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Sonoma with Heidi part deux

Mar 24th, 2015 by

A few years ago, my gal pal Heidi and I, went on a girls trip to Napa and Sonoma.  She ended up sick with gallbladder issues and I broke out into a terrible case of hives.  We joked about having a “do over”.

Well, the time came and we were able to do Sonoma over.  It was fabulous!

The weather was perfect.  Not too hot or too cold.  First stop t Gloria Ferrer

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We popped across the street to Jacuzzi Family Vineyards.  They were hosting an olive festival and it was pretty busy, but not too crowded.  We enjoyed looking at the art work, and sampling olives, vinegars, and wines. image image image

We checked into our townhouse. It is a perfect space located a few blocks from Sonoma Plaza.  Easy walking distance.  You can see the property here: http://www.vrbo.com/563004

We walked through Sonoma Plaza and visited a few of the tasting rooms.  It was Valentine’s Day and we ended up having a very late dinner at Cafe La Haye http://cafelahaye.com

The next day, we shopped Sonoma Plaza, then visited the wineries Cline, Viansa, and Domaine Carneros. It was the perfect “do over” with a good friend.

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Date Night with ‘A’

Feb 11th, 2015 by

This is long overdue.  We finally set aside time to spend with each of our boys.  David took ‘R’ to a Brazilian Steak house, and I took ‘A’ to La Provence, a French restaurant.

We both dressed up and made reservations.  ‘A’ was quite the gentleman, holding the door open for me, pulling out my seat, taking my coat. We covered table etiquette in a nice restaurant and talked about the different forks and when to use what.  It was cute to witness his reaction when I said that if the waitstaff does their job well, they will take the fork we used for our appetizer and replace it with another fork for our salads.  The waitress did exactly that, and ‘A’ stated, “wow, mom, she is doing her job well!”

He tried escargot for the first time.  They had been removed from their shells and sauteed in a garlic and oil base, with mushrooms.  Served over crostini.  We both declared it delicious and the way they were prepared made it difficult to discern when you were eating the mushroom or the escargot.

We had a four course meal and were STUFFED!  It was a special night and one I’m grateful to have been able to share with him.

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Super Bowl 2015!!

Feb 11th, 2015 by

It did not end the way we had wanted, but we still had tons of fun with Paul and Shannon, and our friends, John and Ann…

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FEAST MODE!!

 

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A Very Special Birthday Party

Feb 11th, 2015 by

Our family took a day trip to Salinas to visit with my husband’s Colombian side of the family.  We all gathered to celebrate the 98th birthday of David’s grand aunt, Elvira.

Enjoying time with la familia…
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Our wonderful hosts, Herman and Marguerite…

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Lil’ Bro Paul and sweetie, Shannon…

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The lady of the day, Elvira…

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Cousin Santiago and family joined us from Ohio.  It has been about 10 years since we have seen him!

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All the kids with Elvira!

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Fun little drama.  In what is typically a quiet neighborhood, a bunch of police showed up looking for someone on the run.  They had a dog with them and found the man hiding in the bushes, three doors down!  The police had us take all the kids inside, and the boys did their best to watch from the window…

 

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Bayside ‘Unleashed’

Jan 28th, 2015 by

The boys and I attended a youth conference at our church.  Titled, ‘Unleashed’.  Yep, that’s about right. Unleashed joy.  Unleashed fun. Unleashed wisdom.  Unleashed Holy moments.

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My friend, Eun, has a brother who is good friends with a few members of the band, “Switchfoot”.  They were performing at the event and we were able to get in to see them while they were rehearsing!  Drummer Chad came and visited with us for a few minutes.  It was a special moment for all the boys!
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Buddies for life!
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This was a highlight of the event.  The kids place themselves inside the bubbles and hit each other.  All was fun until a larger kid knocked ‘A’ out of the ring and he went head first onto the concrete. There was no padding on the other side of the ring and with gravity, the head became unprotected from the bubble.  We think ‘A’ got knocked out for a second, and ended up with a nasty goose egg on his head.  He felt nauseous for the rest of the night, but was unwilling to leave.  I stayed next to him all night, and he slept in our room so we could keep an eye on him.  He was 100% the next day.  (Yes, I reported this to first aid on staff, and yes, the bubble event was gone the next day.)  If they only had cushions on the outside of the ring, it all would have been good.

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This is Our Boys in a Nutshell

Jan 28th, 2015 by

 

This is what happens when we tell the boys they can get up an hour early and do whatever they want before our morning routine of breakfast and chores.  ‘A’ goes back to sleep in front of the fire, and ‘R’ plays video games…
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GO SEAHAWKS!

Jan 28th, 2015 by

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Family in the House! Christmas 2014

Jan 28th, 2015 by

Antee Sara flew in from New York.  Uncle Paul and Shannon drove from Oakland, and Grandma Margaret and Grandpa Randy came in from Idaho.  It was a full house for a week!

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New Christmas Eve Pj’s.  It’s tradition…

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Preparing the traditional Christmas tree bread for Christmas breakfast…
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Stocking Time and presents!

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Christmas breakfast…

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A nice day for hanging in the yard…IMG_8527

Indoor snowball fight!
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Football in the park!
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Puzzle Time.  1000 pieces…
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Gingerbread houses…
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Bike ride with Grandpa…
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FAMILY

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Is It True That God Will Not Give Us More Than We Can Handle?

Jan 28th, 2015 by

A little food for thought today…

We often hear “God will not give you more than you can handle”. We tend to say this as to encourage ourselves and others when we go through hard times.

Then, I read where this is actually nowhere in the Bible, and that we are given more than we can handle so that we need to go to God to help us through these hard times; to develop our trust and dependence on him.

Then, today, I read in a book…
“Nothing touches me without going through God’s permission first. Satan cannot touch us without God’s divine permission. If we think we can’t bear something, and we are facing it anyway, it’s because God knows us better than we know ourselves. He will not give us more than we can stand. Then the author referenced 1 Corinthians 10:13.

So, I look up 1 COR 10:13, NIV version…
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

I then looked up the KJV version because I wanted to see if they used a different word than ‘temptation’. Nope, same word.

So, here’s my thought that’s rolling around in my mind….

Is temptation the same as the hard things of life (health issues, relationship issues, etc.). I can see how maybe the way we respond to the hard things in life are temptations (the temptation to respond with anger, disgust, sadness, bitterness, fear, etc.), or are they two separate things?

It’s clear that God promises to not allow temptations beyond what we can bear. And it’s clear that He will be with us through both the trials, and temptations.
We can confirm both of these in scripture.

But, can we confidently confirm through scripture that He will never give us more hard times that we can bear?

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We Finally Decorated!

Jan 28th, 2015 by

Five years in Rocklin and we have not decorated our exterior.  Here is our contribution to the holiday lights…

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