Tea for Two

About 3 weeks ago, Brice and I had tea together. I am always having tea with my girlfriends, and I told Brice I'd like him to come with me sometime because it's so fun and tasty! He was very thoughtful and actually got me a gift certificate to The Tea Gardens for Valentine's Day and said it was for us to go together. What a guy! So, we went and enjoyed good food together. I was explaining to him that "tea" usually takes a minimum of 3 hours when I'm with girlfriends because it's really about the social gathering. He and I were done in about an hour. Ha! But, I didn't expect him to be my girlfriend...He's my husband! Thanks again babe for going with me to something I enjoy...You're the best hubby ever!

Last Bit of Showers...

Well, in the last few weeks, I was able to have 2 more showers. The first was hosted by my

Mom and Judy...however, Mom spent some time in the hospital up to the day before, and Judy was sick the day of the shower. So my best friends Renelle and Laina also stepped in to help. It was such a wonderful shower with mainly family. It was so nice and lovely. Thanks everyone!

Then, my sister and friend Laina hosted a shower with my friends. It was so cute with the jungle theme. Renelle decorated the cutest cake I've ever seen. It also was another lovely shower with some of my closest friends. I was so happy to enjoy such a wonderful afternoon! Thanks ladies for being such a blessing in my life!


I can't believe that I am less than 3 weeks away from my due date!!! I am getting so anxious and excited to see his little face. What will he look like?
When will he come? Will I be able to do it without drugs like I want?
Will everything go smoothly?
I want him to look just like Brice, but he wants him to look like me. Good thing we know God is in control of all! We can't wait! We'll keep you all posted!

Life as we know changing

Today was my last day at work before being out for maternity leave. Part of me is very excited to finally be able to breathe and rest...The other part is in limbo, as I don't know what my future holds. BUT, I do know that God knows, which gives me peace. Pray for both of us that we will trust God with our future, and rest in His peace.

Baby Shower (#1)

Thank you Stephanie and Renelle
for hosting such a wonderful joint choir shower for Amanda and I!

We are so blessed to have wonderful examples of godly mommies and grandmas in the choir. Everything about the shower was so wonderful! The food was so delicious, the games were fun, and the ladies were so generous in giving us such amazing gifts! It really touched me to know that some of the ladies from choir even took the time to prepare handmade items for my little sweet pea...It was so special to me. I shared with some of the ladies that I don't have any grandparents left in my family, and that I am so thankful to have a whole new set of family with the choir. Thank you, thank you, thank you! May God richly bless each of you!

Valentine's Weekend

I am so glad Brice and I were able to enjoy a relaxing weekend in San Diego for Valentine's Day!
Brice was singing in a men's quartet (which was incredible, by the way!) Sunday morning, so we left after church was over. We made great time, and arrived at my parent's timeshare in the afternoon. As you can see, the room was very nice. I even took a picture of the lamp for my sister, the bird-lover! Cute, huh?


Sunday night, Brice surprised me by taking me to a local playhouse. We were in the second row for the play "Love Song". It was a romantic comedy and was very well-done! It was super fun and we laughed out loud quite a bit!

For the rest of the trip, we just relaxed and watched Fireproof. Which, by the way, if you haven't seen, it is a must-see! It was quite lovely to have no plans for a couple days...Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us enjoy the timeshare one last time before Baby Boy comes into the world next month!

Love is in the Air

Happy Valentine's Day...
Brice, I am so glad we have so much fun together. I am blessed to be married to you! How I love you...Let me count the ways...I love you because:
1. You love God
2. You love me for me...whether I'm all dressed up, or at the house with no make up and my comfy pants: you still think I'm beautiful
3. You make me laugh
4. You have the most adorable dimples of anyone I've ever known
5. We can have so much fun doing everyday activities: making dinner, cleaning, watching tv, etc
6. I've known you for so many years
7. You're my best friend
8. You're really hot
9. You're creative
10. You're passionate
11. We can't stay mad at each other for more than a few minutes
12. You're the father of the baby in my belly
13. You are comforting to me when I'm sad or stressed
14. You help me keep a grounded perspective
15. You know me well
16. You have a great smile
17. You're adventurous
18. You aren't afraid to cry with me
19. You're athletic
20. You accept all people: you're not judgmental or "clicky"
21. You like animals
22. You are an amazing singer
23. You give good massages
24. You like sports...I love watching sports with you
25. You like being outdoors: camping, surfing, etc
Just to name a few...
Love you babe!

