Welcome to the Kendrew

Moved

2011-01-17T15:30:00.000-08:00

Site has moved to : www.kendrewh.wordpress.com

How do you want to be remembered?

2011-01-07T13:08:00.001-08:00

Prompted by plinky

I want to be remembered for my love and devotion to God. For my sacrifice of luxury to give others their basic needs. To never let material things get in the way of doing God's will. I want to leave my children a legacy- a legacy that will leave them wanting more of God and being Godly men. I want to be remembered for my ability to care for those I normally would have ignored. I want to be remembered for being a good mom and wife.

How do you want to be remembered?

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He does a lot of this!

2011-01-07T10:48:00.001-08:00

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Little piggy

2011-01-06T13:06:00.001-08:00

Mattox had a stuffy nose and was sounding like a piggy. He also snorts when he gets upset. Love it!

YouTube Video

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Welcome Mattox Isaiah

2011-01-06T13:01:00.001-08:00

December 7th 2010
7lbs 11oz and 19.5 inches
Welcome Mattox Isaiah!

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A rainy day

2010-11-21T08:27:00.000-08:00

Rainy days are amazing. Riverside doesn't have them very often but when we do it simply reminds me of how God washes away our sins and we can start again with a brand new day. Rain drops representing our sins and the bright sun that dries them up being God. I don't often do everything I am supposed to- I try as hard as I can and often fall short. I am constantly looking for Him in every day moments and that's when I tend to remember I am not doing enough. God is good, so here's to a beautiful rainy day!

A memorable video

2010-11-16T15:32:00.001-08:00

Another sad day

2010-11-16T15:17:00.000-08:00

Today was the funeral of Ryan Bonaminio. We salute you and paid our respects to you as your family, friends, and co-workers said good bye to you today. A classmate from Ramona High School class of 2000 was killed by a man who should have never been let back into society. A perfect example of how our justice system fails all the time. Unfortunately, it was at the cost of someone's life....over 8,000 people from all over came to pay their respects. Officer Ryan Bonaminio, you will never be forgotten.

Journal Entry: being the mom of a sensory child

2010-06-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

As some of you are aware, back in February we had some concerns about our son and his development. He wasn't really talking anymore, when at one point he had been learning new words. We went to the Inland Regional Center in which they did a telephone interview and then felt it warranted to send some people out to assess him. They came out and assessed him and the results they gave us sounded sooooo bad! As a parent, the last thing you want to hear is that your child is not perfect and that he needs special attention. They did decide after the assessment that we move forward in having teachers come to our house to work with his specific needs and to try and bring him back up to speed on his language and cognitive development.

For those that follow my Facebook have been seeing some if his improvements, but this is the first blog I've actually written about it in depth because for a while it is extremely difficult to deal with. The amount of time they originally were working with him was 1 day a week for 2 hours. The occupational therapist that worked with him decided that it would be in his best interest to increase his hours to give him more exposure as she had pretty definitively knew that he had what was called a Sensory Processing Disorder.

So, you're probably wondering... what is a Sensory Processing Disorder? I asked them the same question when they told me this is what he had. They have not been able to tell us yet that he is eliminated from Autism but when they assess him before he turns 3 we will be able to have an answer on this. For now, we've been working on his Sensory Processing problems. My son specifically is under-responsive to tactile responses. When we tickle his neck lightly he wouldn't feel it and he has a hard time discriminating between textures. In a bucket full of pinto beans if we hide a toy, he would not be able to find it unless he saw it first with his eyes. Or in a bubble bath if we hid a toy under the water he would not know it was there until he saw it. To combat this problem, we have to overexpose him to textures and activities that will help his neurotransmitters become more sensitive and be able to discriminate between the objects.

In addition, he also has a proprioceptive dysfunction. This really refers to movement in general to put in basic terms. He is under-responsive to this system as well. For him specifically, he has problems with postural stability. Items like swings or a rocking horse he absolutely hates. We have been slowly working with sitting in the swing without it being hung up and for the first time since February he sat in the swing actually hung up but without moving. As soon as we started moving it, he wanted out, but progress is progress! With his dysfunction, his brain has a hard time processing what his body feels and what it sees. Things like elevators scare him, because his eyes are telling his brain that he isn't moving but his body is telling him that he is moving and so his brain is not able to process this type of movement. So, exposing him to the swing and other items like this will help his brain process this better.

His language is behind just a bit now but with all the other developments progressing his language as well is developing and he can say 4 word sentences now (when he wants to). Part of his personality is very independent, so he is not a good on demand performer. He has to feel like he has come up with this idea on his own. He says now over 200 different words and just yesterday for the first time vocalized that he wanted something. He asked for a "sticky" which is a lollipop so we had to search around the house trying to find one!

Nothing changes your life more than dealing with a child that has special needs. We've had to change everything we do with him. To making sure he gives us eye contact if he doesn't tell us what he wants before we give that item to him. To reading more, to introducing tactile items into everyday life, to types of extra cold or tart drinks, etc. We keep pretty busy both being working parents and involved in ministry at our church.

Seeing your child progress in this disorder gives me a joy that I wish I could explain to other parents. It's so much different than just seeing your child smile at you, or walk for the first time, it's a greater joy even beyond that! I hope that explains what we've been through the last couple of months and we have 3 more months to go with these teachers so we are looking forward to finding out if he will need to be enrolled in specific preschool or if he has progressed enough to not worry about needing anything special.

I will keep you posted on the progress as he turns 3!

13 weeks

2010-06-07T15:13:00.000-07:00

Today starts the beginning of week 13 being pregnant with baby #2. My husband swears I am having a girl simply because of my cravings, and I hope to have a girl but I guess we'll know in a few short weeks.

I feel great still except for exhaustion, which I know is to be expected taking care of a toddler and myself.

We had a busy weekend. Saturday I photographed Paul & Sylvia (pictures to come later) celebrate 25 years of marriage. They decided to renew their vows in Carlsbad, CA. Sunday we went to church, BBQ'd some carne asada, Andrew baptized one of our youth group kids, Jerry, and we went swimming and enjoyed the rest of our day relaxing. We had a busy and good weekend. Wish I had more exciting stuff to talk about lol!

It's been too long...

2010-05-23T09:53:00.001-07:00

But I figured I should at least start blogging again since we are pregnant with baby #2 now. We've had a rough beginning in this pregnancy with not knowing whether or not his baby would still around. Ended up in the ER already with spotting and turns out everything seems to be healthy now.

I am excited to welcome this little baby, no matter a girl or boy we are excited even though it was a surprise. I am hoping for a girl this time, and Andrew of course is hoping for a boy. We're still trying to figure out names that we like. I just can't wait til I actually start looking pregnant!

I am currently 11 weeks pregnant and feeling very good overall. I have nothing but exhaustion to complain about in this pregnancy. No morning sickness, no food aversions, nothing except the axhuastion which is to be expected with a toddler running around my house taking what little energy I have to play with him.

Here is a picture of me 8 weeks pregnant:

Kristen. Jeremy Engagement

2009-08-01T20:31:00.000-07:00

Barely getting to processing an Engagement Session for Kristen & Jeremy. We went to Corona Del Mar, it was fairly humid and we climbed some rock to get some of the shots, but I think they turned out really great!!

Fitzpatrick Belly Session

2009-07-29T09:32:00.001-07:00

Had the opportunity to do my best friend Becca's maternity photos, and we had a lot of fun! I am also hosting a baby shower for her this weekend, and I have had such a fun time watching her belly grow and now she's almost ready to have her first baby Jeremiah. Can't wait to see this little cutie. Here are some previews of the photos I was able to snap:

Welcome to home ownership...

2009-07-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

As no surprise moving has been crazy. We've still got many boxes that are going to remain unpacked until we can complete some projects. We have removed some sheets off the windows and replaced them with curtains. One of the weirdest things about our house is the window frames, they are no conducive to blinds... so we've resulted to curtains. Our windows seem to be the oddest size EVER, so until we can afford custom blinds we're dealing with the curtains.

Our backyard and front yard are taking some major transformations as I have spent this whole last weekend weeding out the front yard (and not getting very far) and heavily soaking our grass and plants as they have gone for too long without water and I do not want them to die. We have an over abundance of hibiscus trees that the previous owners planted that have made it through the lack of water and are still blooming so next thing on my list of weeding those planters and pruning them back since they are way out of control. Here's our list of weird things that have come up since we moved in:

Our washer pipes need to be snaked because apparently our washer pipe leaks when it hits the rinse cycle. My father in law was able to jerry rig the pipes to make it work for the time being but it seems as though the pipes are blocked.
We have a switch in the living room that we have no idea what it does...
Our stove had a leak so we have been without a working stove (thank goodness for a crock pot and microwave) and our home warranty will be covering a brand new stove within the next 2 weeks it should be ready.
Our thermostat is all WRONG, why does the A/C never turn off? It seems like it is not reading it right. Luckily our house stays pretty cool, so we don't even need to turn on the A/C until like 4pm. We use our house fan once it cools off that thing is a Godsend

So among this list, very minimal. We can still function, dinner can be a challenge... but all in all God has been gracious to us and I can be nothing but a thankful woman for what he has provided us! On an up note, I have met one of our next door neighbors and they know a lot about our property and the previous owners, and they are lovely. Hope all our other neighbors are as nice :)

Moving day

2009-07-03T14:22:00.001-07:00

Right now, my cute son is taking his nap. My husband is at our house finishing up some concrete work and I am sitting here writing this blog. We have our new carpet in and the touching up has been completed on the paint. Now, it's packing time. I spent most of this morning packing up my kitchen. I still have a little more packing to do, but it seems like this move day has been a long time coming.

Seems as though God's timing was perfect for us on this house. We just pray we can continue to be good steward's of the money God has been providing us to make the improvements that we needed. Tomorrow will be a very different day, especially since tomorrow will be the first night we spend in our new house. No Doubt the day will be long but we look forward to being able to actually BE in our house and not have to listen to our neighbors having sex and running upstairs from us. I have no doubt that our new place will have new sets of noises, but the sex thing... that is one of the many downsides of living in a downstairs apartment and one I am happily saying good bye to.

Also, I have been planning a baby shower for my best friend Becca. She is due in September, and she has so graciously offered to watching Hezekiah during the morning until his nap time so we can get all the furniture out without worrying about him getting in the way. This baby shower, I am hoping will be a lot of fun and I look forward to seeing all the pieces of this shower coming together... including an extra special fondant cake I am hopefully having specially made for the shower by a friend of a friend of a friend... cakesbyjeanine.com. This will be one of the first events I will be able to have at our house so I am extremely excited to be able to do that FINALLY!

Anyway, onto moving day tomorrow!

It's been a little while

2009-06-22T15:31:00.001-07:00

It's been really hard to blog these last couple of weeks between trying to pack, paint and to get our house ready, work, church, and now this week is VBS. Well, we pretty much have all our rooms painted now. We ran into a small hiccup with the addition to our house, and we're not even sure how the city allowed that room to be permitted because the roof and side of the addition is not up to code. We are taking it to the city to see if they would be willing to put up some money to help us fix the mistakes the city let pass. Anyway, it doesn't effect us moving in. With most of the house almost finished we can schedule the carpet installation and hopefully be soon moving in. We are so ready to be out of the apartments. That's pretty much it for now. More to come later.

Elena & Brian- Preview

2009-06-09T16:39:00.000-07:00

I had a wedding at Laguna Beach this last Sunday, I have been doing some post production on these photos with lots more to do still. I am working on texture layering to give some of them some more artistic feeling to the photos. This was a very informal wedding, and I was happy to be able to be a part of this gorgeous couples wedding. It was one of the shortest weddings I have ever shot, and the sunset was quite a challenge, I was switching quite frequently to flash and no flash to get a variety of looks for the photos. Also, mastering my manual settings was quite a doozy since depending on which way my camera was faced changed my settings, either way I had a great time with this couple.

Fire

2009-06-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

We weren't officially in the news, but yes we did make headlines because last night lighting struck our apartment complex catching on fire. It was the building directly next to us, were sitting around getting ready for dinner, we had the windows open and we heard what sounded like a bomb going off outside our door. My heart was pumping and hands were shaking, never have hard anything like it. We ran outside to make sure it wasn't our building, and sure enough the fire dept happened to be across the street at Andulka park putting out a fire from lighting striking there, and saw the smoke from the complex. We had 6 fire trucks here, and it was chaos for a little bit, but either way everyone got out safe...and the fire was out within 30 minutes causing over $100,000 worth of damage. Here's the link to the new article:
PE.com

And a picture of the fire dept putting out the fire:

Can you say renovation?

2009-05-26T21:43:00.000-07:00

We have been very busy working on the house, we've had to arrange someone to watch Hezekiah almost all of the days since it's just not safe nor would we be able to get anything done on the house with him being there. It's been long weekends, and Andrew and Eric have been spending most nights after work on the house as well. We have had to do a lot of prep work on the walls since a lot of the walls had wallpaper. We thought only 2 rooms had wallpaper but it seems there was quite a bit more in the other rooms. We have 4 bedrooms and 1 bathroom now textured with what is called Knock Down, makes the walls looks more professionally done than the normal flat walls which shows every little hole and gash. Now, it's onto 1 bathroom, living room, laundry room, office, and kitchen to be done and then we will be ready to paint the walls within the next week or so. We have some more minor things to do, but all in all we seems to be progressing quite a bit and CANNOT wait to actually be living in the house and out of the apartment. Here are some pictures of the work being done within the last couple of days.

More photos...

2009-05-14T20:22:00.000-07:00

Had some fun this afternoon with my camera some more... Hezekiah and Andrew were my models today. Photography is so much fun, and I just love natural lighting and how it shades the face and lights others. I think I am really going to have fun doing this sunset wedding in Laguna Beach next month. Anyway, these were m favorites from today:

Manual

2009-05-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

Having some fun with manual settings, I love being able to just adjust the aperture or ISO and get a cool photos. Hezekiah was napping so I couldn't use him as my subject so I quickly grabbed one of my willow tree figurines and put it in front of my window. I am also testing some different methods for creating a sepia toned photos, I am very picky about sepia- I do not like ones that look too yellow. So this is one method for doing sepia with my manual settings:

This one...

2009-05-12T17:46:00.001-07:00

Is just for Nicole Leonard since I don't hardly ever enter contests:

7 days and counting down...

2009-05-08T18:10:00.001-07:00

Last night we signed out loan documents, it was very surreal and not without some sort of activity. The entire time we're trying to sign loan documents, our crazy and fun child decided he wanted a cookie and kept saying "cookie more" and meanwhile throwing himself on the floor and trying to open the door to the room we were in. And then out of nowhere he started sucking his thumb and before I knew it he was out like a light! Sheesh the life of a toddler is so up and down lol. So we actually just need to provide SPFC a few items on the sale of Andrew's Acura before can get funded. So other than those items, we are going to be closing on May 15th.

We have to do some things to the house before we can move in, we need to strip and paint the walls, put in carpets, replace some outlets, replace some closet doors, get a new garage door and front door, and well I could go on some more but for now these are the things we need to do before we can move in. Luckily we don't have to be out of our apartment until July 30th, so we have time to do all the things we want before we move. Up until recently, Andrew refused to let me pack anything because he did not want to jinx anything. Now that we are so close, I think by the time we close he will actually let me pack now. It's going to be really nice being closer to work, and not have to worry about hearing neighbors being absolutely ridiculous upstairs from us. That is one thing, I will NOT miss at all.

Andrew is going to be gone until Saturday, he and his friend David decided to go on an overnight camping trip. So this weekend, Hezekiah and I are going to chill out at home and maybe make a trip to Target and the Grocery store and just take it easy!

Holy Ground

2009-04-26T21:02:00.000-07:00

I've recently heard over the years of Pastor's using shock value on a regular basis (i.e., using profanity, etc.) in order to make a point in a Sermon. I often wonder what God would think of this tactic. It's not that the pulpit alone is Holy Ground, but that no matter where we stand we are standing on Holy Ground. It's not that a Pastor standing on a pulpit saying those words alone makes it any worse than any other moment in a day or time. It's that anyone in a position of teaching should take that position so seriously that it wouldn't demean the high calling of being able teach God's people.

I think in this society it is far to easy to make a church "fit" the times. It is too easy to let the world around you affect you, in the way you act, the way you treat people, and in the way you speak. It's one thing to want to make a church more appealing to people who might normally be turned off to church, but at what price? So much that you sacrifice integrity of God's Word?

James 3:1-2 " ¹Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. ²We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check."

James 3:5-6 "⁵Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark."

Ephesians 4:29 " ²⁹Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

In no way, shape, or form do I ever claim to be perfect! Like everyone else, I have flaws. I don't expect a pastor to be perfect because just like the rest of us they struggle with something just like we do. However, I could expect that maybe 1 time you would hear profanity in a sermon... but I do not expect this on a regular basis from any church. I heard an amazing sermon in 2005 given by Pastor Robert Elliot on John 14:12 and he was speaking in reference to this very matter and every time I hear another shock value sermon I go back to this... I transcribed it from his recorded sermon:

"He never misled, he never said anything that would give false hopes or draw a crowd and get people in around them and stir them up with no thought of the future, ah who cares if in ten years or twenty years their not here, as long as just now were getting a crowd. As long as just now were making people feel somethings happening. We'll say whatever it takes. Jesus never did that once, never once! "

I am sure I will get plenty of comments on this matter... always interested to hear other thoughts on the matter.

Disappointed

2009-04-23T19:16:00.001-07:00

Doesn't even describe the word. Had a Dr's appointment on Wednesday and I had been a fair amount of research about having a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) and my doctor told me in previous appointments that I was a candidate but I should wait 2 years before thinking about another pregnancy... which we were going to do either way. Needless to say, she told me this last appointment that Community Hospitals no longer do these kinds of procedures anymore because they do not have the resources to handle a catastrophic event like rupturing, etc. She told me I would need to go through a University Hospital like Loma Linda. Unfortunately, my health insurance does not cover me to go to a hospital like that unless it was a dire emergency.

