attack of the pumpkins

pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere...fall is definitely in the air!
raise your hand if you liked my cheesy rhyme! i'm thinking of becoming a poet in my spare time...lol. seriously though...the pumpkins have arrived...seemingly overnight! literally...they weren't there yesterday but today, at every roadside stand we passed on our drive to and from the doctor's office was piled high with the bright orange things. the pumpkins fairies must have been busy last night.
other evidence that fall is here? it's almost 11 o'clock in the morning and it's not even 70 degrees yet. lovely! winter is on it's way and i can't wait...

so...

i'm just sitting here chilling...it's about 9.30 on monday night. normally i'd be watching csi:miami with john right about now...but he's not home and i don't like watching csi without him. they tend to give me creepy dreams. although lately i've been having all sorts of weird dreams...i blame it on the pregnancy...but who knows? it might just be something else entirely.

this past saturday my friend shannon had her baby...little noah robert. i was thankfully able to be there for the birth and i got to see him about an hour after he was born. so sweet! it's so amazing to see them when they're only hours old...knowing where they just came from! of course it got me thinking about little elijah's coming...especially since eli will be born in the same hospital that noah was. it's a really nice hospital...as far as hospitals go. i told john that we are definitely bringing warm blankets from home since it's freezing in there. poor shannon had about a zillion piled on top of her and she was still cold. i'm sure some of that had to do with the hormones and the epidural she had...but still...i had goosebumps and i wasn't under any of those conditions. anyways...i digress.

(did i mention he has a TON of hair? lol...he is definitely a little monkey! too cute...)

anyways...not much else is new here in cali-land. i'm sure most of you have heard by now that i'm not going to school this semester. turns out that if i was going to take the classes i had originally planned on i would need about $6000 worth of new equipment. brand new computer (a mac to replace this pc), software for the new computer (adobe photoshop is NOT cheap...even with student discounts), lighting equipment, new printer, etc. etc. etc. so...after much deliberating and discussion and prayer...john and i decided it would be best to wait til spring semester to take those classes. now we have a few months to save up our pennies and purchase the equipment bit by bit instead all in one big gulp. to be honest...i'm a little bummed just because this semester was my last chance to do school without little ones in my life...but it's turned out for the best. i'm not nearly as stressed out as i would have been which is good since i've been feeling a bit crummy lately. nothing major...but i think i've had a teeny flu bug for the past few days. plus without school assignments clogging up my schedule i'm able to work on all the "fun stuff" i want to get done before baby makes his entrance...like scrapping, knitting, cleaning the house...etc. so even though this means i'll be in school even longer (will i EVER finish?)...it's turning out to be a good decision.

welp...my hubby just got home...so i'm off to warm up his dinner. hope all is well in the land of wherever you are...

the unofficial end to summer...

so. labor day has come and gone...the unofficial end to summer. it's certainly about time. even though there will be several more weeks of summer-like weather...at least the end is in sight. the cool breezes in the evening are so refreshing! i'm looking forward to falling asleep to the sound of the rain...waking up to the sound of the rain...sweaters and scarves and socks and snuggly blankets on the bed...being able to cook using the oven again...hot coffee (no more of this iced stuff!)...no more AC!...being able to listen to christmas music without feeling guilty about it.......oh i'm sure there's more. i just can't wait til this oppressive heat of summer is gone and is replaced by the crisp air of fall and winter. if i can't have snow...at least i can have crisp air.
school starts tomorrow. i kinda just wanna get it over with. 15 credits. which really isn't that much except that i'm gonna havta have everything finished a month early due to this little one growing inside me. he can't stay in there forever...and my due date is three weeks before the semester ends. so yeah...i guess it's a good thing i'm pretty self-motivated and that all but one of my classes are photo classes. it's a lot easier for me to be motivated to get behind my viewfinder and be creative with my camera than it is for me to get excited about writing compare and contrast essays for my art history class. not that i need an excuse to get behind my camera...but it will be nice to be required to push myself creatively...not so much for the grade (although those A's are certainly nice) but just for my own growth as an artist. it's so easy to just sit back and rely on what worked in the past rather than push through the sometimes frustrating creative process. so yeah...here's hoping for a uber-creative semester. one of the classes i'm taking is people photography...so if anyone wants to come be my model...let me know. i'm always looking for fresh, willing faces...

