Secret Confession

I can't wait to move! Doesn't matter if it's Kansas, Italy, Alaska, or Castro Valley, I'm just itching to get out of this house, neighborhood, city! I really have enjoyed living here, there are so many positive things about this place: we have a large fenced yard for the boys to play in; there is Anabelle, Jake's age, for a companion; we are close to Ryan's family (which is great for a variety of reasons--free babysitting, grandparents close by, a cool air-conditioned home when it is 100 degrees here, etc.); the rent is very reasonable; I have a very large kitchen and ample storage space for the size of the apartment; it's a very cute little place; and not the least of which is that we've seen our boys grow and learn here, which is what will make living anywhere special I suppose.

But, this place is noisy! The infernal birds come twice a day and either wake us up, or keep us up at night. The home is really old and most of the windows don't close properly so dust and noise can freely enter. From outward appearances this is a nice, quiet, peaceful street, but make two right turns and you're on the major street that runs through Arcadia and Temple City, so we've got lots of through traffic near us. AND, the tree cutters were here this morning chopping down a tree in our yard at 7 a.m. Of course we were awake (actually Ryan was at work already) but it's the principle of the thing! I long for a nice, quiet home away from the big city.

I know that all those things really don't matter much, I think what's really going on is that we are just ready for the next step. Our time here is coming to a close and we want to move on. We go to Kansas on Friday and it's been hard waiting to see what will happen!

So there you have it, I'm ready to go!

Soaking up all the beach we can get!

We went to the beach again last Sunday with Ryan's family for a little BBQ. We all had fun, especially Jake and his cousin Hannah, who always have a great time together playing, and this time they got to play in the ocean! It's so cute seeing all the cousins together and now Jaina is starting to get interested in the big kids too. She loved Warren and was giggling and talking to him as they sat in their car seats together. I didn't take many pictures, just some cute ones of Jaina and Warren. Jaina is becoming a beautiful little girl, I love this picture of her.

As usual, we had to strap Warren down while we ate, or else he would have been all over the place getting sand in everything. Thank goodness for car seats that double as a restraining seat. After we ate, he was entertained for a long time climbing (and falling) all over the seat.

Cuddling Brothers

The boys are in the habit of bringing their pillows out in the morning and playing with them on the couch. It's awfully cute because they usually exchange pillows and just play together for a little while.

Last week we put a clock in the boys' room and taught Jake how to tell when it was 7:00 a.m. in an effort to keep them in their room longer than 6:00 in the morning. They wake up at that time usually so we thought we would give it a try to see if they will just play in there for a while. So far it has worked! Jake comes out at 1 or 2 minutes after 7 and proudly announces, "It's 7!" We can hear them playing starting at about 6:30 when they are both awake enough to play together. Sometimes Jake reads books, plays with the play mat on the floor, or jumps on the bed, but mostly he gets all the stuffed animals off the shelf and puts them in Warren's crib, along with anything else he finds on the floor!

Swimming

Yesterday we went swimming at Aunt Pam's house. It was a beautiful day for being outside; not too hot, but plenty of sunshine. The boys had a blast and unlike the beach last week, we all got a little sunburnt...go figure. Here are some pictures and 2 short videos.

We brought lunch over to eat before we went in the pool but forgot Warren's chair to strap him in. If you know the kid at all you know that he can't sit still for more than a nanosecond, unless he's physically restrained. So Ryan went into the garage and found some rope and tied him to the chair! If you look close at the picture you can probably see it around his waist.

And a video of Jake jumping in the water.

Staying cool

Last Friday we took the boys to Seal Beach to escape the heat. It was such a nice day over there, sunny but cool. I really think those people who live at the coast are on the something. When it's blistering hot here, it's only about 85 over there! Anyway, we had lots of fun at the beach. Both boys loved being in the water and letting the waves splash over them. No one got sunburnt at all, so I consider that a very successful day! Here are some pics and a video of us on our way home when we were all a little tired and the boys were somewhat giddy (you'll see what I mean!).

End of Summer Fun

Greetings to all!

Well here are some catching up photos.

Mommy and Jake having fun while the other little guy naps.

We were at Target sipping Icees and goofing around.

Playing the piano at Grammy and Papa's house.

Still here

Hello everyone.

Yes, we're still around, haven't fallen off the planet or anything. It's been in the 100's here in southern CA and without air conditioning in our apartment, we were forced to find another residence for a while. Ryan's parents graciously took us in and we've been holing up in their home trying to stay cool. We're very thankful for them and this home.

Here's a quick recap of the last couple of weeks:

We made it safely home on Friday, August 24th. Ryan drove my dad's truck loaded with all kinds of goodies accumulated over the summer and my mom and I took turns driving our van. The boys and Steve our cat did excellently, and we only stopped once for lunch, at In N Out, of course! Incidentally, the In N Out at Kettleman City is the exact halfway point between our doorway and my parent's home, within a half-mile. We all thought that was pretty cool considering how much we all love the burger joint. (Unfortunately for us, there is no In N Out in Emporia, KS, whatever shall we do?!)

My mom and dad left the next day on Saturday with some sadness and tears all around, but (at the risk of sounding cheesy) our hearts were filled with many happy memories from a great summer. It was difficult to see them go, but as Bruce Blakey's (a pastor at Grace Church) son put it, "What is a little separation in light of eternity?" Comforting words considering our possible move to Kansas and leaving our entire family in California.