Basically, if I want anymore kids I would need to have another c-section which extremely bums me out. In addition to ALL of this the statistics I thought were a lot lower of my scar tissue rupturing if I were to go through a procedure like this... turns out 1 in 100 women something catastrophic happens when trying a VBAC procedure. SO.... I had these dreams when I first starting thinking about starting a family, and I always had the dream of delivering the baby and being able to have the baby on my chest right after delivery and now those dreams are shattered at this point. Disappointment sucks!!!!

Slacker

2009-04-22T16:47:00.001-07:00

This is my title for the last week and for the next upcoming weeks. I have to admit, I am a complete slacker due to my lack of energy and sleep. I have been cooking grilled cheese, quesadillas, and eating cereal for dinner for the last week- simply because I DO NOT WANT TO COOK. I am on strike this week, lol. Sometimes I just get too over loaded trying to take care of well everything that I just need chill time and not to worry about so many other things that I could be doing. My mother in law (who usually watches Hezekiah) had surgery on Monday so I have been having to wake up at 5:45am every day this week to get him to daycare by 7:25am so I can get to work on time by 8am which makes both of us.... really grumpy. Prayers for both of us that hopefully we can get our normal schedules back soon.

In other news, looks like our house will be closing VERY soon! We had our FHA inspection this week, our realtor is amazing!! He already knew all of the things that FHA was going to catch like missing shower heads and got the air conditioning working and took care of them for us. He even got the inspector to count the nasty old floor tiles in the living room as flooring so we wouldn't have to replace those until we move it. Our loan needs a couple of items in order for us to get our loan docs. We could actually close as early as this month, but I am betting that we will close in May. It's exciting and very scary when you look at all the numbers, I keep telling myself "It's for 30 years." Got some estimates on carpet so as soon as we get keys, we are picking up the paint and having a painting party to trash the existing flooring before we put in our nice clean carpets. With our tax credit, we are going to get some quotes on putting new windows and doors throughout the house, hopefully if we get the energystar windows we will get some of that money back as well too. Anyway, that's the going's on in the house world for now.

Self Portraits

2009-04-16T21:20:00.001-07:00

I am been really trying to work on honing my skills with exposure and lighting, and trying to get used to my studio lighting set gives photography a whole different feel. Taking photos with a flash and natural light seems so much easier than working with studio lights. How high you place them and at what angle you place them makes all the difference. I get a subscription to American Photography monthly and it has some really good tips, etc. One of the things they suggested was using Flickr and getting involved with groups through Flickr to get exposure and advice from other photographers... so that is what I am doing now. I decided to take advantage of my COOL Nikon remote and take some self portraits to try and get some practice in... I really need some "models" to help me with this! Anyway, here are the 3 shots that I liked the best... I seriously hate photos of myself being serious so I decided to challenge myself into taking a few serious photos.

Inspection- Check!

2009-04-13T21:09:00.001-07:00

We had our inspection today on the house, we spent about 2 hours. The inspector we used was just amazing, he really took time with us to show us some things around the house. For the most part, the house is in great condition, and we don't have any major things that need to be addressed. Some of the items, we are going to mention and see if they will fix any of the items. We have a couple of items on our priority list to fix immediately which would be our front door, and a broken window in the living room.

Overall, we only had 1 area that needed to be addressed. The Air Conditioning, which turned on but didn't seem to be blowing the cold air. He said that we might just need to check some fuses or needs more freon. We need new outlets throughout the house since the house was built in 1960 and the addition to the house was done in 1969, most of the outlets are 2 prong so he suggested especially for the fridge that we get 3 prong outlets installed (minimal cost). The roof is in great condition, it has 2 layers already on it so we could go a long time and put one more layer on before we need to completely re-roof the house. He said for the age of the house he was really surprised at how good of a condition the plumbing, electrical, etc. are in. Most houses he's seen in this age of a house need a complete re-haul. Looks like we picked a good house so far. One thing we've really looked into is if we purchase windows that are Energy Star , we can get a 30% credit on those items up to $1500. You can check out which items qualify for the credit at: Energystar.gov

Now, it's actually time to get excited now that we know that the inspection is going to pass and now we just need to focus on getting all the paperwork finished and making a list of the must do's and prioritize them in order of importance because we will need to be careful about where our money is spent and make sure it is spent in the right places. Whoooo-hooooo, Praise the Lord for providing for us :)

Thankful

2009-04-09T21:27:00.001-07:00

I am nothing but thankful today. Thankful in the many ways that so many people forget to be thankful for. It's always heart breaking to go through grief, but how in these days can we be anything but thankful for the spouses and children we are able to come home to every day after work. It's hard to explain in words how really and truly God has been working in my life not take anything for granted. How can I be anything but thankful and grateful for just waking up every morning. I don't know if I have been in some sort of fog with my spiritual life. So here I am waking up to a life that can be nothing but great. A husband, a child, and both of us being employed!

Being a wife, a mom, and an employee is so exhausting! Life is a constant juggling act, it is no picnic for sure some days when I come home to a temperamental toddler. But seriously, if that is the worst I have to worry about when I come home... I have no room to complain. Hezekiah is learning too fast for Andrew and I to keep up with him. The other day, Hezekiah was attempting to climb up to a kitchen chair and as I say Hezekiah get down- He scrambles even faster and climbs on top of the chair to climb on top of the table. Our child was trying to climb on the table, so why is it that toddler's constantly try and test your boundaries some days and then other days he listens so well? Having a toddler is a lot of work at this point, and I have no intention of wanting another child at this point until I can get him potty trained- forget it!

So that's it for now... I am a thankful mommy and wife.

Keeping busy

2009-04-07T21:18:00.001-07:00

Needless to say we have been busy! Seems like my weekend just flew by and here we are again back at work and dealing with the day to day of the work week. We've started taking some measurements on the house so we can get some quotes on carpet to get installed. We thought we had asbestos tiles throughout the house which was going to cost us money we didn't have to remove, but we had a flooring pro come in and confirm that we do not have asbestos tiles... thank goodness.

We had a termite inspection done, minor things that needed to be addressed on the patio and garage area. The seller took care of that for us, now we're onto the actual inspection and we are really hoping we do not have any major issues come up! If God's in this, I am sure everything will work out fine...nonetheless we are trying not get too excited just yet until the inspection. We started the escrow paperwork, and they took $2000 from us... not quite the biggest check I have written in my life but still hard to cough that up.

We are still planning on riding out our lease until July, we are planning on a 45 day escrow at this point which works out great for us since we're looking at Mid May or even June depending on when the asset managers FINALLY decide to actually start the escrow... so we're in escrow but kind of not. It's a very confusing process getting into escrow. We want them to take a little time on this, but not too much that we have to go over our lease. It's really kind of scary as we look through all of the numbers on the loan, and I have to just say "It's over 30 years!"

Other than the enormous amount of house stuff, our church is planning a hike to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, so we're taking Hezekiah with us and I am bringing my handy dandy camera to hopefully get some AMAZING shots of the different varieties of poppies. Then Sunday, getting together with family for Easter and enjoying some yummy food and going to show some of the family the house we are "buying".

We're going to homeowners!

2009-03-30T16:02:00.001-07:00

It seems like a whirlwind... but Yes we officially received word that the bank accepted our offer on the house! Supposedly, we are going to close escrow in 30 days, we might be able to extend it to 45 days. IF we we extend it to 45 days it will allow us time to pull out the asbestos tile in the house and replace it with new padding and carpet throughout. We also want to paint before we move all our stuff in... God willing we will be able to do this before we move in. The house needs quite a few upgrades, the kitchen being one of the major areas, in addition to new windows throughout, and new closet doors. Keep this in your prayers, as we still need everything to go smoothly during the inspection of the house. Pray there are no major faults!! I posted some pictures on my facebook, but for those of you reading who are not on my facebook... here's a few pictures!

Sheesh

2009-03-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

Whoever said the housing market is slowing down... Is fooling themselves. We had 4 houses we were going to look at today, all 4 are off the market now! Okay how are we supposed to buy a house if all the houses are flying off the market so quickly?

Wednesday is another day...

2009-03-23T16:34:00.001-07:00

For house hunting! We have asked our realtor to take a look at these properties for us...I think we have now like 4-6 homes we want to take a look at. These are some ones we are interested in:

Oakwood Pl $189,000 (Desirable Wood Streets area of Riverside, has a studio guest house in the back of the property, that might be cool!)

Burnside Ct $135,000 (In the same neighborhood as I grew up in)

Quebec Dr $134,900 (Right near Arlington High School)

Nelson St $185,000 (only a 1 bathroom, but it's worth a look because of the neighborhood)

Arch Way $196,000 (pretty high priced, so we will see what it actually looks like!)

