Memorial Day Fun

We met some dear dear friends at Tilden Park in Berkeley yesterday for a family outing and some fun in the sun. It was so beautiful, and the weather was perfect - not too hot, and not too cool. Very cool to be back at our old haunt :-).

Although Dave and I both are Cal alumni (Go, Bears!), we did not ever go to this part of Tilden Park. We got to go to the Little Farm and feed the animals.





Go on the carousel. . .


Have a picnic lunch with a simple birthday cake for my soon to be 3 year old little love. Oh, just look at the expression on his face! Can you tell that he loves birthdays?


And we also got to ride on the steam train! This was awesome. Only $2 per person for a 10 minute ride through the redwood forest of the Berkeley hills. So beautiful! Matthew was cold in the shade and was lent a Pablo Sandoval Kung-Fu Panda hat by our ardent Giants' fan friends. We weren't sure if we could stomach it, having Dodger blue blood in our veins, but felt it was permissable to keep Matthew a little warmer.

Dog Days

There is a dog park that meets every weekend at the local elementary school that is within walking distance of our home. Dr. Phil loves loves loves to go and play with the other puppies there. It's a good deal for all of us because it gets us out of the house and ready pretty early on Saturday, the kids love petting and playing with the dogs, and also climbing on the jungle gyms at the school.

There is a Great Dane who comes all the time named Boomer. Dr. Phil especially loves to play with him.



When Aaron saw Boomer for the first time he said, "Him looks like a moo moo."


And of course, I must put in some photos of the littles.





And in adoption news, I dropped off a small stack of paperwork at BAAS on Friday. It's a good feeling to know that I am making some progress :-).

And ack - I cannot believe that my littlest little man is going to be 3 in 3 days! What happened? Wasn't he a newborn just yesterday?

Adventures In Sprouting

Our dear friends here lent our family The Sprout Master. Their family has gotten really into it, and I was naturally curious. If you search sprouting on Youtube, you will find a bunch of videos and more info that you knew there was on such a topic. Did you know that you can sprout almost anything (as long as they are raw)? Almonds, garbonzos, adzuki, alfalfa, mung beans, lentils. . .



Anyway, we have been having fun with the sprouter. It is soooo easy to use. Just soak your things you want to sprout for about half a day, and then pour them into the tray. Rinse them twice a day with water and you are good to go. Amazing to see the power of LIFE as these little babies visibly grow and sprout like crazy!!!

I put them on my salad, and make wraps out of them with romaine lettuce as the "tortilla." I have cut down in the amount I sprout at a time because I cannot keep up with how much is being yielded!

And here's a little story for you.

One night a couple of weeks ago I was making a salad (to go with my sprouts). I cut and washed and spun my romaine and put it in a salad bowl. Then I used the last of my sprouts straight from the Sproutmaster. We ate the said salad. After dinner, as I was cleaning up, look who I saw in the sprouter:



Look at that little guy! Knowing how bug-obsessed my children are, I quickly yelled for them to come and see.

Aaron stood on a stool and said, "Oh I love you, yittle caterpiyar."



They wanted to keep him, and brought him a romaine leaf, and covered the tray with plastic wrap. I spoke on behalf of the caterpillar (or worm?) and finally convinced them he would be happier (and live longer) if we let him go. But they were thrilled and not at all grossed out by that little guy.

Beginning the Journey

It is with goosebumps and butterflies in my stomach that I make my post today.

I dropped off the beginnings of our international adoption application last Tuesday, May 18th!

This means that we should be assigned a social worker soon to begin homestudy!

I am very very excited, but also nervous, too.

I know that the Lord has been putting this burden on Dave's and my heart. We are taking baby steps of faith here.

I am dreaming of holding a tiny girl in my arms. Lord, if You think it is good, please grant me this child that I am asking you for. I know that it will be challenging, and the road may be long and full of trials and discouragement, but I know that if this is from You, we will all be blessed through this little child. I pray for openness to Your guidance - that You would have free reign to orchestrate Your perfect will. Thank You, Lord, for the blessing of 3 little ones already! Thank You that I can snuggle them as we wait and work towards this goal of adoption. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Some cool verses about adoption:

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we vry out, "Abba, Father." Romans 8:4-16

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18

He predestined us to adoption as sone through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freeluy bestowed on us in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:5-6

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 1:17

Happy Mother's Day

I am rich.

Just look at this Daddy and these boys making breakfast for me this morning.



And these sweet cards.




I am so thankful that these 3 sweet boys call me Mama. What a blessing and a privilege to be their mother!


"Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,
THe fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one's youth.
How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate."
Psalm 127:3-5

Easter fun!

I saw a cool t-shirt on a Christian tee shirt website. It was screen printed with this saying on the front: "Easter...It's not about a bunny, it's about a Lamb." Love it!
So...though Easter is not about eggs or chicks or bunnies. . . we did have fun with egg dyeing and hunting and cookie baking and decorating. Oh, we also read a really excellent and different kind of Easter book called Petook by Tomie de Paola. I don't know how to underline on here, and it drives me nuts because the English major in me wants to do all the mechanics stuff perfectly. I also bought Matzo bread from Trader Joe's to show my kids and retell the Passover story from Exodus to them.

You are my strength when I am weak,
You are the Treasure that I seek,
You are my all in all.
Seeking You as a precious jewel,
Lord, to give up, I'd be a fool,
You are my all in all.

Jesus, Lamb of God,
Worthy is Your Name.
Jesus, Lamb of God,
Worthy is Your Name.

Taking my sin, my cross, my shame,
Rising again, I bless Your Name,
You are my all in all.
When I fall down, You pick me up,
When I am dry, You fill my cup,
You are my all in all.

Jesus, Lamb of God,
Worthy is Your Name.
Jesus, Lamb of God,
Worthy is Your Name.

We're still here

Months and months later, and we are still here :-). Much has happened since I last posted. We have moved! We are now living in the Bay Area of California. I miss Los Angeles terribly. . . but it has been nice to have more time here as we have been getting settled in. More time to spend as a nuclear family, quieter (for the most part) days, and still lots of scrumptious cheeks here to kiss. God is good :-).