I new chapter in my life has begun. I look forward to sharing pictures here or on another blog site. Stay tuned.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the YEAR! Christmas memories...

This HAS to be one of my favorite pictures of my little man.


My cousins Angie and Michael and my brother Jack at our home in Altadena. This was before any of them were married. They are all married now and Michael is proud papa to baby James. I can't wait to see him this Christmas!


Here my mom and Derek's mom receiving identical gifts from Anthropologie! What could it be?


Yes, I learned to knit last year, made everyone a scarf and made them all wear it; it was perfect for our holiday stroll in Pasadena later that evening. : ) Michelle was MIA out of the country on a trip to visit her folks. This Christmas will be Jack and Michelle's first Christmas as the new Mr. and Mrs. Chen : )

First Day of Kindergarten

Josh is here with his buddy Jack Clark and sweet sweet Katherine Franklin.




My little Joshy is a BIG BOY today! We're so blessed to be in such a fantastic school district. Our District is # 2 in California! And while we are just two blocks from school... sometimes, I still drive him.... I know, the city girl coming out! In my defense, it has only just started to cool down. : )

AND some more... Jack and Michelle's Wedding Day

Here I am with my cousin Michael's baby, James
Me and my HOT hubby
I had so much fun dancing that night... I felt like a princess in this dress!
Mom and Dad
Josh and the other cutie pies with Uncle Jack and Auntie Michelle


My brother Jack and his lovely bride were married on August 1, 2009. It was a gorgeous wedding and Michelle and Jack put so much effort into EVERY detail. They made sure everyone had a good time. I HAD SO MUCH FUN! I really felt like a little girl in my favorite dress by the end of the evening. Jack and Michelle looked lovely! And Josh was a ring bearer for the second time. I have one more pic to share later on Josh's mission to deliver the pillow to the front of the alter. Look out for that one soon. There is a sweet story to it. : )

more pictures...

Never in my wildest dreams would I think a lunch tray can bring such joy!


Our Santa Barbara Trip


Swimming Lessons with Coach Dave


Josh was in his second year of T- Ball. He loved it!

It's a bird; it's a plane; it's SUPER JOSH!

A YEAR IN PICTURES

It has been almost one entire year since I last blogged. I'm embarrassed to conclude that apparently I can only have one hobby at a time. As soon as I took up knitting, my blog went by the way side. HA HA HA. Here are my favorite pictures from November of 2008 to October of 2009. God has been gracious to us and I am so grateful for HIS kindness.





Josh and I were intrigued by upside down jellyfish at the Science Academy in San Francisco.





Daddy read a story to Josh's class.




A little Risky Business? ; )



Last year's pumpkin project

Christmas Memories 2008 ...

Hmmmmm Which one first?


Paige, Josh's sweet babysitter made these ornaments with him while Derek and I were out on a date! She's BEYOND fantastic!



My dear friend Bethany taught me how to knit this last october so I made everyone a scarf this year!



Josh required much restraint to leave Santa's cookies for SANTA!


It was so cute to watch Josh sprinkle reindeer dust out on our front yard. HE's too cute!

Children Are A Blessing from God...

Lately, I've been thinking about this verse and I thought how it doesn't end with "ONLY TO THE PARENTS WHO BORE THEM". I think for the longest time, I have been thinking this verse would apply to me just slightly since I had only one child. I wanted so badly to have more and to receive additional blessings from God. BUT, I realized that I am blessed EVERY time I am with other children besides my own. Are they not a blessing to me when I am in their presence? The blessing does not stop at the front door step of the house they were born into. I think of all the times Josh has made someone smile or laugh when he is out with other people. Derek and I are so blessed to have Josh. And often times we'll find other children bless us too.

Yesterday was such an occasion while Josh had a play date with Seth and Jude, Adelee and I had a tea party. She is too cute for words and OF COURSE... such a blessing. Adelee does this thing where she shrugs her shoulders and turns her head toward one shoulder and smiles at you. How can you not just melt? Here are some pictures of our tea party.

Bethany, thank you for letting me play with Adelee. Your children are a blessing to us. Indeed, we were blessed!

Going for the ride...

Many of you know Brownby is Josh's favorite bear. He has been such a blessing to Josh. At times I think I have my own little Calvin and Hobbes... except I have Josh and Brownby. He is so much a part of our lives that we've been taking pictures of him too. : ) Here is a recent favorite.

Josh, you have a bear collection full of personality. At first Green bear was your favorite. And clearly she was the mommy of your clan of bears. Big Brown Bear was the daddy bear and little brown bear now Brownby was the baby. You have toted Brownby EVERYWHERE. He has sat with us for many meals. He has been buckled in with you in your car seat for adventurous trips. He has stowed away in my purse for many journeys from the grocery store to longer trips and even sleep overs. I think it's sweet how you include him in so many of our daily activities. When I offer you a snack, you gratefully accept and inform me that Brownby is just as hungry. You have held him tightly when you were upset. And have swung him, thrown him, paraded him and flown him all around the house. It's great to see how God provides, even in really small packages.

First Crush?

