My name in lights!

With free tickets in hand, and some good friends we made our way to the San Diego County Fair last night. Of course, we sampled lots of gross, greasy food. Some was quite good, like the fried zuchini. We all agreed that the fried twinkies were disgusting, not sure why that came as a surprise, though. I love the fair, I love the lights and all the people. It's definately different going with a baby but we still had so much fun and it was great to see Johnny pointing and staring and so entertained by all the chaos. The highlight of our night was riding the huge ferris wheel. The kids weren't terribly impressed, but we were, and it was a great way to view the beautiful night sky. After fighting the crowds, waiting for the shuttle and the drive home, we didn't get Johnny to bed until almost 10:30. He loved it though, and he was blowing kisses to the crowds from the shuttle bus window as we left.

+ 1

Well, my suspicions were confirmed a week ago, our family is growing, and my belly will be too! We are pregnant! It doesn't entirely feel real yet, but of course we are thrilled. Evan and I have found so much joy and purpose in raising our son, and we are excited to have a new life enter our family. I will have plenty more to write about all this in the weeks and months to come but I just wanted to get the word out and ask for your prayers for this little one.
In the meantime, here's a picture of my other baby. I haven't posted one of him in awhile, and just look at that sweet face!

Ainsley and Ava...

..have put on Christ, Alleluia!

These precious baby girls were baptized,christmated and churched last Sunday. Evan and I were honored to be a part of it all, we look forward to seeing our sweet little goddaughters grow up in the Church. This is one of my favorite pictures from the day.

These just make me happy...

One of my favorite things about our new place is the giant front window that has shelves accross it. Perfect place to display some of the pretty flowers from our yard. Happy weekend to all!

At last....

Gosh, it's hard to know where to begin. My absence from blogging has been because there is just a whole lot going on these days. All good ( except for some minor illnesses that have slowed me down a bit), but busy. One of the exciting changes is that we have moved. It is our eighth move in our six years of marriage. Sheesh, you would think we would be used to it by now, or atleast really good at it, we are neither. For the last six months we were living with some family friends of my husband. Evan had his college degree but finding the job that goes with it was a 18 month. struggle. Finally, he got a job in the northern part of San Diego county. After a few weeks of a nightmare commute, we decided to move up closer to his work, which also happens to be closer to our church. We found a lovely duplex and we are settling in nicely. It is walking distance to Evans' job, the farmers market, and the cute old dowtown. It is also walking distance to one of my close friends. God is good. We are very grateful for the job and our home. Here are a few pictures from around the house.



Johnny and I just returned from our roadtrip with my sister up north. She came down south for a relatives baby shower and I rode back home with her. We spent the week together and it was so good to get to watch our children play and see her new house and visit good ol' Chico, where I lived before I got married. She even let me borrow her car and drive down to Davis to visit Johnny's godparents and their daughter Grace. I just realized how great it is that we have so many different places to go where we are welcomed with open arms. We flew home on Sunday, I actually found the hour and half flight with the baby more stressful than the nine hour drive with three kids. It's good to be home and with Evan. He was sorely missed.

Last, but not at all least, we found out this week we are going to be godparents to beautiful twin sisters. We have also been asked to be sponsors for the parents. We feel so privileged and are excited about the upcoming ceremonies and celebrations. Here are my precious goddaughters to be.

Well, the pause in my day is over and my sweet son has awakened. Sharing all this news has left me with a refreshed perspective and a very thankful heart. Gotta go!

Celebrate Evan!

Happy Birthday, Ev and many years!!
I love you, all 29 years of you.

Nine whole months!

My John Henry was nine months old yesterday. For some reason this month stands out to me. I guess because for nine months I carried him in my womb, and he's been in my arms, in this big world for the last nine. I just thought I'd let everyone know what he's up to.
His biggest accomplishment lately is crawling. I actually thought he might skip crawling all together because he just loves to stand, but about two weeks ago I left Johnny in the living room and headed into the kitchen. I wasn't alone for long when Johnny comes cruising in with a big proud smile on his face. He is everywhere and into everything, but it's a lot of fun to see him choose who he wants to go to or what toys (or household objects) he wants to play with.

