Prayers appreciated :)

Hello!
Our daily Bible reading today was 1 Kings 18. I especially remember this passage because our Pastors wife Carlynn did an awesome study about prayer and used this example in the Old Testament. We find the people of Samaria in a great famine. There hadn't been any rain in 3 years. In verse 42 we learn how Elijah prayed. He crouched down on the earth and put his face between his knees. He continued to pray this way, 7 times be bowed his face to the ground and he didn't stop praying until a rain cloud appeared. Great passage!

Last night, Robby and I came before our Heavenly Father in prayer. We prayed in this same way, faces to the ground, united in prayer for Robby's Dad.

Thursday night Greg (Robby's Dad) was admitted to the hospital with a very low platelet count. The Doctors said they were surprised he hadn't died and that if he'd cut himself, he would have bled to death. Since then, he's been receiving blood transfusions, trying to get his blood level to increase. It appears his body has stopped producing blood. We're not sure why but we do know that God is in control. They didn't have to give him a transfusion today so the blood they've given him is staying in his body. That's a praise! Today, the Doctors did a bone marrow test today at 11:30. They won't know the results until Monday. His Dad is 50 years old.


Psalm 139:13-16 "You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my Mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

Another note, it's important too when faced with serious conditions like this to make sure that you're right with God. We believe there's more to this life than just Earth. We believe and hope in Heaven and the saving power of Jesus Christ. All of our days on this earth are numbered. We know it's just a matter of time before we die. If you haven't accepted Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, if you haven't surrendered your whole life to Him and His will, or if you're not living a life that's praiseworthy and glorifying Him, you can do that today!!! Visit www.howtogeteternallife.com to learn more. Feel free to contact me if you want to know more about Christ and how much He loves us and wants us to spend an eternity with Him! We have hope! We know that when we die, we go to a better place! We know there's more to this life! :) We can look at this grim situation with Robby's Dad and find joy! Knowing that when we die, in heaven there will be no more death, pain or sorrow, only rejoicing and incredible worship!

Please be praying for Robby and his family. His Dad's name is Greg, Mom is Terry and sister is Katie.

Our family is praying God's will be done for his Dad. Robby and I are at peace knowing that God can heal and God can call people home. We will rejoice no matter what the answer is. Thank you for your prayers!

Central Coast! 2 new posts!

Robby and I have taken a Coastal vacation every year for the last 5 years. We absolutely LOVE it! The last 3 years we've stayed in Cambria http://www.seecambria.com/"where the pines meet the sea!" This is a little town that's filled with so much fun! There's little shops, great coffee, a cute grocery store http://www.cookiecrock.com/.

Another area we love to visit is Solvang. http://www.solvangusa.com/ This is a sweet Dutch Village where you'll find lots of fun little shops and some great food!

Something we noticed during our visit is how badly these towns have been effected by the economy and also the gas prices! A lot of the stores are closing and homes and businesses are being put up for sale! These towns thrive off of tourism! Without tourists, I'm afraid these wonderful little cities might cease to exist!

We rented a vacation home in Cambria (we've visited the same home for the last 3 years) and it's comparable to what you'd pay for a hotel room in Pismo Beach! The home we rent is a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 2 living rooms, a dining room and a walk in kitchen in office. It's very spacious and there's also wireless Internet in case you need to look up directions anywhere!

If you're looking for a fun family vacation, there's SO much to see along the Central Coast! Having gone up there so much, we're still finding fun things to do as a couple and as a family! We've picked fruit off the vine, we've gone to Maritime Museum in Ventura, Aquariums, drive-in movie theatre in San Luis Obispo, picnic lunch by Nojoqui Falls, Danish chocolate malts in Solvang at www.ingeborgs.com. We've yet to go to Santa Barbara but I'm sure there are fun things to do there too!

If you haven't gone up the Coast before, I'd encourage you to look in to it! :)

Our vacation! :)

This blog is long overdue!

