milestones!

TWO big things have happened in the past half hour.

number one: I ordered our first (hopefully only) double stroller! Thanks to Mom, Dad, the girls and Grandpa D for giving it to us. I'm pretty sure I'm going to use it every single day! Not to mention I've been eyeing this one for about six months. I'm so excited!!!! Hopefully, it will arrive in a week or so and I will report back how amazingly awesome its going to be! And its RED!

number two: I'm pretty sure that after an hour and me putting Gideon back in the big kid bed about four times and firmly saying, "its naptime, not play time."... he actually fell asleep in the big bed!

AHHH! Ok, I just went to confirm and its true! He is sleeping soundly and I'm very proud of myself, I mean him. :) I have to give credit to Roy on this whole ordeal because he is the KING of firmly making Gideon go to sleep... he got everything started Saturday by just suggesting Gideon take a nap and leaving him in the room. We expected Gideon would come right out and in to our room two minutes later. However, an hour passes by and Gideon finally comes in smiling. I don't know what it is but he has never attempted leaving the room after we tell him to take a nap in that bed. We must be scary parents or something... hehe. Either way, he got up and starting playing with his trucks today, but every time he heard me coming he ran back into the bed. This gives me hope that sleeping in there overnight may not be as rough as we've been expecting. I hope. I hope.

So there it is, two success stories in one day. This Friday is victorious. Thank you GOD!

words.

I've stumbled into a few hours of alone time this afternoon before work and since I don't really know what to do with myself I've been discovering some new music on Pandora. I just came across a song I already know but the words are really making me think.

"Would you create in me a clean heart oh God.... restore in me the joy of Your salvation.... Wash me white as snow and I will be made whole."
Jon Foreman

What a great song writer. Love it. I guess I'll spend the next hour before work thinking about that one. What would it mean to really live in the reality of that?

A little peace and not so quiet.

At this point in pregnant life I remember how nice it is to just sit in the bed all afternoon and take a deep breath. Thank God I have a son who takes regular (mostly) naps so that I can just sit and space out for an hour everyday. I say all afternoon in a very loose sort of way. We had our appointment for baby #2 on wednesday and the Dr said that everything is going well. We are still shooting for September 4th-8 for the due date and I can't believe how soon that is coming up! While Gideon was running around the room she also let him listen to the baby's heartbeat and then his own heart. It was so cute to see his face... he always just has this look like... whaaatt? He seems excited about the idea of a baby... even though I'm sure he really has no clue what this will mean for him!
The lastest with Gideon:
He's two years and four months now. His favorite things are.. trucks, garbage trucks, cars, everything with wheels. He is still very interested in everything music as well. The latest musical "toy" he has is my spatula/flipper from the kitchen... he calls it the "utar" (guitar). We had a nice sing a long yesterday where he played the spatula like a guitar and I sang all of his favorite songs along while he played. Of course I took a turn playing the spatula as well.. he insisted. Who knew two year olds were this creative!? That whole episode really made us think he needs a real guitar to play with.. the spatula trick will only last so long. Potty training?Don't ask.
Another thing we saw this week with Gideon is that he is coordinated. I'm not talking kid throws a ball and hits you with it, I'm talking he can shoot his little basketball into that hoop from three feet away! He made about 4 or 5 baskets the other night in a row. Roy and I were like... again! again! Pretty amazing. Like father like son I think. He has got an awesome arm. Keep it up buddy! I wouldn't mind if he got a scholarship for college.. :) We are looking forward to a visit from Grammy next week. This will be the first time that we have seen Roy's mom since we left Tulsa and I'm looking forward to all of us getting some quality time with her. I'm sure Gideon is really going to be shocked when he sees her again! Of course, it will be nice to show her this awesome city as well.
Last thing I have to share for the day... I had an awesome provision from God this week. Last weekend was our anniversary and I had to work saturday which I was a little bummed about. Anyway, my shift at starbucks ended up getting switched and my new manager, Mel, called me to see if I could open at 3:30 AM!!! Of course, I said yes because that would mean I would be done with work at noon instead of 6:30 pm. Thank you God.. but that isn't the good part... long story short, Mel was asking me about the new baby and I mentioned that we are having a girl and I realize that we are in desperate need of some clothes for this new baby. Not that I mind putting her in blue and dinosaur onesies.. but a few pink things wouldn't hurt. So, Mel then asks me to come to work on Monday since she bought me a baby gift. Keep in mind I have only worked with Mel once and she really doesn't know me at all yet! I stop by work to say hello and pick up said mystery baby gift. She comes over and hands me a GIANT bag from Kohl's filled with baby girl clothes, a blanket, and some socks! Isn't that awesome!?!!? I'm pretty sure that little girl is going to be set for the first month or so with all of the long sleeved cozy sleepers she gave us. I could not believe the provision of God after that moment. The fact that God would use someone I barely know to give us a gift for the new baby that isn't even here yet is just amazing to me. It's encouraging to think that God already has plans for this new little one and He is already providing for her and for our needs. I don't know why I'm still surprised sometimes that God really does care about all the small stuff... even when I dont think he does. I tend to stress about all those little details and He knows me so well that He takes care of it. Amazing!