brothers and sisters and silly kitties

so yeah. i'm kinda depressed. my brother peter and his way cool wife erin just left my house this morning on the last leg of their almost cross-country journey to kansas city. they got here sunday evening and we had a great two full days of uninterrupted hangout time...so wonderful! i forgot how funny my brother really is. quite the silly boy. we had lots of great laughs reminising about our childhood memories. mostly we were laughing at memories that involved our youngest brother luke...laughing at someone else's expense when they're not there to defend themselves is a rather good time. :D but yeah...they left me this morning...to venture off into the unknown land of the MIDWEST. i'm not so sure about that. hopefully they'll make it there in one piece...with no major mishaps and without going too crazy. nani (their very cute kitty) might be scarred for life...but i hope they're not. ha! poor nani doesn't like car travel very much. but...she LOVED the stairs in our house. she'd never seen them before venturing into our house...but once she got over her initial apprehension...she had a great time running up and down and getting her paws all tangled up together. who knew a cat was such cheap entertainment? too bad john has no tolerance for the cuddly creatures. *sigh* oh well...maybe i can get a fish. it's just not quite the same.
well...hopefully i'll get some pics of p&e's slightly silly visit posted soon. until then...YAY for brothers and sisters!
here's some pics...

cool song of the mo...

Live
(Nichole Nordeman, Jay Joyce)

Did you come that we might just survive?
Did you come so we could just get by?
Did you walk among us
So we might merely limp along beside?

I was bound, I have been set free
But I have settled for apathy
Did you come to make me new
And know Id crawl right back into the skin you found me in?

Its where I am, not where Ive been

You make me want to live
You make me want to live
You came to shake us
And to wake us up to something more
Than wed always settled for
And you make me want to live

Weve all been up on the mountain top
A golden glow thats bound to soon wear off
Then its back to the mundane telling tales of glory days
When we were hopeful that this change was here to stay

So why would a young man
Live in a waste land
When the castle of his dreams is standing by?
Why would a princess
Put on an old dress
To dance with her beloved and a chance to catch his eye?

bellybuttons, little boys and big bellys...

i made a startling discovery today. i have a little mole/skin tag in my bellybutton! after twenty-five years of not knowing what the depths of my endless pit of an "innie" actually contained (kinda gross thought...i know...) i finally know! it took being pregnant to stretch it out enough so i could actually see inside. my pregnant friend (who's due in september) says i'd better enjoy it since i'm not gonna be able to see it much longer...which is ok by me...cuz really...i don't need to know what's in my bellybutton.

we found out last week that i have a little boy growing inside me! little elijah jonathon. i was actually a little surprized...i really was expecting a it to be a girl!...almost to the point of betting on it. not that i have anything against boys...i just felt like the little flutters inside me were coming from a girl. my pregnancy's been so different from everyone else's that's expecting a boy...that and i'm still barely showing and it seems like everyone else got super huge super fast! just goes to show that those old wives tales really are just that...fiction!

it's so funny how many people are pregnant with boys! me, my friends shannon and wendy and two of john's cousins...there's probably more that i'm forgetting. our little elijah certainly won't be lacking in the friends department! i pray that our little guy will be a strong spiritual leader of all his little buddies.

now that i know we're having a boy...i find myself thinking about what he'll be like. i suppose that's only natural and that every parent wonders about things like that but i can't help wondering whether he'll be like his dad: strong and independent but with a hidden soft and cuddly side or if he'll be more like me: slightly introverted and shy but with a hidden kooky and silly side or will he be a mixture of the two? a most of all...what on earth is he gonna look like? some couples you can just look at them and predict what their kids will look like down to the dimples but when you start off with parents that are so completely different to begin with like me and john...who knows what you'll end up with! he could have dark skin like john or super light skin like me or have a permanent tan...he could have brown eyes like john or blue eyes like mine...his hair could come out light or dark, straight or curly, thick or thin. most likely he'll be short and his hair won't grow in for a while but just because john and i both share those characteristics doesn't mean our children will. what a fun surprize it will be to see him for the first time! especially to examine him from head to toe figuring out which specific character trait or facial feature came from which parent.

