Jim's Weekend Renovation

When Jim and I first starting looking for our first place, I made it clear to him that I wanted a say in all of the decorating that would be done. Realizing that I should let Jim have a say in some part of the decorating of our first place, I told him that if we had a second bathroom that could be his room. He was OK with this idea since he thought a Cubs bathroom would be cool. Our first place only had one bathroom so he was out of luck until we bought our condo. We have been in the condo a little over a year and his bathroom renovation has come to fruition. The one thing I requested was that the bathroom still look classy and not too baseball cheesy. He decided to go with more of a vintage theme, incorporating different baseball memorabilia in a shadow/display box. His great ideas and hard work paid off. He did an awesome job and we both love it!

Flowers, Flowers, Flowers!

I have always loved flowers. If I could afford it, I would buy a new arrangement every week to have in the house. Fresh flowers brighten my day and are a constant reminder of the beauty God created for us to enjoy. Seeing all the beautiful arrangements in the store and at weddings I have thought to myself, "It can't be that difficult to arrange my own flowers", but for some reason when I buy flowers and attempt to arrange them myself they never quite end up looking like they did in my head.

For the past couple of years I have received catalogs in the mail for a local community college that offers a variety of classes, including floral design. Taking a floral design class has always peaked my interest but I never signed up for one until a month ago when I decided I just needed to call and register so that I didn't have any regrets. Today was the last class of the first session and I decided to sign up for the next class as well. Below are some of my designs. Enjoy!

So what started out as "let's stop by Home Goods store to see what they have" turned into an afternoon of rearranging. Jim and I have been looking for some art work to finish decorating our living room and dining room. Jim had seen some ads for Home Goods so we decided to stop by and ended up buying some art. I think I may have found my new favorite store. They have so much cool stuff at good prices.

Once we got home we couldn't decide exactly where we wanted to hang everything so Jim suggested we re-arrange the living room. Every so often I like to rearrange/redecorate because it gives me a feeling of something new. Most people that know me know that I don't like keeping things the same for long periods of time. We now have access to our fire place which will be really nice as the weather starts to cool down.

Earlier in the day we made a trip down to El Cajon for my best friend Andrea's sons' dedication at Gateway. I am excited to see what God has in store for Corban's life. He has blessed Corban with two amazingly godly parents that will help raise him and lead him in the right direction.

Since my nephew Elijah lives out of town, the next best thing is my "nephew" Corban. In addition to being part of this speacial day with Andrea, Reggie and Corban, Jim and I were able to see some friends we hadn't seen since we left Gateway to find a church closer to home.

My Worst Fear

My worst fear in starting to blog has come true.... forgetting to update. Life has been busy but we are enjoying every minute of it.


Earlier this summer Jim and I decided to the leave the church we had been attending the last couple of years and look for a church closer to home. We wanted to get connected more in our community and meet new people. After looking at a couple of churches, we decided to make The Church at Rancho Bernardo our new home. We really enjoy the pastor. Jim has been going to the men's group and we are joining a small group for young marrieds. This is something we have been looking forward to for a while now.



While Jim is at the men's group, Maddux and I have been getting together with my friend Vivian and her dog Roxy for playdates. What started as just a playdate has now turned into a playdate for the dogs and devotional/fellowship time for me and Vivian. Usually I am not one to just start talking to random people but about a month ago while at the dog park I noticed Vivian's sweat shirt that had a verse on it and said "Sin is dead" and decided to ask her about it. We started talking and I found out she was a Christian and goes to one of the churches that we checked out. It's nice having a friend nearby that shares the same beliefs and provides encouragement. You should check out her company's website, crossrocktv.com. Below are some pictures from Maddux and Roxy's playdate.

Guess who the agressor is?

Poor Roxy wanted to rest but Maddux wasn't going to let her

Now I am not one to show off my undergarments but for a good cause I will. A good family friend of ours is taking part in the 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk here in San Diego in November. Her team held a "Bling Your Bra" fundraiser last night to raise some money. We used swarovski crystals to bling out bras, undies, shirts, tanks and hats. It was a good time for a great cause.