Then on Tuesday Ryan began his last semester at The Master's Seminary. He has some great classes and is looking forward very much to this semester. I know he's a little sad at the prospect of leaving the school and Grace Church, but we are eagerly anticipating moving full time into ministry, wherever that may be. Ryan is going to school 4 days a week, which is the most ever I think, but 2 of those days he only has 1 class, and the other 2 days, 2 classes. It's a great schedule and he is able to be home for dinner every night, which I love!

So that's really about it. We have been massively reorganizing and purging our apartment of unnecessary items in anticipation of moving in a few short months, and the boys and I are getting used to our routine at home. This hot week has thrown a kink into things, but that's the way it goes. The Lord continues to sustain and bless our family immensely and we are grateful everyday to Him for His provisions.

Within the next couple of days I will try to post some recent pictures (Warren still isn't walking, he's taking his sweet time!) and write some more updates.

Talk to you soon!
Jen for the 4 of us

So Close!

It's official: Warren is close to walking! This is how it started with Jake, he kept trying over and over to stand up and within a few days (if memory serves) he was walking by himself. So we'll see if Warren does the same thing.



This is just too cute, I love watching him do this!
As for all the background noise (if you have your speakers on) my dad was holding Jake and wouldn't let him go because he kept trying to knock Warren over! Jake was having a fit and Ryan was attempting to calm him down. My grandma was also over so there was lots going on!

Lines & Snoozes

One of Jake's favorite things to do with his many many cars is to line them up. Sometimes they are side by side, sometimes end to end. He also likes to create patterns and shapes with his cars; he's pretty creative.

Here's Jake and Grandpa hanging out after church yesterday. They were pretending to sleep.

Coming Home

Well, we have one more week to enjoy Castro Valley and grandparents. We leave next Friday morning to drive back home to Temple City for one last semester at Master's! Truly a bittersweet time, as leaving here will be very difficult for us, especially the boys who have had so much fun here with Grandma and Grandpa, but it's also exciting to have this end in sight with seminary.

Speaking of The Master's College and Seminary, USNews and World Report came out with their list of top colleges for 2008 and Master's placed Number 2 for Baccalaureate Colleges of the Western Region of the US! The Lord has been good and faithful to Master's as the people who run it seek to make it a place where students not only get a top notch education, but are taught and nourished spiritually as well. We can attest to that having been at the seminary now for 3 years. We are so thankful for John MacArthur and his vision for the college and seminary.

Swimming

Last week we had the fun pleasure of being able to go swimming at my aunt & uncle's house 2 days. My mom and I took the boys last Thursday and Ryan and I went 2 days later on Saturday. The boys had a very fun time and Jake quickly got over his fear of the big pool, as shown in this photo! This is my cousin Josh with Jake in the picture.

On Saturday we had quite a scare with Jake when Ryan saw him under the water struggling to get to the top. He had fallen in during the few seconds we weren't watching. Ryan quickly jumped in and got him out and the Lord thankfully spared Jake. While we didn't forget it soon, Jake was once again jumping in the water after a few minutes. Brave boy.

Spits

That's Warren's new nickname according to my mom. He spits all the time. Especially when he's angry. And frustrated. And mad. It's gross. It's not just the cute little raspberry noise that babies do when experimenting with their mouths. It's the full on saliva-draining-out-of-the-mouth-in-mass-quantities-spray-it-everywhere-spitting. It was actually kind of cute at first, but now we have discovered it is a defiance/rebellion thing, so we are trying to put a stop to it. Not an easy thing with a very strong-willed baby.

On a drier note, he's become quite the little adventurer and climber. He loves to climb up and over the coffee table just for the fun of it. It scared us all at first, but he still has not had a major tumble off the table and it's nearly impossible to keep him off of it, so we just laugh when he does it. The other day I witnessed this scene unfolding at the toy box:

What a funny guy.

A Passion...

One of my passions is politics. Perhaps some of you may not know that, but I do care deeply about this country and its future. I've been following pretty closely the race for the 2008 President and Mike Huckabee is standing out more and more and a very exciting candidate. He was a Baptist minister for much of his adult life and then turned to politics, being the governor of Arkansas from 1996-2007. He made some incredible changes to the state which you can read about on his website. So anyway, here is a YouTube video compilation of the best of Mike Huckabee. It's around 8 minutes and well worth the watch.

A Few Weeks Old...

I forgot to post these cute pictures of Johnny and Warren sitting together. They sure had fun playing when Jess and Isaac were out here.

Counting Down the Summer Days

Summer is one of those times of the year (much like the Christmas season) that I anticipate greatly, goes by extremely fast, and long for once it is over. We have had a fantastic summer this year. Really, one of the best ever. It has been a season of many firsts, great joys, and delighting in the people around us. This summer has been so full of many wonderful experiences, people, and growth that we are sure not to forget it any time soon. I began thinking about all this after we bought our tickets to fly out to Kansas to visit at the end of September. I can honestly see us ending up out there just from our initial meeting with the couple over lunch some months ago and our strange draw to Emporia and a small town. In my craziest dreams I never imagined we would end up in Kansas, and even now it does not seem real that we might be leaving the only home we've ever known. So all that to say that I am really trying to savor our last few short weeks here and take in all the cool Castro Valley weather I can before we move back down to the furnace that is Southern California!

Here are a few pictures from Warren's actual birthday. We didn't do much, my parents got him a musical set with a drum that holds a few music toys which Warren (and Jake) loved.

And what post would be complete without a messy face picture?

This is Warren enjoying some scrumptious homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies: