Bay Area Memories!

Before our big move we tried to squeeze in as many visits and play dates as possible. Here are a few pictures documenting our time.

First, our sweet friends the Bertera’s hosted a going –away party for David and me. We invited friends from our Bible Study. We used to meet at the Bertera home in San Leandro before they moved. Since our Bible Study days people have had multiple children, gotten married, and moved to other parts of the Bay Area. It was nice to get everyone together again under one roof –even if it was because we were moving away!





Our lovely host, Maggie



Robyn, Daniella, and Arrielle




Some of the guys hanging out and eating the yummy brunch

Liz and Loran

jenny , Shereen , and Kyle

Me and Arrielle

The kids had so much fun that by the time we got home they were knocked out! I m so sad that I didn't get more pictures of the festivities.

Jadon got to hang out at his favorite the park in San Leandro with Micah and Biruk

The boys trying to figure out what to do with their new toy...

They got tired of me taking pictures of them. =-)

We went to the Oakland zoo with the Bandels.








These two have been hanging out literally since birth. They are growing up way too fast!!

My friend Jessie and her sweet daughter Karina came from Santa Clara to visit us !

We had lunch with Auntie Christy in Alameda!

We went to story time one last time! (It makes me sad to look at these pictures—Jadon LOVED going to the library for story time with miss Tina!) Luckily, Zoe and Biruk joined him. These three had sooo much fun together!

Miss Tina truly has a gift with the way she draws the kids into her stories and songs!

Our sweet neighbor Auntie Brenda and her Granddaughter, Zoe.

Jadon and Biruk

Jadon tries to steal one last hug from Zoe!

Celebrating Easter

I am truly beginning to see how the holidays take on a more special meaning when you have children. This Easter was especially meaningful to me because it was the first Easter where we could explain to Jadon the true meaning of the holiday—aside from the Easter bunny, Easter baskets, candy, etc. We talked to him about our savior Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made on the cross for us.

With the craziness of moving, unpacking, reorganizing and adjusting to a new city, my heart and mind was not focused. For example, I usually take note of Ash Wednesday –the beginning of Lent , the 40 days prior to Easter. This year, I was completely oblivious. I didn’t even realize Easter was approaching until about two weeks before the date! So, what better way to focus my mind and heart than to teach my sweet two year old about Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice? I decided to do a craft day to show him instead of tell him. (Now if you know me, you know I am not a crafty type of person so this was going to be interesting.) I did some research (btw, there is ton of fun stuff on the Internet for preschoolers!!), and I called in some reinforcements. My sister-in-law, Andrea and cousin, Cherie have been doing preschool letter days with their little ones where they do awesome crafts. I thought that this would be a great opportunity for Jadon to hang out with his cousins while mommy got some help from a few experts. And what resulted was a beautiful morning of fun and learning!





Here the cousins wait for their craft instructions.





First, Aunt Andrea explained the importance of Easter. Then we made "Resurrection Rolls". They are a combination of a marshmallow dipped in butter, cinnamon and sugar, and then wrapped in a crescent roll! YUMMY! The marshmallow is suppose to represent Jesus' body, the cinnamon represents the oil and spices that were rubbed on Him after His death, and the crescent roll represents the tomb. Awesome, right? (I found this activity online).

When the rolls are cooked and ready to be eaten, we see that the marshmallow (Jesus' body) has disappeared and the roll (the tomb) is empty! Jesus is alive! The kids LOVED this! They loved eating the rolls too!

Next we made a replica of the cross and empty tomb with sticks, yarn, rocks, plastic grass, an empty eggshell, and paper plate.

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On Easter Sunday, we dressed up in our Sunday best and went to church.

Afterwards, we gathered at Jessie and Allie’s house for a pizza party and Easter Egg Hunt.

This was Jadon’s first Easter Egg Hunt. Here the kids are getting in position for the big race!

It took him about two seconds to get the hang of it and then he was on a mission to find as many eggs as possible!

The end result was a bag full of eggs! He was so proud of himself that for the rest of the afternoon, he refused to put down his bag. He literally carried it with him running about the backyard with the other kids for an hour or so. We kept asking if we could hold it for him but he said, “no”. Later we found him in a secluded part of the backyard, under a tree, eating his chocolates. That was probably his plan all along. Who knew he could delicately unwrap the thin foil from around those chocolate eggs?…



Before the afternoon ended, we took some pictures with the family.

This Easter holiday was wonderful, we got to spend some quality time together as a family. Last year, Arrielle was still in my tummy. This year, we were able to share this awesome holiday with our two sweet babies! And, the most important part of all is that our Savior has risen from the dead and we no longer have to face eternal damnation –because we believe, we are saved and have the promise of eternal life. Thank you Jesus!!!

Ode to Oakland

Through a series of events stemming from career changes and some serious prayer, God relocated us from Oakland to Fresno (I say God because I wasn’t too keen on the idea of moving but now I am starting to adjust). I got to thinking about why this move has been so hard for me and, without getting too sentimental; I came up with a weak attempt at my “Top Ten” Reasons. Here they are below:





10. Berkeley Bowl --This place made me feel like I could actually be a gourmet chef. The fact that they had every exotic fruit and veggie known to man under one roof made me feel cool to shop there. I will NOT miss the parking lot and the circling 3 to 4 times to find a too tight spot where I know my car doors would be dented in upon my return.


