Micah James Daniel

My precious nephew Micah was born last night at 9:30pm. He weighed in at 8lbs 6 oz and 20in long. He is cute and loving and a miracle.

I was honored to be a part of the "care team" for my sister Bethany during birth. She knows how obsessed I am with pregnancy and the birth process and asked if I would be there with her during his birth. It was awesome. Awkward at times to see her laid out like a garage sale and enduring pain only a mother could know. She was trooper and pushed through with only minimal pain meds. (She opted for a low dose of pain killer instead of an epidural).
It was all wonderful, but the funniest part(s) were hearing her tell us "you.just.don't.understand." and just after birth in a clearly lucid moment "i want pickles, bad". Watching the nurses scurry when she said "I can't hold it anymore, I'm pushing" was truly humorous, especially since there was no Doctor in sight. His head popped out just in time for the Dr. to catch him. literally catch him. And then the sweet cries from this new life. An overwhelmingly amazing moment that words cannot do justice.
We have generational birth defects and God spared this little boy from all of them. Then came our cries of relief and joy.

My sweet little brother, an amazing father and doting husband. If you know him you know he doesnt say much but the care he gave his wife was beautiful. He knew exactly what was happening at each moment and was right there for her every need. (even when she yelled at him!). His face of joy and excitement when Micah was born are precious memories. Watching and taking pictures of him cutting his sons cord to give him independance and to bond with him as his father are amongst my favorites.
Congrats Daniel and Bethany!

God bless you and keep you, God smile on you and gift you, God look you full in the face and make you prosper
~Num 6:24-26

"Hey baby, I found a drawer"

When you buy a house sometimes you find things you missed in the walkthru's. Wierd things.

1972 bundt cake pan-still in box...check
old doors and standing fan in garage attic...check

but this one takes the cake. My hubby came home last night and these are the words I hear from the bathroom..."hey baby, I found a drawer". Thinking to myself, what? I unpacked and put away everything in that bathroom, what is he talking about.
I walk in to find this...


My response? "wow, you sure did find a drawer".
Who knew? There it was a very large drawer underneath the sink. I have no idea what what we will put in it but I'm sure we'll find something.
random I know.

We are so lucky...

This is Eddie. He comes to Sandals. He approached me at a Sandals Night Out last year asking if he could help out in the office. He comes consistently 3-4 days a weeks to do data entry or make phone calls or study for school. He is talking to his professor in this picture. At Sandals Eddie is what we call a "full time volunteer". Eddie is so thoughtful. He always brings us treats and little notes telling us we are doing a good job. Today he brought us ice cream cake from Cold Stone. yum. Some of the staff have milk allergies and he even thought enough to bring us dark chocolate so everyone could eat it. So, if you see Eddie, tell him thanks. He is making Riverside and Sandals church an awesome place.

The wonders of this world

There are a lot of things I don't totally understand in life but accept them and move on. Most things are explainable but pregnancy and babies are a mystery to me. The whole concept of getting pregnant and staying pregnant and giving birth is just a crazy miracle. The miraculousness of it (is that a word?) is what gets me everytime. Which is also what makes me sad and angry all at the same time. I think that women/girls dont really understand what it takes to just get pregnant, let alone stay pregnant and give birth to a healthy, functioning human being. With the abortion rates and teen pregnancies and abuse cases its enough to depress anyone who reads up on it. Thats what gets me. I know God allows us to make choices but why does He allow pregnancy? Why does a 14 year old get blessed with pregnancy the first time she has sex and aborts the baby, but a 30 year old who desperately wants to have a child can't get pregnant? It makes me teary just thinking of it. I keep trying to understand why some people get it and others dont and the only thing that makes sense to me is that we get a choice. But that doesn't even make sense. Its the 1 thing that perplexes me the most about God. You'd think it was philosophy or the trinity or is heaven and hell real but I get all that. That all makes perfect sense to me and I don't question it. There are some things a person just knows. I just know it and believe it and thats that. But the pregnancy thing leaves me bewilderd. How? Why? Why not? When? How??? uggh. I'm frustrated just thinking about it. Read a book on pregnancy and tell me if you get it. I don't.
The pictures are of my nephew Micah, coming soon.

Extreme Makeover...

Scraped ceilings, 12 gallons of paint, refinished hardwood, new window shades, rugs and outdoor furniture and here we are 3 weeks later. We still have a long way to go but it is much more live-able now. You can see our friend Chris laying tile at the bottom. Also in the picture is the freshly painted wainscoting and walls. SOOOO much better!

Whats happened Since July 25

Sorry for the lack of posts. I hate posting with no pictures and my husband has all the pictures.
Here's our life since the last one...

August 1& 2-coordinated a wedding in Newport
August 4-9-Youth Camp @ jeness park
August 15th-Beach baptism @ Corona Del Mar
August 16th-family dinner with all the out of towners for Aunt Sally's b-day
August 18th- CLOSED escrow! :)
August 19-now-working on house

The house looks unbelievably awesome. It is amazing what paint and carpet can do. We've scraped the ceilings and painted them and today the rest of the house is being painted. Tomorrow we are laying tile and moving partially.

If you are available, have a truck or just wanna come take a peak, we are moving next weekend the 29&30th and would love to have your help!

We're in escrow!!!

Yes my friends its true. An offer, a counter offer, 3 weeks of waiting, over 100 pages of documents to be signed, an inspection and few faxes and we are in escrow. Officially today.
Mike and I are so excited but it truely feels too good to be true. This is such a wierd market and we have definitely hit some bumps but we are on our way to being homeowners.
We'll see how the next few weeks playout. I'll keep ya posted. These pics will also serve as our "befores". lots of paint and some ripping out of carpet and it will be a whole new place. Looks like we will have a room for you after all Alyssa! :)

The living/dining room.

the kitchen (laundry and bathroom too!)

perhaps our favorite, the enclosed patio