SF pics...an incomplete collection

Just as the San Diego pics were out of order, you can expect the same with these. Maybe someone can help me??? Or maybe you don't care. Oh well. Like I said before - we had a great time with Daniel and Bethany. The visit was anticipated by D & B in that they thought through what would be fun for us to do with the kids and what would be good to eat, etc.

Of course we went to Pier 39 to see the Sea Lions. It stunk, but the kids loved watching them. From D & B's house, we walked to the BART station, took it a few exits and walked along the water to the Pier 39. It was fun. I'm a big fan of public transportation.

It started to get cold and the kids were running around playing while we were trying to figure out where to go to dinner - this is the same night after we saw the seals. We ended up going to North Beach/Little Italy for great pizza.

Backtracking...our first full day in SF - Friday - we woke up to rain and went to the Exploratorium where unexpectedly all the other children in SF and surrounding cities had also planned to spend the day....very crowded. But a lot of fun. The kids loved being able to touch and play with so many things. Above is our budding drummer...

This is the last night of our "vacation." We spent the night in a little inn in Morro Bay on the way up and the way home so we didn't have to drive the 7-8 hours straight through. We all slept in one room which could have been a nightmare, but ended up fine. Everyone went to sleep without a problem.
Ezekiel was a bit wary of D at first, but warmed up to him and here is some Uncle love.
On Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market near Bernal Hill. It was great - all organic stuff with lots of choices, cheap prices and a fantastic 80-year-old woman playing a guitar and a weird puppet with her foot...above the kids are wondering what she is doing - then below Ez is clapping to the music.

Above is our ride on the BART - Ez was a little scared of it at first. D & B took much better pictures than I did...but I don't have those easily accessible right now, so these will have to suffice. I've been trying to finish this post forever! So - there we go :-) I will update on the rest of life soon!

San Francisco

Dear San Francisco,
I love you because you have brisk air and yet the warmth of the sun still visits often enough. I love you because there is a well organized public transportation system that can be easily utilized. I love you because you seem to attract people that have a stronger desire to take care of the earth by recycling and purchasing products that are less harmful. I love the big buildings and the streets that are still alive at midnight. Not that I want to be awake at midnight most nights, but if I did...I would have somewhere to go for a good glass of wine. I love all the restaurants that seem to taste just a little bit better than down south. I love that sweaters, beanies and scarves can be utilized, but snow does not have to be shoveled. I love the old houses that have personality and originality that cannot be duplicated. I love Phil's coffee, Tartine Bakery, and Indian Pizza. I love that going to the park is not just for people with kids, but people of all ages enjoy the sunny days and bring their dogs to fetch balls or just a blanket to read on. I also love the lemonade stand I saw in Delores Park that said "Lemonade and Sex Advice..." I will be back to visit soon.

ITS A.........

BOY!!!

at least thats what Jason thinks....... :-) Ok, its more accurately - a healthy looking baby with all its arms and legs. The ultrasound tech told us that she might not even be able to gender if we had wanted it because the baby's leg was so bent up into the "privates" area...It was really fun to see the baby moving around so much. I am amazed each time I get the privelage of having a glimse of this miraculous process going on inside me. I have to admit that usually I am apprehensive and anxious wondering if everything is going to be alright. Today, I had nothing like that. I was peaceful and expectant. This could be the case since I worked last night, only slept a little bit, then was up getting ready to go to the ultrasound. I included a few pictures - the first is the baby's foot - it is the sole and you can see the toes. The second is a profile...cute little nose and lips - at least thats what we think.



My post on our San Francisco trip will have to wait. Daniel took some great pictures and I have some too that I will include maybe later tonight. We had such a wonderful time. Jason was supposed to go to Arizona, but ended up not going on that trip and went with us instead. We stayed in Morro Bay on the way up and the way back home to break up the drive and really enjoyed some great family time. I was reminded once again of my love for the city of San Francisco. Everytime we go, Jason and I have a discussion - or rather- a time where I beg to move there. I have felt this way since I visited for the first time. I feel more myself in that city than anywhere I've ever been. I can't even really explain it. I know most people would think that is crazy - especially those who prefer more of a suburban feel - I for one do not.

