Because this made me Smile

Amen brotha,

Aim

Akemashite Omedetoo!

Happy New Year!

My stint as a stay at home Mom recently came to an end and I've been busy trying to juggle going back to work hence the lack of posts around here! 

How was the end of your 2012? Ours was full of family, plenty of celebrations and Cole's first Christmas and New Years. So much goodness in the month of December for us :D. I'd love to share some pics-maybe once I get around to editing the 800+ we have from those few weeks hah!

"Create in me a pure heart oh God that I might serve You." 

This is my own personal prayer for 2013. May it be yours as well!

Here's to all that the new year has in store for both you and me. God is with us!

Aim

Mobbed on a Sunday

Last Sunday, as you know, we took Cole to church for the first time. It was great to introduce him to his church family and Blane and I got to see a lot of our youth that we haven't seen in awhile. Some mob action might have ensued :)

 In the cry room after second service got out. Blane couldn't get out of the room because our high schoolers came by right after they got out of Sunday School. Love these kids.

You hear it all the time but it's so true-when you take the time to invest in other people, you are usually the one who gets blessed in the process. Blane and I are blessed to have an amazing church family. Everyone was so excited to meet our little guy because, in a way, he's their little guy too :).

Cole did great that day, by the way. He slept some, woke up to stare at all the inquiring eyes a bit, and was overall just quiet, taking it all in. 

Have a great Wednesday all~everybody grab their first red Starbucks cup of the season yet?!? Quiddie-we need to go!!! ;)

Aim

Honey Boo Boo

 On Sunday, Pat was on fire as the High School Sunday School teacher. He even referenced Honey Boo Boo from the reality show Toddlers and Tiaras! The guy was unstoppable! Hahaha

Here are Pat and Blane encouraging one group to recite their memory verse-2 Timothy 3:16-17. Pat talked about the importance of knowing God's word and really hiding it in your heart-and your mind! It was a fun hour and at the end of it all, most of us had at least some portion of the verse engrained in our minds :)

"All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training. So that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

I <3 my High Schoolers!

Aim

Risen with Christ

This past weekend I was able to witness one of the biggest blessings of all this summer. Eight of "my" youth and two of the adults at our church were baptized at the beach and oh what a wonderful celebration it was!

"But you who were dead in your transgressions are now alive in Christ!"

Ephesians 2

Despite it being the busiest beach day of the year (parking was a beast, the main lot was closed several times, it took many people at least an hour to find a spot!) we forged ahead and did not let that stop us from celebrating God's gift of life in each of these young hearts.

 All the baptisms peeps with some of their family members~Sydney, Kurt, Max, Rebekah, Ryo, Katsuya, Jenna, Kathy, Kevin and Kurt.

I love my church family. I love that God is working even more :) 

Our God IS able!

Aim

Scenes from Camp

As I've mentioned before, our church is away at our annual Family Camp this week up in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I miss it so!

Here are some scenes from the week so far that my kiddos and staff have sent me. Oh the power of technology these days :)

Join me in praying God's covering and releasing of His power over this camp this week!

Aim

Weekend.

This past weekend was bittersweet for me. Our church left for our annual family camp and for only the third time in my entire life, I was not inside of a vehicle joining them! :( Major sad face. With our due date fast approaching, Blane and I thought it wise to skip out this year.

Our church at last year's family camp

My heart goes with them though, and I am praying for each one daily...that God would meet them, touch them, change them and just all around blow their minds :D. Because everyone was gone, this past weekend was a quiet one for B and I. It was nice though-gave us time together...as probably one of our last few weekends sans kiddo. We organized and cleaned up the baby room, did massive amounts of laundry, took a nap or two, cleaned out our kitchen pantry, B washed all the floors and cleaned both bathrooms and we finally got our A/C fixed, praise the Lord! I'm now happily sitting in my 69 degree house, typing away!