About a month ago while Josh and I were leaving his preschool, I blurted out that one of the little girls in his class was cute. She had just waved good bye to Josh and I said, "She's so cute!" Well, Josh's response was, "Yeah, she's cute; but, Cameron is cuter than ANY one." Really, I thought. A couple of weeks later while playing with his legos, he seemed frustrated that one of the lego figures would not fit into his spaceship so he exclaimed, "I DON'T LIKE GIRLS! I thought this would be a perfect time to ask him a question. I asked, "So, what are your thoughts on Cameron Bender then?" He replied with a smile, "Lovee". Then I continued with, "What other words would you use to describe your little friend Cameron?" His response was, "soft, snuggly".

Here are some pics of this special girl and some pics that reveal Josh's little crush on his friend. It's written on his face! So cute! Derek says that there ain't nothing wrong with our boy.

Feelin' the Force

At first Josh wanted to be the red power ranger even though he had never even seen it. But when we brought it home, he realized he didn't really care for it because it was so tight fitting. That's when I showed him we had a jedi costume for him. He loved it! Derek and I attended a costume party the week before and I was Princess Leia and Derek was the coolest Storm trooper. He even won for Best Costume for the night. In this picture, Derek is... oh, I can't remember. I'll have to brush up on my Star Wars lingo.

Josh had a great time trick or treating around our neighborhood with some friends on Halloween night. He fell several times tripping as he ran toward the door for "CANDY"! I'm so bummed we didn't video tape it. He was so excited and so cute! I would imagine we won't be able to do the family themed costumes for much longer so I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

Ever wonder what your pets are doing when you aren't around...

Probably similar to things your children do when you aren't looking. ; ) Uncle Jack snapped these photos for evidence. Josh got up pretty high on the last pic.

Hanging with my cousins ...

HOT MAMA !

My dear friend Michelle just had her baby boy Tyler Matthew last Friday. Here she is beautifully pregnant at her baby shower. I can't wait to meet him! Congratulations Foster and Michelle. You guys are going to be such wonderful parents to Ty.

Waiting... Trusting in Him

On one of the days I picked Josh up from school, I needed him to wait by the car before getting in because I needed to clear space in the car for him to hop into his seat. While, I prepped his path, he stood obediently by the car near the left rear tire. As I was in the car moving items to the trunk, I could clearly see a car quickly on it's way out of the school parking lot and would be driving right past us. I stuck my head out the car door and instructed Josh to stay right where he was and to not take a single step forward because there was a car approaching and for his safety, he needed to heed my warning. His response was, "No there isn't. Mom, there isn't a car. I don't see a car. " Because of his height, his perspective was skewed and thus was unable to see the car at all. Our car had completely blocked his view of this vehicle. Moments after his comment, the car whizzed by. "Oh, there it is." He concluded.

I got out of the car and knelt down to talk to my son. I told him that he needed to believe me and trust me even when he can not see that anything is wrong. He needed to believe that what I was saying is true without questioning it for his sake. I told him that I loved him and that I would never instruct him to do anything that would bring him harm. In fact, my instructions are there to protect and to love him. We got in the car and the whole incident may have been more powerful to me than to my son... at least for now. I was struck by the parallel situation in my own life of waiting for a baby. I've been waiting for quite some time now for a little bundle of joy to come our way. We've prayed and so often, I believe that "this is the month", the perfect month... the right month. But God has answered clearly. It isn't right now. From my perspective, it seems like the perfect time to add to our family of three. There are days I wish I could see every perspective... that there would be a clear view of God's perfect Plan for me. And yet I know that this very process is here for me to grow in my faith in HIM. And it is during these times of waiting that I cling onto God' promises.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile." Jeremiah 29:11-14

Thank you God for these trials. Thank you for the grace and mercy you pour upon me every day. I love you Lord.

May I Have This Dance ...

My parents have recently taken up ballroom dancing again.  They are having a wonderful time.  I'm so proud of them.  My dad is retired and my mom has a few more years before she retires.  It's easy to just become a couch potato and slowly remove yourself from society.  But, my parents are staying active at church and enjoying their time together on hikes near their home with friends as well as taking these ballroom dance classes.  Aren't they cute! 

 MOM and DAD, I love you!  Thank you for all of the sacrifices you made through our lives.  It's nice to see you enjoying life and each other during this season of your life.  

Up Up and AWAY !!!

Josh and I, along with our friends hit yet another museum this past week, the California Science Center.  Josh had already been to this museum several times.  But every time we visit, we leave pondering all the different exhibits we wished we could have spent more time on.  

The Air and Space exhibit is always a favorite.  It seems we've made it a tradition to always see this one first.  Then we journeyed over to the World of Life exhibit where Josh and his buddy Adam waited and waited for a chicken egg to hatch.  When he finally broke through(poor little guy), he was so exhausted.  There was also a really cool Hurricane Simulator booth that the Jensens were able to take in.  Josh and I will have to try it next time!  

Josh you are growing up so fast!  I can hardly believe how you've grown.  I love all the little antics you've acquired, from the explosive sounds you make while you play, to the sweet things you say to me and the lovin' you give me when we're  just hangin'.  For the last couple of years, you've fixated on rockets and things that explode.  You seem to love fire and blowing up things. *sigh*... so good to know you're normal.  And yet with all your boyish ways,  you demonstrate the ability to consider others. We've enjoyed all of your cute little comments.  For instance, yesterday you declared as you ate pieces of apple, "Mom, I really don't CARE for apples... BUT, I eat them anyway.  "  

Your Dad and I love you more and more everyday.