Kendrick Dr $195,000 (In Canyon Crest, so that's why the price is so high)

6678 Montclair Dr

2009-03-23T16:03:00.001-07:00

How freaky is this? This house is up for sale for $165,000.... EXACT same floor plan as the house we grew up in and it's around the corner from where we lived. The only difference between this house and the house grew up in, is our old house had a nice big addition on the back of the house the led to the backyard which had a pool. Square footage is definitely a lot less, but exact same floor plan and everything!

More houses

2009-03-19T20:34:00.001-07:00

We looked at 2 houses today... not 3, but we looked at this house on Mallorie Way:

It is going for $142,500.... which wow seems really low. It's really close to our church and not too far from where we work. Andrew seems sold on the house because of the price. The house needs some real TLC from top to bottom, but it doesn't even have central air installed. This is not exactly my "dream home" but Andrew is sold on the property. I would still like to keep our options open. We haven't heard anything back on the Le Conte houses yet so once again.... the search continues on still.

More Houses

2009-03-18T18:05:00.001-07:00

So we placed on offer on Friday to the Le Conte house, but as we assumed we are still waiting for word on whether or not they accepted our offer.

In the meantime, we are continuing the house search. We are planning at looking at 3 more homes tomorrow. They look very promising, but we will see once we get in. Those darn pictures they post online can be veeeerrryyyy deceiving lol.

Took it easy

2009-03-14T22:32:00.001-07:00

Today and took Hezekiah to the park for a little bit. Lots of kids were there with their bikes, dogs, and families. It was pretty crazy with kids running everywhere but I think Hezekiah really liked it and it was a nice day outside for running around. Caught a few shots of him while he went down the big boy slide 4 times on his own and ran around screaming and running up and down the hills at this park. So much fun!!!

Le Conte House

2009-03-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

So this is the 2nd house we REALLY love! It really is everything we are looking for as far as space and layout and location. It is a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom, with a pool. It is located in Canyon Crest part of Riverside, and right around the corner we have some really expensive $400,000 homes. The house is going or $169,000, and it is extremely low for the area which is why the house already has a couple of offers on the table. It has a lot of cosmetic work that needs to be done, but really that is what we really wanted. Putting a little money into the house would make it instantly appreciate from the sales price purely because of the location. The pool looked like a swamp, but it just needed to be emptied and filled back up again. We are putting in an offer tomorrow for higher than the asking price. We don't expect to get this house really, but if it's meant to be then it will be. Keep it in your prayers!

Haskell St.

2009-03-07T14:29:00.001-08:00

We looked at about 6 houses on our 2nd house hunting trip today. We saw 2 that were pretty decent, this house is from Haskell St in Riverside 3 Bedrooms and 2 bathrooms for $189,000. The price is definitely too high for the neighborhood, and the kitchen counter is not actually attached to the cabinets and there is no range/stove. The backyard is in decent condition, but the fence definitely needs some TLC- might be something we can see if the bank would fix for us. Anyway, we are not going to put in an offer right now. The house has been on the market now for 60 some odd days, so we are going to wait a little bit and see if they decide to drop the price some. We are waiting to get some more listings from our Realtor, he said that in the next 2-3 weeks we should see a bunch of brand new listings.

The other house was in Appleton and we really like the lay out but right behind the backyard was the railroad tracks and then Dewey St. and thee was tagging on the fence and inside one of the rooms. For Security purposes alone, we are not really considering this house, the one upside is they installed brand new double paned windows and doors so you can't hear the railroad when it passes. Ehhh, that one is listed at $165,000 3 bedroom 2 bathroom. The other REALLY bad thing about the Appleton house is that they "tried" to convert the garage into another living space and they drywalled right over the garage (yuck!) so there would some demo work that would need to be done... so I don't know I don't like this property very much.

Anyway.... the other houses were either too small or weird lay outs.

House Huuunting!

2009-03-05T20:48:00.001-08:00

We began the search again for a house... I thought for sure we would have to wait until next March before we could buy. We had a long conversation with Andrew's Dad, the tax man, and found out we actually can REALLY benefit from the $8000 tax credit. Seems like we were so disappointed for a long time because we did not want to miss the boat. FHA rates have not been that great the last couple of weeks, but we have promise that they will lower again very soon, but it's not like we're going to find a house tomorrow. I expect this search to take some time before we find what we are looking for. Yesterday, we looked at 2 houses:

Goodview

Westridge

They seem to look okay but the inside need a lot of work that we would not be able to afford, not to mention the layout was... wierd! Anyway, needless to say... keeping our options open still.

Maternity Session #1

2009-03-01T20:29:00.001-08:00

I had the pleasure of doing my very first Maternity Photo Session, it was soooooo much fun and it was mostly an experiment for me since I have never used professional lighting system and backdrop but I am SO pleased with the results of the photo shoot. For any of you pregnant women reading this, if you want me to take some maternity photos... Let me know ;) Here are some of my favorite photos:

Progress

2009-02-23T18:24:00.000-08:00

So after a long week of back aches, tonsilitis, a cold sore, all due to stress I am finally feeling better this week. I had been under a very big due date at work for several projects. Seems like my V.P. is grooming me to help me further my career which is great! I love the challenge but it certainly is trying at times.

Photography is going well, have my first pregnancy photo shoot coming up and a possible wedding coming up as well. I have ordered by first studio lighting set and background so should be pretty interesting! It's exciting and scary because I have never ever used this kind of equipment before!

Still in limbo with buying a house, the tax credit would work for us accept that we still need a down payment so as we slowly watch our minimal savings grow we're just kind of sitting here twiddling our thumbs until we get enough for a down. If we knew someone that would lend us money we could just pay them back once we get the credit but we don't know anyone that has that amount of money they can lend us so... Until we get enough money limbo it is for us!

Hezekiah is learning new words all the time. His favorite is holding his hands out and saying "What?" we are reading the book by James Dobson "The new strong willed child" because he sure is strong willed!!! I need help in this area because no amount of maternal instinct prepares you for an independent- strong willed child who doesn't want to listen. He is still a great child who make s me laugh and smile everyday, I love that he plays on his own a lot and pretends he is reading or that he is making sense with his jibber jabber.

And that's about all for now!

Maternity session

2009-02-20T06:39:00.000-08:00

I had my very first pregnancy/ maternity photo session scheduled for next weekend. I am very excited, the client is helping me pay for the equipment needed like studio lighting and a backdrop setup. This will be the first "studio" type photos I will be doing so I am nervous, as soon as the eqipment comes in I am going to have to practice, practice because I have never worked with this kind of lighting before... Yikes! If you have any suggestions for some pregnancy photos let me know as I am gathering ideas from other photographers as well for posing. As soon as the session is done, and I have done some editing I will post some of the pictures up.

Valentine's Day...

2009-02-15T22:04:00.001-08:00

Schmalentine's Day! Ha Ha, I say this because I really do think Valentine's Day is a little cliche. Andrew and I are always on the same page on this subject, that once in a while we celebrate Valentine's Day but this just was not one of those years. I am all for being romantic and being ooshy gooshy, but I hate the fact that Valentine's Day has become soooooo commercial. I think that some people feel like they "need" a day like this to be extra romantic. Andrew and I are just not that couple, I made him some heart shaped chocolate chip cookies annnnddd... that was about it for gifts.

Last time I blogged about Andrew's car it would not pass smog unless we did a whole engine swap or pay someone illegally to pass smog. We did not feel right paying someone illegally to pass it so we decided that Andrew's "mid-life" crisis HAD to go. It overall had cost us way to much money, and so we are putting it up for sale. Instead, we purchased last night a 2006 Dodge Ram (Hemi). Yes, we went back to having a truck. 1) We needed something a little more usable for having kids and for trips like Catalina. 2) We didn't want to buy anything new because it would have set us too far back from buying a house 3) Andrew REALLY missed having a truck.

We got an awesome deal on it, which will still allow us buffer room to save for a house. So we are really happy with the purchase. This is basically what it looks like, but in white... which is the same color we had before as well.

No Fun

2009-02-06T22:42:00.001-08:00

Having a sick baby, once again! He's having bad congestion, cough, and running nose. However, he had these same symptoms when he was teething. I am going to wait it out and see if he acutally is sick, either way, I hate being woken up several times a night and Andrew is sleeping next to me and it doesn't even make him flinch. Men!

Hard to believe

2009-02-06T22:18:00.000-08:00

That this girl:

Is the same as this girl:

Wow from 2001 to 2008, she turned from a Pastor's child and Christian singer to a lesbian pop singer. Yikes!

Under Construction

2009-02-05T21:39:00.001-08:00

You'll have to excuse the construction, my blog template needed to be updated and it was long over due. It's hard trying to put together images while you have a toddler that wants all your attention. Anyway, I should have it up and ready in just a few days!

Chickpeas

2009-02-04T21:38:00.000-08:00

Also known as Garbanzo beans! A recipe for chocolate chip cookies called for these and I was actually surprised because I have NEVER used them for anything because the utter look of them disgusted me really. I have to say I am surprised at how healthy they actually are for you, they are an excellent source of fiber. They actually help to lower cholesterol and they actually prevent your blood sugar from rising which is great if you're Diabetic or like me Hypoglycemic. Not to mention that is is a great source of Iron, which I often have a problem with since I rarely eat red meat. Anyway just a tidbit of information, since this month is Go Red for Women, I thought I would mention a little something extra to encourage healthy eating habits.

