Five is Funtastic!

"I'm five today!" were the first words out of his mouth...

On the way out for breakfast first thing in the morning

he was met with his birthday request of banana crumb muffins...
surprise they were lit with five candles
(it's sideways, forgot to rotate before uploading)


the long awaited desire to care for a pet fish was answered as it was his birthday present!
Dad set up the tank the nite before.

A new birthday wish for TWO fish was expressed, one for him and one for his brother.
Aidon was serenaded by buddies Abby & Sophia over the phone and they engaged in a long chat about pet fish and playdates.
Then he was blessed to hear birthday greetings from Grandma as he opened the gift she sent
Gramps Al sang a beritone Happy Birthday jazz style
Aidon loves books!
Grandma listens in over the phone as daddy reads the story about
the Hawaiian fish, Humu

Aunt Sammie rings in with a birthday hello while grandma and all are reading along

Off we went & the boys picked out their fish then proudly and gently carried their fish thru the store to the register and safely on the car ride home to adjust to their new aquarium
Next destination, the zoo. A surprise that our buddy could join us!
It was a spontaneous decision last night at 9pm, it was a blessing that dear friends were so willing to join at the spur of the moment!
And another buddy!!! wow!
One last picture before heading out of the zoo and ending a fun filled morning together visiting the reptile house, hippos and cat canyon


Off the 4 of us went to the Wild Arctic...first stop was walruses to honor little brother's request (that was sweet of the birthday boy)...here we are inside a polar bears den

Tita Marn called and wanted to meet us wherever we were..and she joined us for a one hour jaunt around the Wild Arctic...she also gave a well received gift of a toy drum "I have been wishing for this for a long long time. Thank you"
This big birth-day was on a Friday and the birthday boy wanted to be sure to attend our usual friday family bible study Casa V. He ended his day with cupcakes and a "Happy Birthday Song" fellowshipping with friends...and praising God for his wonderful day. The day was a blessing to all of us. That night as I was dimming the lights throughout our home, I walked by as he sat in front of Gobble and Crush's aquarium -- he prayed that God would help them live. Thank you God for answered prayers throughout the day!

Almost Five

This "5 birthday" has been anticipated by the birthday boy for at least 9 months.
The celebration began one day early with a classroom party of
submarine shaped pbj sandwiches, banana mini muffins, and bday cupcakes of course.

Lunch for our family of four was at old' Chuck E's then a surprise change of plans
landed us at the local Nickel Arcade

We played skee ball, raced Nascar racecars, arcade games, stomping spiders, earning tickets along the way

All those tickets earned us well enjoyed prizes

Both boys had a bundle of energy and a desire to hang around at the Wild Animal Park

cozy up in a Hanging nest

He's almost 5 years old

Ten on Tuesday

1. It's been a week since my parents left on vacation; it's helped us to renew our appreciation for you family and friends. The boys also talk about how they miss grandma, lolo and lola.

2. We've offered our house up to the Lord again. We believe that the big picture is that it's God's plan for us to be out of financial bondage (mortgage debt, auto debt, etc) and it will be His way (not our way), so we aren't deciding on having a mortgage...He will. We plan on it sitting on the market as God fulfills his plan for us to stay or go.

3. We are on a one year waitlist for affordable housing.

4. I am taking better care of myself -- right now, focusing on trying to eat breakfast each day.

5. last week, our preschool class took a fieldtrip to the local Creation Museum and it was such a special time. One new thing we learned: how God made light (before he created the sun, moon & stars). Back to school nite was this week too and we enjoyed the class singing for us and sharing their work.

6. Thanks to my sister for loving and caring for our boys as we went out on the town on for Employee Appreciation Nite for my husband's work. We really enjoyed ourselves! Great catered food - an italian station, a mexican cuisine station, a crudite, coffee & dessert station. Several rooms of entertainment - Casino magic, karaoke, live jazz band, DJ spinning Hip Hop.

7. the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park could use everyone's patronage as it supports them financially. We'll be heading over there more often now :)

8. We made a home made snow globe with an empty twist bottle, water & glitter. fun!

9. I'd love to spend some time in the back yard with the family so we can re-focus on caring for our plants.

10. The boys and I enjoyed having a chance to talk about how God is always with us at times we are disappointed that things didn't turn out as expected.