Technically, our vacation started last Thursday! Robby took the entire day off work and we went to Disneyland. The kids were SO good! We spent most of the day riding NEW rides which really kept Abby's attention! We did Jungle Cruise and Autopia Cars which Abby just LOVED! We had an awesome lunch too at Country Bear! Their bacon cheeseburgers are DELICIOUS!

We drove home just in time for the kids to have a short nap in the car, grabbed our Thrive notebooks and went to church!

Friday morning, we woke up early and headed up to LA to visit with my parents :) They offered to watch our doggy Paris while we were away! Abby cried when we left, missing her grandparents and her dog! The kids love seeing their grandparents and Auntie Holly :) My Mom also lent us an awesome square pack n play which Abby slept really well in!

After leaving my parents house, the kids fell asleep and we drove all the way to Buellton! We stopped at Taco Bell for lunch and gassed up the car, then, back on the road. We stopped and shopped for a bit in San Luis Obispo then drove through to Cambria! One of our favorite things to do in Cambria is visit their grocery store! It's called Cookie Crock. What's neat is, Camrbia doesn't have any major chain stores. You won't find a Starbucks, a Blockbuster, an Albertsons, a CVS Pharmacy. We picked up some snacks and drinks then headed home after ordering dinner from Moustache Pete's alfredo to-go! Robby and I watched "Cloverfield" which was a little scary but very entertaining!

Saturday, we woke up and took the kids to the beach! This was Christian's first time! Abby loved running through the waves, getting her clothes all wet! We came home, did naps then went to a JJ's Pizza in town :)

Sunday morning, the family went SHOPPING! We hit the Pismo Outlet mall where Abby bought a new Minnie Mouse doll. We went to Gottchalks in San Luis Obispo and purchased some new shirts! We also got 2 new beach towels ;) While out shopping, Abby's window got stuck. It rolled down but refused to roll back up! The two beach towels provided a safe "window" for Abby till we were able to get it repaired (Monday morning)! We drove to dinner with the window rolled down which Abby thought was hilarious, having never really experienced wind blowing in her face on the freeway! We ate at our favorite steak restaurant in Pismo Beach called McClintocks. They have the best bacon wrapped filet mignon and comes with a TON of sides. You get salad, potato wedges, garlic bread, beans and ice cream :) After eating such a filling meal, we drove back home and everyone went to bed early! We did watch a little bit of "Monster In Law" which was playing on TV.

Robby woke up Monday and took the truck to the Ford dealership in San Luis Obispo. They were able to fix Abby's window and he was back at the house before lunch time! We had talked about possibly driving up to Monterey that day to go to the Aquarium which we'd heard was so great! We had lunch in Cambria, the kids fell asleep in the car and 2 1/2 hours later, we arrived in Monterey! It was a MUCH longer drive than Robby and I had expected! Still, Abby had fun and the kids were PERFECT on the car ride! After spending a few hours at the aquarium, we turned around and headed back home since it was 4:30 and would be DARK by the time we arrived back! I'd wanted to go on the 17 mile scenic drive that so many people have said is so fun and also romantic. Maybe another trip!

Some cute memories:
Abby saw the sea otters and kept says "SEE WATER"!
Christian was drinking his bottle when we stumbled across an exhibit for baby whales. They drink 2,000 bottles a day vs. Christian's 6 bottles a day. Facinating ;)
It was pretty cold in Monterey SO I took a cute pic of Robby, Abby and Christian in their hooded sweatshirts!

