An Emotional Week

I think that in the past week I've experienced the whole possible range of emotions from extreme happiness enjoying a surprise visit of a friend to stressing over all that has to be done at work to being sad about the outcome of other things. It's in times like these that my sister always reminds me to stop and think of things that I am thankful for. A great way to put things back into perspective is to think about all the blessings God has given me. I am so thankful for His provision and for my friends and family who love me. And who could not help but smile and be happy when a little ray of sunshine like baby Kate comes around to visit. Today was a great day to eat outside and enjoy her cute little antics and hear her say "Hello!".

Enjoying Friday night by the fireplace

It's Friday night and I'm home relaxing by the fireplace after another busy and exhausting week. Is February really almost over? Yes, the March "go live" deadline for the software launch at work is just about here. It seemed so far away when we first talked about it 18 months ago. This week was filled with 3 long days of our final Banner consulting. On Thursday afternoon we took a little break to celebrate the office February birthdays (Kevin & Christa). I'm ready for the weekend!

Beautiful blue skies...

There is something about a bright blue sky and white puffy clouds that makes me happy! This was my view at lunch today... "He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills." Psalm 147:8

Saturday: Scones & Speed

Early Saturday morning several ladies from church met for tea & scones and a little brainstorming. We finished planning the details for the upcoming Ladies Spring Tea and also sampled some of the delicious scones Nancy will make for the event. Our theme this year will be "Joy in the Journey". After we were all done there I met up with a friend who had invited me to go to the races in Fontana. I have never been to a NASCAR race before but I am always up for a new adventure. We had a good time walking around, seeing all the displays and watching the race. The event began with the color guard, national anthem, and opening invocation (I was very surprised that this event was opened with prayer!) And so, "Gentlemen (and lady)... start your engines..." One hundred and fifty laps on a two mile track. So how was it? It was LOUD! The race had several cautions and a few minor mishaps but had quite an exciting ending when Kyle Busch over took the leader right at the end to win the race.

We ended the evening with a yummy spaghetti dinner at Vince's Spaghetti in Ontario where they proudly boast about serving over 1,5000 miles of spaghetti each year and over 21 tons of spaghetti served every month!

Rain, Hot Cocoa & Aksel

It's Friday night and I'm sitting here listening to the rain, sipping hot cocoa and watching the Men's Super G skiing event. If you get a chance check out Aksel Svindal's story. Another week has rushed by. Last Friday I had lunch with Dez and caught up on her adventures last year on the other side of the globe. I swear she could write a book, she is such a great storyteller. Later that night I hit the road with Grace and Sara driving down to the desert to celebrate Abby's birthday and what a celebration it was! The kids got up bright and early to go paint balling with friends. We got out there later that morning to fire up the grill and get lunch ready for the hungry crew. In between helping Timothy flip hamburgers I got in a little target shooting. We all hung out, ate and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Later in the evening after dinner Abby opened her gifts and we had homemade ice cream cake to top it all off. Yum! Tuesday we celebrated the February office birthdays at Portillos in Buena Park. The rest of the week was quite busy with lots of meetings, running many reports and Banner and more Banner. Other than that I've been keeping busy in the evenings sewing some more purse organizers for the Brea Spring Boutique in March. And so it goes... Click on the slideshow to see it bigger:

My homage to Super Bowl XLIV

May the best team win!

"There will be a day with no more tears,
no more pain, and no more fears."

It has been a busy week and a half.

Is it really the end of January already? After all the rain we have been enjoying some wonderful sunny weather. The mountains all around are covered in snow and very beautiful to look at and the sunrises and sunsets have been spectacular.

At work we are busy getting ready for a new semester which starts on Monday. We threw a welcome party for my new boss Ken and also celebrated the office January birthdays. This afternoon my friend Terri and I drove to Laverne for David Newkirk's welcome home party. God has truly performed a miracle in his life as he continues to recover and get stronger everyday. Click here to read all about his journey. God is good!

The best part of rain? A beautiful rainbow!I quickly pulled out my cell phone as I was driving to work this morning in an attempt to capture this beautiful rainbow. The picture doesn't really do it justice but I kind of like how the rainbow is reflected on the hood of the truck. The one below was taken with my regular camera.

Two wonderful weeks (well, almost two weeks!)

I spent the last two weeks having a wonderful time with my family. Mom was up here to see me the weekend of Dec 20th. We had a good time finishing up some Christmas shopping and going to the Messiah sing-a-long. After the long drive back to Imperial I started the festivities by taking "Nino" to Petco to get washed and groomed so he could be indoors for Christmas. That evening we did a little bonfire in the backyard, made s'mores and sang carols.

Christmas Eve was spent preparing for the evening festivities. We had Christmas dinner around 9:00 PM when Sara & Patrick arrived. After dinner and dessert we all gathered to hear Christine read the Christmas story. Around the stroke of midnight we began opening presents. It was so fun to see the kids open and enjoy all their gifts! It was 3 AM by the time I finally got to bed.

Christmas morning was time for the Christmas stockings. We enjoyed breakfast together as they looked in their stockings. We were all tired and sleepy but happy =) The rest of the day was spent relaxing and playing with the kids.

The next day we all went out shopping and had lunch together at Famous Dave's which brought back memories of good old Georgia barbecue...Yum!

Grace and Jon finally made it in to town and it was time to unveil our gift to the kiddos. We gave them a Wii and the Wii Fit. What a blast we have all had playing different games together. Next it was time to drive over and go spend some time in Yuma with Donna, Greg and the kids. Sunday evening we had a nice wine & cheese night while Grace and Jon were in town. It was great to spend the week with them staying up late talking, sleeping in, watching chick flicks, playing Bookworm and eating good food! For New Year's Eve they invited some friends over to celebrate together. We rang in the year for NY, AZ and CA.

Saturday was the big ham dinner with everyone. I think there were 14 of us all together. It was fun to see everyone eating, playing, and enjoying each other. After dinner we popped the Christmas Crackers and donned our colorful paper crowns...so fun! Timothy and the kids were outside making swords, the girls were inside visiting and I was busily taking pictures =) Sunday was here before I knew it. After going to church with friends and family it was time to drive back home. It was a very merry Christmas and I'm trusting and hoping for a wonderful year!