9. Jeremy's--Where else could you find Tory Burch"reva" flats for $60, or a full length J.Crew pea coat for $50, or better yet, J.Crew cargo capri pants for $1.50 (no kidding). I love that place and will miss it dearly!





8. College Ave. -- When we first moved, I used to ride the 51 bus from Oakland to campus. The bus route takes you straight down College Avenue. It is one of my most favorite streets in the East Bay. It's full of small novelty shops, clothing stores, salons, and restaurants. It's broken into sections by beautiful bungalows and cottages. With this combo, you feel the urban pulse of the city but the charm and history of a small town.





7. Zachary's Pizza -- Hands down, the best pizza EVER! Part of the mystic is when you dine in you have to squeeze past the other 100 people or so who have decided to eat there too. You put your name on the wait-list and then sit for like an hour, salivating until your seat is ready. I've convinced myself that this process makes you enjoy the pizza that much more.


6. Knowing the 7 different routes one could take to get to the Grocery Store Outlet on Broadway.




5. The fact that most of our friends have no idea what my maiden name is.





4. Driving through Piedmont and fantasizing about which house we would purchase once we collected our lottery winnings. We used to look in the Montclarion Real Estate section on Sunday and pick a few $1 and $2 million home open houses to check out. In that area of the Bay, that price tag on average only got you a 3/2 at about 1700 sq. ft. and at times, it would still need some TLC. I will not miss the Bay Area's inflated housing prices




3. Running Lake Merritt





2. Running the hills of Lake Chabot. This place was seriously a majestic oasis in the middle of the city. It was amazing. I would run there any chance I could. There is no way one could run there and not feel the presence of our God. I have had some wonderful times of prayer while running --I will miss that part the most.



1. Our wonderful, amazing friends who were really like family. When I think of Oakland and the time we lived in the Bay Area, my heart is filled with love and I reflect on the genuine, loving relationships we developed. As I get older, I am realizing that relationships like those should not be taken for granted. I thank the Lord for them and know He has plans for us to develop and strengthen our relationships here in Fresno too.

Runner-ups:

Volvo station wagons --they're everywhere

BART

Getting on the freeway to simply go to the grocery store...3 miles away

East Oakland side shows (not really)

the weather--I have become accustomed to wearing scarfs in the middle of July

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day

From our little Valentine's to yours!

Arrielle received her first rose from her Daddy yesterday! So sweet!

She's 6 months

I have a feeling that for every monthly update for Arrielle, I will start with-- I can't believe she's already (insert number here) months!! Truly, these past 6 months have flown by. I can't believe my baby is a half of a year old! She has been such a delight and as her personality develops I can see that we are going to have a very, very lively house!

This little one is quite the active baby. She's not quite crawling yet but she is determined to learn. Whenever I put her on the floor she immediately flips over to her tummy and begins what I call the bunny hop. She sort of kicks her legs out behind herself and scoots forward. And before I know it, she's across the room!

She has mastered the art of the "stare down" especially when she meets new faces. But after a few moments, the stone face turns to a warm, sweet, drooling smile. One thing that I love about her is that when she sleeps her eyelashes are so long that they graze the top of her cheeks. It's so precious. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for her as she grows!

Fun Facts:

-She's quite ticklish under her rib cage.

-She sucks her thumb and refuses to take a paci

-Although she is somewhat bald in the back of her head, she sometimes wears pigtails in the front.

-She loves to watch her brother run and jump around.

-She started eating solid food last week. (See pics below)

Arrie wasn't too excited about the high chair. She wasn't sure what to make of it...

But she LOVED her rice cereal. She helped me by grabbing the spoon and pulling it to her mouth. Next week she'll start sweet potatoes and bananas!

Sibling Love

Jadon is such an affectionate big brother! But, like a typical two-year old, you have to watch his every move. For example:

This love-fest started out with the best of intentions.


Awww, so sweet. Right?


Then it took a turn south... poor Arrielle.

And quickly spiraled out of control!!

**Please note that I didn't know he was doing this when I took the picture. I promptly released Arrie from Jadon's "death-grip" and restored order in the home. Arrie is such a tough cookie! =-)

Gotta love big brothers!

Sunday, Monday, Wednesday

Jadon knows these days very well. He knows Sunday because that is the day we take out our trash. This is important because it means that Monday is the next day. And Monday means that the garbage man comes. Jadon wakes up bright and early, gets dressed and waits for the garbage man.

He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES --did I mention he LOVES watching the garbage man (Michael).

We wave to him



And thank him for his hard work

In return, Michael takes away our garbage --especially our diapers. (Jadon points out this fact on a near daily basis everytime we change him or Arrielle. He says, "diapers for garbage man.") He then dumps all of the collected garbage into the big bin. This is Jadon's favorite part!

When it's all over we tell him to have a nice day and wave goodbye!

Wednesday means we go the library for storytime. When we pull into the parking lot, Jadon shouts, "librrrarry, librrrarry". He loves story time because he gets to dance, sing, and kind-of listen to the stories.

Here is Jadon dancing with his friend Micah looking on.

All the while, Arrielle just hangs out and watches her big bro.

I truly love our weekly routines!