Today was Genna's 6th birthday...it actually started on Friday when she received a box in the mail from my mom.  We let her open it because, face it, it's hard to argue with a 6 year old (and I knew the box had presents for all of us....thanks mom...)   Genna's first birthday wish came true... a journal of her very own with a lock...and to top it off...Justin Bieber on the front.  She writes or draws in it everyday.  


Yesterday was filled with excitement as we all sat waiting for Grandma Susie and Papa to arrive from Susanville.  They finally arrived and the house was filled with non-stop 3 and 5 year old chatter for the rest of the night.  They entertained the kids while I baked the cake.


Today...birthday day is finally here.  We decorated the cake this morning after arguing who got to help.  I thought it was weird that Genna decorated her own cake, but she won and got to help...and soon lost interest and I finished by myself.

The next big adventure entailed a trip to the mall and Genna getting her ears pierced.  She has been wanting it for a long time and daddy finally agreed.  She watched someone get theirs done a couple of weeks ago and changed her mind.  Today she decided she had the courage to get it done. 

And when she finally sat down...I thought for sure she had a change of heart...scared?

She cringed when they lined up the piercing guns...and...

We have earrings...beautiful solid pink hearts...they are perfect for my angel.  

She didn't cry or scream.  

She is such a big girl.  

The day ended with cake and presents.  She got her last present from Grandma Susie, Papa, Al, Josh and Justine...a 3 story Barbie house (which Ella immediately tried to take possession of).

I still can't believe she is 6...the time flies so fast that it seems to be gone in the blink of an eye.

Happy Birthday Beautiful Miss Genna...I love you.

Mommy is a control freak...

Ok...so Ella is 3 and we were slacking in the area of potty training.  Everytime we tried, it was a huge fight with her screaming hysterically and me getting frustrated and walking away....

So about 2 weeks ago, she decided she wanted underpants...no more diapers...we sat down and had the discussion (as much as you can discuss with a 3 year old) about what it meant to not wear diapers...she claimed to understand...so off we went with the diapers and on with the underwear.  The timer started and we trekked to the bathroom every 5 minutes for 2 solid days...then we moved to 10 minutes...with a couple of accidents during the first couple of days.

It's been 2 weeks today and I don't want to jinx it, but I think she's got it down...we haven't had an accident in a week and she is already waking up dry every morning...was it really that easy all along and I just needed to wait for her to be ready instead of trying to fit it into my timeline? 

It seems like it's like that with a lot of things lately...if I wait and do it in God's time...or in this case, the kids' time, then it goes much smoother than if I try to force it just because I want it done now...or when it's convenient for me. 

Lord, please help me to remember to do it in your time and not mine....it's not about me...and I need to keep that in my sights on a daily basis.

New Beginnings

The last 3 months have been a time of new beginnings.  It all started when we went on a family vacation to Disneyland last November.  Richy found this "church" he wanted to visit while we were there.

I put church in quotes because it truly showed me the meaning of what the bible says church should be.  A group of people gathered together to worship, share in the Word, and glorify God.  A little more about what we found...it's called Hot Rod Church for Sinners (www.hotrodchurch.com), located in Mission Viejo, CA.  They meet on Sunday mornings at Santoras, a pizza place/bar.  Their worship style is Rock-a-billy Gospel (similar to 2-step with a lot of upright base). 

I wasn't sure what to expect, but Richy was very excited about going, and that's important...when your husband is excited about going to church, you go with it...and I was a little nervous about what we'd find because it wasn't just our family that was going to be exposed to something different, we had LaTosha with us...

Needless to say, it was an awesome experience.  These folks come together at a pizza place/bar to fellowship and worship.  They show up in their old cars and dress in attire that matches the music they play.  The music was lively and the people were incredibly friendly.  When church was over, we went to lunch with some of the folks from the church and that's where our journey began.  Brian Bent, the leader in Mission Viejo, told Richy to start one on his own...he needed someone to bring the Word and a band to play music...

God had put into my husband's heart and soul that he needed to follow a ministry like this to attract people who love old cars and old music to attend a church service.

In February, we visited our friends and Genna's godparents, James and Geneva, in Forest Grove, OR.  I had been saying for a long time that I missed the Portland area and would someday like to move back.  Over the course of that 3-day visit, we made a decision to start looking into moving.  2 months later, we went back to Portland to explore housing options.  By the end of the weekend, we had found a house and put a deposit on it.  When Genna got out of school in June, we were going to move. 


Come to July 15th...we have completed all of our commitments in Yreka, Genna is done with school, the house is packed into a moving truck...and we are leaving at 6am to drive to our new house.  What an adventure that is just starting...

We have now been in West Linn (a small suburb of Portland on the SE side) for about 6 weeks.  The kids are adjusting and making friends and we are meeting other people in our neighborhood.  We have attended a couple of different churches and are excited to be participating at New Life Church in West Linn.  Mars Hill is also starting a church in Portland and we have been to a couple of those events too (http://portland.marshill.com). 

Today is our 2nd biggest milestone - GENNA'S FIRST DAY IN HER NEW SCHOOL...

Genna is in 1st grade at Cedaroak Park Primary school.  She was such a trooper this morning going into the gym for the morning meeting (the entire school meets together for the 1st 10 minutes of the day before going off to their classrooms).  She was a little nervous, but did very well.  I can't wait to hear all about it when I get her this afternoon. 

We have done all of this in God's strength and leading...  The hardest part of it all was telling my family that we were uprooting the kids and moving 300 miles away.  Without God, none of this would have ever been a consideration.  He gave Richy the inspiration, He found us a house, and He continues to give us strength when things get tough.