Enjoying coffee and Rain...

I'm sitting drinking coffee watching the rain pour down through huge front windows...I love San Francisco. Jason hears it everytime we visit..."wouldn't it be great to live here?" "we could walk and get Turkish coffee every morning..."
We had delicious Indian pizza last night and today are going to the Expoloratorium. We were going to take the bus, but since it was going to take over an hour to go 5 miles, we decided to drive.
There is a bittersweet feeling of being up here and not seeing Darren, Pam, Jesse and Luci. We are sad that they are not here, since we associate all of our adventures up here with them. We have many memories with them and actually Daniel and Bethany live in a house around the corner from where D and P used to live.
Ok...off to get showered and dressed.

San Diego at Its Finest...

The first thing you might notice is how severely out of order these pictures are. Sorry. I don't know how to move them around once I upload them...and since I can only upload 5 at a time...they turn out a bit crazy. The second thing you are sure to notice is the "arm shots" that document all of our adventures. Jason is not a fan of asking others to take pictures, so I was ok doing the arm shot.

Now on the our great 3 days away...we had a wonderful time, of course. Our room was great...better than we expected. I will tell you as you go along in the pictures what we were doing...

This is the morning as we were leaving. Not sure why we look so tired! We slept until 9:20am our 2nd and 3rd mornings there :-) Heaven!
We were both missing the boys and looking forward to seeing them. They are clutching our gifts from "abroad"
Yum
Gavin and Diego
We are in front of the Natural History Museum. We went to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. How amazing to see these manuscripts that are 2000 years old!
This is Friday - in Old Town. We are in front of the Old Town Mexican Cafe - a place my family and i went for lunch/dinner MANY times as I was growing up in SD. I have many fond memories at this restaurant.
This lady was giving tours of Old Town and I wanted a picture with her...
First day - our room...kind of like a cottage with a back door that opened up to Mission Bay. It was wonderful!
This is out our back door - across this little street is the beach (mission bay). We agreed it would be a great place to come back with the kids. Its very "family friendly"

Thursday morning...off to enjoy the day
When we were dating, Jason went on a trip to Japan, and upon returning home, came down to SD to see me. We went to the Living Room coffee shop in La Jolla and shared dessert, coffee and his pictures. Its great coffee and we had breakfast there on Thursday morning
This is in La Jolla - where a bunch of Sea Lions have made the area their home

Our dead sea scrolls tickets...out of order...

We will do this "getaway" again...and not in 4 years! I can't explain how nice it was to have no time commitments, no problems waiting 1 1/2 hours for a table at PF Changs one night, sleeping in, just relaxing and enjoying having fun together as we navigated our way from one place to another. An encouragement to those of you parents (or just couples - really) out there who happen to read this...take time to do this - for your marriage! Life gets so busy and its easy to let other things become more important. Sometimes you just need to get out of the house and remember why you love being with your spouse!

We're Back!

Just wanted to say we're home and hanging out with the boys...I'll post details and pictures later. We had a fantastic, restful, relaxing time! Thanks to our parents who made it happen :-)

Painters in Training

Painter boys
Eating outside tonight
Love corn...and the sweater that just keeps giving and giving...I swear he'll never give it up!
Got another "oh you have a boy and a girl" comment today...better cut the hair! My mom is going to do it while they are here the next few days.

Tonight we ate dinner outside. It was nice and a great meal especially because of the salmon Jason grilled. He also grilled Pork chops and we had some other stuff, but the salmon was amazing!

Today we have been grocery shopping, cleaning up the house and just getting everything ready for visitors. That's because tomorrow J and I go to San Diego for 3 days! (My parents are staying a few nights and Jason's are staying a night) We are super excited! I'm even more excited because we are staying in a great "resort." The whole hotel situation is a LONG story...lets just say I spend many hours searching and just couldn't commit. FINALLY - this morning (yes we're going tomorrow) Jason took matters into his own hands and took over the search. We were going to stay downtown, but everything is super expensive there - even the lower end hotels. So we decided instead to stay on Shelter Island - a few miles from Downtown - right on the water. AND Jason called and asked for a Govt. rate and its almost$100 cheaper a night!!!!!!!!!!!! The pictures look really great and even if its not as good as it looks...it'll be fun. We are really looking forward to our time together to relax and just hang out alone for more than a few hours.