Lola n Lolo See You Soon!

Look at all this luggage that fills the back of the van.Last hug as the bus pulls up
The boys join their grandparents in the bus
Have a wonderful vacation Lolo n Lola
See you soon

Before you go...

We were blessed to squeeze in one more chance to hang out with Lolo & Lola before their trip. We leisurely awaited their departure time keeping cool in air conditioning and sharing a meal.

We were willing to do whatever there was as long as we could squeak in a last few moments together
Relaxing on the pillows
Last chance for photos before we get to the departure area
Snuggling up to Lolo
Dancing down the aisle

Short & Sweet

Since our families now have opposite days off and live in different counties,

we see each other less often and our time together is held more dear to our hearts. Collecting bark with the bayview behind us
Conversations were lively, the two boys in the background

were a constant chatter when we first sat down for a meal

Here we are now (above). Who would have thought that our double dates during our college years were the planting of seeds of family friendships that would continue to bloom with the next generation.

Spending time together inside and outside

Thank you for the special visit! It was short yet sweet.

A Surprise Sprinkling

Lolo n Lola seemed to relish in their grandkids enjoyment of the harvest themed fall carnival as they boys' feet trampled across a straw floor for rides, inflatable slides and more. It's natural for grandparents to give of themselves in time, relationships, and resources and it's inherent for Lolo and Lola too.
Just arrived to Pumpkin Station
A boy driving the boat and a boy dinging the bell. The boat picked up some speed!
A little drizzle started to fill the air as the train was boarding it's passengers
A surprise ending of the evening - it started sprinkling rain! The swing ride seemed longer once they were getting wet (see the hair?), so that covering the eyes seemed to keep the raindrops away.
We hightailed it out of there under umbrellas to the refuge of a warm car then a warm home, and enjoyed the pitter patter of raindrops on the rooftop. Thank you Lolo n Lola for treating the boys to a special evening.

Handy Guys at Home Depot

The Kids clinics are a creative outlet for strapping young boys - past creations have included a wooden castle, football-shaped step stool, a sailboat. Today, our "little" brother got to join in with Lolo and big brother for the first time!

The boys were so excited that they created wooden toy firetrucks with moveable wheels.
Building alongside Lolo will surely be a precious memory for many years to come.
It's easy to work up an appetite after an hour of hammering and building. It was a blessing to share a meal and fellowship and with Lolo and Lola before they leave on their trip.
Wor Wonton soup and upside down pan fried noodles were the quickest dishes to disapper, yet the sweetest thing was to hear Aidon share that he'll miss them while they are away.

Welcome Fall

Our family has been visiting a pumpkin farm every year since Fall 2004. This year, we were blessed to harvest pumpkins ourselves:
pulling them off the vines in the pumpkin patch!

We found our way out of a 8 foot tall maze of corn stalks, rode on a tractor pulled hay ride & toured the pinery/pumpkin farm, visited the lambs & goats.
Our family day was blessed with the fellowship of encouraging friends

Gentle Grandparents

We love you.

Even though distance separates us, you are dear to our hearts.

A purpose of this blog is to link to you...

A spontaneous visit from Grandma & Gramps in August had us all smiling (Fri Aug 22)

On Oct 1st, we bid farewell to great grandma,"Oma". We thoroughly enjoyed her while she visited for a couple months, which flew by entirely too fast! Great Aunt Nene was Oma's companion on the flight home, and flew in for one day just to visit & pick her up. how sweet.









She playfully asks her great grandsons, "Who's maganda?" [beautiful]. "OMA!"

More smushy hugs....

Come As You Are

We're creating this blog to keep connected with family and friends. We hope you visit and comment to let us know you stopped by :) Here you will hang out and see us as we are - smiles, traditions, imperfections, joy, ups & downs of daily life.

Where does that title come from?

The foundation of our family, the glue that holds us together, is Jesus, and he says "Come as you are" as he welcomes each and everyone of you into His family. Well, that blog name was taken already! so we went with "Loved as you are", which is equally true of His love for you.