Date night

We have had a great day of eating, reading and walking around a
beautiful outdoor mall. A perfect vacation. Oh and we ran into a man
who once spoke at cornerstone about communicating God's love to
Muslims. Samy was his first name. Makes you wonder what God is up to
with "chance" encounters like that.

We have fallen in love with this place as a possible family vacation
destination. Lots of room for kids, pools, playground, beach, and
activities. Plus, beautiful so cal weather!!

We have arrived...

Darren and I have started our four day vacation in Newport Beach! We
have a two bedroom suite that is bigger than our first apartment...
Crazy. I decided to moblog our adventures when I saw dar light up
like a christmas tree talking about Disneyland tomorrow :) he has
always wanted to eat at the restaurant inside pirates of the Caribbean
and we have reservations at 12:40 for lunch - you'd think he won the
lottery :)

Noah is safe at home with nana and papa and we are so thankful for
them.

Ok gotta eat, check back for updates!

Two weeks later...

Jennifer suggested I post this picture of Noah and I directly above my last post. This looks like a pretty happy mommy - and a pretty happy little boy :) God is so good to complete a healing and not leave us less than whole. I'm glad to be on the road to wholeness!

Jenny and Noah on Easter - How do you like his little Easter vest? My friend Danaly had a wonderful brunch at her house and there were other toddlers toddling about looking for eggs and just enjoying the morning. We had a GREAT time and she is a fantastic hostess.

All of Noah's cousins looking at him because HIS finger is on the potato launcher button!

My uber-cool nephew teaching Noah to play the guitar. My nephews are amazing with kids, it's so fun to watch.

Our second Easter celebration was at my brother's house in Tracy - all the family was there and it was a lot of commotion and laughter as usual.

A sobering photo

Darren was playing with the camera settings the other day and while I was sitting near the window watching Noah play, I could see out of the corner of my eye that he was taking pictures of me. I remember thinking "I bet I look really peaceful" - I even tried to look extra peaceful just for the picture.

Later that day I was looking at the images and saw something that disturbed me. I didn't really look peaceful in that pic at all - I looked... sad.

This in itself made me very sad.

Darren and I talked about it and agreed that even though I have recovered from my postpartum depression, there are still bits of residue left here and there. One of the areas it seems to have stuck is in my mind. Even though things are easier and I am happy, I often act as if things are still really hard. My mind feels like it should be overwhelmed when in actuality I'm feeling quite in control of things.

I need my mind to be renewed.

Thankfully, I can bring this before God and He is eager to help. He is in the business of renovation. In fact, He could produce "Extreme Makeover Mind Edition".

2 Corinthians 4:16
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

The word renew implies a restoration of what had become faded or disintegrated so that it seems like new. My mind and heart were surely disintigrated through my illness. The word is also synonymous with renovate, which suggests a renewing by cleansing, repairing, or rebuilding.

Anyone else out there need their inner-man cleansed, repaired and rebuilt?

So I have been asking God for grace and for a complete renewing of my mind and emotions - and Darren and I have seen a difference already.

Thanks be to God who doesn't leave us on this spinning planet without His Love, His Spirit, and His help.

NEW YORK CITY HERE WE COME!!

Darren made President's Club with his company *YAY Darren!* (this is not the first time, mind you - I'm so proud of him!)

However, this is the first time we are super duper excited about it! We just found out today that we are going to New York in June for 3 nights and staying at the Marriott Grand Marquis. We will be right next to Times Square!

Next week the two of us are going to Newport Beach for 3 nights while Nana and Papa Rogers come for a visit and hang out with Noah. Looks like mommy and daddy get TWO great vacations this year!

Just had to share :)

A new addition to the family

Yes folks, it's time again.

Tomorrow evening Darren and I will be picking up my NEW CAR!!!! I am so so excited. We have decided it's time to move on to a bigger and roomier vehicle, so I will be the proud owner of a 2008 Mazda CX-9! Not only is it beautiful, it has room for 7, a dvd/navigation system, and it was rated Motortrend's Car of the Year. Safe AND pretty :)

Here are some pics of a car like it:

Fun trips!

Danaly, Kristen and I took all the little kidlets to the Oakland Zoo! We were able to squeeze it into that time between breakfast and nap (3.5 hours) and had a great time. Here are some pics from the day.

All of us loaded into the mini van

Noah and the bunnies

You will find that most pictures of Noah are either blurry or are of the back of his head... what can I say? I have an busy little boy!

Animals? who needs animals?

Noah petting the "doggie" (which is actually a goat)

Looking at the "man feeding turtle" exhibit

One of the 10 minutes he was in his stroller and not running everywhere

This has got to be my favorite picture. They had doors there that were Noah's size, and anyone who knows my son knows how much he loves to open and close doors. I love how the light is coming in .

Another trip we took was to a place called Picture Perfect Party - For $8 you can bring your child and they just play in this giant room for hours. It's wonderful! Usually there are about 10-15 other kids and their parents there. I get there early so Noah can have some time playing before it gets too crowded.

You would be reading my eulogy...

If I had been driving behind this truck.

Two words.

Heart.
Attack.

Make that four words.

Omigosh.
Bees.
Heart.
Attack.

Read about the 8 million bees on a Sacramento freeway here.

Reason #103 why I love my husband

He comes bounding into bed, puts his finger up under his nose, and says loudly "oh hoh hoh!" in a very thick french accent. Did I mention he has a moustache drawn on his finger?

Oh Wait, they are actually called Fingerstaches, and you can read about them here and here. Some people get them tatoo'd on!

Make a mental note.

Here's a little advice... Never, and I mean NEVER, under ANY circumstances, ask a woman if she is pregnant. Unless you have reliable information, or she is wearing a shirt that says "baby" on it with a big arrow pointing down - then don't go there.

More importantly, do not ask this question while eagerly looking at her tummy!

The quickest way to deflate a woman (or make her feel like she has an inflated belly!) is to ask her this question when she isn't pregnant.

Just trust me on this one!

Signed,
the one out looking for gym memberships

New Post on Kairos for Charis blog

Have a look!

I knew there was a reason I loved Pasadena...

Check out this story!

Chillin' with Dad

The inflatable mattress was out because one night Darren thought it would be cool to have a movie night downstairs :) I came down and there was a big mattress, hot chocolate, some baked goodies, and a chick flick date movie! What a good guy.

Girls Weekend!!

I was fortunate enough to get a weekend away with two of my greatest girlfriends a couple of weeks ago. I met these women during my pregnancy and we all had babies within four months of each other. Let me tell you, raising first time children for almost two years can really be a bonding experience!! I LOVE them so much and cannot express how much more fulfilling they have made my life as a mom.

Our weekend plans included lots of shopping, eating, and just hanging out. We went to Gilroy to experience the Gilroy Premium Outlets. That place is 145 stores of discounted greatness. Being mommies we mainly bought things for our kids, but a stop at the Garlic Store also had a couple of us carrying more bags.

Besides the shopping and talking, probably one of the best parts was eating grilled cheese sandwiches and fries at midnight in the Black Bear Diner. Yummmmmmm!

A big THANK YOU to our wonderful husbands for holding down the fort!

This was at breakfast on Saturday, we are so happy to be FREE!!
Kristen, Danaly, Me!

This is after eating our midnight meal. We were so tired we couldn't stop laughing... and posing.

What, is there something in my teeth?

This pic is begging for a caption - why don't you give it one in my comments :)

Friends!