Today I'm thankful :

*How well our boys play together

*To be able to get away for a few days

*No worrying on my part since I know the boys are in great hands while we are away

*Spontaneous kisses and hugs from Ezekiel

*My run this weekend - ran with my mom, a friend from church - Kira, Jason, and the boys in the stroller...Jason pushed almost the whole time and we ended up running 8 miles. I felt great and was so thankful Jason (and mom) pushed the boys!

*The pumpkin muffins Sally made me - I love pumpkin!!! They were a delicious breakfast for us all!

Good - night!!

picasso?? you might think so......

Here are some additions to what jas and I call our "romantic paradise..."

Those are empty picture frames for the moment...
wedding pictures
A true artist we never knew lives among us...
Jason painted this masterpiece to go in our bedroom today. Its perfect and I was super impressed at his creativity....

I LOVE VACATION!

Not really going anywhere...although we are going to go away for a few days next week - just Jason and I...but I love Jason being around all day. Its so great. The last few days we have been working on some stuff in the house. We decided to move furniture around, decorate our room (we haven't done much with it ever), update photos AND ---it only took (almost) 7 years...but we now have 3 wedding pictures up in our room! YAHOO! I've always wanted to have some up and I have no idea why we never just did it! I love it!
My other project before baby #3 is born is to finish....or....start a photo book for Ezekiel. I have 3 books of details and pictures of Gavin of his first 2 years and NONE of Ezekiel. I have all the pictures and the supplies, I just need to get down to business. I have several months to do it, so I'm not worried.
Funny side note - Ezekiel has taken to saying "whoa dude" all the time. I don't know where he got it - maybe from Jason? It sounds really funny when he says it. And he says it a lot. He also bent over to get something the other night and said "oh GOSH" as if he was 88 years old. What a character that guy is.

A verbose update...

Making (and eating)brownies for our friend
Ez enjoying a smoothie
Shima got highlights (or "a" highlight)

Our kids are SUCH dancers! Whenever music comes on they are moving. I'm pretty sure they got that from me, since Jason doesn't really dance...but who knows--maybe he is a closet dancer.

We are enjoying Jason being around all the time since he is on vacation. Its so fun for him to not have to get up super early and to be able to go to breakfast, run on the boardwalk and just enjoy our days together.

I had my first day of MOPS yesterday. I'm not going to lie - I was expecting the worst. Let me explain. My last experience was at a different church where I didn't feel like I connected with anyone(besides the girls I already knew) and didn't really fit in with the other women. The topics seemed lame to me...and maybe I am just being judgemental, but it wasn't really stuff that I was interested in. SO...at our new church, I decided to give it a try. This church is different. The people seem so much more authentic and real. I was pleasantly surprised that it was the same in MOPS. Our pastor spoke and it was amazing. We had great conversation that dealt with the difficulties of both getting out of the house and living lives that are about loving Jesus and people. One thing Pastor Lou said that really hit me (among many other points) is that as our children get older, we should not try and control them, but rather get to their hearts - cultivate their inner compass. This was very interesting to me because Gavin is at the age where he definitely has discovered his inner will and wants to do things his own way a lot of the time. Its hard for me to figure out when to make him follow my way...or just do it his own way and not try and control him. We meet every other Wed, so on the off weeks, we go to the park for lunch. I'm looking forward to getting to know may of these women better.

One last update...we went to the Dr. Tuesday (all 4 of us!) for my OB check-up. Everything is great...and we got another quick look at the baby since the ultrasound was in the room. This was especially exciting to Gavin! As she was doing the ultrasound, our Dr. looked at me and asked if we want to know what we are having - I quickly said NO! Jason gave me a disgruntled look..."get over it" is the look I shot back at him. We have our "big" ultrasound in a about a month and that will be fun too...to see all the parts, etc.

I think I've written enough...Gavin is in the bathroom "watching" Ez as he bathes (he just yelled to me "Ez's doing good in here, Mom")...he told me not to worry, because he is going to wash Ez, too. Great. I have a mothers helper! I wonder if he can change diapers yet??? :-)

bye.

