Pretty in Pink!

This is the fourth year now that my sister has been involved with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day walk.  She is so passionate about raising money and walking 60 miles in three days for this cause.  It's so great to see her enthusiasm towards all things "pink" and be able to support her as a cheerleader along the route.  (Hey, being a cheerleader is hard work too!  We drive for miles and miles all over San Diego trying to find the perfect "cheering spots."  We spend hours searching for the perfect pink outfits, baking sweet treats and painting signs!)  So maybe we don't have blisters on our feet at the end of the weekend and our toenails are still completely intact but our throats are sore from all the screaming and our legs ache from jumping.  It's hard work folks, and someone's gotta do it!  Really though, we look forward to the 3-Day each year - it's become a sort of family tradition.  Who knows, maybe one day I'll actually get out there and do some walking too.  Until then however, keep it up Christy and job well done!

One of my favorite new additions to the car decorating this year was the windshield wiper decor...I cracked myself up!!  I am indeed in big need of getting out of the house more frequently!  

Oh, just some ballerinas in the street!

Lauren made these ADORABLE (and delicious) mini brownies!!  The walkers loved her...I think the entire platter was devoured in 5 minutes!!

See...they LOVED her!!  =)

#1 fan of the 3-Day walkers!  He was a hit in his pink decor! 

Carson is an "Auntie Fan" too!  He was so proud of her!

Grandma even came out to be a part of the action this year!  Looking good fans!

Carson passed out candy to the walkers along Mission Bay...he felt so important!

I made mini pink cupcakes for the walkers again this year...YUM!

And there she is, walking her "tail" off!  We're so proud of you, Christy!

On Being Pregnant...

Well, I'm getting closer.  Five weeks to go...so close and yet so far away!  I'm at that point in my pregnancy (and I know some of you can relate) where I feel like I deserve a medal...for just making it through the day!  I need to be reminded now more than ever that there IS a light at the end of the tunnel.  My other two pregnancies were textbook perfect.  Take positive pregnancy test, have contractions 9 months later and then hold baby in arms.  Easy.  Piece of cake.  

This baby on the other hand has been more, well, should I say "exciting??"  Let's see, first there was the surprise positive pregnancy test, then the week of bed rest, two rounds of the flu and a bladder infection all while trying to relish in the day to day activities of my two precious toddlers!  Oh, did I mention the poor circulation in my arms at night and the excruciating lower back pain I feel most days by about 6:00 in the evening??  Let me first paint a picture of the arm circulation scenario:  I'm sound asleep in bed but feeling uncomfortable.  Feeling the need to roll over.  My body moves but for some reason my arms don't follow.  Awkward.  I need to roll over....arms...please...follow me!!  Ultimately, I end up having to do what I call the "heave ho" maneuver.  It goes like this: Roll body over, count to 3 and then "heave ho" my arms by twisting my shoulders so that eventually, they fly out from under me and flop to the other side along with the rest of my body.  If I'm lucky, they won't whack my sleeping husband on the face, or mine for that matter on their way over.  After it's all said and done, I get to spend the next hour and a half wide awake because by that point I can't fall back to sleep.

Now, for the lower back pain scenario:  By about 6:00 each night I can hardly bend, twist, or literally move from my waist down.  But with two toddlers, you do what you have to do and sometimes I just have to "go with it."  The other night, I think I pushed it a little too hard because I could hardly even feel my back by the time the kids got into bed.  I decided to lay on the couch where I eventually fell asleep (don't be so surprised, okay?!)  When my dear husband woke me a few hours later to come to bed, I found that I literally could not move!  I was standing there envisioning myself sprinting down the hallway to the warmth of my bed and yet, nothing was moving.  Nothing except for the burning pain moving from my waist to my legs.  I tried coaxing my legs to move forward and still, nothing.  Eventually, one leg started to move and then...wham...I hit the ground.  Okay, not a violent, dangerous fall but I did end up on my knee on the ground.  Jeff came to my rescue (FINALLY...I thought he was going to have to carry me!!) and helped me get to the back of the couch where I could hold on to something.  The rest of the trip to my bed consisted of a hunched over me holding on to dear life to the back of the couch and the hallway wall, hoping and praying that my back and legs wouldn't lock up on me again.  REALLY??  Is this really happening to me?!?!  Someone remind me WHY we as women "get" to do this for nine months!  