i'm definitely starting to feel more pregnant these days. most of my "normal" shirts aren't long enough to cover my belly (or the lovely elastic of my maternity pants) any more. i'm already tired of my limited selection of maternity shirts so i'm having to get pretty creative with my clothes. i suppose it could be worse though...i could have to wear those awful maternity clothes my mother was forced to wear! i'm still pretty ok when it comes to sleeping...thankfully (i'm trying to enjoy it while i can!)...i only get truly uncomfortable when my uterus is stretching out to accomodate my rapidly growing child. i swear my belly gets bigger every day! he's moving around a lot more too...or at least i can feel his movements a lot more. john still can't feel them very well since they're more like ticklings and flutters than actual kicks. he always seems to wake up around bedtime...maybe because he knows it's storytime! i'm reading the chronicles of narnia to him every night...

my mom just sent me a box of baby clothes and books last week. YAY for fun packages from my super fun mummy! and as i was taking the tags off and getting ready to wash them (they're so little and cute!)...i started thinking about holding little elijah in my arms...him all cuddled up in the yellow ducky shirt i was holding in my hands and i dunno...i almost couldn't believe that it was actually happening. me...having a baby? a little son? it seems so impossible. so surreal. that the little flutters and touches inside me are really coming from a human being that will soon come into the world so fresh and new completely blows my mind.

we finally have some baby furniture in the nursery...the changing table is here! it looks so good in there...i can't wait to get the rest of the pieces to go with it. now that we know a little boy is gonna be living in that room i'm getting really excited to start decorating. i've already decided on a theme (moons and stars "winken, blinken and nod" style) so i've already got plenty of ideas...probably more than i can actually do. i registered at pottery barn kids for some of the things i want in there...but most of the other stuff i'm hoping to find at antique stores and re-finish. hopefully i can convince luke to do some artwork to hang on the walls. i've picked out some pages from "winken, blinken and nod" that i'd love to see what he could do with...but i suppose i should ask him first before i too excited about it. (so luke...whatd'ya think?) i heard a kendall payne song the other day and thought some of the lyrics would be cool to write out and hang on the nursery wall but now i'm thinking that they're a bit too heavy for a baby's room. maybe i'll hang them in the guest room (since it desperately needs something on the walls) or maybe up in the master bedroom. here's the lyrics in their entirety...the song's called "ups and downs"...

all that i've found through the ups and downs
is that i'd have it no other way
life in the raw is both fragile and strong
it's both lovely and ugly the same
who can attest that when they're at their best
their worst is still crouching close behind
it's coming to peace with the darkness in me
that allows the true light inside to shine

*so let it go for we are still far from home
though you try and you try to escape
to live and to love will always be dangerous
but it's better than playing it safe*

we are all composed of a symphony of notes
every life is as music to His ears
i'll play my melody be it haunting, be it sweet
unashamed of what anyone might hear

*so when the load breaks your back and your will
you must still keep your heart in the game
to live and to love will always be dangerous
but it's better than playing it safe*

*so let it got when you don't feel like home
when inside is your only escape
to live and to love will always be dangerous
but would you want it any other way?*

the second line of the choruses (the *-ed ones) and the second verse are the parts i really like. i think i just liked the idea of our lives being like music to God and that each life is a separate symphony written specifically to glorify Him. maybe i can still work that into something i end up hanging on the nursery walls.

going back to the prevelence of my belly...it really is starting to make itself known by getting in the way. someone even said at church yesterday that i'm starting to have the "pregnant lady waddle". lovely. i thought that didn't come til the end! and my belly really seems to get in the way when i'm in the kitchen trying to reach something up on the higher shelves. either i'm gonna have to continually climb on the counter to get what i need or to put the dishes away (which i'm sure will get progressively harder as i get bigger) or i'll havta go out and buy a little step-stool that i can leave out and not trip over all the time. anyone who's actually been in our kitchen probably wonders how we've lastest this long without a little stool since the cabinets are so tall but john doesn't want one in there cuz he's afraid of stubbing his toe when he's too lazy to turn on the lights. silly boy...