A VERY Busy January...

Well we started out the month with a happy new year at our good friends' Josh and Laina's house. Brice had to work and didn't get to their house until about 11:45. Josh, Laina, and I sat around, practically falling asleep, asking each other, "Is it midnight yet?" "Nope, it's only 9:30!" Well, I think we all realized we are finally there. Old.

Ahhhh the good old days are gone of hanging out in a filled house with young adults, wondering who we would be standing next to when the ball dropped! It is funny what change will come in only a few short years.

We also did our yearly tradition of seeing a movie at Grauman's Chinese Theater. This time we saw "Yes Man" with Jim Carrey. It was definitely laugh out loud funny! Before the flick we indulged ourselves at California Pizza Kitchen. (We're stoked about getting one here in Valencia soon!)



We also painted the nursery with the help of my loving dad, mom, and sis! Thanks guys for helping with this not-so-fun task! Your help means so much to this prego!

Meet the newest addition to our family: Chai. She is a sweet kitty who we adopted from our friends Ricky and Barrett. They had moved, and she needed a new home. We are so happy she's a part of our family now!

In addition to all this, we also enjoyed attending our friends wedding: James and Tinna we love you and are so glad we could be there on your big day! I was also able to enjoy 2 lovely teas: One with Renelle, Mom, Lindsay, and Bev, and the second with Mom, Renelle, Judy, and Jill for Judy's birthday. Happy Birthday my wanna-be-mom!

Lastly, Brice and I were able to enjoy a breathtaking day at the beach. We enjoyed breakfast at our favorite diner Pete's in Ventura. Then, we drove to Carpinteria for the remainder of the day. Oh how great it is to be with my sweet husband! We are trying to get "time for us" in as much as possible before baby boy comes in April...as we know it will be limited forever after that! We did some window shopping, and of course went to Rainbow Ice Cream Shop, where my ultimate favorite ice cream is...Kona Chip. It was an absolutely beautiful day and we really needed the breath of fresh air. Thank you God for giving us a glimpse of Your beauty!

We also enjoyed walking across the street from us and taking in the sights at Castaic Lake. It was very nice and relaxing. Thanks honey for a wonderful walk in the park!

Over and over we realize how blessed we are. We are given so much more than we deserve. "Thank you God for choosing to give us grace when we deserve death. Please continue to shower us with Your love as we enter into parenthood. Bless our son as you have blessed us so graciously!"

New Look

Question:
So...what do you think of our new look on our blog???

Check Out These Elves!

Click on the link below to enjoy an awesome Christmas thing...

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/0x2AhpPWoz2xez5CaZjc

It's A...

It's a Boy! We're super excited to be having a baby boy mid April. My due date keeps changing slightly, but now they say April 16th. So, I'm definitely over halfway! Yipppeee! We'll keep you posted...

2 Years and Counting...

Last week we celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary. To my surprise Brice had planned a one night little getaway in Santa Monica! It was super fun! Here's a picture of the view from our ocean-side hotel room. Also, Brice got me 2 dozen long stem red roses (representing our 2 years of marriage) that were delivered to our room. They were breathtaking! How romantic! The first day (last Monday) when we arrived, we walked the pier and of course 3rd Street. We relaxed, ate lunch, at checked into the hotel and got settled. I was even able to take a nap! :) Later in the evening we went to a wonderful restaurant...
Houston's. I ate the best steak I've ever had! It was a marinated in a Hawaiian sauce, then cooked to perfection along with some maple syrup sautéed carrots. Brice actually had a sushi & salad plate there, and it was also quite delectable.

If you're ever in the area, you should definitely eat there! Then...we were off to the movies. Madagascar 2 was light and cute!

The following day, we woke up, ate breakfast, did some shopping on 3rd street and ate lunch at no other than Bubba Gump's on the Pier!

Then, Brice had yet another surprise up his sleeve...








Ice Skating! It was fun. My balance isn't as good since I'm pregnant, so I had a death grip on Brice, as I didn't want to fall and hurt the baby. It was so enjoyable, and quite laughable too!

