I love getting these love notes. They make my heart smile. So if you are having a tough day, remember,
You are the dest!

Several weeks ago LittleZabba and I went with Auntie to Pretend City. We had a great time. The kids can really pretend to be so many things; a farmer, doctor, waitress, grocery store clerk, even a dancer. It was so fun to see LittleZabba run from room to room with her eyes so filled with excitement. If it wasn’t so far away we would definitely visit Pretend City more often. Thanks Auntie for the invite!

It all seems so odd. Are they really leaving? Is this really the end of an era? Indeed it is true. This week we had our last dinner together as a California family. ShaSha and Papa will be driving out of California early Sunday morning. The last few days have been filled with sorting, packing and tossing. I will miss so many things; the spontaneous get togethers, the holiday meals, overnights, Easter shopping, sitting in the back yard chatting…so many things. But there is much to look forward to; exploring a new house with a much larger yard, cross country trips, visiting east coast places…and so much more.

Safe travels to you Papa & ShaSha. There will always be a bed here for you. Come visit often. You can even use us as a stop over on your way to the Big Island. Love you bunches!!

Smile and have a happy day!

Last Sunday was the race for World Vision. My running buddy and I got up super early and made our way down to Venice. We made a tentative goal to try to finish the race in 2 hours 15 minutes. We both thought that was not a very realistic goal, but we thought we would give it a try. At 7:13am we were off. The course was very straight forward, a simple out and back. It really wasn’t very scenic…running down Venice Blvd. to the 10 freeway, turn around and come back. We started out entirely too fast, which tends to happen with race day adrenaline and all, but by mile 6 we were both feeling like the race should be over. My running friend, who is the ever present cheerleader, encouraged us along the remaining 7 miles. We finished strong, at only one minute over our goal time.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to World Vision for the race. I am so grateful that I was able to do something fun as well as support a very worthy cause. Many children and families in Africa will now have clean water thanks to your support.

Family is such a precious part of life. I love spending time with my family. We could be cleaning the garage, cooking, shopping, or eating…we love being together. The past month has brought change in my family, with the death of my grandmother, and the next few weeks will bring even more change with my parents moving to Virginia. The days of spontaneous lunch dates, overnights, and shopping trips will be done. Our time together will have to be planned and scheduled. I can’t even imagine what this will be like for us. I have never lived more than 50 miles from my parents, and now they will be 2,649 miles away from me. Good thing we have a good phone plan!!

Change doesn’t have to be bad. This move will bring about new opportunities for my parents as well as new vacation ideas for us. We will be able to take the kids to Williamsburg, Washington, D.C., Jamestown..and many other East Coast places. We may even take our first cross country road trip. If BigZabba has her way she will convince Papa & ShaSha to get horses or chickens!

In the next few weeks they will be packing up their house, and beginning the next season of life. Things will be different, but no matter what we will still be family.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours. May your New Year be fun, safe and full of joy!

Today was our celebration service for Mommom. It was a joyous, emotional day. So many conflicting emotions made the day exhausting. It was wonderful to have our family participate in the service in so many ways. The girls and I read Psalm 91, Sister sang two beautiful songs, Papa shared stories from her life and her legacy, ShaSha played the piano and shared her own thoughts, DZ took care of all the technical aspects of the day; making the program, the video and slides. It was a wonderful tribute to her.

It was also amazing to see how many people came to her service. With it being so close to Christmas and the busyness of this time of year it was a testimony to how many lives she touched in her 88 years with us. She will be remembered, the stories will be told for years to come, and her legacy lives on.

We love you Mommom.

This weekend we celebrated LittleZabba’s birthday. We had her party at the gym where the girls take gymnastics. It was such a fun party. It was so fun to see all the kids having fun and truly enjoying themselves. I think we took nearly 3.5 gigs of footage during the 2 hour party. It is a very well documented evening!

Here are some photos from the night. Enjoy!

I like to read celebrity blogs, I will admit it. Today as I was scanning the posts I came across an article about a couple who are divorcing. The wife is upset because she feels her soon to be ex-husband is cutting her off and she is “unable to buy basic necessities.” She cites:

$11,942 to cover her mortgage, $4,000 for eating out, $3,000 for clothes, $1,500 for child care, $750 for Pilates and another $750 for massages and facials, among other needs.

These are monthly amounts. $3000 per month on clothes?! Nearly $12,000 for her mortgage?! Massages and facials, among other needs?! I am so far removed from this style of living that it is difficult to even comprehend having the ability to spend that kind of money every month, let alone being at a place where you call a massage and/or facial a need. I am lucky if I get a massage once a year.

I can imagine that it would be a challenge to change your lifestyle if you have grown accustomed to those activities, but calling Pilates and facials “needs” seems a bit extreme.