For all you photographers

2009-01-31T22:23:00.000-08:00

I keep pretty up to date with Popular Photography because I love the articles and they spotlight some really amazing photographers, but I spotted an article: Photography's Magic Bullet on a lens f/1.4. Now I bought a 50mm f/1.8, because 1. it was cheaper and 2. the difference between the 1.8 and 1.4 was so minimal it wasn't worth the extra $200. I love this lens for many reasons, I use it a lot to shoot the details of a wedding like the cake, bouquet, or guest book, etc. It is a great lens for depth of field, low light, has great sharpness considering the price, and I could go on and on. I have done a lot of natural light shots with this lens and adore it.

I am in the process of searching for some "models" so I can get some practice in on some new techniques I am learning. If anyone is interested, let me know.

The Happenings

2009-01-29T22:03:00.001-08:00

Seems like I haven't blogged recently so I thought I would keep everyone up to date. Andrew returned form his 8 day mission trip and once again had an amazing trip once again. This trip was a lot different than previous years as he was responsible for all the video for the trip and now is under the stress of having to put together the video before Sunday to present before the whole congregation of Bridges church. So, crunch time it is. Nothing like only 7 days to put together an amazing video of their trip.

Work is going well for me, seems like I am given more and more responsibility at my work. It has given me lots of opportunities to shine. I know for sure that the field of Human Resources is my niche and I enjoy this line of work. My V.P. is an amazing mentor, she is just a wealth of knowledge for me. The complex projects I have worked on recently have gotten me notice from the President and other Senior Management. It has made me feel pretty confident about my work and that I am doing things right. With the economy and all the lay offs so far, our clinic is financially sound and has not even had to do 1 layoff which is great for us. However, since we are not doing lay offs, any new openings are being reviewed to decide whether or not that position "needs" to be re-filled. So we are cutting budget mainly through attrition.

Financially, we are doing pretty good. With our tax returns, due any day now, we are paying off what debt we have left and then... drum roll please... here come the major savings. Our lease is up at the end of July and so we are praying that the housing market continues to stay low by then so we can looking at houses to buy. Even with our previous debt, we were still able to put away a nice chunk but we would like a little bit more because Lord knows when we do buy a house (with the houses we will be able to buy) we will at the very least want new carpets and paint. Just keep that in prayer for us that we are able to make a wise decision about the house that we buy.

Hezekiah is a funny little kid- He dances anytime he hears music, laughs for no reason at all, and finds it funny when we say the word "Ewwww". He is almost a year and a half, and it seems like it has flown by so fast. You hear people say that all the time, but until you have children you really don't know the meaning of that phrase. I wish time would slow down just a bit because it seems like he is growing wayyyy too fast and learning so much every single day. Here are some recent videos of him:

Prayer answered- check!

2009-01-24T00:02:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I asked for prayer for my step- dad who was having heart problems again. God is amazing, he had been in the hospital for a few days and he noticed (being a nurse himself) that everytime he was given medication his blood pressure was going up so he let his Cardiologist know. They switched his medication which helped, and the next day he was schedule for he angioplasty but because he was doing so well after the medication switched they cancelled the procedure. The next day they scheduled him for a stress test and his results came back better than last June so they discharged him from the hospital. Isn't it amazing what a little prayer and faith in our God can do? God is good... All the time!

Also, found out today I have yet another cousin pregnant. Baby boom, I think we can safely assume that something is in the water- I know now (count it) 9 girls I know having babies!

Our morning at the park

2009-01-17T10:44:00.001-08:00

Since Hezekiah and I were up at 7am this morning, I decided since it was so nice out this weekend to take him to the park. I ended up taking some pictures of him and the scenery. I don't think Hezekiah likes the swing at all, I am so surprised, he ended starting to cry after a few minutes of me lightly swinging him. Anyway, this park has a great view of the city, and is extremely family friendly. I love it! Here are some pictures from our morning:

**Update, today is now day 4 into Andrew's trip in Mexico. Luckily, Andrew has been able to get DSL at the places he has been staying so Hezekiah & I were able to video chat with him the last couple of nights. It has been extremely helpful in me not missing him as much. They have built 2 houses and a classroom for a school so far and are having a very meaningful time out there. Pray for their continued ministry over the next 4 days and pray for his safety as he returns home next Wednesday.

Somewhere over the rainbow

2009-01-14T22:21:00.000-08:00

So the next purchase I will be making (photography related) is the Nikon D300, we obviously are going to buy a house first but this will be next on my list unless Nikon comes out with something else. I really only need the camera body since I have most of the lenses I need for it and all the Nikon lenses are interchangeable. I still have some lenses I would like to purchase for fun, but overall my necessary lenses I have right now. This would be the camera I want to buy:

Nikon D300 SLR Digital Camera (Camera Body)

12.3 Megapixels
DX Format CMOS Sensor
3.0" LCD Display
Live View
Self Cleaning Sensor
Dust and Water Resistant
51-point AFs with 3D Focus Tracking
6 fps Burst
Scene Recognition System

Now, if for some reason I won the lottery or something crazy like that, this would the camera of my dreams.... What is it? none other than the Hasselblad H3DII-39MS

Cost: $43k, Yep that's right you did read that right!

It is 39 megapixels and has an 80mm lens, ahhh one can dream I guess!

More test pictures

2009-01-14T21:19:00.001-08:00

Took some new pictures I took today, I did these ones in full manual mode, which is quite tedious. Definitely not something I would use for weddings, but a great way to be able to learn my settings better:

Gone

2009-01-14T20:23:00.000-08:00

My hubby left this morning at 5:30am for his annual 8 day trip to Mexico with Power ministry and 40 other men to do some building and ministering. It's always an awesome trip for him, but Man I hate when he is gone for so long. This is really the only time of year that he is gone from us for that long. We try to do some video chatting a couple of the nights- I miss him already!

Last night was crazy and yet another reason we are anxious to get out of apartments... From 11:30pm to 5:00am our neighbors upstairs were "getting busy" pretty much the entire time with the bed squeaking and hitting the wall so I came to the conclusion that they were either on illegal drugs or Viagra. And then around 2am Hezekiah woke up screaming (can't blame the kid) and had to rock him back to sleep. All I have to say is, 1 more night of that and I am calling management. So ridiculous!

Anyway, pray tonight I actually get some sleep.

Prayer needed

2009-01-13T07:45:00.000-08:00

Please pray for my step-dad,David, he was placed in ICU last night. He has had heart problems in the past but he was borderline heart attack. He will need another angioplasty, and in addition to this his Cardiologist died in a plane crash a few months back. So, he will have to get a new Cardiologist to hopefully treat him. He should be transferred today to either Kaiser Fontana or St. Bernadine's.

allrecipes.com

2009-01-12T12:08:00.000-08:00

I use this website a lot to find recipes, this site has gotten way cooler by creating an iPhone application called "Dinner Spinner". Need an idea for dinner? Just open the app and shake and it comes up with recipes for you. Cool huh?

My little model

2009-01-10T15:28:00.001-08:00

I had some fun today taking some pictures of Hezekiah, I was trying out some new techniques. I really liked the way they came out, Hezekiah's face is hilarious in some of these pictures, he is a hand full but so much fun! Hope you like them!

Pray for Angie & Nolan

2009-01-08T19:15:00.001-08:00

Through many others blogs, twitter, and facebook, I have been keeping up and praying for the Lamberth Family. Mark Lamberth was in a dirt biking accident on December 12th. A close friend and former neighbor to this family started a blog: www.prayforthelamberths.wordpress.com to get the message across so that the wife, Angie, would not have to make and receive as many phones call during this time. The blog was hit over 79,00 times with well over 1000 comments posted from friends and people that did not even know the family across the nation.

Mark had to have a portion of his skill removed to relieve pressure, and even through some improvement was made in his condition, the Dr's said he only had 1in 500 chance of making it. Today at around 5:30pm , Mark went home to be with the Lord. I don't know this family at all, and have never met them. I ask that you as well would pray for his wife Angie, and their 6-year old son Nolan. Pray that God would be with them during this most difficult time. That he would wrap his arms around this family, and hold them tight so that they do not turn their pain into anger at God.

We do not always know why God does the things He does, and we don't always see the purpose behind the pain that he puts us through. He works in ways that are beyond our sight, and beyond our comprehension. Both Mark and Angie were Christians, so we praise the Lord that Mark is present with the Lord right now and able to enjoy the presence of our Creator.

I really feel so much love towards this family even though I do not even know them, I cannot fathom the pain Angie must be going through right now. I sat here crying when I read the blog that he has passed because I could only imagine what she must be feeling right now.