i'm going with my friend shannon to register at babies r us tomorrow. i'm really getting overwhlemed at the sheer amount of stuff we need to get to properly outfit this baby! who knew something so small needed such a large amount of stuff? i've been given an assignment for tonight...i need to figure out the bigger stuff (ie stroller, play-pen, etc.) that we'll need and then i have to go online and read reviews of the different products so i have a better idea which ones i want to register for. shannon says it'll make the registering process go a lot faster. she should know since she just did it a couple months ago. should be interesting anyways...and since i've got nothing better to do right now...i might as well get started on that.

old maid, outhouses and other such nonsense

so...right now i'm listening to my husband play old maid with his niece and nephew downstairs...except it's the alaskan version of old maid so they keep laughing at the old maid card which is actually an outhouse. it's getting rather silly down there. they start school on thursday (why thursday? and why so early? who decides these things anyways?) so john and i are trying to get their minds off the impending doom. i took them to the movies earlier...now it's john's turn to entertain. HA...just kidding. actually i was playing mancala with jackie until the dryer clicked off...so now...instead of folding the increasingly wrinkled pile of clothes beside me i'm writing to my blog. typical.
life here in cali is pretty good. it's cooled down about twenty degrees so i'm a happier camper in that respect. plus...we just bought a BRAND NEW CAR!!! woohoo! we needed a bigger vehicle since we'll be carseat toting parents here pretty soon...and after much research we finally took the plunge and bought a 2006 subaru tribeca. for some reason john wanted the suped-up model...so now we are the pround owners of a car with a dvd player in the back. i never thought i'd be one of those people that had a dvd player in their car...they just seem a big frivilous to me...but oh well. they'll be nice for long trips. and i am glad for the navigation system. with my sense of direction...of lack thereof...it will certainly help me out. i'm gonna take some pics tomorrow so everyone can drool over it. :D

so until then...i'll leave you here while i go fold the clothes...finally.

there is nothing worse...

...than being sick in the summertime.

ugh. i've been infected with a lovely cold-thingy and all i want to do is cuddle up in bed with a thousand blankets and a nice, hot, steaming bowl of soup. but the whole "it's a thousand degrees outside" thing makes that a little unbearable. grr...oh well...i guess i can think of worse things in life.

just had another doctor appointment on monday. we got to hear the heartbeat again...it's so fast! plus...we also found out that we're getting another ultrasound on the 1st of august! so...if the baby's not feeling modest...we'll find out if it's a boy or a girl! YAY! we're both excited about that...

not much else is going on lately...i just got back from a rad worship conference last week and i'm totally gonna blog about it...but i'm still working through everything that was said. so...i guess everyone can look forward to that... :D

laters skaters...

things i'm thankful for...in no particular order

i'm thankful for...

~brothers and sisters
~air conditioning!
~my husband
~my ipod
~clean sheets
~francine rivers
~feeling the baby move
~cool nights with the windows open
~bethany dillon's song "beautiful"
~frozen lazagne that cooks in under an hour
~baby stuff!
~scrapbooking mags that inspire me to create
~re-discovering old cds that i love
~an organized desk
~target
~walks in the mornings when it's still cool outside
~my new brownie camera
~better than 20/20 vision
~my husband's hugs
~memories
~dinners with friends
~kitties! (i miss nani...)
~mutts comic strip (it never ceases to make me smile!)
~a beautiful house
~my brown maternity cargos
~jamba juice
~jack johnson
~argyle socks (seriously!)

the dog days of summer

well...summer has offically hit central california. the high today? oh...just a balmy 99 degrees...should be LOVELY. *sigh* i'm seriously melting. thankfully john's sister has a pool...i've been frequenting it quite often. the cool water does provide a bit of a reprive.

on the baby-front...the baby's doing good. after a slightly rocky first trimester...i have offically entered the "feel good" trimester. i still haven't quite got the "feel good" part of it yet...but i'm confident that they're just around the corner. thankfully...most of my nausea is gone...but i'm still dog-tired all the time. even a half-hour walk requires a two hour recovery period (read: naptime!). i'm trying to be healthy and exercise...but it's pretty hard when i can't swim more than a few laps at a time. oh well...along with feeling better i'm supposed to be gettting more energy too. i'll keep my eye out for the ups man to drop that energy by... ;)

anyways...not much else is going on in the anaya household. i'm headed to washington for peter and erin's graduation in a few days (just a little bit embarrassed that my little brother is graduating before me...*sigh*). i'm so looking forward to it! not only will i get a brief break from the oven down here but i get to hang out with my way-cool little bro and sis-in-law, my parents and one of my best friends! after the grad...i'm heading to canada to visit with a really good friend of mine for a few days. i can't wait! :)

welp...i hope everyone's first week of june is going swell..."talk" to you later! :D

I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M GOING TO BE A MOMMY!

kinda crazy.

semi-offical due date: 7 december 2006 (praying it's earlier cuz i wouldn't wish a december birthday on anyone...especially my own child! lol...)

i'm 4-6 weeks along...so not very far...but my first "official" doc appointment in on the 28th of april...so we'll know more then!

me? infused with holy? nah...

so i've been thinking a lot lately about the whole "being made in God's image" thing. chris rice started it with his song "the final move" (love it!)

...molecules and men infused with holy...finding our way around the galaxy...

infused with holy...hmmm. makes me wonder how my life is changed by that fact...conviction much? *sigh*

so my english prof says i've got the "juice" (his word...not mine) to be a novelist. i'm not sure what to do with that. should i be thrilled or terrified? i'm leaning towards the latter. so what if i can write? it seems like it's just one more thing i can fail at...one more opportunity for people to critisize me...one more thing...it's always one more thing. just like with my photography stuff...i'm so stuck in a creative rut right now. it's like i'm afraid to be creative because i'm scared people will laugh at my pathetic attempt at creativity. what if they think i suck?

WHEN WILL THE INSECURITIES END?????

i almost feel like my camera's gonna jump up and start praising God (the rocks will cry out...) because i'm doing such an apathetic job of it right now. i'm supposed to use my talent for God's glory...so why do i feel like i don't have any??????

"i have a song...
so let the earth sing along
cuz i just wanna praise You"

just one of those days i guess...

mexico...

