Tis the season for lots of people in the mountains!!

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Go-Go is being bird-sitted!

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HomeMade apple pie!

Our college and career group is having a little party tonight. And I baked this!

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A walk down the long corridor.

I won't be seeing this for a LONG while, possibly never again. The Design building corridor at Cal State University Long Beach where my Econ class was held for the Fall semester. Goodbye Econ!!

Happy birthday

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Christmas Lights

Nate, Chad, Clayton and I went to Naples, Long Beach to look at Christmas lights! Had a fun tim e...

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Merry Christmas

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Universal Studios

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Cheese

Shopping at Old Navy at about 3:30AM - Ontario Mills... Black Friday. Lookin' pretty good, eh?

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Well the Blackberry Storm that I recently purchased this past Friday, November 21st, has officially QUIT! I have now been without a phone for a total of .... 19 hours and boy has it been strange! I love the Storm, but apparently it didn't love me too much (used to this!) ... and I will be receiving a new one Friday at some point. SO! This leaves me to activate the Motorla Q for another day!! With so much anticipation of enjoying the Storm during Turkey Day, I will not be able to learn new things or show it off to family and friends!! :( So apparently the picture above spoke right to ME today and I listened ... or the Storm listened and turned OFF!! =)

HAPPY TURKEY DAY EVERYONE! Be thankful for all the blessings in your life and enjoy a couple of days off!! God bless you all!

Hair bows for Abby!

A spur of the moment ordeal, Jenn invited me over to help with Abby's bows.. While she cooked for International Sunday, I created 7 bows with flowers from my collection throughout the years. These 3 were my fav's. Definitely took a lot of time and patience, but thankfully she was asleep so I could test them out on her :) Can't wait to see her awake in them!!

Blackberry Storm .. my new interest!

Sleek, and a beauty.. hurry Verizon and release it! http://www.blackberry.com/blackberrystorm/

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”- Jeremiah 29:11

Bro. Carlos Ruiz, a UPCI United States Army Chaplain, who attends STWC, is being deployed to Iraq on October 19, 2008. Our church family had a surprise going away party for him. The attire: camo and black (he'll be turning 40 while he's over there) ... it was a blessing to be a part of the goodbye, but hard to see him go. I completely support him and what he's going to do while serving there. May God bless him and keep him in his journey! ***PRAY FOR OUR TROOPS!!***

Me 'n the boys in our camo!

When life throws you lemons, make lemonade!

So this past week was one of the toughest weeks I've had in quite sometime. Life has just thrown me some lemons lately and I haven't been able to make lemonade! Due to school and my first set of midterms coming up shortly, work and the stress there, my health issues that are seemingly unresolved, and just other stuff. To make it worse, I found out that my medical bills from all of the unexpected appointments and procedures I've had recently are going to cost me over $1,000. That completely put me over the top. Thankfully, I have faith in Jesus, even if sometimes it's hard to trust Him, and I have the amazing support of wonderful parents, and a great job where I actually just received a raise this past week. God is truly GOOD! I am feeling much better today, but I'm still trying to work through my issues and deal with everything! We have Ground Zero (@ STWC) coming up this weekend and I'm looking forward to being fed spiritually and filling up my spiritual tank in order to face what's ahead in the next few months. I'm getting a much needed pedicure tonight and hoping for an evening of pure relaxation! Needless to say, I'm looking forward to a new year and a fresh start.

A weekend of bliss!

I had the opportunity to spend this past weekend in Palm Springs with my cousins and some of their family. It was so relaxing! The house we stayed in was absolutely gorgeous and a perfect vacation home. I could have stayed there for a week or two. :) The pool was definitely my favorite and I spent most of my time in there. I have my last summer tan! I didn't have to worry about my clothes, my hair, an alarm clock or anything except for getting a bathing suit on and being outside! Now it's back to reality ... work, school, homework, dr appts, etc.. ugh! It was nice to be in a state of utopia while I could!!

Tests are NEGATIVE!

I just received a phone call from my doctor's office saying the tests came back negative! THANK YOU JESUS!! Going back for a check up on October 1st to determine whether mass is to be removed due to pain. Pending results for blood work that was just done today as well. Thank you all for your prayers and concern! My weekend will be worry-free!!

Wedding bells are ringin'!!

My girlfriend from high school, Genevieve, was married on September 14, 2008, to a very nice young man named Anthony, whom she met at her church. They had a beautiful wedding, where love was definitely there! I felt privileged to be a guest there to witness this union of love! Unfortunately, my camera died and I didn't even get to take a picture with the lovely bride and groom! I left the reception early for our Sunday evening communion service, which was a blessing, too! Wearing the same clothes and high heeled shoes that day for 13 hours was quite an experience. :)

Scripture of the day

John 14:1-3
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

Signing on to my homepage this morning (igoogle.com), I read this "gadget" (bible verse) for the day. There couldn't be a more perfect scripture today; especially the part about not letting your heart be troubled. Tomorrow I am going to a specialist for some testing that I am quite nervous about. Trusting in God through these times is by far the most challenging. I know He is in control and has the power to heal and take care of me, but my nerves tend to get the best of me anyway! Praying for negative test results and questions to the answers I've had lately!

UPDATE:
I went into the doctor yesterday and had an unexpected biopsy and now am waiting until Monday or Tuesday to hear results. Praying and hoping all is well.

Accident..

Grandma Nancy has arrived in California! Unfortunately someone had to welcome her in a not-so-nice way by rear ending Mom, Chad and Gram on their way to my aunt's house. An 18 year old, driving without a license, without insurance, in a Cadillac Escalade mind you... chose not to stop when my mom did, making for a quite interesting afternoon. Considering the speed of the "teenager", thankfully there weren't any more serious injuries. Of course, all of them have neck issues, so I'm sure the next few days will not be fun for any of them. Pray for a quick recovery and that justice will be served to the dumb girl driving illegally!!

Sunday drive in the canyons...

Sunday afternoon Scott, Jenn, the kids, and Chad and I took off after lunch on a stroll through the canyons off of Santiago Canyon Rd. It was a nice relaxing ride we enjoyed while sipping our Starbucks and enjoying the seriously dried out terrain. Clayton was the first to crash out for a nap, Abigail second. We never could get #1 to take a nap. He was too busy competing with mom and dad in their quest to come up with a song for everything we discussed. Jenn's classic was the donut song.. and then Zachary had to add to the mix... "Do you really want to hurt me?!" Thanks to Auntie Michelle!! Even though we had to cut our drive short because I had to go to band practice, it was a nice Sunday drive.

CSULB Student

I started college just out of high school, in August of 2002, with the anticipation of becoming an RN one day. After 3 years of school full time and still not finding my niche, I quit. Once I started working full time and got used to the money, I quickly pushed college out of my mind. 2 years later, in the fall of 2007, I decided to go back to school changing my major to a Business Admin degree, with emphasis in Accounting. After one horrible professor and many hours of homework without clear understanding, I again fell back in the rut of no school. Considering the fact the Spring of 2008 meant busy (tax) season while working full time for the accounting firm, I figured school just couldn't be added into that equation. Once summer rolled along, and then the fall, I had an itch to return to school again. Finally, I am a student once again at California State University Long Beach, this time to finish until the end. I will be majoring in Business Administration still, but with an emphasis in Marketing. I enjoy my current position at the accounting firm and hope the degree will increase my possibilities for growth and promotion with the administration department. I should be done in 2 years! (Lord willing!)