Flash Fun

2009-01-04T22:45:00.000-08:00

3 years ago for Christmas I got my SB-600 Speedflash, it has been an amazing flash... however it did not come with a diffusion cap with really frustrates me at times because I am constantly having to adjust my flash for portraits. So I have been playing with a couple of different things to try and get a different look out of my pictures. Here are some test shots, what I did with my flash was actually take an index card and rubber band it to my flash to hopefully diffuse some of the light. Our house was actually pretty dark as far as lighting in this picture, so the flash did most of the work. Also, because I took this picture originally in RAW and transferred it, the color didn't seem to carry over... wierd! Don't you love Hezekiah's face in the first picture?

Deliciously Deceptive

2009-01-03T15:13:00.001-08:00

I bought this cookbook recently called "Deliciously Deceptive: Simple secrets to get you kids eating good food" by Jessica Seinfeld. She is the wife of Jerry Seinfeld, and she was concerned that her 3 children were not getting enough vegetables in their diet. She created this cookbook on how to sneak healthy food into your kids diet without them even knowing. It is amazing, and I have been able to get Hezekiah to eat all sorts of great food. Basically, it comes down to pureed vegetables that you freeze and keep some fresh when you know you are going to use them. This cookbook is easy to read, easy to follow, and the best part is everything tastes great that I have tried so far. Yesterday I was able to put butternut squash in his mac n cheese and he didn't even flinch. This morning, all 3 of us had Sweet Potato and Cinnamon pancakes... these taste even better than buttermilk pancakes!

Funny Videos

2009-01-03T15:02:00.001-08:00

This video is of Hezekiah giving me High-Five's:

This is a video of Hezekiah thinking it's funny to pick his nose, we do not in any way encourage this habit but for video purposes it was funny:

Merry Christmas, A Photo shoot, and Happy New Year

2009-01-03T13:45:00.000-08:00

It seems as though I have totally forgotten to blog these last couple of weeks, keeping up with a toddler can be extremely exhausting.

We had a great Christmas Eve and Christmas, we spent Christmas Eve with Andrew's parents in Cherry Valley as they had some of their family over for a nice dinner... and yes- Rock Band 2 sessions. We had a blast, even Hezekiah was getting into the music and dancing while holding drumsticks in this hands.

Christmas Day, we are late morning people around here, we got up around 8:30am and spent Christmas Day with my parents and my sister and her family at her house. We had a lovely Eggs Benedict Breakfast and started in on the gifts. Hezekiah made out like a bandit this year getting awesome books, toys, and clothes! Here are a couple of pictures, my favorite being my son and my nephew one playing the guitar and the other the drums... a band maybe in the future??

Caught this one of my sister so excited she got an iPod Touch

And this one of my niece, Sydney, so excited to try on her new dress!

Also, soon after Christmas, I had the privilege of doing a photo shoot for my Pastor and his family since they were all in town then. Here are a couple of my favorites from that shoot:

Okay, now onto New Years! We spent New Years Eve at Knott's Berry Farm for Praise 2009, we left Hezekiah with the Gladura's and went and picked him up after we got back to take him home. Had one of the worst moments of my life that night, simply because of my husband... let me explain. Everyone wants to ride Ghostrider, but I absolutely do not like rollercoasters but I went to Knott's anyway for the bands! Andrew keeps telling me, of this is like a beginner rollercoaster you'll be fine - see how slow it is going. The whole night everyone kept saying I thought he was lying to you just to get you on the rollercoaster. Nope, scared the living poop out of me... I literally screamed bloody murder the whole ride only stopping to take a breath, When the rollercoaster stopped, Andrew says "I swear, I don't remember this ride being this fast!" I am shaking, and tears are rolling down my face... and I just remember thinking I cannot believe he made me get on that ride. All my friends are going, are you okay? I made it out alive, but I will NEVER ride a rollercoaster again! After I calmed, down we saw Kutless perform in the Calico Square. (I didn't get any pictures because I didn't not want to lug around my 10lb camera just to get some pro shots... nah I was going to enjoy my night.) We also saw Thor Ramsey, comedian, perform he was really funny. Got some really good laughs out of Andrew & I when he started talking about husband's and wives. There were supposed to be fireworks that night but because of the fog, you couldn't see anything. We said, Happy New Year, gave my husband a kiss and happily went on our way to see Brandon Heath perform, he was the highlight of my night. Here is a short video of him performing:

A Very Merry Christmas

2008-12-27T09:44:00.001-08:00

We had a very wonderful Christmas holiday. Eventhough, my Dad and his wife were in Oregon and not able to make it down for the holiday we all sent each ther gifts via UPS. We spent Christmas Eve at Andrew's parents with some of his family ate a lovely dinner and played Rock Band 2 the rest of the night. It was a pretty long day since I worked a half day on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Day arrived at my sister's house at around 9am and began starting breakfast, which is now all our favorite, Eggs Benedict. Me and my sister did most of the work but Andrew did help with making the hash browns. Hezekiah enjoyed his hash browns and fruit for breakfast. Then it was present time, we all got some wonderful gifts this year. My sister got the iPod Touch and her husand got a GPS. Andrew got a nice heart rate monitor and I got a waffle maker and... drum roll please.... an iPhone. I have been needing a new phone desperately so this was a very nice gift. It has been quite an adjustment to get used to it but very nice.

This morning I decided to pull out my new wafflemaker and make some waffles for all 3 of us. Then at 11am, I am doing a photo shoot with my Pastor's family since they are all in town for the holiday it looks like perfect timing. Should be pretty fun, gonna try some new poses and shots so we will see how these turn out. Those posts will be coming later!

Our little Christmas

2008-12-19T23:24:00.000-08:00

This year, we decided to not get a regular size tree because we are afraid that our curious toddler will either pull it down or pull everything off of the tree. We decided to do a small table top tree and put all our presents on a separate table. Christmas doesn't quite seem the same but next year when he is not so defiant we should be able to get a regular size tree. I lit up my pine smelling candle instead to try and get the smell.... ahhh just another joy of having a toddler!

For those organic people

2008-12-18T20:29:00.001-08:00

Somewhat like me, I do the best I can (within my means) to be more organic. I am not a modern hippie or anything that uses cloth diapers or anything (although I know it better for the environment, I refuse to wash diapers in the same thing I wash my clothes in)... Anyway, I am all about non toxic toys and so I found a really cool website for those that are looking for more "Organic toys" at: Greensproutsbaby.com

This is currently the toys I am looking at purchasing for Hezekiah, mainly because most toys don't reach back far enough to get to this molars that are trying to come through... the design of this toy looks pretty good for what I am looking for specifically.

Also, there is a great organization that is doing a lot of work in getting toxic toys out of the stores, and also trying to push manufacturers to stop making toxic toys. You can go to this website, register, and do a search or toys to see if any of the toys you currently have are toxic: Healthytoys.org

The Plague

2008-12-18T18:00:00.001-08:00

This is a picture of the child we have now nicknamed "The Plague"

Seems like everyone this child comes into contact with get the stomach flu... he's like a carrier eventhough is totally healthy now! I totally don't get it... but oh well. We have done lysol on everything in this house, so I know it can't be from contact so I assume it is airborne. Beware, if you have seen or been around this child you may be susceptible to the stomach flu-lol! Such a cute kid though:)

PricePinx

2008-12-16T22:19:00.001-08:00

Andrew's boss gave me this cool little link, basically, you register for the site (which is free, my favorite), you tell them what products you want to buy online, they monitor the prices of those items and will notify you once the price drops... as it happens! Pretty cool huh?

Just go to: www.pricepinx.com

Dr's appt

2008-12-15T18:24:00.001-08:00

I took Hezekiah to a Dr's appt today because he still was having issues with diarrhea, so the Dr put him on a Soy formula 1/2 strength for now to get nutrients. He said that he lost about 5% in weight and that is really bad. He wouldn't think anything of the diarrhea normally because he's at the teething age and that is pretty normal for his age, but since he has lost the weight it was a concern. He said that we can give imodium ad liquid to him if it continues... and asked me a huge round of questions about blood in the stool and being out of the country anytime lately. Of course, both answers were no. So, stick to the BRAT diet he says for a few days and to bring him back in towards the end of the week to be weighed to make sure he is gaining weight. I have to say, I love this Pediatrician, and I could not ask for a better Dr for Hezekiah! He is amazing, and he always covers every base which I appreciate so much. In addition, he is just too darn funny...Love the guy, if you need a great Pediatrician- I highly recommend Dr Lawrence Sharpe!

Also, we have decided to pull Hezekiah out of daycare. Andrew's mom agreed to come out to our place everyday to watch Hezekiah for us... of course we are paying her because it would cost way too much in gas and everything to ask her to do this without the money. It could not be better... and seriously- No One, no matter how well you know them will ever take better care of your children than family! It was costing us $600/ month to have him in daycare, so we will now be saving a nice chuck off the $600/ month to be able to save for a house. She told us that if we ever needed back up we could still use her which was nice. My main concern was her being mad at us because we pulled him out, which was sad because I didn't want her to feel bad but Family is better!

Start of a better week?