Last night we had dinner for the first time with two of our neighbors at the house next door. We have been wanting to get to know our neighbors better, and it was the perfect opportunity to do so. Our neighbor Laurie is a great cook and she made the perfect summer meal-cheese and crackers to start followed by perfectly grilled chicken and a salad to die for: arugula, baby tomatoes, edamame, olives, grated parmesan and freshly grilled corn doused in a homemade apple cider vinaigrette that she homemade. We finished off the meal with some juicy watermelon and cream puffs! Haha. Later, B and I were able to hang out with one of his old co-workers at our house and it was nice to catch up with him too. 

Hey, so even though I feel like I'm missing out on being with everyone at camp this week, God has already brought some people into our lives back here at home to spend some time with. He always provides!

Hope you all have a wonderful week. God goes with you!

Aim

Neighbor Love

The other day I received a phone call from someone who goes to our church. I wondered why she called because she's not someone we talk to on a normal basis. Turns out that she made B and I one of her infamous homemade apple tarts and she wanted to drop it by. Oh my! I was so touched by her thoughtful gesture. She explained that she knew we were nearing the end of our pregnancy and she just wanted to make us this tart to encourage us. Awww <3 

These pics don't do the tart justice-it was quite large and wrapped so beautifully. I ended up cutting it up and giving some to both our parents because there was no way that we would be able to eat it all ourselves. 

So blessed to be in a community of Christ as we are. I don't know how people live without one!

Special thanks to Chris M. for the delicious tart! :)

Aim

Weekend Recap

This past weekend marked the beginning of my husband's favorite time of year. No, it's not Christmas people-it's NBA Basketball Playoff time. Below is my living room last Saturday afternoon right before the Miami Heat played the New York Knicks in the first round of playoffs. And no, we don't normally have a jersey hanging off the window treatments by the television. Blane kindly informed me that his jersey would be hanging in our living room for the duration of the playoffs. Lucky girl I am xD Haha

 Later that same afternoon the Mr. went off to play golf with his boss while I had lunch with my parents. Here my Mom is "waving" at my sister for whom this picture was intended. The manager at our local diner, Nichols, is a Southern boy from Dallas and my Mom has made it her mission to see that he gets plugged into a church and that he has a faith. Gotta admire the tenacity of my Mother. Her faith and heart know no bounds. She introduced my Dad to said Southern boy at lunch and made sure that he knew, again, what time our services were on Sundays. She also didn't hesitate to ask him if he had a girlfriend. My Mother knows no bounds in this area as well ;)

 After lunch I got to hang out with one of my High Schoolers, Ash. We went to get yogurt and hers had this topping on it that looked eerily like fresh roe (fish eggs) that you'd get at a sushi bar. Apparently these are fruit flavored and yummy (her words). I can't seem to pop one into my mouth. :) We had a good time chatting and it was nice to spend some one-on-one time with her. 

Saturday night was a rare night without youth group for B and I so he made good on being a great husband and he took me out for dinner. Yay! Love date nights with him. I am especially cherishing these moments as baby boy's due date nears since I know they will be few and far between once he arrives. We ate at the Fresh Corn Grill in Westwood. So good. I highly recommend the cute little place.

Sunday was eventful as B and I attended both services at church. Mom shared her testimony and we wanted to be there to support her. Our church is launching this amazing program called Celebrate Recovery and Mom's testimony was the last in a series that we've been hearing over the past six weeks. If you know my Mom, you know that she is passionate, loving, friendly and courageous to name a few. She showed immense courage and strength Sunday as she stood in front of both congregations to share of her life and how God has brought her through. I encourage you to listen to the message here if you'd like. Mom's testimony is towards the end :).

How was your weekend? B and I wrapped up the weekend spending time with family and we were both exhausted by the time we crawled into bed at 11pm. I know-crazy party animals that we are!

Have a great week kids ;)
Aim

"So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life-not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day."

2 Timothy 1:8-12

Harry Margono.

Rest in Peace with joy in the presence of Your God!

God be with Maria, Tim and Ashley.

Aim

"Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised IS faithful."

Hebrews 10:22-24

Today, our church prays in earnest for one of our own. Lord, we believe that You are sovereign and we trust in you for healing and peace during this time. We will Believe!