Then, it was off to Ventura to the Pierpont Inn, where we got hitched. This was the most wonderful part of the trip in my opinion. We were able to reminisce, and more importantly pray together...thanking God for two great years, and asking Him to protect our marriage for 5, 10, 50 years from now. We realize how easy it is to become relaxed in marriage, since we're doing well right now. We humbly asked God to preserve our love for each other, fueled my our love for Him; and to help us this next year, as life as we know will never be the same again. It won't be just the 2 of us anymore, and we want to keep us a priority too. We always welcome your prayers too!

Thank you Brice for a wonderfully planned overnighter! As I've already told you, it had a perfect balance between fun, rest, romance, and surprises! I am truly blessed to be married to such a wonderful man who loves God, and loves me despite my many imperfections! I love you!

Hey...Guess What?

Well, I guess it's official. I'm pregnant again! I am just over 12 weeks along! We're excited! God is so good to us to bless us with our little seasame seed. We've had 2 ultrasounds to far, and it's so cool. The first one was great, and we could see the heartbeat...and that's about it. It just looked like a bean. Then we went again only 2 weeks later, and it looked like a baby: arms, legs, eyes, nose, mouth, and all! It even waived at us a little bit. Wow! Renelle and Coley got to come and see it. Coley confused, was a little "I thought the baby's in Auntie's belly?" He didn't understand that it was a picture of the baby inside of me. Too cute! Praise God!

Yipppeeee!

Praise God!

We've been praying and believing that God will provide, and He did; just like he promises. Brice was just hired at Olive Garden. He had his second interview on this past Saturday, and started on Monday. He is training this week, and will probably start serving tables next week.

We are so grateful to see God's hand in our lives!

Weekend Getaway...

A couple weeks ago, Brice and I were able to getaway to Big Bear for a couple nights. We enjoyed staying at the Best Western on Friday night, then stayed at my parent's timeshare on Saturday. We really liked doing absolutely nothing! We just dinked around town, window shopped, and of
course ate breakfast at the famous Grizzly Manor. They have the biggest pancakes you will ever see! If you're ever in the area, you've got to try it, but be ready to wait a while for a table! Thanks Mom and Dad for making it possible for us to chill and enjoy each other's company in God's beautiful creation. Until I write again...

Good thing GOD is in control!

Well...

The Lord has thrown us a bit of a curve ball. Brice was very unexpectedly laid off from work yesterday. As he worked for Camping World (which should be called RV World), business was very slow due to the decrease in the economy, and the climb in gas prices. Brice's supervisors were very upset to have to lay him off, but were forced by corporate to do so.

We were in a lot of shock to hear of the news that yesterday. But, we got on our knees before God and asked him to direct our path, and lead Brice. The good news is that Brice is taking the CPAT (Physical Agility Test) in less than 2 weeks and after that, he can apply for the Fire Department. So, we'll see what the Lord does. We have a peace that God is in control, and he knows our future. Pray that we will stay focused on that truth!

Happy July!

Hello There!
I'm trying to get better about posting more often...
We'll see how I do. I've included some pictures of our 4th of July day at Santa Barbara. Renelle, Coley, Jamie, Brice and I spent the day in BEA-Utiful Santa Barbara. We had so much fun. I've been trying to get my family to come for years, as this is Brice and my 6th year of the tradition! We really enjoyed relaxing and hanging out down there...and not to mention awesome fireworks. Sadly, the music started skipping in the middle of the fireworks presentation, so they stopped in the middle. But, it was all still worth it for sure. We are all so lucky and blessed to live in such a wonderful country in which we can worship our Lord freely, and have so many unnecessary blessings daily. Thank you Lord!
We enjoyed each other's company, rented a surrey-style bike, had a picnic, laughed, played volleyball, and even met up with our good friends: The Lively's!

Aside from the 4th, Brice and I are doing pretty well...all things considered. We have much to be thankful about, and are trying to stay focused on the truth that God desires good for us, and that He knows our future. With our recent miscarriage, God has really given us comfort in our time of pain. HE has also allowed us to grow together in ways we wouldn't have if it didn't happen. So, thank you Lord for this trial, as it causes us to learn more about your character and the love we are so blessed to share. Thank you also for those that have also loved and cared for us during this trial. We love you all! :)