Tuesday, it was time to head back home. Even though Cambria is a 5 hour drive, we like to stop so much that it really takes about 8 hours, start to finish! We started our morning with breakfast at a nice French Cafe. We dined on hot chocolate and croissants, reminiscing of our trip to Paris last year :) Ahh :) After we ate, it was time to get everything loaded in the truck and ready to go! We left at 10-, drove to Solvang which is about 70 miles South of Cambria. This quaint little Dutch Village holds a lot of childhood memories for me. We used to go there a lot with my parents and grandparents and, I have an adorable little Dutch dress from my childhood that I keep meaning to get a photo of Abby in before she grows out of it! We enjoyed going in a few of the shops there but our kids are still too little to really ENJOY shopping or behave well while shopping! We had a nice pizza lunch, Abby enjoyed a chocolate ice cream and then we started driving again! We tried to stop at the Toy Shop in Carpenteria off of Santa Claus Lane but, it's GONE! The store went out of business :(

We went shopping in Camarillo :) It's always fun to get some new things while away from home. Robby came back with a pair of Lucky Brand Jeans and a new pair of shoes from Kenneth Cole! I enjoyed going in Ann Taylor and Gap!

Our trip ended at Grammy and Grandpa's! We enjoyed a nice Chinese Food dinner and conversation :) Our dog had enjoyed her stay and Abby was especially glad to see her!

We got home Tuesday night around 9- and I'm still unpacking from our trip! It's amazing how much laundry you go through when you're gone for 5 days! :)

I'm very thankful we were able to take this family vacation and just spend quality time together. This was our first time away from home since Christian was born :)

Testimony. Have you thought it through?

Having just read Shannon's blog, this really had permeated my mind today and has inspired me to really reevaluate things and write some stuff out!

A few weeks ago at Women's Bible study, our group leader challenged us to share our testimony. The room went silent! Having gone through the Partners Discipleship Program with church, I'd had to share my testimony with my friend Chiara who was taking me through the book. It's still a work in progress :)

Here's my testimony:
I grew up in a Christian home but I know that doesn't make me a Christian. I went to church every Sunday as a kid, again, doesn't make me a Christian. The church I went to was very much into "the sinners prayer" which you won't find written out in the Bible. As friends around me were getting saved, I came to my parents and asked them, how do I become a Christian? At 11 years old, I had a desire in my heart to become a Christian. I knew that there was heaven and hell and knew that Jesus had died on the cross to save me from sin. My parents helped lead me to the Lord through reading me scripture, praying with me and having me pray on my own, making sure that this life of becoming a Christian was what I really wanted. In March of 1992, I got baptized. This gave me a feeling of freshness, a symbol to me of being buried with Christ in His death and then raised to walk in a new life. I grew up believing that my heart had be washed of my sin through baptism.

In High School, through AWANA Scholarship Camp is when I really started to take my faith seriously. The speaker showed 2 Ray Boltz videos. The images were of a man and his son, imprisoned in modern day, because he believed in God. Another video a man was taken to trial and with the scales on the desk, they measured to see if there was enough evidence in his life to convict him of being a Christian. This pierced me. I pictured my life. Would there be enough evidence in my life to prove that I'm a Christian? I cried and I remember rededicating my life to Him.

Since then, I've tried to live a life that would show that, I believe in God, that I'm a Christian saved by faith and by grace, and that I live my life for Him.

I came home from Camp that year and put my faith in to practice. I started serving whole heartedly in our AWANA program, having a great desire for Jr. High kids to come to know Him. I felt that's such a trying time for kids, going through so many changes in life, you want to guide them on the right path. I reevaluated the relationships I had with people. Are these friends who are helping my walk or hindering my walk? I made a dating standards checklist for guys to determine who I would go out with. I trusted God with my future, having Him direct my path out of High School.

At 20, while serving on the worship team at church, God blessed me with Robby, my husband of 6 years. He's the answer to my prayers. Through everything we've been through in our marriage, God has proven to be faithful to us both and bless us in our life together. We're continually growing together in our walks, we serve together, and we're developing more of a relationship with Him. We have the same goal, to know God, to serve God and now to raise our children to know and serve Him too.

Here are the Ray Boltz videos that had such a deep impact on me.
"One Drop Of Blood"


"I Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb"


Definition of Allegiance: Commitment, the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action.

For everyone 29 and under!

