First 2 days in LA...

Yesterday we pretty much just drove here, checked into the hotel, and waited for Nate to get here so we could all go to dinner. My plan was to have the girls nap when we got here, because although they were good in the car, they didn't sleep at all (except a 30min nap for Emi)...well, I guess by the time we got here, they were overtired so they didn't nap! :( So, you might think, well I guess you'd just put them down early for bed then....ummmm, no! Nate didn't get back until really late, but we still hadn't ate dinner so we went out with him even though it was WAY past when the girls should've gone down...the pictures below are when we got back from dinner. They didn't even stay awake long enough for us to put them in pj's!

Today we went to the beach. The girls loved playing in the sand...and Emi enjoyed eating a little too, OF COURSE! (when do kids stop putting EVERYTHING into their mouths???) ;) A couple funny (or not so funny???) things that happened were:

1) We get to the beach, park, get all our stuff out of the car, and then put it into the stroller when I realize... that we are in parking that has a meter (I've learned today...everywhere here has metered parking, but I didn't know that before!)...ok, so that'd be fine if I had ANY change at all, but I didn't. I did have dollars though and I asked everyone in the parking lot if they had change for a dollar and they all looked at me like I was trying to scam them or something...so, up the steepest hill I think I've ever seen we go, 2 kids and a way overloaded double stroller (quite a scene I'm sure!) to try to find a store to get some change. We finally got some and headed back down the hill, put the change in, and headed towards the beach. Now, I just want to remind everyone that I DID grow up near the beach in Maine, so you'd think I'd be a little smarter than I was today, but is has been a while and I guess I'm just a little slow sometimes....like this, I don't know WHAT WAS I THINKING???? ...you can't bring a stroller through the sand! So, back we go to the car...unload everything, try to keep Emi from running around the parking lot, pick up all 4 bags (again, what was I thinking???), pick up Emi and head down the stairs to the beach (again, what a sight to see...me trying to carry a squirmy one year old and 4 bags, while trying to convince Alyssa that she really can walk by herself through the sand and doesn't need me to hold her!).

2) So we finally made it to the beach, set up all our stuff, and started playing. Well about 30 min later a huge wave makes it up to us (and we were pretty far away from where the waves were coming up...the picture below with Emily and the water in the back shows how far away we were!). So I grab the 4 bags, which had my camera, purse, etc. in them and ran...and then turned around and saw Emi sitting 1/2 way under water SCREAMING! Oops...back for the kids, and the now wet beach blanket! ;) I moved both of them and then went back for all the misc. stuff and while picking it all up I got stung by a bee! All I can do is laugh right now, it actually is pretty funny...now that I am back at the hotel that is! ;)

This was so cute...I made a little hole in the sand and Emi just wanted to sit in it the whole time (that is, until the water came and filled it in!). As you can see below, somehow she found it to be pretty comfortable! ;)

Despite everything, we had a great time at the beach...Alyssa even wants to go back tomorrow! (Oh no, hopefully I'll have my act together this time!) ;)

After naps...yes they did nap today for a little while...we headed back to the downtown/pier/beach area for dinner. We ate at Mama D's which the Angstead's suggested. It was yummy! Then we headed across the street for some ice cream...the pics below of the sunset was our view from the ice cream shop, soooo beautiful!

Praise God...and thank you!

Yesterday we left for our trip to LA to meet Nate for part of his business trip. I was a little hesitant at first to make the drive by myself...meaning myself alone w/the 2 girls! ;) Well...we did it and God was very gracious! The girls did amazing, hardly any fussing at all...and I didn't get tired (and only had one Starbuck's stop!), which was a specific answer to prayer! That being said I just wanted to praise God and thank you ALL who were praying for us...if you could keep praying for our return trip next week we would appreciate it! :)

Celebrating Alyssa turning 3!!!

This past weekend we celebrated Alyssa's birthday with a party at BOUNCE U and a family get together at home.
Alyssa got to have a combined birthday party with her friend Mercy...they are 3 weeks apart so we thought it'd be fun to have their parties together! :)
Here a bunch of pics from both parties...

Alyssa & Mercy's Party:

Alyssa finally got her Cinderella cake!!! :)

Alyssa loved the slide...I think all she did the whole time was go up and down!

These next couple pics were my attempt to stop the kids from bouncing to get a group picture...WHAT WAS I THINKING??? ;)

Family Party:

Alyssa got to celebrate with both her Grandma's and Papa's and her Great-grandma. She had a great time and was happy to share her Cinderella cupcakes with everyone. :)

My beautiful l'il Cinderella.