He is just growing like crazy and has a great head of hair, with little curls around his ears. Makes me wonder if he will have the ringlets I did as a toddler. He has also sprouted 4 new teeth giving him a very toothy grin and allowing him to enjoy things like cheerios and whole peas. Aside from the curls, he is pretty much an mini version of his Papa.

Johnny is also developing quite the personality. He loves to fake laugh, and fake cough and fake cry. Funny thing is, they kind of all sound the same, they are just accompanied by different expressions. He especially likes to fake cough during the really quiet parts of Liturgy, like right before the Great Entrance. He loves people and will show off when he has an audience. By show off, I mean, he yells and laughs and rolls around, jumps and makes ridiculous faces. He is definitely providing plenty of entertainment these days and we are so thankful and blessed to have him.
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CHRIST IS RISEN!

We celebrated Pascha(Orthodox Easter) this weekend. The service is a nocturne service, so it begins at 11:30 at night and is followed by a Liturgy which ends around 2:30 am. After that we have break fast, everyone brings a basket of food and drink which they have been fasting from during the Lenten period, it is blessed and around 3 am we feast. I was a little nervous about how Johnny would handle Church at such wee hours of morning. He was actually awake for quite a bit of the services, and was passed around by his numerous admirers, so I was able to pay close attention to the beautiful celebration. Here are a few images from our weekend.

Kids (plural)

I have started taking care of a little boy a couple times a week. It's really been a blessing because it has provided me a chance to make a little extra money with my sweet Johnny in tow. And he just loves his new buddy. We've been spending a lot of time at the park. Seeing the boys play really a makes me excited about having more children, I just love the interaction between them.

What do you do to cheer up a baby who is teething,has a runny nose and big tears in his eyes? Put him in front of a window and let him watch the cars, the crows in the grass and the neighbor boys on their skateboards. He especially liked the skateboarders.

Say Cheese!

I swore, I would never pay to have a cheesy studio portrait of my kid, but Johnny's Gigi ( great grandma) wanted an 8x10, so with a coupon in hand I marched into JC Penney and let the silliness begin. They do make me smile.

six years & snow

Last Saturday, Evan and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. The past year has been one of the best and one of the worst for us. Between Evan graduating from college, and the birth of our son, then Evan being laid off and unemployed for over a year, there's definitely been some bitter with the sweet. We once again find ourselves living with people, which kind of feels like step backward. So, we were really looking forward to getting away to a friends vacation home in Big Bear. It was wonderful! We had snow on the ground, a fire in the fireplace and joy in our hearts. I know I sound cheesy, but it was a turning point. To be able to look back on the year and acknowledge the bad, and rejoice over the gifts and to be grateful that for the last six years it was Evan I experienced it all with.

love is blue

SO Cute!

Marin is about 8 mos. older than Johnny but they are the same size and were oh, so , sweet together.( okay, I admit, my beast baby is bigger..sheesh!) Here they are at bath time. There is just something about babies in the bath that is precious.

baby fresh

The men in my life...

Right now I am supposed to be on my first real date with Evan since Johnny came into our lives. At least once a year we go see one of our favorite musicians, Damien Jurado, at our favorite bar, the Casbah. Evan's mom was going to babysit Johnny, I pumped a bottle of milk and everything seemed go. Except, me. As much as I wanted the time with Evan somewhere we so enjoy, I just wasn't ready to leave my baby, especially at bedtime. Oh well. I don't regret my decision, I know if I were at the concert right now, my mind would be here with Johnny, anyways. But it has gotten me thinking about how I balance motherhood and my relationship with Evan. Is it normal for there to be periods where one role takes a back seat to the other? I would love any advice or feedback from any of you reading this.
Well, I hope Evan is enjoying the great music and his last gin and tonic before Lent. We are going to get some time together after all. On Sunday afternoon, we are going to lunch and a movie and Johnny will be with Grandma. Hopefully, that will make everyone happy.

Sweet sleep

I love how he is crossing his little arms. When I look at him sleep, I see the same face he had as a newborn.