Did that title line catch your attention? The following statistics a girlfriend of mine sent me and I seriously couldn't sleep until I posted this for all of my friends to read. It really makes you reevaluate! I know I'm 27 and fall under the category of being "saved" in High School. Please, take a few minutes to read below.

My girlfriend Shannon (she's on my myspace top 8) and also on my friends links on the right under Primicerio) is a Christian author/speaker to teenage girls. She wrote this on her blog this week and it really had an impact on me.
It's 1:25am and this just kept running through my mind! :)

I'll list the statistics that really hit me first, then you can read her post!

61% of young adults who attended church as a teen become completely spiritually disengaged during their twenties.

Only 20% of young adults who attended church in their teen years remain spiritually active by the age of 29.

http://yourmomentisnow.com The post is Debunking the teenage alter call

Please take a few moments to read it!

Photos, finally! More another day!

Our last trip to Disneyland, Robby sat with Christian while I took Abby on Dumbo! During the 30 minute wait, as Christian just kept staring at Daddy, daddy taught him how to say "Dada"! I'll try and get a video of him saying it soon!

Spontaneity! :)

I hardly ever take time out to write a blog and appreciate my husband much. Yes, my birthday post did mention some of his great gift purchases but, none give justice to how great of a hubby he is :)

There are three things that make me very happy in life! 1) when someone helps me with the kiddos 2) when someone helps me with housework 3) when I get to go to Disneyland!!! Bear with me, I'll link them all together later on in this post!

Robby's always helpful with the kids AND cooking, but, there are some recent incidents I thought I'd share!

Yesterday, I'd helped assemble prayer journals for church! I was supposed to be there at 8:30 to help! Running late, Robby came out of worship practice, unloaded the stroller and both kids while I was able to place random items in their diaper bags! Then, he picked them both up from Sunday school, got Abby donuts and entertained them in the stroller till the team finished the notebooks!

On Good Friday, my friend Jen had asked me to help with the Eggstravaganza. I had no clue how I'd be able to help much with my two kiddos in tow! Robby took the entire day off from work, strapped Christian in the baby bjorn and entertained the kids for HOURS! Then, he loaded them both in the car, took them home, fed them both and got them down to nap at the same time! That's HUGE!

I recently took on a new responsibility, helping with the Care ministry at church! I found myself Wednesday night, doors closed in my room cause Christian was awake from his nap and grumpy and Abby was crying cause I was on the phone :) Then, I heard the door open. My husband was home! There wasn't a dinner on the table, or, a happy family to greet him at the door (something I try and do!)! He immediately changed both kids attitudes from sad to happy, scooping them both up! I was able to complete my call knowing both kids were being well care for.

Sundays are family days these days! Since getting Disneyland passes, we've loved trying to take the kids there every Sunday after nap! Yesterday, Abby asked for Chuck E. Cheese instead :) We had such a great day! Chuck E. Cheese, then we got a sitter and Robby and I went to Disneyland together ALONE for the first time since November 10th, 2006!

While preparing to go, the house needed a quick pickup! Christian was a little fussy and wanted Mommy! Daddy showed awesome initiative and picked up everything that needed to be cleaned before the sitter arrived! He did this on Saturday too when a couple of friends came over to play xbox after helping a friend from Thrive move.

Robby and I had a blast @ Disneyland! There wasn't more than a 5 minute wait for anything (except for Space Mountain, 30 minutes)! In two hours, we tackled Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear!

It was so fun cuddling on the tram, walking hand in hand (not having to navigate the stroller through the crowds!)! We LOVED our time together!

When Robby had asked me to get a sitter for Sunday night, I figured we'd do the normal dinner and a movie but he spontaneously suggested Disneyland and we had SUCH a GREAT time!

Last night when we got ready to leave Disneyland, Robby looked at me and said, 6 years and we're happier than ever! :) Every year gets better and better!

I can't get the photo feature to work right now so I'll post more later! Gotta get busy! I have 181 photos to be downloaded from the camera right now!!!

I love you Robby :) (April 13th will mark 7 years we've been together!)