6.18.06

First of all, I just have to say... look at Roy in this picture. Those eyes! I love him.

Four years ago today, God gave me the best gift in the world. Roy and I got married four years ago and time has gone so fast. I can't believe the life God has given us so far. What a crazy, awesome ride! For sure there has been a lot of adventure involved, a lot of faith steps, and a whole lot of God's faithfulness. I'm very grateful that Roy is the one God chose for me to enjoy life with and that I get to be with him everyday, through everything. I could go on and list all the things that I love about Roy, but I think I might just say a few for the sake of not being extra cheesy. So... if you like slightly cheesy then you'll like this!

Roy is probably the only guy I know that would go so far to obey God and to take the bold steps of faith that he has taken. I'm not sure if I would have been able to do some of the things that we've done together if it weren't for Roy continually saying, "we know this is what God wants". He really does have the gift of faith. He also has the most loyal, honest, and genuine heart. He has been so faithful to really stand with me and totally be on my side in every situation. He is lovingly willing to stop and encourage me when I need it most. Whatever comes next in our lives I know that God has given Roy and I the strength to continue to move forward in faith and to really take our family to the next level of serving the Lord. That's what is so awesome about God, He can work so awesomely(maybe that isn't a word.) in both of our hearts to keep us on the same page with each other, and with Him. So... all that to say, God is great. He knows our hearts, and all those times that I questioned my future and what God had in store... I didn't ever imagine that he would have an amazing man like Roy for me. Now, looking back I am just shocked to see how God brought us together and all that He has done.
Thank you God for Roy. Thank you for four amazing years together! We have really come to a great place in our lives and I can't say how happy I am that I have this guy. For my sweetheart and my one and only dientitos afilados... I love you forever and ever.

All love comes from the One who first gave it. We are blessed to have love!

Summer in SF

The past week or so we have had some serious foggy weather in our neighborhood. They say that the fog comes in the summer and we didn't believe them. Maybe we were wrong! But, on Thursday the sun came out and the weather has been beautiful all weekend! Of course I was so excited to finally see the sunlight and go for a walk we had to take full advantage of it. Thursday Gideon and I had a nice morning at the park visiting with Gideon's friend Lucy. Lucy is moving away this week so this was our chance to say goodbye. The two of them played and enjoyed the water and sand. It made me a bit sad to think that they won't have each other to play with every week anymore. Lucy has really been Gideon's first friend here in the city and I know he'll miss having her around. They gave each other a big hug (of course Lucy's mom and I were all "AWWW!") as they said goodbye and I made sure to take a few pictures to remember her by.


Yes, Gideon is only wearing a diaper. So he's two and I let him run around in public naked, so what? The park near our house has a great sandy water area that he loves to play in. As you can imagine.... it gets a little messy. Friday night there was a prayer event at New Door and I have been dying to try this Macademia Nut cookie recipe. So naturally I decided we should bring along a little treat for everyone and bake a little bit. We're keeping things adventurous around here! I was really surprised how excited that Gideon was to help. One of the new phrases he has been practicing a lot is "help me", "help you". So as soon as I said, "Gid do you want to help me bake cookies?" he was all about it. Help me, and cookies? I know, I'm the best mom ever. totally kidding. The fact that he got to stand on the chair the whole time and hold something electronic might have also been part of what kept him interested. But hey whatever it takes.


You would not believe how focused he was while he held the mixer. Adorable. Notice how he wouldn't even look up to look at the camera? I barely even got a smile! The kid makes an awesome cookie though. These cookies are delicious!!! A little bit of nut, some chocolate chips and white chocolate chips. Oh yeah. The finished product:


Delicious! These cookies are amazing fresh out of the oven. What cookie isn't? You've got to try em. Anyway, the rest of this weekend was very peaceful and we enjoyed a lot of family fun time together. Today we got a chance to go to see the Giants vs. Athletics. A really good game and lots of fun for Gideon to hang out and learn a few things about baseball from Daddy. The best part was that we got him a Giants hat and it is SO CUTE! He looks so grown up with that baseball hat on and his hair sticking out. I wonder what he's going to look like when he grows up. What a cutie pie! Lots of cute pictures from the game, I'll post those next time.

Here's some of the beginnings of this family. In honor of our anniversary... (NEXT WEEK!) I thought I would throw in a little wedding photo. Happiest day ever! Every time I look at the photos I remember how amazing it was. But, more photos and interesting things to come.

Honestly, I'm not very computer savvy. This you knew already. One step at a time.. we'll see where this goes. Lucky for me, that guy in the picture is going to help me. What a guy!

the beginning

I've been considering starting a blog for a few months now and I figured what better time than now? Not to mention that my little sister just started an awesome food blog and that gave me a little motivation to finally get moving on this thing. Anyway, this is going to be my spot for writing some thoughts and posting super cute pictures of my kids and husband! If you like that sort of thing you are welcome to read and hear what God is doing in the lives of the Garantons and I'll do my best to share the details.