Cardinals...

No comment!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALYSSA JOY!!!

Alyssa turns 3 today! ...and what a big girls she is. She's started to have so many opinions and thoughts on everything lately. It's been so neat to see her little brain working so hard and growing so fast. :) She is so cute with her little sister ('Boo-Bear'). They are starting to play with baby dolls together, read books on her bed together, and their new thing to do is watch Barney together. I love how they are learning to interact with one another and can't wait to see their relationship continue to grow. We are so blessed to have her in our life...thank you Lord!

Quick story about my BIG GIRL:

Something happened today that just proves how big she is (or at least thinks she is). Nate took the girls to the mall play area this morning and while playing, a boy came up to her and said, "look mom, a baby." Nate found this out because he hears Alyssa screaming across the play area, "daddy I am NOT a BABY!!!" Confused, he went over to her to find out why she was yelling that. When he got there, the mom of the little boy kept apologizing over and over (because she felt so bad because Alyssa was SO upset about it). She said that her little 2 year old boy just calls every baby/child a baby. Alyssa did not understand and just kept saying, "I'm a BIG girl, not a BABY!!!"

BOOOOO Cardinals!!!

Okay, so even though they didn't win I'm going to post about the Cardinals! ...because I'm just in awe that with 2 minutes left and only 4 yards to get a first down, you PUNT IT! COME ON!!!!!!! With these kinds of calls, no wonder we are pathetic year after year after year!!!

"Can I pray too???"

Alyssa's been so cute lately when we pray...she'll ask, "can I pray too?" Usually her prayers are short and sweet...for example, if it's dinner time she'll say "thank you God for our food, amen."

So, tonight Nate and I were both praying for her and thanking God for the 3 wonderful years we've had with her...for example, "thank you Lord for Alyssa" etc., etc. When we were done she asks if she can pray too. We look at each other like ok sure, but wondering what is she going to pray for...and then she says, "thank you God for me."

My girls are getting SO big!

One of Emi's favorite things is trying to put shoes on. She absolutely loves shoes and anytime she gets her hands on a pair she sits right down to try and put them on.

Alyssa has just recently been getting herself dressed sometimes. For such a long time we tried, but she just didn't get it (or want to get it), so now when I walk in and she's in new clothes it shocks me! This morning she was playing in her room before I got her dressed and when I went in I found her in this cute little dress and asking for a matching headband. What a cutie pie!

Blessed be Your Name!

I love this song so much...even though it is hard to apply in tough situations:

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away

You give and take away

My heart will choose to say

Lord, blessed be Your name

So today I decided to let Emi bring Alyssa's Cabbage Patch baby (Haylee), that she got when Emi was born, in to a restaurant for lunch. Well...it didn't end up back in the car with us. :( I went back to the place we ate and all the surrounding restaurants (just in case it had dropped on the way in), but no luck! Alyssa cried all the way home, saying "baby Haylee, I want baby Haylee!"...it was very sad! It was such a great opportunity to teach her these precious words though. Although...she responded just like I have so many times in the past! I told her God gives us things, that we don't deserve, and we need to say "Thank you!" ...but then He can also take them away and we need to be okay with that even though it is sad sometimes. And to that she said, "I don't like that!" (Oh how I have felt the same way so many times!) ...but we did continue in our conversation and she was able to finally tell God thank you for the time that she had with Haylee and ask that He please help her find Haylee. (through the tears that is!)

The Cards Won AGAIN!!!

So we're starting the season at 2-0, which is not a big deal for some teams, but it is for the Cards ....

IT'S THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1991!!! Can you believe it??? How pathetic is that?!?!

...well, maybe this means we're actually going to have a good season this year! :-)

Tagged by Pam...

I'm so sorry it's taken me soooo long to do this Pam! Here goes...

20 years ago I was 9 and living in Maine. I don't remember too much other than I played soccer, basketball, and softball. One fun thing I remember from that time is that my friends and I use to ride our bikes all around our neighborhood all summer, and in the afternoons we would try to find the ice cream truck by following the music. For some reason that was really fun!

10 years ago I had lived in AZ for about 2 1/2 years. Nate and I had been dating for about 8 months and I was going to MCC in preparation of getting in to ASU for Sports Marketing. I had become a Christian about 3 1/2 years prior while living in Maine, and was now going to Grace Community Church in Tempe. Although not growing a lot at that point, God was preparing Nate and I for a church move. It was at that new church that God really started to draw me closer to Him! Other than that we pretty much just hung out w/our friends ALL the time, playing volleyball or going to coffee. I was working at an apartment community, the first of many! ...and had just moved out on my own for the first time!