The Line

You know that imaginary line that you should not cross? Certain comments that might pop into your head, but get the STOP! before they cross your lips?? The sign in my head has always been a green light. As I have matured and gotten older, I think I have gotten better about at least YIELDing before I speak, thus creating fewer embarrassing moments for both myself and those I'm conversing with. However, the other night at work, I definitely crossed it. The moment I spoke I regretted what had come out. It was Friday night and my co-workers seemed to be shocked that I am "showing" at all. Most of them have no kids and those that do must forget that it happens more quickly on #2 and 3...etc. So I decided not to get offended and enjoy that yes, I have a little belly (and no I have not been drinking too many beers on my days off...). One lady in particular had already commented several times about my appearance and I was internally fighting annoyance with her. Her last comment: she looked at me (with several people around) and said " I just can't believe how big your belly is" which I replied (without thinking for even 1 second) "I can't believe how big your belly is." Ummmm....she is overweight. And really does have a big belly. SHOOOOOOOOTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!! Did I really say that???????????? She laughed and walked away and I was busy the rest of the night so I didn't get to say anything else to her. I told Jason about it in the morning and he couldn't' believe I had said that. I KNEW I had to apologize. So on Saturday night in a quiet moment when we were alone in a room, I apologized and told her it just came out without me even thinking...she was totally fine and not offended at all...but it could have been bad. Really bad. Lesson learned. I hope.

Fun weekend

Last Friday we went to the beach with my parents and Daniel and Bethany, who were in town for the weekend. It was super windy, but the kids had so much fun anyways!

Ready to hit the water
I love this...not sure what Bethany did to this picture, but I think its so cool
Gavin could not have been more excited to see his uncle Daniel (and aunt bethany!!)...he wanted to be with Daniel the whole time they were around
I'm laughing...Ezekiel just climbed all over Jason and I trying to get closer to us
Ez wanted to go in the water - correction - he wanted me to go in the water while holding him. It was fun and the water was pretty warm!

The weekend was also great because I got to see my dear friend Kristen, whom I hadn't see since her wedding in April! I sometimes forget how much I miss her - until I see her again and it just feels so "normal" to be hanging out...having breakfast, playing yahtzee. It was so weird to say good-bye and know she was going back to WA....maybe I still haven't accepted the move? We had a great time together with significant conversations, laughter, honest truths (me: should I cut my hair, Kris??), and just great quality time. Gavin was thrilled to be with Kristen and Ezekiel warmed up too! She took all the pictures of our time, so when I get some pictures, I'll post them!

Today I went to the park for a get together with all the women doing MOPS at our church. I was a little wary (that word is for you, Kris - yes it is a word) to do MOPS because I have done it before at another church and it just wasn't my style. I couldn't get into the crafts and I didn't feel like the "talks" were anything I could relate to. However, at this church, it is different and I am excited about that. I'm excited to meet and connect with more women at the church in my life stage. The only thing I'm worried about is Ezekiel staying in the class for 2 1/2 hours. He hasn't been doing so well at church, so, we'll see.

After the park, my mom and I went down to the beach area and had lunch and watched the kids play while we chatted. It was so great. Just a relaxing time in a beautiful area. And on a side note, I had an egg salad sandwich, which I haven't eaten for at least 10 years and it was FANTASTIC! Maybe I was just starving!! :-) Have a great day!!

Record breaking-3rd-Post in a Day...

So today I feel like I'm a different mom. I have a different perspective. I know why. After seeing those videos of Judson and thinking about his family --especially from a mother's perspective, I decided that I wanted to be a better mom. I will always screw up, lose my cool, get impatient, and say the wrong thing at one time or another. But there are certain things I want to do more with my boys. The reality of such a heartbreaking situation makes you face your own life and think about what you want to do different. Many times in life this happens to us...I know this is one short time. But I want to be more patient, play with the boys with things they love (like playdoh), play imaginary games with them (which they also love) and pay more specific attention to them. Often I am distracted during the day by how I might be feeling, or emails, or cleaning. I've had a reminder that my days are for me to be mommy to 2 amazing boys because these days will come and go quickly before I know it and I will yearn for this time again. I want to have few regrets.