Godspeed,

Aim

A Whirl of a Weekend

Weekends for me are workdays and once fall hits, they can get a little crazy sometimes. This past weekend was no exception...

I work with the youth at my church and we had our big kick-off event on Saturday night. The kids brought their parents and we had dinner together followed by a rousing icebreaker that the parents had to participate in-sort of a "taste of what we do at youth group" type of deal. Big props to the six brave parents who sloshed their faces around in chocolate syrup searching for the red and white gummy worm sans hands!

*pics to follow. I haven't hit up Pap yet for her stash.

Sunday B and I "invited" our entire church to our wedding so we were at both services. We decided to do this because our church is like our second family and it was too hard to pick and choose who should come and who shouldn't so we just decided that all of them should be invited :). As one of our friends put it, "those who come will really want to be there." I hope so!

High School Sunday School is back up and running and after service we dove into our theme verse for the year together:

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:1-3.

We talked yesterday about what exactly a "great cloud of witnesses"was and it was neat to see all of the HSers digging through their bibles looking up references for people like Noah, Abraham, Enoch, Rahab and Jephthath. (yea, we had no idea about that last one either until we looked it up! ;)

After Sunday School, it was off to my dear Grandpa's 90th Birthday luncheon. B had to work so I went with my parents down to Grandpa's favorite Japanese restaurant near their home by Knott's Berry Farm. Not all of the family could make it, but 12 of us were there and although informal, it was a good time of family fellowship and words of wisdom from Grandpa. He spoke of his love and appreciation for his "biggest accomplishment," his family. It was touching, sweet and deep, as Grandpa always is. I was excited to buy his birthday card this year because I was able to buy one with "90th Birthday" written on the front. How many people get to buy these cards for their Grandpas?!? I am thankful that I got to do so for mine. :)

*Grandpa and Grandma with all their grandkids and their spouses last year.

Later that night I had one last birthday celebration to attend-my future FIL's. He turned 55 and we had a small family dinner at home. He is, besides my own dad, the hardest person to shop for because he wants nothing and lives a very simple life. After much hemming and hawing, B and I decided to frame a picture of the two of us in front of our new house with the "Sold!" sign and gift it to him with a note of thanks and appreciation for all he's done, and is doing, to get us this house and to make it a home for us. I'm not sure what he thought of the gift, but I hope he knows that it comes from our hearts and with much love.

So, that was my weekend. How was yours? I capped it off with 12 hours of straight sleep last night. Man, that felt good. :) I think I'm ready to start the week now.

Ready or not, here it comes!

Aim

Scenes from a Labor Day Weekend

Hi all five of you who read this blog ;)

How was your weekend? Hope it was lovely and full of good friends such as mine was.

B got off early on Friday so we grabbed a bite to eat at the ever-cute Jackson Market. They have really yummy made-to-order sandwiches and the vibe of the place is so cool and laid-back too. A perfect start to a long weekend!

From there we meandered over to a few paint stores before landing at Home Depot. Here's B sawing off a piece of baseboard to take back to the house for comparison and matching purposes. We've learned recently that owning a home comes with many, many, many new experiences such as this one. :)

Saturday was full of celebration as the women of our family "showered" my cousin P with a special time to honor her and the soon-to-be arrival of her baby girl. It will be the first child of the next generation in our family and we are all oh-so-excited! 

The fam on my Mom's beautifully decorated back porch.

Monday was our annual Church Labor Day picnic with softball, frisbee, food and games for the little ones. These two photos make me smile and capture some of the fun of the day!

Directly after the picnic these wonderful people came out to help B and I move all of my stuff and furniture from my apartment over to the new place. We were very grateful for all of their help! 

*And yes, they all worked hard. My cousin and "cousin" were the beast movers of the day (as noted by their bare-chested glory in the first pic) although everyone worked hard to get us all moved out in one afternoon. God always provides!

One laborious Labor Day down :)

Check!

Aim

I Heart VBS