5 years ago I had been married to Nate for 2 1/2 years and we lived in, what was then, a little town called Higley (which I think is now just part of Gilbert). At this point we had both of our pups, Tyson & Bailey. I was working at University of Phoenix Online as an Admissions Counselor. Nate and I were at East Valley Bible Church Tempe. No babies yet, but just wait until the next section. ;)

3 years ago we were about to welcome our first baby...Alyssa Joy! (it'll be 3 years in exactly 1 week) Nate was in Japan for work and got back home with 4 days to spare! I quit Univ. of Phoenix this week...which was WONDERFUL! We had been in the house that we are currently in for about a year at this point and Nate had been at Nissan for a little over a year.

1 year ago we had a beautiful 10 week old baby girl and we were preparing to go on an amazing family vacation to New England...most of the time spent in Maine. We spent lots of time on the beach, watching the ocean, and of course eating LOTS of LOBSTER!!! :)

Today I started the day reading at Starbuck's and am now enjoying watching LOTS of football (GO CARDS!) and can't wait until church tonight, where for the first time Alyssa will be able to come to worship with us before going to her big girl class! :)

Tomorrow the girls and I will be going to story time and then when Daddy gets home we're going over a friend's house for dinner and Monday Night Football! :) It should be a great Monday!

Next year I have no idea where we'll be or what we'll be doing??? My plan is that Alyssa will start preschool, but we'll have to wait and see what God has planned for us. Nate would love to move to another country w/his job one day (sooner than later), but I'm not sure when or if that will happen. After working on my first lesson from Bible Study Fellowship this week I am reminded that God knows the plans for all the days of our lives...and am sooo comforted that He is in control and not me!

I tag Theresa, Melissa, Andrea, Sarah, Michelle, and Lexi!

Just like the bed???

Here's how a conversation between Alyssa and I went today in the car...

A: Where's Jesus?
J: In Heaven...and with us everywhere.
A: I don't want to go to Heaven.
J: Why?
A: I just don't want to.
J: We should want that more than anything. God decides when we get to go and when we get there it's going to be so amazing.
A: Is it hot there? Is it cold there?
J: It'll be just right!
A: Just like the bed?
J: ??????? (...light bulb goes on and I think I have a clue what she is talking about!) What do you mean Alyssa?
A: Goldilocks and the 3 bears (The last bed she tried was, 'Just Right'!)
J: Yup, just like that! ;)

GO CARDS!!!

I had to post this right away before it changes... Cardinals have a winning season so far!!! ;-)
(and we play the Dolphins next week so, even though it's hard to imagine, we could actually start the season 2-0!)

It was such a good game and to celebrate I dressed the girls up in their Cardinals attire for church...although I didn't get a picture, oops! Maybe they'll win one more game this year so I can dress them up again! ;)

My Book List

So most of you know that I'm not really a 'reader'. I just have never really enjoyed it...until recently!

God has been convicting me of using my time more wisely (for me that means less reality tv and more time learning about Him). It motivated me to finally finish a couple books that I have been reading for, well let's just say a LONG time. ...but they were soooo good that it made me want to keep reading and I'm loving it!!! I'm actually enjoying sitting down with a book so much that it's taking me away from projects around the house...so now I need to pray that God will help me balance everything! ;)

"Boo Bear", "What's in the Mouth", " 'Lo' "

So Nate and I were just talking last night about how cute it is that Alyssa calls her sister Boo Bear. (It's a nickname that somehow we've come up with over the past year for her, but Alyssa calls her by that name all the time and even introduces her to people like that.) So anyways, today we were at Costco and while we were checking out the people at the store kept asking Alyssa what her baby sister's name was and I kept hearing her say "Boo Bear"...and then they would look at me with a weird look. It was pretty funny!

A new phrase that Alyssa has is "What's in the mouth?". She recently has been able to have gum and so anytime she sees any of us chewing anything she always asks us what's in our mouths...she'll stop whatever she's doing and get real serious and ask "what's in the mouth?" I love how she notices everything now...and the way she words things. ;)

Last thing is Boo's (aka Emily's) new thing. She loves to pretend she's talking on the phone. She has a play phone, but really anything will do. She'll just hold whatever up to her ear and say "Lo!" and then walk around pretending to talk. She's getting so BIG!!!

These girls are such precious gifts...it's so fun to think about all these little things they do! :)