k...i promised a week ago that i'd write about mexico...and here it is. i'm finally getting around to it. what an awesome experience! first of all...what a blessing to be able to take off for an entire month! that was totally God right there. we spent the first two and a half weeks in a little town called tangancicuaro (don't even think about asking me how to pronounce that...) and the second half in cancun. john's parents grew up there in tangancicuaro...and it's right in the middle of the state of michocan. they still have a house there...so that's where we stayed. absolutely beautiful! it was the REAL mexico. none of this touristy beach town stuff that i'd come to associate with cancun and other coastal mexican cities. we walked to the market everyday to buy our groceries for the day...we'd get this juice...MAN! it was a hundred times better than jamba juice. everything fresh...blended up before your eyes and then the funnest part...they gave it to you in a plastic bag with a straw instead of a cup! so fun...i miss that juice. anyways...we did a ton of stuff while we were there...went to a bunch of different towns...most of which i'm sure you've never heard of since i'd never heard of them before i visited them. they were tiny and unique and so very mexican. i picked up a lot of spanish while i was there...i can almost get around by myself without john as a translator. i can't barter or haggle with the sales people yet...but i get the basic jist. oh man...i wish i could tell you about all the fun experiences we had while we were there...but your eyes would probably fall out before you finished reading. so i'll just stick to the highlights. one of my favorite memories is of a little girl named katrina (almost like my name! but pronounced karina...without the T). her parents are friends of my inlaws...and we had dinner at their house one night...and they came over for dinner another night while we were there. katrina's about six years old...and beautiful! i think i uploaded a picture of her into my album...if not...i'll be sure to do that soon. (there's for sure one on my website) anyways...for some reason...she just fell in love with me! the only problem was...she doesn't speak english and my spanish is horrible. she just couldn't understand why i couldn't understand her all the time! i kinda turned it into a game...but really...it made me sad. cuz she wanted to share her secrets with me...but most of the time i had no idea what she was saying. well...when we go back...i'll be sure to know more spanish...that way we can chat all we want and make fun of the silly boys and all that fun stuff.
anyways...my parents flew down on the fifteenth...what a fun experience to share with them! hopefully we can do it again someday...then the four of us flew to cancun on the nineteenth. that time was spent mostly relaxing on the beach...such a hard life. ha! although one day we drove to this really cool ecopark thingy. i'm not exactly sure what to call it. it was kinda like a zoo in that it had wild animals...but it was also like a park cuz it had beaches to relax on and activities to do. there were also nightly shows about the mexican culture...those were killer! the first show we saw was a horse show...pretty cool. the second one was all about the myan culture...super interesting. they play this weird game that's kinda like soccer...except instead of using their feet to move the ball around...they use their hips. it's really cool to watch. then they played this field hockey like game...except there was no net...just a bowl of fire as a goal...and oh yeah...did i mention the ball was on fire? yeah...instead of a puck (like in hockey) they used a firey ball. and of course they don't wear shoes...yikes! then the final show of the evening was a performance showcasing all the different mexican states. that was fun to watch.
let's see...what else? my parents took off on the twenty-fourth and left john and i in cancun for another few days until the thirtieth. we celebrated our first anniversary in cancun...actually the whole vacation was kinda the celebration...so the actual day felt rather anti-climaxtic...but still. it was our one year anniversary for crying out loud. i can't believe it...it went by so darn fast!
probably the coolest thing about the whole vacation was the things that God taught me about Him and about me and my photography. it would take another novel to explain all the stuff He taught me in that month...so again...i'll just stick to the highlights...but really...it was an amazing God time. first of all...i took almost 3500 photos while i was there. whoa. that's a butt load of images. and that got me thinking about why i do what i do...just to have an incredible scrapbook or coffee-table-worthy photo album? nah...i realized that it goes so much deeper than that. i have this passion for great photos that i can't put out. and i don't know where God's gonna take me with this passion right yet...but i do know it's from Him and He's got some great plans for me and my passion. (compassion international...here i come! lol...) He also helped me realize that i do take good pictures. it may sound weird to some of you...but i'd never really thought my photos were anything special. they were just something i enjoyed doing...and if they got to the level above snapshot...well...wouldn't that be something. but God really got to my heart and let me know that He wants to do a lot more than that with it...and that i don't have to worry about whether or not i have talent or whether or not people even like my stuff. that's His job...all i have to do is show up...camera in hand. and that...i can do.
the other thing i wanted to share that God taught me came from a song...so of course i havta write the words here...(it's by nichole nordeman...of course)

did You come that we might just survive?
did You come so we could jsut get by?
did You walk among us so we might merely limp along beside?
i was bound, i have been set free
but i have settled for apathy
did You come to make me new
and know i'd crawl right back into the skin You found me in?
it's where i am, not where i've been

You make me want to live
You make me want to live
You came to shake us and to wake us up to something more
than we'd always settled for
and You make me want to live...

we've all been up on the mountain top
a golden glow that's bound to soon wear off
then it's back to the mundane telling tales of glory days
when we were hopeful that this change was here to stay
so why would a young man life in a waste land
when the castle of his dreams is standing by?
and why would a princess put on an old dress
to dance with her beloved and a chance to catch his eye?

You make me want to live
You make me want to live
You came to shake us and to wake us up to something more
than we'd always settled for
and You make me want to live...

