Family Day Trip to Prescott

The Kiddos

The Lovebirds

The Courthouse

The World War 1 Memorial Wall

A Christmas Light Display

On Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and after a busy morning Christmas shopping, we decided to take off for the rest of the day for a long drive. Well, we ended up in Prescott. which is a beautiful city. We went into downtown, took a few pictures, browse the shops and bought some souvenirs. Before heading back, we stop by and checked out a Christmas light display and ended the night with dinner at Garcias Mexican Restaurant. With Dad working on the weekends, but having Thursdays and Fridays off we needed to take advantage of the time we had with him. It was nice having him home on Thanksgiving and Friday. Wow, two whole days spent with Dad was great and we definitely enjoyed our family time. Can't wait for Christmas and the next day to have two whole days with him having family time again.

A Day of Thanks.....

Thanksgiving at home-Part 1

Thanksgiving at the Huescas-Part 2

Relaxing after Thanksgiving dinner

Our Thanksgiving started at home first and ended with dinner and fellowship at the home of the Huesca Family, very dear friends of ours that also made the move from California to Arizona. The Lord answered my prayer, I prayed that if it was his will to have some close friends or family to move to Arizona also, than let his will be done. And, guess what, he brought the Huesca Family here to Arizona. I thank the Lord for this awesome family. We had a very blessed and relaxing time that night and we even managed to squeeze in time to play "Rockband" and guess what I even got to sing, don't worry I didn't break any windows with my singing.

My Grandpa's Birthday and My Mom's Birthday

Yesterday would of been my grandfather's 86th birthday. He went to be with the Lord on February 9th of this year. I miss him so much, but I know he's resting now up in heaven with no pain and no more suffering. These past two days have been hard for me because yesterday being his birthday and today my family in California were celebrating it and I couldn't be there. They were also celebrating my mom's birthday as well, today is her actual birthday. Happy Birthday Grandpa Pete and Mom! I love you both!

Marissa's Book Report

Marissa has a book report due tomorrow......The book she read was called "Mare in the Meadow", it was about a horse named "Chamomile". Part of her book report was to make a character out of the book and it was to be made out of a shoe box, paper, or any other kind of material. Of course, she wanted to make "Chamomile", so on Wednesday night we as a family helped her make her character. Yes, we did a family project and we had a ball. Can't wait for the next one to come. Here are the pictures of the finished product:

Monday Night Football

The S.F. 49ers warming up

My wonderful and loving husband

My wonderful kiddos

Are you ready for some football???

In honor of Veteran's Day

Jordin Sparks singing National Anthem

Marissa cheering for her Cardinals

49ers and Cardinals playing some ball

"Happy 12th Birthday, Jesse"

Twelve years ago on October 30th a bouncing baby boy was born into this world. Gabriel and I named our little handsome boy "Jesse". We can't believe he's already 12 years old, wow! where has the time gone. Jesse has developed into a young man with a heart full of love, joy, kindness, etc. But, the biggest blessing of all he has a big heart for Jesus. Gabriel and I are so proud of him, he does his best in school, sports, etc. He has brought so much joy into our lives and we have blessed to have him as our son. We look forward to celebrating more years and more birthdays with him and also looking forward to see what the Lord has in store for his life. "Happy Birthday, Jesse".

Celebrating Jesse's birthday at "Applebees"

Jesse enjoying his huge steak burger

Jesse enjoying his ice cream sundae

"Happy Birthday, Jesse"

2 Year Anniversary.....

Hey everyone!
On Tuesday, October 21st was our 2 year anniversary. It has been two years since my family and I have been here in Arizona. We decided to take a leap of faith and move out of California to start a whole new life, little did we know God was going to bring us to Arizona. I couldn't understand why Arizona, and I even asked God why, what's in Arizona. Over the past two years I can now see why the Lord had brought us out to Arizona. You see, little did I know that one of my family members was going to be struck with cancer. My cousin Patty, was diagnosed with breast cancer in March of 2007. The Lord opened up doors and I was able to adjust my schedule so I could be available to take my cousin to her chemo and doctor appointments. Boy, was this an eye-opener for me and a blessing at the same time. Through all this I was able to see the Lord's hand move, I now don't take life for granted. And, I learned an important lesson too, sometimes there comes a time or times that we need to put our situations, trials, etc. to the side and be there for someone who is in far greater need. Not only will that person be blessed, but we will be blessed as well. Till this day, the Lord is showing me reasons why he has brought me and my family to Arizona. I'm just so excited to be living in this state and I know that the Lord still has a lot more stored up for me and my family.

Women's Retreat

This year's retreat was awesome.....I was blessed to be there....I had a blessed time with the Lord and with the other ladies.....Enjoyed spending time with friends and forming new friendships......I went to the the retreat with an open heart, mind , and soul and was hoping to receive some answers from the Lord.....Praise the Lord! Throughout the whole weekend the Lord was confirming things to me.....Now I know what I have to do to continue growing in the Lord and bearing much more fruit....This year at the retreat my word was: "Endurance" and I know why the Lord blessed with me that word....This past year and a half my life has been hit hard with hardships and adversity.....There's has been so much illness, and death in my family, plus the loss of jobs and division among family and friendships. I'm so thankful I have the Lord in my life and the great support from my church family at CC Surprise because without all of them I would of not have been able to endure all this. And, now, everytime any hardship or adversity comes my way I keep saying "Lord, I'll keep enduring, just help me to remember to lean on you".

Our New Kitten-"Cassie"

Last Thursday, we added a family member to our little family.....We got a new kitten and her name is "Cassie", she is very adorable and cute......We just lost our other cat, "Callie" a few weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon and we were very devastated.....She somehow got out through the doggie door and must of jumped over the wall and took off.....We didn't realize she was missing until we were all getting ready for bed that night.....We are still hoping and praying that somehow she finds her way back home to us.....You see she has been part of our family for 7 years now we got her as a kitten and she even made the move from California to Arizona with us.....Even though we now have "Cassie", our "Callie" will forever be in our hearts.....Here are a few pictures of our new addition:

The Arizona Cardinals Pre-Season Opener

On Thursday, our family was blessed to be able to go to The Arizona Cardinals Pre-Season Opener Game against The New Orleans Saints. This was our gift to our son, Jesse, for receiving A's and B's on last year's report card. Jesse was able to invite two friends as well, so we were blessed to have Josiah and Christoffer join us. We all had so much fun that night, I think the greatest blessing was seeing the excitement in all three boys' faces especially when they realized how close we were to the field.....Yes, we were also blessed to have such awesome seats. Here are some pictures from that night:

First Day Blogging

Thanks to Malinda Harrell getting me set up I now have a blog.....So bear with me a little since I'm new at this.....