some things never change...

2005- Sammy, Elisha & Natalie laying on a blue blanket

2010- Sammy, Elisha & Natalie laying on a blue blanket
I'll have another updated picture in 2015 :)

Happy birthday Elisha!

Today is Elisha's 4th birthday! He is so much fun to have around and turning in to such a little kid! We spent the morning celebrating at Disneyland with our friends Steph, Hailey, & Chase. Hailey is exactly one year older then Elisha so she turned 5 today. We all have Disney passes and when it's your birthday they give you a gift card for the amount of a park ticket. So Elisha & Hailey both got $60 gift cards to use anywhere at Disneyland. Stephanie and I both agreed that it was a little overwhelming for the kids to be able to pick anything they wanted. So after walking through tons of stores Elisha picked this hat and a black mickey hat for Josiah and they both got a sucker:)

Birthday kids! Hailey (5) Elisha (4)

Great friends think alike

Don’t you love when you are thinking of someone and at the exact same moment that person is thinking of you? Today I was sitting outside while the boys were playing and thinking about my friend Brandi. Her and her husband T.C. and their little girls moved to Kentucky over a year ago. I hadn’t talk to her in a couple months and was missing her, then the phone rang and it was her! I was so excited to talk to her. She is a fellow stay at home mom like me and since she moved to Kentucky she has started making her own bread, granola and uses cloth diapers. I guess that’s what Kentucky will do to you. I’m really getting into making my own things lately too instead of buying EVERTHING. I even looked into making my own laundry detergent. I know crazy but Elisha has major skin problems and I can’t afford to buy all the natural organic detergent. So after talking to Brandi I am now inspired to get my bread machine back out do more “stay at home mom stuff” but I don’t think I’ll be going to cloth diapers….at least not yet.

Brandi and I Christmas 2006

Dinner with Friends

Our Friends Danny & Heather came over monday night to hang out with us. Some of you might know them from church. Danny is really funny and always joking...so he and Vince get along great. And Heather is one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. So what makes them extra special is that their daughter Taytum was born on the same exact day in the same exact hospital as Josiah. Some of you have probably heard me tell this story before but when I got to the hospital to have Josiah, Heather had just had Taytum. They actually moved Heather out of the Labor & Delivery room so that they could get it ready for me to deliver. After I got all settled in the room I was feeling pretty good so I assured Vince I would be fine while he went down the hall to visit Danny and Heather. Then when Vince came back to the room I told him to call the nurse because it was time..... and the nurse came in then called the doctor and I had Josiah super fast!
So anyways, then they wheeled me into a new room and after a couple hours I went down to visit Heather & Danny and saw Taytum for the first time. So, Josiah and Taytum first met in the nursery at the hospital:) So the rest of the time in the hospital every time I couldn't find Vince he would be hanging out with Danny in the hospital somewhere. Then the next day when the nurse was wheeling me out to go home here comes Heather getting wheeled out the exact same time. I even have pictures of us in our wheel chairs on the way to the car. I will spare you from seeing those pictures. I look horrible but Heather looks really cute like usual.
Here is a picture of Taytum and Josiah. Now Danny and Heather are expecting there 2nd baby (a boy) in just a couple weeks!!!

(Notice Josiah has his arm on Taytum's back)

Camping weekend

This past weekend we went up to big bear to go camping with a bunch of people from church. We had lots of awesome fellowship with each other it was such a blessing. Both nights we "marshed" marshmallow's (that's what Elisha calls it) and made s'mores. We had a great time of bible study and worship on Saturday night and then Sunday morning had a time of devotion as a group before we headed home. On our way up I decided to just enjoy our time outdoors and as a family and not be a germ freak. So as I'm thinking about that on our way up Josiah gets car sick and throws up in the back seat. So we calmly pulled the car over, stripped of his clothes, scooped the barf (sorry to be graphic) out of the car seat, cleaned him up with baby wipes and continued on our way up. No big deal:)

I wanted the kids to enjoy being boys and get as dirty as they wanted. It didn't even bother me to get into my sleeping bag that had dirt all over it from the kids. Or to go to bed without washing my face. We did the full camping experience and we really enjoyed it. So now that I'm back at home we are sleeping in our clean beds and are clean people again! Here's a few pictures!

Friends Forever:)

I know you are probably laughing at my title it sounds so Jr. High:)

Anyways, Last week we drove out and visited my friend Veronica and her kids Sammy, and baby Isaac. I have talked about Veronica several times before and how we were both pregnant with our first babies together. When I first found out I was pregnant with Elisha I felt all alone in my pregnancy. I was so excited to be pregnant but I didn't personally know ANYONE else pregnant. I was really involved in High School ministry at the time and all of the sudden no one else was in the same stage of life that I was in. All my friends were either not married or not even close to having kids. Then I met Veronica and we instantly clicked and we were both 5 weeks pregnant. Then for 9 months straight we talked non-stop about being pregnant. So as we talked and sympathized with each other about being pregnant our husbands would talk about what it's like having a pregnant wife. Actually, they probably more counseled each other on how to handle their overly emotional wives.

Then Veronica had Samantha and 6 days later I had Elisha. So then we talked all the time about how much our babies eat, spit up, and don't sleep. We would sit together in the mother’s room every Sunday and Wednesday night and try to stay awake in the quiet dark room. Now our little babies our both 3 1/2 and we both have our 2nd kids already. I could go on and on about the memories we share together.

We don't get to see Veronica and Daniel as often but we treasure each time we hang out with them. They are both godly people who strive to walk with God and raise a godly family. Each time I'm around Veronica I'm encouraged as a mom and in my relationship with God. We love you guys!!!

Josiah, Sammy, Isaac and Elisha!!

I miss them

This is the Hernandez family. Natalie, Brandi, T.C. and baby Noel. They moved to Kentucky about 6 weeks ago. Brandi and I met at church when Elisha and her daughter Natalie were just infants. We have lots of memories in the Mothers room together:) God called her husband T.C. to go to seminary in Kentucky so they followed God's calling for them to move. I'm glad they are right where the Lord wants them, but we still miss them being here.
Natalie and Elisha

BFF'S

Thse girls were all my best friends growing up. When Sarah (far left) came to vist a few weeks ago from ohio we all got together to have a little reunion. Sarah I met when I was 2 years old, Lindy (far right) I met in 1st grade, and Erika (in the middle) I met in 4th grade. So we all grew up together. Although we may not all be BFF's anymore we still keep in touch. And when we hang out it's like were kids again and have so much fun hanging out and talking about all the memories we have

together.

Sarah and I at Victoria Gardens


Also Sarah and I watched some home video's we had of when were kids. Isn't weird watching yourself as a kid??? So weird. What's even worse is that Erika's family had a video camera when we were in high school, which was out of the ordinary back then as no one even had cell phones. So we would make all these videos when we were like 14 and 15. And to watch those now, oh man....we were such nerds. No wonder we never had boyfriends :)

Elisha's first date

This is Elisha and Samantha they have known each other their whole lives, they are also only 6 days apart. Elisha went over to play at Sammy's house and after they swam for awhile Elisha wanted to take Sammy for a ride in her motorized jeep. Even though it was a barbie, pink & purple jeep that didn't stop him. After driving all around the yard they ended in a little wreck in the bush, but they were fine. I'm glad they are only 2yrs old and we can follow them snaping pictures and they don't care. But I know in a blink of an eye he will be driving a real car, with a real girlfriend, and I won't be able to follow him taking pictures. Although maybe I will anyway! :)