2008-12-14T20:06:00.001-08:00

If you have been reading my blogs, you know our whole house got a little sick with Rotavirus (aka: the stomach flu) so we are all on the slow road to recovery. It seems as though Hezekiah, as expected) seems to be taking a lot longer to recover. We hear some many back and forth about what to feed a child when they have diarrhea, some say stick to their normal diet without the milk, and then other say stick to the "BRAT" diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast). What to do, what to do. We are going to stick to a more bland diet since the normal diet thing doesn't seem to be helping at all. We decided after 6 days of this going on and a few trips to Urgent Care and the ER it is time for an appt on Monday with his Pediatrician to settle in our minds what we should be doing with him since his diarrhea has not subsided. More blogging tomorrow, I have much more to say!

2008-12-11T19:28:00.000-08:00

So my last post, Hezekiah was pretty sick. 1am yesterday, I woke up
violently puking myself until about 7am. Drinking gatorade,water, and
chicken broth. Hezekiah is still having a low grade fever and has slept
almost the whole day except for drinking some Pedialtye and some rice
cereal a couple of times today.. Andrew is now starting to feel some
symptoms as well so I am sure tonight he will be puking as well. Ay yay!!!
No more.

Rotovirus

2008-12-10T11:29:00.001-08:00

I get home from work yesterday and Hezekiah is in a perfect mood. He is being all loving and dancing to Polar Express and having a good time. Around 5pm he starts to yawn so we attempt to give him a late nap. Well no more than about 30 minutes later we hear him crying but we decide to wait it out and see if he goes back to sleep. We wait about 20 minutes and he still doesnt stop crying so I go into his room and check on him and I come in and he has thrown up everywhere. He has rolled in it and it has managed to get every inch of his crib. And of course, we both feel like the worst parents in the world for not going in sooner, but we didn't think anything was wrong by his cry. So, I strip him down while Andrew gets a bath running for him. I should have known better, Monday I bring Hezekiah to the sitter's house and she tells me she was up all night with her own son and he was throwing up all night... why did I leave him there knowing that? I should have known better but I had assumed it may have just been food poisening. Well, we were wrong.

We get Hezekiah cleaned up and he continues to throw up for several hours. We try and give him water and every ounce of it gets thrown up about 5 minutes after. So we decide at 6pm to take him to Urgent Care while he is still throwing up in the car. We get to Urgent Care and we start to see him throwing up yellow fluid (bile) ane we are just waiting to see a Dr any minute now. She looks at him, takes his vitals and says that it is Rotovirus, that she has been seeing a lot of this recently. She gave him a Phenergan suppository which was supposed to stop him vomitting and gave us one more dose in case it doesn't work. They told us Pedialtye is the best for him right now and to only give him this for the next 24 hours. We stop by Target and load up with Pedialyte. After 2 hours, we are attempting every 20 minutes to give him something to hydrate him... and still nothing seems to work. We wait until 10pm to see if this medication kicks in and still nothing. By 10:30 we take him to Riverside Community Hospital Emergency Room because he is extremely lethargic having major diarrhea and still throwing up everything we give him and we majorly scared he would get dehydrated. They checked him out and said he does not need an IV, they were going to give him a shot of medication that will work better for his vomiting. They were going to give him the shot and wanted us to wait around and give him fluids to make sure something stayed down before we left. We only gave him like 2 tablespoons, and by this time Hezekiah is probably starving since he has not eaten since 3pm... and seriously wanted so much more than we were giving him. We waited 20 minutes and everything seemed to stay down, so we headed home at 12:30pm from the ER. As soon as we got in the car, Hezekiah passed out from being so tired. We got home put him in his crib and he slept until 4am, which I gave him only 1 ounce of drink to make sure it stayed down once again. They told us to slowing start adding more fluids and to not over do it with 8 ounces until you know it will stay down. So, needless to say Andrew and I were both crying last night having to hold our baby who was throwing up, mad because we allowed him to stay at Daycare with that sick child, and exhausted from lack of sleep. So far so good, he has kept all fluids down, is still having diarrhea but seems to be much more energetic so we will see how today goes!

A concert and an ouwie!

2008-12-08T16:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we attended a concert from the Packinghouse in Redlands, this church is the church Andrew's parents both attend. His mom decided to get involved with the choir and somehow his Dad got pulled into Directing the choir because he has some music background. He looked a little nervous, and for him being nervous is almost not even in his vocabulary. The both did awesome, way to step out of your comfort zone :)

Also, Hezekiah got his first big ouwie today, he fell on a toy and got a nice fat lip. We have been letting him suck on some un-opened Pedialyte pops to hopefully get the swelling down. Here is a quick picture of his lip, it actually looks a little worse at a different angle but that is all I could get.

What to say about today!

2008-12-03T17:24:00.000-08:00

I have a really good husband, he comes home from work with some lovely tulips! I absolutely love them. I think he knows I have had a really exhausting week at work...What a sweetie pie :)

Took some funny pictures of Hezekiah, because he seriously just cracks me up sometimes. And too, I can't believe how much he can eat, crazy! I am amazed at how flexible kids are too, he just decides he want to reach for his feet and BAM! there they are in his face. So silly :) The other day, I went to drop him off at the babysitter's house and as I am getting ready to leave he says "Nooo mom-mmy, mmmmaaammmy." Broke my heart, to have to leave him there for those couple of hours, but when I came back to get him he ran to me with a smile on face screaming... mommy! So stinkin cute, I love this kid sooo much.

Portable background

2008-12-02T16:17:00.001-08:00

This item would on my must have's for photography simply because I don't actually have a photo studio and it would come in handy dandy. It is by Botero and it is a collapsable Muslin background screen for photos, it is $129.95- So awesome!

The Poser

2008-12-01T16:59:00.000-08:00

Since I pretty much run around the house with a camera in my hands I think that Hezekiah is getting the idea of the camera. Hezekiah being the ham that he is, this is the face that he makes when he sees me with the camera now:

And this is the picture, I just happened to get of him with his Lighting McQueen car that just looks like he is posing for the camera. Gotta love this little boy!

Mint.com- How minty are you?

2008-11-26T18:13:00.001-08:00

Thought I would share with you this awesome financial website. Someone I know posted on their blog about this really cool website. It is an online site that allows you to manage your money, it basically pulls your information from your accounts and gives you awesome charts of where your money is being spent and shows your your largest merchant, also gives you tips on helping you save money. I have found it pretty stinkin Awesome and best of all (drumroll please) It's free! So I thought I would share... Go to: http://www.mint.com

Saturday

2008-11-23T14:32:00.001-08:00

I spent Saturday during the day doing my laundry and playing with Hezekiah. Did my grocery shopping at 8am while no one was there and found some good deals on food, like green beans for 0.99/lb and yams for 2/$1.00.... not bad since Thanksgiving is around the corner. Then Andrew's parents came over to watch the baby while a big group of us including Josh's parents went to see Quantum of the Solace in celebration of what would have been Josh's birthday. Had a pretty late night for me since I went to bed at like 11:30pm and then woke up early with Hezekiah. Today, I took a nice hour nap to make up for some lost sleep.

News

2008-11-21T17:08:00.001-08:00

Recently just found out my brother is being sent to Afghanistan, starting training in Kuwait and then onto Afghanistan after that. He is leaving on Monday, may God be with you big bro!!

Yep...

2008-11-20T18:21:00.001-08:00

We had an appetizer for dinner today. We had pigs in a blanket, it's easy
had some hot dogs and some crescent rolls- presto chango pigs in a blanket.
I can say with total confidence I was a lazy cook today. At least Hezekiah
ate a healthy dinner lol.

Hezekiahism's

2008-11-19T16:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some goofy videos of Hezekiah:

Hezekiah motorboat:

Hezekiah screamo:

Hezekiah Uh-Oh

Hezekiah Snort:

Hezekiah stealing Daddy's food:

Hezekiah Dancing:

Hezekiah talking

2008-11-19T16:44:00.001-08:00

Here is the videos I complied of Hezekiah saying Mom and Daddy:

Hezekiah

2008-11-19T14:32:00.001-08:00

Is such a cool kid! I had some cheese in my hand last night and asked him
if he wanted some cheese and he actually responded with a very clear "Yes"
so I responded back everytime with Yes Please. He also has learned what
kisses are and gives them to mommy and daddy all the time... Can't get him
to keep his lips closed so it is a pretty slobbery kiss but nonetheless
cute. He is also very clearly saying Daddy and Mommy and Dog or Doggy. Onto
more words like potty, milk, cat, book, and I Love you... Gotta love
learning toddlers :) I will post the video of him saying Daddy today!

Carmelized Garlic Chicken

2008-11-13T22:15:00.001-08:00

My newest favorite and extremely tasty recipe, I tried this out on a few friends tonight. The ingredients might not catch you right away but this has amazing taste! Added some fresh cooked green beans and carrots steamed with ham, salt, pepper, and garlic and crescent rolls. Made a very tasty dinner. This recipe is easy and tasty:

INGREDIENTS:

2	teaspoons olive oil
4	garlic cloves, minced
4	teaspoons brown sugar
4	boneless skinless chicken breast halves

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Heat oven to 500°F. Line shallow roasting pan with foil; spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.
2.	Heat oil in small nonstick skillet over medium-low heat until hot. Add garlic; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until garlic begins to soften, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in brown sugar until well mixed.
3.	Place chicken breast halves in sprayed foil-lined pan. Spread garlic mixture evenly over chicken.
4.	Bake at 500°F. for 10 to 15 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender and juices run clear.