Elijah's Birthday Weekend

This past weekend Jim and I made the trek up to Bakersfield to celebrate our nephew Elijah's 1st birthday. Elijah is one of the happiest little boys, always smiling. He also gives the best hugs.


Here are some pictures from his birthday:

this is good...I need to enjoy every bite and lick of the finger.

Elijah sure knows how to go to town on his cake.

birthday presents!!!

his first pair of crocs

I also got to meet the newest member of our family this weekend, my cousins little girl Josephine. She is a month old.

my other little cousin Sophie...she's five months old.

A Week in Paradise

Jim and I were fortunate to spend a week in Maui with my parents, sister and brother-in-law. There was a lot of rest and relaxation that took place as well as sight seeing and soaking in the sun. Maui has some of the best and most beautiful beaches in Hawaii which we were able to see up close and enjoy. While us girls enjoyed the beaches, the guys were out shore fishing trying their best to catch us some dinner. When we weren't out enjoying the sun, we did what tourist do best...shop.






One of the coolest experiences of the trip was snorkeling molokini crater and turtle town. There were sea turtles swimming around us within an arms reach. We stayed on southern-western coast which is significantly dryer than the northern shore.



Looking around at times it was hard to believe we were in Maui since a lot of the vegetation was dry. We did take a day to drive the road to Hana on the northern coast through the rain forest. Luckily I wasn't driving so I got to enjoy the breath taking views. For the person driving it is a little scary because of the 60 one lane bridges and over 500 hairpin turns within a 40 mile distance. The waterfalls, bamboo forest, rainbow eucalyptus trees, streams, black sand beach and coastal views make the drive worth it.


No hawaiian vacation would be complete without going to a luau. The performers at the luau were extremely talented and we even got to see a fire dancer. It was a great way to end our week in paradise.



I hope you enjoy the pictures!

If you want to see some more pictures check out our albums: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2040861&l=07f53&id=161502075
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2040865&l=7d298&id=161502075
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2040862&l=edf3d&id=161502075

Time to Catch Up

I was just thinking about how much I enjoy reading new posts on friends blogs and realized that we haven't posted anything new on ours for a while. A lot has happened in the last month...

Earlier this month, July 2nd, Jim and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary! I know it is cliche but time really does fly by. To be where we are now is a blessing. Thinking back to the big day brings back so many memories.

For the fourth of July weekend Jen, Matt and Elijah came to visit. Being around family really makes you appreciate them more and also makes me wish we lived closer to each other. Elijah is growing up so fast and will be 1 in August. He is always smiling and talking up a storm. My parents, Jen, Matt and Elijah came up to our place for dinner, swimming (Elijah loves to swim) and fireworks. Watching Elijah's reaction to the first few fireworks was quite humorous. I could tell he wasn't quite sure what to think.

Elijah in his 4th of July lobster shirt

The weekend didn't slow down after the fireworks. The next morning we all met up again to go to the fair. Jim had won tickets off the radio and we thought it would be fun to take Elijah to his first fair. The best part of the day was watching the Fido 500 dog races. All the dogs that raced were under 15lbs. To make it a little more interesting, Jim, Matt and my dad decided to place bets on the races. Unfortunately it wasn't Jim's lucky day so he ended three bucks in the hole. There was a petting zoo in one area of the fair that I thought Elijah would love. I went to go take pictures of him with the animals only to realize he had fallen asleep on the way over. Oh well, we still all had a blast.

Us just before the Fido 500

Since the first weekend of the month, things have slowed down. We are enjoying the free entertainment our puppy Maddux provides us with. Her newest thing is destroying all of her toys, even the ones that claim to be indestructible. I do have to remember though that she is still a puppy. The best is when she crawls right next to you to cuddle...it is priceless.

...priceless

best buddies

Well there is a little glimpse into our life for the last month or so. We are now getting ready for a much needed vacation in Hawaii. We will post some pictures when we get back.


Jim & Jac