I know that in five weeks (oh, please Dear Lord make it sooner) I will be holding my sweet baby in my arms and all of this will be forgotten.  Somehow it will all seem worth it and I'm sure sooner rather than later I'll talk about wanting to do it all over again.  But for now, I sit here praying that my body will make it to delivery day and hoping that time will fly...I don't know if I can handle one more thing breaking down on me!  

Thomas the Train Comes to Town!

Christy and I took the boys to see Thomas the Train since trains are a "really BIG deal" for those of us who have boys!!  We got to ride on Thomas and enjoy some of the many activities around the train station.  I love seeing my kid's eyes light up at something so simple, yet so magical! 

Trick-or-Treat!

This year was a fun Halloween for us because we had a houseful of kids to celebrate with!  Our family and good friends came over for our traditional chili and cornbread dinner.  Jeff and I have been doing this for the past five years and felt like this was definitely the most exciting year so far!  The adults got to eat, drink and chat while the kids played together before Trick-or-Treating together as army men, a frog, and a pirate with his little brother the parrot (who I didn't get a picture of...)  Despite all the candy and sugar, the kids made it to bed by 8:30, leaving the rest of the night for the adults to continue celebrating!  It was a fun, Fall night! 

Halloween Treats!

Pregnant mamas love any excuse to make sweet treats to eat!  What better way to satisfy some cravings than with friends and family?  Here are some of the Halloween goodies I made for us to enjoy...YUM!!

Fall Fun In Truckee!

I came to the realization a few weeks ago that our boys are growing up so fast (in fact, way too fast for their mama's liking!)  With the arrival of baby #3 approaching in less than two months, I know that doing the spontaneous things that I cherish so dearly will occur less and less frequently.  So, while I still have my little guys at home with me, I took advantage of spending some quality time together and with family in the mountains!  We traveled to Mimi and Papa's house and enjoyed a week full of fall sights, sounds and smells!  We are so blessed to have this "home away from home" to venture to whenever we need a break from our normal routine!  Here are some highlights: 

Casa Sonrisa

Okay, now that the apologies and explanations are out of the way, I can really start "Blogging!"  Yes friends, it's the simple things that get me so excited!

"Casa Sonrisa" you ask?  Well, glad you did...and for those who didn't ask and who know me well, you know I'll tell you the story anyway!  I figured what better way to know how we came to be as we begin "Round 2" of this Blogging thing!


For those who can't seem to remember back to their high school Spanish class days, here's a refresher: "Casa Sonrisa" loosely translated means "House of Smiles."  Five years ago, Jeff and I had the amazing opportunity to vacation in Costa Rica with family.  In Costa Rica, life is simple.  It's slow, it's intentional and it's full of joyful peace.  As you pass through the neigborhoods in the small towns, each house is identified by a name.  Literally, a name carved into a wooden sign that hangs at the entrance to each home.  When neighbors refer to each other, it's not by a last name but by the chosen name that identifies each family to all who pass by.  How wonderful...how could we get one of these names for our home too??  For the remainder of our vacation, we thought long and hard about how we wanted to be known and how we wanted others to refer to our family.  With Christ being the source of joy and "smiles" in our marriage, we prayed that soon we'd be able to share that same happiness with children in our own home.  And so it was decided - "Casa Sonrisa."  House of Smiles.  Smiles for the past, present and the future.  Smiles in the good times and in the bad.  Smiles in the times of plenty and in the times of need.  Smiles in sickness and in health.  It's what we commited to in our marriage ceremony three years earlier and as we prepared ourselves for starting a family, we knew it was what we needed to commit to for our future as well.

We took off one afternoon looking for a local artist who could sculpt those two words into a simple piece of wood for us.  We would eventually take home and post at the entrance of our house this "promise" to live our lives seeking the joy and peace that only Christ's love can bring in all circumstances.  It is a reminder to us be joyful in all things and to live our lives according to the purposes for which Christ has called us.  And now as we prepare for the arrival of our third child, it is our daily prayer that our home is a place where love, laughter and smiles resound through all we do.  Welcome to Casa Sonrisa...come along and smile with us!