i was wandering along the secluded beach humming that song to myself...not really paying attention to the words (or the fact that i was getting the sunburn of a lifetime...yike-o-la.) just watching for cool shells tucked away in the sand. it wasn't til i got on my hands and knees in the sand that the words started coming to me...it was like i was hearing them for the first time. and i realized three things. first of all...i realized that God knew about that moment before i was born...before the beginning of time even...He put those shells on that beach just for me to find. isn't that the coolest thought? i know God made everything for us to enjoy...but it was like i was touching something that i KNEW God had touched before...very powerful. secondly...i realized that the Christian life isn't about always being on an "emotional high". i've always known that intellectually...but my heart that was feeling so barren and dry finally got it on that beach in cancun. my heart understood that just because i couldn't feel God didn't mean that He wasn't there walking beside me on that beach (with sunscreen on most likely...heh...no sunburn for Him). so what that my Christian walk felt like back to back monday mornings...He was still there with me. what a comforting thought! and finally...the last thing i discovered while i was getting burnt to a crisp on that stretch of beach is that while there were plenty of beautiful, whole shells scattered around my feet (courtesy of hurricane wilma)...i was mostly attracted to the broken ones. the broken ones had more character...you could see their insides (which were often times really bright beautiful colors)...the whole shells...the "perfect" ones just weren't as attractive to me...and that got me thinking. that's kinda how God sees us. we're no where near perfect...often times as far from perfect as possible...yet He created us...and He finds us so unbelievably beautiful we take His breath away. another comforting thought...God doesn't expect me to be perfect...He knows i'm not. He doesn't want perfection...He just wants a willing vessel. mmmhhh...thank you Father for that beautiful time on that little beach! despite the sunburn...it was amazing experiencing God in the process of finding my twenty pounds of shells (literally...it's quite ridiculous...but so very fun at the same time...)
anyways...this is getting really long...i didn't mean to get so carried away. sorry about that. give a call if you'd like to chat more about mexico...or check out my pictures on my website. don't worry...i didn't post all 3500 of them...although i thought about it. haha...just kidding. (here's the url again since so many people seem to be having trouble with it lately...www.betterphoto.com?kayti7. no spaces!)

my heart is dismayed...

and this is why...spring is here. waaaaahhhhh! that means summer isn't too far off...and for those of you who don't know...i simply cannot handle the summers here. 103 in the shade? um...no thank you.
it's been crazy warm here...it was almost 70 degrees yesterday! the almond trees are blossoming and you'll never guess what i saw in a nearby pasture yesterday...lambs! oh...they were so cute with their little knobby knees that could barely hold their bodies up! but still...i felt a little twinge of sadness as i watched them play...cuz i know spring never lasts long enough and then all of a sudden...it's summer and i'm sweating. ugh.

i won!

k...this may seem silly to some or maybe even most of you...but that's ok. i have to share my excitement!
you know those mini handheld poker games? well...my mom got john one for his birthday last year...and it's been sitting on the back of the toilet since then...for you know...to help pass the time when you're sitting. heh. anyways...i was playing it earlier today and i beat the game! i know you can't really beat a handheld computer game...but i got the ultimate...a royal flush! i didn't even think that was possible. haha...that's 5000 points! so...now i can't ever play it again...cuz i don't want to ruin my super high score. hmm...guess i'd better go buy another one. heh...

welp...we're home.

doesn't that just say it all?

huh. wow. it's weird to be home after being gone for a month. everything looks different...but the not at the same time. even my kitchen seems bigger to me (ugh. more to clean...)

so i'm completely overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done around here...the fridge is completely empty (except for a couple wrinkled apples...and some mustard. yum?)...the laundry is attempting mutiny with plans to take over our bedroom...there's sand in the suitcases...i have worship practice tonight...school started yesterday and i'm already behind...i have over 1,000 pictures (the number is shockingly closer to 2000) to upload onto my computer and work on...sigh...and here i sit...writing to my blog. not surprising i suppose. oh well...there's always tomorrow right? heh.

anyways...i have so much to share about my month in mexico...but i really do need to get started on stuff around here. maybe tonight when things settle down i'll post another blog...

hope everyone's january was splendid!

oh...and for those of you who requested postcard (and for a few of you who didn't)...they're on their way. the whole $.39 stamp (and the fact that they cost almost a $1.50 to send from mexico) thing kinda threw the whole thing off...so...sorry they're a tad late. better late than never eh?

i'm off to see the wizard...

well...the day has arrived...a bit wet and windy...but it's here nevertheless...we're leaving for mexico!!! YAY!

technically we don't leave the country til tomorrow...but one of john's friends is coming out to pick us up in a few hours and we'll spend the night in the bay area since we havta be at the airport so bloody early.