NUTRITION INFORMATION:

1/4 of Recipe: Calories 170 (Calories from Fat 45); Total Fat 5g (Saturated Fat 1g); Cholesterol 75mg; Sodium 65mg; Total Carbohydrate 5g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 5g); Protein 27g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 2%; Iron 6% Exchanges: 1/2 Fruit; 4 Very Lean Meat
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Training pants or cloth diapers

2008-11-10T17:26:00.001-08:00

Okay, I have been doing a lot of reading as great as these disposable diapers are they almost work too good for any toddler to get the feeling of being wet. Since my mom says we were all potty trained around 14 months I figured it would be good to at least introduce the potty to Hezekiah... which we did (see below). I have been doing a lot of reading and everyone keeps saying that children that young don't get potty training but I beg to differ. I am in the process of doing research for either "training pants":
An economical and environmentally friendly alternative to disposables. Kushies lightweight taffeta training pants help promote toilet training as the 100% cotton flannel inner layer allows the child to feel the sensation of wetness while reducing the risk of rashing. The interior soaker layer provides extra absorbency against accidents.

Or actual cloth diapers:

So does anyone have any suggestions that have worked for 1 year olds??

Veteran's Day!

2008-11-10T15:59:00.001-08:00

How do we express our gratitude to the people who have protected our freedoms and our country. Every year I try and I think of the many ways I could and if I had the money say thank you, but I frankly don't have enough money to do so to every soldier serving. But anyway here is my measly attempt, first, I would like to thank my own Dad, Winslow for serving this country. He loves this country so much- for all it's good and it's bad and he is so brave to me. No matter how old I get I will still look up to him in this manner.

My Dad was a Marine in the Vietnam war, but if it weren't for God's hand of protection he and I would not be here today. My Dad had a mortar explode only an arms length away from him and only had some shrapnel that cut into his arm. Even that injury was enough to get him into the hospital. My grandma at home received a telegram which she only assumed the worst- that he has been killed but my Dad was still alive. He was injured but alive... and my Grandma always mentioned that she nearly passed out as she saw the soldier walking up to her house. My Dad did not leave Vietnam with just the physical scar but the emotional scars that he still carries with him today.

For him and every soldier out there that has to deal with the trauma that you never forget and you deal with every day, I am truly sorry and I want to extend the deepest gratitude for the service you have brought this country and the many freedoms so many people take for granted. I know our freedoms aren't free, and I know those who are risking their life have the most noble cause of all... and that is protecting our nation. Today, I give you a salute and say Thank you!

Family Photos

2008-11-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we had some family photos done. We figured it was about time to have some nice pictures done. We had our friend, and fellow photographer, Becca Fitzpatrick of B.Fitz Photography do some family photos for us and they turned out really awesome. One of these we will pick out for our Christmas cards this year, so here are some that I really liked!

Plans

2008-11-06T19:17:00.001-08:00

So I have to say I am extremely excited tomorrow is Friday, it has been a very long week and I am just glad for the weekends. Saturday, we have plans to get some family pictures done for the holidays. Friends of ours Eric and Becca Fitzpatrick are also fellow photographers like me and are going to be shooting our pictures at a local park so it should be really nice. Doing breakfast in the morning and off to shoot some pictures. Should be so much fun!

Sunday, Church as always... and then later we have a wedding that Andrew is going to be a groomsmen in. Old friend of ours Chris Turner is getting married to Nicole Hand, we are very excited and they are such a perfect match for each other. Should be a busy weekend but nonetheless very exciting.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

2008-11-06T16:09:00.000-08:00

Speaks to today's society like crazy and I love Isla Fisher she's hilarious:

Bride Wars

2008-11-06T15:57:00.001-08:00

Can't wait to see this one:

What else could you say?

2008-11-05T16:41:00.001-08:00

Last night I watched the man I voted for, John McCain, give the most eloquent speech I have heard in my generation. One of many quotes that moved me and also made me respect him EVEN more for his dedication and true love for this country:

"I would not be an American worthy of the name, should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century. Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone and I thank the people of Arizona for it."

He conceded this election with grace, dignity, and respect that I deeply admire. One that did not speak of poor sportsmanship but one that spoke of true disappointment that he could not serve this country as our President as it would have been the highest honor he could have ever received. Last night, I rooted for my choice for President and today I tip my hat to our war hero John McCain. You'll never know how much gratitude I have for you for your love and dedication to this county. Thank you John and every other man and woman who has served and is serving this country... for your courage and never failing passion to protect us all.

Que Sera Sera!

Well...

2008-11-04T22:29:00.001-08:00

I think we're in for 1 wild ride... I guess we'll see if he can hack it.

Lightning

2008-11-01T20:49:00.001-07:00

Coming home from Menifee today and saw a huge strike of lightning... it's beginning to look a lot like winter every where you turn! Anyway, had a pretty crazy couple of days, yesterday the fam went out to a Harvest festival and by the time we got there we were hungry so decided to hit up Red Robin. Hezekiah was thoroughly entertained with a balloon the whole dinner... he never even made it into his Bumble bee costume but oh well I guess I will get some more pictures of him later in it. Also, we celebrated my mom's birthday- yes her birthday is actually on Halloween.

Today, woke up a little later took a shower and got ready for an actual party for my mom's birthday. Went out got a birthday card and gave her a gift card for Marie Callendar's because really everyone should have a night out to eat dinner somewhere. Saw a lot of my family which I haven't seen in some time and had a nice visit while Hezekiah roamed aimlessly around my mom's landscaped backyard and in the house. He's so funny, I don't think he really gets what he's doing but he just walked in the house and then outside on the patio. Walk in the house and then outside again, I guess he was just doing it because he knew he could. Kids are so funny! Anyway, gonna watch some TV and relax a little while Hezzy catches his Zzzzz's.

Lamington's

2008-10-31T22:13:00.000-07:00

Today we had an appetizer party for work to also help move along our staff meeting. I made a new recipe called Lamington's, an Australian dessert. Basically, it is a white cake cut up into squares dipped with a chocolate frosting and rolled in usually coconut but I decided to use white chocolate bits. These were a delicious treat at work, I think next time I will try rolling them in some kind of nut that might offset the highly rich chocolate frosting. Below are a picture of my delicious dessert.

Awesome nephew!

2008-10-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

Just found out my nephew James has officially started the potty training process! What a big boy :)

Today

2008-10-29T17:57:00.000-07:00

Went to work, got the baby, got my hair cut... now waiting for Din Din!

What is up with everyone and the Acai Berry?

2008-10-26T21:55:00.001-07:00

So funny to see all these ads about the Acai Berry junk? Seriously, it's kind of annoying. I am all for being healthy and all, but one certain berry is not going to be a cure all. You can drink all the Acai berry juice you want but if everything else you eat in your diet is crap then that juice ain't going to help ya. People nowadays want a quick fix, but there is no quick fix to preventing cancer... Cancer is complex and no 1single product will help prevent all cancer. Most people know that antioxidants are good for the body and help fend off cancer but have no idea why or how the body does it... so make sure you do your research and with any good fad time is always the true test of whether it actually works. Many scientists still do not understand to the full extent the pro's and con's of the Acai berry so for now I stick to blueberries and pomegranate's!

Protect against Alzheimer's and Age-related Cognitive Decline

2008-10-25T20:58:00.001-07:00

Protect against Alzheimer's and Age-related Cognitive Decline

Research published in the August 2004 issue of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry indicates regular consumption of niacin-rich foods like chicken provides protection against Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive decline.

Researchers from the Chicago Health and Aging Project interviewed 3,718 Chicago residents aged 65 or older about their diet, then tested their cognitive abilities over the following six years. Those getting the most niacin from foods (22 mg per day) were 70% less likely to have developed Alzheimer's disease than those consuming the least (about 13 mg daily), and their rate of age-related cognitive decline was significantly less. (August 23, 2004)

Taken from: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=116

You decide

2008-10-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

Does this Fisher Price doll say "Islam is the light"

Relaxing day

2008-10-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

Today started out very nice, woke up at 8am got the baby his milk and breakfast. The Fitzpatrick's came over for a brunch... I made awesome french toast, they brought the banana syrup and sausage. We drank some orange and some cranberry pomegranate juice and had a good visit.

Later this afternoon we drove down to Men's Warehouse so Andrew could get fitted for a tuxedo for a wedding he is in a few weeks. Stopped by Bed, Bath, and Beyond to pick up some new pillows (which are so awesome) and also picked up a Yankee Candle, Red Apple Wreath... smells so awesome! Other than that doing some laundry, cleaned the house, changed the sheets on the bed, changed the towels in the bathroom, and getting ready to probably start a movie or 2. Andrew is going to the first ever hockey game in Ontario today with Eric so I will have the night to myself with the baby so I think I might pick out a romantic comedy.

Any suggestions?