of the lack of memories.

There are a couple of ways that I try to remember my lost babies by: With the baby that I lost in March, I have an ultrasound picture...My sister gave me a lovely figurine of a mother holding a tiny baby, the statue is all white with no facial features, it sits on my vanity...There is a song called "Glory Baby" by a Christian group named Watermark, that is about losing an unborn baby, which I like to listen to.

On days like these, I find myself looking to God for comfort and healing that I know only He can provide. Drawing near to the Lord through prayer and scripture, I find myself thanking Him for what He has blessed me with and becoming hopeful again.

Glory Baby

by Watermark

Glory baby you slipped away as fast as we could say baby…baby..

You were growing, what happened dear?

You disappeared on us baby…baby..

Heaven will hold you before we do

Heaven will keep you safe until we’re home with you…

Until we’re home with you…

Miss you everyday

Miss you in every way

But we know there’s a

day when we will hold you

We will hold you

You’ll kiss our tears away

When we’re home to stay

Can’t wait for the day when we will see you

We will see you

But baby let sweet Jesus hold you

‘till mom and dad can hold you…

You’ll just have heaven before we do

You’ll just have heaven before we do

Sweet little babies, it’s hard to

understand it ‘cause we’re hurting

We are hurting

But there is healing

And we know we’re stronger people through the growing

And in knowing-

That all things work together for our good

And God works His purposes just like He said He would…

Just like He said He would…

I can’t imagine heaven’s lullabies

and what they must sound like

But I will rest in knowing,

heaven is your home

And it’s all you’ll ever know…all you’ll ever know…

October Beach Day

I have been negligent in my posting. Here is the first of a few belated blog posts.

One Saturday in late October, Jason and I decided to take the family to the beach. We had spent the prior week cooped up in the house due to the smoke and ash of the local wildfires, & we felt a day out was sorely needed. Even though the day was gray, smokey, & drizzly at home, it was crisp & fresh at the coast and the sun shone through the clouds.

The water was COOLLD!! But that didn't stop the children from getting drenched while playing in the waves.

We all played frisbee.

Mercy made sand angels.

It seemed we were the only ones who thought it was a good day to go to the beach, the beach was empty most of the time we were there. It was a peaceful & enjoyable day. I was especially thankful for the chance to slow down to appreciate & enjoy the gifts that God has given me.

Apple Picking!

A couple of weekends ago Jason and I took the kids to Oak Glen for apple picking! We were all very excited because we had never picked apples before. First, we stopped at the Snow-Line Orchard for apple cider donuts. Yummy! They were fresh, and steaming hot. We were also able to see apples being pressed at their cider mill.

Next, we went to the Willowbrook Apple Farm. This is a very small family affair. It was their first weekend that they were open for the season. We had a wonderful time! They had apples and other apple products available for tasting, which were all delicious. The children enjoyed seeing the horse, the chicken (there was only one, as the others were eaten by a bear!), and the little dog named SugarBear.
This was our bag of Stayman Winesap apples. The children picked a few apples and then just wanted to run around and explore.

A rare family snapshot.

It took much coaxing to get Mercy to sit for this shot.

Joshua, is always willing to pose for a picture.

We were very blessed to have had this time together as a family. We look forward to making this a family tradition.

Rememberence Day

Trusting God With All My Heart

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. -Proverbs 3:5-6

This past week has found me constantly going to this verse for comfort and peace. It is hard to see why God would try us in this way again. But knowing that I don't have to understand it, just trust in Him and His purpose, gets me through each day.

We covet the prayers of all our friends and family. It gives us comfort to know that so many are loving, caring, and lifting us up.

A Mother's Song

Bravo! I thought this was so funny. I know I have said some of these things.

Sing Praises!

We are taking our morning break from school. Joshua is rebuilding his train track. Mercy is playing quietly.

Earlier, during our math lesson, Mercy decided it was a good time to sing. "ALLELUIA! ALLELUIAAAAA! LET ME HIDE MYSELF IN THEEEEE! ALLELUIA! ALLELUIA! YOU ARE MY GOD! YOU ARE MY GOD!!" I thought it was a lovely song, but I told her that now was not the time for loud singing. She said, "But Mom God always wants us to sing praises to Him!"

How can I argue with that?