Happy Anniversary

It was 11 years ago today that Keith and I made the commitment to spend our lives together, forever. We celebrated with a casual dinner here. The girls stayed with the Evertsons and had a great time eating too many sweets and staying up too late. Simply put, I am a very lucky Girl!

Happy 11th Keith.

Kids say the funniest things....

A few weeks ago, Madison shared with me that God spoke to her heart concerning choices she has been making lately. I sat with her and we talked about her feelings and how the experience affected her. I usually direct both of the girls to consult with the Lord about life decisions both present and future.

We were cooped- up most of the day today as it was 105 degrees outside. We decided to make a snack run to Jamba Juice while I ran a few errands. While driving, the girls were talking non-stop, as they usually do. The conversation :

(As we drove past the hospital)

Madison: " I am not sure if I am supposed to be a doctor or a teacher."

Mia: "The Lord spoke to my heart about being a teacher."

Madison: "How do you know Mia? When the Lord spoke to me I really knew it."

Mia: "Well, when I was in chapel, the Lord said, Mia I don't think you want to work at Jelly Belly, maybe you want to be a teacher. "

Madison: "Come on Mia, what did you feel like? Like were you scared?"

Mia: " No. Maybe I was nervous because I was thinking maybe the kids won't listen to me."

I was laughing to myself and had to work at keeping quiet!

Fresh Berry Dessert Bites

I love the glossy little recipe magazines at the grocery check out. If I'm not in a hurry, I don't mind a slow line if I can preview a new, seasonal edition. Tonight I made a dessert from the latest member of my little recipe magazine collection. Leah gave me the Summer Fun Recipes from Pillsbury before she moved. The fresh berry dessert bites received mixed reviews: Keith said they were," awesome but really rich." The girls liked the shortbread like crust and the berries "but not with the frosting part." I thought they were very tasty but too rich for an everyday type of treat. Judge for yourself! Let me know what you think.

Crust

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup of sugar

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter cut into tablespoon-size pieces

Topping

1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1 container (6oz) lemon yogurt

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Raspberries, blueberries, and or blackberries for the top

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 15x10x1 pan (I used 13x9x1 and it was too thick)

In a large bowl, mix all crust ingredients except butter. Using pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture looks like fine crumbs; press evenly in pan

Bake 18 to 21 min or until edges are light golden. Cool completely, about 45 min.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and brown sugar with an electric mixer on low until blended. Add yougurt and lemon peel; beat until blended. Spread mixture over crust. Refrigerate at least one hour but not more than 24. Cut into 10 rows by 4 rows. Arrange fruit as desired. Store in refrigerator.

No change for high altitude

110 calories per bar with 7 grams of fat.

carb choice = 1

Exchanges= 1/2 starch. 1 1/2 fat

Blessings

What a blessed weekend we had. The girls and I had a free weekend to ourselves. Keith was out of town for a golf tournament and we didn't have anything in particular planned.
Sometimes that is the best way :) Hope you enjoy the video. I found the link on another blog.
I thought it was precious.

A brief list of our terrific weekend:

*Watched High School Musical 2 (count down was in progress)

*Had grilled chicken with jasmine rice and girly salad (baby greens, vinagarette etc) for dinner

*Mission accomplished =shoe shopping for both girls. Sometime mission impossible as Mia wears wide. Hard to find "her style" in wide!

*Completed and passed first test for DRE requirement. Ready to take test #two but they make you wait!

*Weather wasn't above the low 90's during the day and we had a terrific breeze in the evenings

*Bubble gum pink pedicures at home

*Handed out church tracts in Target parking lot, it was FULL of Fair parking

*Managed to avoid the Fair :)!!!!

*Lunch @ Plutos, alfresco

*Browsing @ Borders

*Started Disneyland scrapbook

*Up early to read my Bible

*Church

Today's Verse: And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Romans 12:2

This was the verse for today and I just wanted to preserve it on my blog.

Where's your hair?

The answer would be here. It was all Madison's idea. That is with a little help from Leah. Leah was playing with Madison's very long hair and said it was so pretty. She mentioned donating it. Madison asked me to look up all the details on the web site. From that moment on, just as soon as she saw the pictures of the children without hair, she was determined to get her hair cut. You know that it didn't even take 1.2 seconds for Mia to want to follow her sister's lead. All I heard for the next month was, "When are we going to get our hair cut?"

Madison had 11.5" cut and Mia had 11" cut

We are so very proud of the girls for thinking of others. I am the one who was a bit hesitant about them getting all that hair cut. I thought they looked so pretty with long hair. They told me, "Mommy, we can just grow it back." Now that their hair is short, I think they are just as beautiful on the outside and even more beautiful on the inside.

Bogey

The girl's golf lessons this summer were a little different than the ones they had last year. Last year, they went for one week, M-F for three hours each day. This year, beginning mid-June, we were on the golf course every morning from 7:30- 8:30 am. They refreshed the etiquette and rules, practiced putting, chipping and driving. During the second week the girls rationalized that since school was out they really shouldn't be getting out of bed so early. I admit, I was thinking the same thing. However, we all trekked on. It was actually easy because we were on the same schedule as when in school.

During the first week of July, their schedule switched. Madison had a tee time of 8:09 a.m. and Mia's was at 8:36 a.m.(Tues. & Thurs.). They each went out with a foursome to play three holes. I really enjoyed watching them play. As the lessons progressed so did their comfort with a natural swing and learning to play against themselves. Madison had a few boys in her group and was originally very competitive with them.

The lessons ended this week with a Jr.-Sr. scramble. The girls got to play the 9:00 am shotgun with Allysa and her dad. I followed the cart on foot so I could take pictures. We had a great time. Playing nine holes was a lot for Mia but she never gave up. The girls ended up with one bogey for the round. Afterward, we enjoyed a bbq and awards were handed out. The girls put their trophys on the shelf next to Daddy's. They were very proud.