so. we'll be gone til the 30th of january. i'm not sure how much access we'll have to the internet...but we're taking john's computer and maybe i'll pop into a few internet cafes if i get a chance.

looking forward to taking some awesome pics!

if you want a postcard from us...post your address in the reply section of this blog...

have a great january!

happy new year!

yikes! only three days til john and i leave for mexico! how crazy is that?

for those of you who don't know...john and i are taking a very extended vacation to mexico for the month of january. yes...you read that right. the entire month! kinda crazy i know...but no one ever accused us of being boring and typical right? heh. i guess when we planned this vacation we didn't really think about how long a month really is...i mean a TON of stuff goes on in a month! hello...who's gonna pay the bills? get the mail? pick up the paper? take out the trash? (well...since we're not home i guess there won't be any trash to take out...but that's besides the point). plus i have the christmas present for my brother and his wife that i've been trying to finish for about a month that i really need to get in the mail before we leave...but i'm not sure the post office is even open on monday! yikes...guess i'd better find that out.

so. it's new year's eve. anybody got any big plans? john and i are headed over to some friends house for a little shindig...the boys just wanted an excuse to play poker i think...not quite sure what the girls are gonna do. oh well. i can't stay very long anyways since i havta be at church early on sunday morning. i'm singing in the worship service. thankfully...the pastors decided to just have one service (thanks pastor mike!) at 10.45am...so instead of having to be at church at 6.30am...i don't havta be there until 8.30am! yay! so i guess i can stay up to ring in the new year...shout HAPPY 2006! and then head to bed. that's sounds like a good plan...

anyways...i'm totally wasting time here. i've got to get packing!

have a safe and fun new year's eve celebration!!!

the saddest day of the year...

today is officially the saddest day of the year...i'm putting away christmas decorations! waaaaaahhhhh! even the sky is crying with me...it's raining cats and dogs at the moment. the house just seems so bare and empty without the festive fun christmas decorations bring. i get so sad putting away the ornaments we got this year...the month of december just went by way too fast!

anyways...i've gotta get back to it...i was just taking a quick break from all the melancholy-ness around here...

bethlehem town...

wow...christmas is over. so much anticipation for a day that comes so slowly but ends so quickly. i'm working on putting all our christmas decorations away over the next couple days...i've gotta get them all taken down before john and i head to mexico. we leave on the third...so i have a few more days. it's so sad putting all the decorations away...knowing a whole 'nother year will go by until i see them again. the house seems so empty now...

but anyways...i was listening to one of my favorite christmas cds one last time before i put it away last night (although they never really go away since i do have a terrible habit of listening to my christmas music year round...haha!)...and i wanted to share the lyrics to one of the songs on it with you...it's by jars of clay (of course it is!)...and it's called bethlehem town...

oh mary, joseph, rest your eyes/try not to think of the ending/world full of empty, He will die/but tonight He is still just a child.

the silent night drifts all away/and the angels are dancing around you/there's the joy of knowing He'll save the world/overshadowing the pain that He'll go through

have you cursed at the wind?/have you cried to the heavens?/have you fought with this mercy you don't understand?/when the wise men kneel down/to kiss the hand of this king they found/in bethlehem town...

will you hold back the years awhile?/will you dream that this man could always be a child/and never carry the weight/of the dirt and the distance and the company we keep?/and did the stars shine much brighter that night/"you gave birth to the death that would bring us to life?"/and did the mystery keep you awake?/or was the sound of His little heart too much to take?

oh...i don't understand/when the wise men kneel down/to kiss the hand of this king they found...

have you cursed at the wind?/have you cried to the heavens?/have you fought with this mercy you don't understand?/when the wise men kneel down/to kiss the hand of this king they found/in bethlehem town...

i love that line in quotes..."you gave birth to the death that would bring us to life..." hmmm...wow. what a bittersweet experience mary and joseph had. i wonder if they knew what was gonna happen...or if they just tried not to think about it...or if they ever shook their fist at God and asked why???? did they understand? i can't wait to get to heaven and ask mary all about it.......