Unbearable sadness

This is from an email I received:

"This is a call for prayer for the Levasheff Family. Christina Levasheff was my RD when I was a freshman at Biola and Judson her son needs prayer. Here's the information on Judson. About 2 months ago, Judson Levasheff (2 1/2 yr old little guy), was diagnosed with Krabbe (crab-bay) disease. It's a rare disease that doctors claim will quickly take the life of Jud. This disease started with him losing his balance (he can't walk now), slurring his speech, taking his vision, and now is starting to affect his swallowing. My understanding is that it will move through his body and eventually shut everything down causing him to be in a vegetative state and then ultimately death. Drake and Christina (his parents) have faith and belief that God can and will heal Judson and it is amazing. Christina has been journaling their daily journey and please take time to read it as it will endear you to this family and beseech you to pray for their precious boy. Christina posted a video clip of Jud before this vicious disease and then posted a video of him in his current state…take time to view them"

BEFORE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MueKg-bLp9w

CURRENT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvZEsPzTQQo

For updates on Judson and his family go to:
www.myspace.com/levasheff
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/judson

Jason and I read this email and watched these videos last night and wept. We went to bed sad as we thought about watching a child (we automatically imagine our own) go from a healthy, normal 2 1/2 year old to a child that can no longer use his arms or stand. This sadness weighs heavy on me and I know nothing else to do other than pray for him and his family. The Levasheff family strongly believes that God is going to heal Judson and prays for that specifically. Please pray for this little boy and his family.

When are you starting school??

This question is asked to Gavin at least once a day, if not more. I have gone back and forth in my mind on the issue of starting preschool with Gavin this year. I have had a lot of people ask me if he is starting - which is only natural because he is indeed at the age that many kids go to preschool. Here are my thoughts: Gavin is 4 and we have decided not to start him in kindergarten until he is 6. SO...he will have a year of preschool next year. Does he really need 2 years of preschool? No, I don't believe so. Actually I don't personally believe he needs any - but I know he would love it immensely! He has his whole life to be in school, why start him now if I don't have to? I love having him at home. Yes, there are hard days and yes it will be even harder at times with the 3rd baby here...but that's ok to me. I would rather enjoy him at home this year than have him gone. I'm sure that 2 days a week would provide some nice reprieve and allow Ezekiel and I some time together...but I also know that we can have that time next year too. I plan on teaching Gavin this year in a very unstructured way. I have been looking online at different activities to teach different things and I am going to do my own thing with him. I remember growing up, I was always the older kid in school because my parents put me in school at 6...I think that is part of the reason that my younger brother, Daniel, and i were so close - because we spent so much time playing together that year before I started school. I see the development of that relationship between Gavin and Ezekiel and I love it. I love that they play together so much and love each other so much.
This post was more for me to organize my thoughts...so there you go. Now you see whats going on in my head :-)

Friday held a great day for the boys and for me! My mom took them to Adventure City with her sister (my aunt) Christie and Christie's granddaughter, Elle. The boys had a fabulous day with her - as you can see in the pictures it was SUPER HOT so they were sweating all day. They both slept good last night! As for me...I got the chance to clean the house(doesn't sound fun, but its necessary and so much easier to do when the boys are elsewhere), shop at Costco alone (rarity) and enjoy a relaxing lunch reading a good book.

Cute of my mom!
They are an ambulance looking for sick people to bring to me in the ER :-)
This is a goat that was a big bully. Gavin was laughing as he was telling me the story. Ez was knocked over by the goat and when I asked him about it...he grabbed me and said NO!
Sweaty faces


My aunt Christie being crazy with the kids
Silly Nannie and her cute boys

Today we went to a family reunion that happens every year on my mom's side of the family. We all gather in a clubhouse in Sunset Beach and eat lunch and swim. The kids were in the water for about 2 hours - it was so hot out! They had a blast and it was fun to see relatives we rarely see. However, they have not napped (only 20 minutes for Ez!) so I'm going to get them into the bath and to bed before 7pm.