Pumpkin Patch!!

We visited Tanaka Farms down the street from us today with Grandma and Grandpa!!
Here are a few pics...Mia's late afternoon nap got a little interrupted so we didnt get any smiles :)

We have a new playroom!

This weekend we turned one half of their nursery into a playroom. They have such a big room that it was going to waste only being used for napping and bedtime. So now they have a little "entertainment" center that they love watching Praise Baby on and all their toys to play with. Mommy can get so many things done now upstairs while they play in their room at the same time......................and that means less toys in the family room!!! They seem to love their new little area.

notice Mia lounging on Blue Dog (thanks uncle billy) they use it as a pillow!

If I could stop time....

Our home is quiet and has turned in for the evening. Jacob is soundly sleeping in the nursery and Mia is tucked into the crook of her Daddy's arms and dreaming away. As I walk around the house turning down the lights and getting ready to turn in for the evening I do a final check on Mia and Jacob. I look at them so safe and not a fear in their world and my heart is overwhelmed by how much I love them. I know these moments are fleeting and things that I think I could never forget I know I will. I want time to stand still, I want to cherish every waking second with them and press into my heart and mind every detail of their new life.

When Mia wakes up in the morning she plays with her feet and hands. She turns onto her back and quietly talks to herself and stretches out. As soon as she see's us over her crib she kicks her legs so enthusiastically ready to start this new day. She has such a whisper of a voice in the morning, her own little communication to Mommy and Daddy. I love the way she sits on the floor and watches us walk around the room, taking everything in.... she doesnt miss a thing! She reaches her arms out for us to pick her up when she is done playing and wraps her arms around my neck sometimes reaching to stroke my hair and sometimes just to pull herself closer to Mommy. When she see's Jacob coming, crawling across the floor towards her she lets out the most beautiful "shriek" of laughter. I know that I have lived for these moments.

My sweet Jacob wakes up talking. I call him my little turtle. If somehow he has made it into Mommy and Daddys bed he pops his head up like a little turtle and calls out Dadadadadadadada. He then pushes his head into my chest and rests there for awhile more. He has always slept with his mouth open letting his sweet baby breath warm my skin. As soon as I pick him up he jumps with excitement, so excited for the new adventure he will find today. He is so busy exploring each room that he won't drink his bottle right away...too many things to get into and explore. Once his worship music comes on though he stops what he's doing, moves towards his bouncy seat and is ready to drink his bottle. The other day he saw me sitting at the counter and he crawled over and pulled himself up on my seat so that I could reach down and pick him up. I was overwhelmed with joy, my baby boy came to me, wanting me to hold him. Of course our children always want us to hold them but that first time that they crawl over to you, showing you that they want you, reaching up their arms is overwhelming for this new mommy.
My heart overflows with love for them. I'm reminded that when I take the time to sit at the feet of my heavenly Father His heart does the same. It overflows with love, compassion and joy. When my babies do something new my heart swells with pride for them I'm so proud of their accomplishments and milestones...and so is God over me. I cherish this gift of life He has given me, His precious children to watch over, to teach, to bless and most importantly to show them God in me, through me and around me. Afterall I'm just a steward of what is His. My desire is that they would see every aspect of Jesus through me, that I would be a light to them, daily surrendering myself at the cross and letting Jesus fill me each day with His plan and purpose for their life.

This is what it is all about, this is what our Father meant when He called us to live life to the fullest, live life in abundance.

Thank you Lord for this precious gift you have given me in Jacob and Mia. May I make every moment count and every lesson enriched with your spirit. Let your light shine through me as I hold them and cherish them so that they would know you through me. As you mold their minds, personalities and talents for your purpose I pray that I could stand still the hands of time for these moments are fleeting.

Fire, Fire,Fire!!

So as many know we are surrounded by a ring of fire in Southern California. John and I were driving home Sunday evening from his parents and enjoyed a nice leisurely drive down Portola Avenue so the kids could nap a little longer in their carseats. We got home played in the family room and then John decided to take Madison for a walk. This is when it starts....

6:00pm- John comes back from his walk and says that something is on fire, our community backs up to the Santiago Canyon of beautiful hills, mountains and wildlife. All we can see is black smoke pouring over our community. It looks like its coming from the road we just drove down an hour earlier. Neighbors are coming out of the house, we walk to the corner of street and see it......




6:15pm- We see helicopters hovering above us in a race to get this fire contained. The Malibu fires have been raging all day so they know they need to get this one undercontrol. Were starting to hear that most of our local firemen are down in Malibu fighting that fire...great!

6:30pm- John and I keep going outside to check on the status of the fire, it seems to us that in less than 30 minutes it is already down the hills to the base, the winds are going about 30mph. We talk to our neighbors and decide to start packing things up to be prepared, if the fire has moved this fast in 30 minutes where is it going to be in another hour.



7:00pm- We start to panick as we see it coming closer......Its definitely getting bigger. One of our neigbors gets through to 911 and they say that if we can see the flames from our door then its a good idea for a voluntary evacuation. We have babies, not to mention preemie lungs so John decides thats close enough for us!



7:10pm- We are upstairs in the nursery gathering everything we could possibly need and looking around for things that we could not handle losing in a fire.... Jacob is crawling around on the floor and Mia is downstairs playing with her toys....THE POWER GOES OUT!! We can't see 2inches in front of our face since the house is blanketed in thick black smoke outside. Were reaching down for Jacob and running downstairs to get Mia. The power comes back on in less than 2 minutes.......then panic mode starts....throw everything in the car!!

7:30pm- We have everything packed, the kids are asleep in their carseats in the car, were talking with neighbors outside as they are all packing up their cars. We have never seen anything like this....

8:00pm - Were in the car on our way to Grandma and Grandpas as we drive down the street towards the freeway all we see in our review mirror is a wall of fire.

Happy 8 month Birthday Jacob & Mia!!

I can't believe our babies are 8 months old! Time has never moved so fast! We are amazed at their new accomplishments everyday. Its true when they say you experience the world all over again through your childrens eyes. Life has never been so good!

Jacob has quickly moved from crawling to standing. All he wants to do is have Mommy & Daddy sit on the ground with him so he can pull himself up on our hands. He stretches out his arms until we hold his hands to pull himself up..over and over and over and over again! He gets the biggest smile and laughs when he does this. He even will use his sweet sister as something solid to pull himself up on.....poor Mia!

Mia is still very independent, very happy and content to play with all her toys..even when Jacob crawls over to take it out of her hands and uses her as a jungle gym...and she's bigger than him! Mia sleeps all night in her crib and naps during the day in her room. Jacob on the other hand will play in his crib, pull himself up on the rail but when it comes to bedtime we will go in our crib asleep but not awake. If we wake up in our crib we will cry for a couple minutes and then proceed to projective vomit all over our crib. So Jacob spends half the time sleeping in his crib and the other half sleeping with Mommy & Daddy. It seems we have a very sensitive little boy!

Jacob and Mia are having their dedication this Sunday. Were so excited for them and take this opportunity to dedicate them back to their Maker and Saviour. Were so blessed to have this gift from the Lord. We can't wait to see the Lords plan for them unfold as we raise them up in His word and love.

Here are some pics from the last week....

Fields of Gold.......

Mia and Jacob had a little photo shoot yesterday with Mommy!!

Oak Glen Apple Orchard

This past weekend we took a little trip to Oak Glen Apple Orchard. We had so much fun visiting all the little villages and tasting lots of apples and apple cider! Here are a few pics...