I am very proud of them for not giving up when they were tired and for trying even harder when that silly little ball seemed so hard to hit. I am very proud that they are curious about golf because their daddy loves golf. And even more proud that they want to play golf because they love golf.

I know there are a lot of pictures but I really couldn't choose any less and kept myself from adding even more! You have to click on the picture above of Mia. Oh my gosh, too funny. I titled that picture "ball killer." BTW, no one is sleeping in much past 7:30am, golf lessons or no

golf lessons!

Awesome @ 754

We took the girls to their first Giants game last night. They had a ball (yes, a pun)!

All they wanted were the foam fingers!
The Marina was my favorite!




They watch the games at home with Keith and ask all the questions girls want to know about baseball. They know all about Barry and his home-run-world-record as they call it. Madison was excited at the realization that she was going to see BB in person, maybe even witness history in the making.

This Park is family friendly and really pretty. We arrived about an hour before the game so we could walk around, slide down the soda bottle and people watch. The weather was tolerable until the fog rolled in @ about 7:00 p.m. For us, 66 degrees with a slight wind , in July, is just plain cold. The girls watched the game attentively and loved cheering for the Giants. Every time Barry was at bat, they would ask, "Did he do it?" No pressure or anything! All I could think was, "Poor guy." He is an amazing athlete and he has the public, press and fans criticizing everything he does. I'm not a big sports follower, I don't even agree with the kind of attention and salary star athletes get. He is human, let's be nice. A record of 754 is AWESOME!
We left at the bottom of the 7th with the Giants trailing by one (we were frozen and tired). As we were closing in on the Bay Bridge, the radio sports announcer screamed that the Giants won 4-3. I was really glad to hear that they beat the Marlins.

Jared and Linsey sittin in a tree.....

Where has the time gone? His high school graduation day was really tough. My baby was only 17 when he graduated high school, just like me. He has the BIGGEST heart of anyone I have ever known. He is easy-going, fun to talk to and still
kisses me in front of his friends (he has to bend down, he's 6' 3"). Jared is the best son a mother could have. I guess that is why I think his new girlfriend Linsey is a lucky girl. We met her yesterday for the first time. They have known each other for a few years but have been interested in each other for a few months now. She is very pretty and nice. Madison and Mia let her know this many times during dinner. Linsey starts Bible College in September while Jared begins his second year of JC. We were all very happy to meet her.

While I was thinking of how fast the past 18 years have gone, I thought of a picture I took of the girls just a few months ago. I hope I always remember to take time to watch them through the window while they are still little. God has so blessed me.

Not good bye

Just some of the "Sisters"

And they are off! Leah said this good-bye lasted forever. I think the feeling of forever will come again soon about mid-way through the drive to GA! We were fortunate to have Leah and her wonderful family stay with us these past few days. I really enjoyed taking turns caring for the kids, sharing our home and a few stories. Mia and Hayden got along so well. He was her caddy for one of her golf lessons.

We enjoyed a service last night by a wonderful pastor from Long Beach, Pastor Wilkerson. The message was from 1Corinthians 16:13-18. During the message I was thinking of Leah and her family and how they are like the house of Steph'a-nas in their service to the Lord. Then after the message, Pastor Evertson said exactly what I was thinking! I know that everyone who has been touched by Leah and her family feel the same way I do.

This is not "good-bye", instead it is "see you soon." We are already making plans to visit during the 2008 Masters in Augusta. I think I will leave all that fun to the guys. I have a feeling the girls will opt to do something else. I understand Leah will be receiving visits from many WVBC families. Leah, you are a blessing! What a blessing you all are. You are some of the gifts that God has given us here on earth. God Bless you always!

last day of school pics

Mariah tagging "base"
Madison giving me a smile during chapel






Devon taking a break

Mia spending her merits at the auction

Schools out!

This completes the first weekend of the end of the school year. Yea! Last Friday was a beautiful completion to the first school year of WVBS. Mads completed the year with nearly all A's as the penmanship "always needs improvement". She is an amazing student and grew stronger spiritually. Mia is a terrific reader! She picks up any level of reading material just to see if she can read it. She loves to read and has worked very hard all year long. The morning began with a chapel service that made tears inevitable. Pastor talked to the children about keeping up the patterns they have established throughout the school year. Daily devotions, prayer, Bible reading and witnessing are habits that, if practiced faithfully now, will become spiritual armor for the rest of their lives. All the children gave a testimony of how they grew spiritually during the year. The responses were so powerful. Mads sang a special song with Mariah, Caprianna, Lauren, and Ashleigh. It was precious. The kids played games, had a silent auction, played more games, and enjoyed a pizza party lunch. The day was bitter-sweet as we all said good-bye to Devon and Mariah. It is really tough to think of them not being here next year but I know God has an amazing plan for this wonderful family. They have made such a positive and loving impression on my family and now it is time to share them with others.

Inspiration from Leah

Dear friends of our family will be moving mid-July. I am very excited for them as they take on a wonderful, new adventure. We talked about future visits and keeping in touch via email. The topic of blogs came up and we discovered that we both often lurk at others' blogs. I admitted to occasionally stumbling across blogs that contain interests and beliefs similar to my own. I then thought, "Why don't we start our own blogs to keep in touch with one another?" Well, who has time, its too hard, I keep forgetting to try it and on and on with the excuses. Until this evening. Now, I am totally new to this so please be patient. It is likely that my layout will change and my comfort level with public writing will improve. So on with the packing, crying, fun and friendship. It is now official Miss Leah, I have a blog. Your turn........