Beginning of School Year and Fall

Justin started pre-school this year! The first day was rough, (a lot), but after a few days he loved it and wanted to go every day, even on the weekends. He is learning so much, making new friends, and is even starting to read and write! What a big boy!

I decided to be bold and make the kids' Halloween costumes this year. Wow, what a big undertaking. Especially when one twelve year old orders, "An Alice In Wonderland" costume just like the one she wore in the movie, sigh. I did my best, and was happy with the result!

Justin wanted to be "Super J" so I designed and made him a special Super J cape which he still wears around the house so he can fly and do super hero moves. Every boy needs a cape!



Sarah turned 12 in October and in honor of the big day I made a Happy Birthday Banner. I was inspired by Tracy's beautiful banner and didn't realize how similar our banners were until I went back and looked at hers. I guess great minds think alike! :)

A Magical Sort of a Day

Justin's birthday party was on Saturday and it was such an amazing time! Grandpa and Grandma came up from Sacramento for the big day. It had been pouring rain that morning as it usually does on his birthday, so we were bracing ourselves for an indoor party. But about an hour before the party the skies cleared and it was sunny and gorgeous out much to our surprise! Everyone had such a great time and after cake and presents we went out in the sunny back yard and opened a pinata. The kids had a blast playing on the climber, swinging, looking at our bunny, and running around the yard. Ron gave a raised bed garden tour, (as only he can do), which added to the fun of the day.

I rarely encounter days as perfect as this day was. There is something so amazing about gathering with good friends at your home to celebrate your child's birthday. Everyone was smiling and happy, laughing and enjoying themselves. I felt so grateful for family, good friends, and life in general. The clouds parted for the party, then the rain started up again when it was over. I couldn't help feeling like God had smiled on the day just for us.

Some of Justin's favorite buddies getting ready to dive into the cake.

One happy four year old boy!

The delicious Co-Op carrot cake which had honey in the icing, yuummmy!

Justin checking out his new Radio Flyer scooter.

Pinata aftermath.

Ron gave a raised bed garden tour in the back yard for our friends.

My Birthday

This year my birthday came and went quietly. There were no big parties, no family came to see me, and Ron was gone all day. The kids were both having a rough day and it was "one of those days." At first I kind of felt sorry for myself honestly. I'm not one for a huge blow out birthday party, but usually a friend does something special for me, or we go out to dinner, see a movie, get a cake, etc. None of that happened this year and as I wallowed in my misery I stopped to think. I've learned that in situations like this there's usually a lesson I'm supposed to learn, or a nugget of truth I'm missing out on, and if I sit and let myself have a pity party it will pass me by. I started thinking about the things I did have this day and began to realize this was a special birthday, better than most, and that I was missing out on it! Two friends had given me beautiful hand made cards, (thank you Allison and Mandy!) and Sarah made me a special "mom" card only a daughter could make. Justin had greeted me with, "Happy birtday mom!" in the morning. Allison gave me a gorgeous necklace and ear ring set from the craft it forward I did a while back, thanks Allison!! My mom had sent me a card and some nice presents the day before wrapped up in a beautiful package. That night when Ron came home he gave me this cute fire and light heart dish along with some low calorie ice cream, (he knows I'm trying to cut the calories!) It was a great day, and I think 38 is a birthday I'll remember for years to come! Focusing on the positive things helped me to get my mind off of myself and onto the amazing people in my life and the things I have to be thankful for. Thanks God for the lesson, hopefully I'll learn from it!

My lovely collection of hand made cards my friends and family made and the Fire and Light heart Ron bought me for my birthday.

Sarah's Birthday Weekend

Sarah is 11 now! Her birthday was Oct. 2, and my parents came up from Sacramento to share the weekend with us. They took Sarah out to her favorite restaurant, Arts Alive, and the apple festival! We all had a great time hanging out and being a family together. Sarah had lots of fun with her grandparents of course! Here are some pics of the fun weekend:

Mmmmm, cake!
Arts Alive!

Justin "riding" a tractor at the apple festival.

Family hay ride complete with apple cider!

Sarah's dinner birthday treat.

Justin's Birthday Party

We had a belated birthday party for Justin about a week and a half after his actual birthday at our new house! With all the moving chaos going on we decided to wait until things were situated, (a bit anyway!) It was fun to have our first "event" here at the house, especially since it was one of the kids' birthday parties! Seven of Justin's little friends came and a great time was had by all! Here are a few pics of the big day:

Hard to believe our "baby" is three now!

The cake I quickly whipped up.

Matchbox cars from Isaac - the kid didn't want to open any other presents after these, and they were the first gift!

Wow, cool Mom! Yes, that's me - evidence I was there.

Cute and stylin' Fiona enjoying some cake.

Bethany with her precious brood.

Fiona and Rowan enjoying the fun.

The shy birthday boy hiding from a present bearer.

Justin's Birthday Celebration

Today we had a fun little birthday celebration for Justin at my mom's group. He loves sprinkles, so I made him cup cakes with lots of sprinkles on top. Here are some cute pics from the day:

Wow, fire!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Mmmm, good!

He made his own little artistic creation with candles.

Justin Is Three Today!

Today is Justin's 3rd Birthday. It's hard to believe he is three already, where did the time go? Life has changed in so many ways for the better since this little guy came along. He adds so much joy, love, and boy to our lives! Sarah dotes on him and is the little mother hen, Ron adores him, and I as well. I think we all fell in love the day he was born. He has a way of getting into your heart like no other. We're so grateful to God for our little guy! I'll post some pics later today of him, (busy day, lots of painting to do!)

37 Things About This 37 Year Old

I've lived 37 years on this earth as of today! I thought it would be fun to write 37 things I've done in my life thus far:

1. I was born in San Francisco on October 17, 1971

2. I moved about 12 times growing up and have lived in 4 states: California, Oregon, Colorado and Washington D.C.

3. I used to live only a few miles from Disney Land

4. I've been to the Grand Canyon when I was a teenager

5. I played the flute in school

6. I was a model for my uncle's paintings when I was a kid

7. I used to spend summers on my Grandparent's farm in Oregon

8. I met Jesus when I was 4

9. I went to an inner city performing arts high school and graduated in 1990

10. I've worked in church ministry off and on since I was 16

11. I've been to Mexico twice on mission's trips

12. I went to Kauai when I was in high school

13. I learned French in middle school and Spanish in college

14. I was a dance instructor in my 20's

15. I've led several dance troupes

16. I graduated from Bible School

17. I married Ron in 1995

18. I was a youth pastor

19. I graduated from College of the Redwoods with 2 Associate Degrees

20. Ron and I helped create and manage a coffee shop

21. I've had 2 kids, (Sarah in 1998 and Justin in 2006 without pain meds)

22. I have 3 babies in heaven

23. I’ve had an amniocentesis (with Sarah)

24. I had post partum depression

25. I've had 2 major surgeries

26. I've had and recovered from several chronic illnesses

27. I'm an artist and have recently become a mosaic artist

28. I've recently become a children's clothing designer

29. I've created and painted stage props for professional productions

30. I've been published in a local publication

31. I had a used on line book store

32. I've done professional alterations

33. I've made 6 quilts

34. I've done art shows locally

35. I've been to England and Scotland twice

36. I've been to Canada

37. I've lived 37 whole years!

Sarah's Slumber Party

Sarah had 4 girl friends over last night for her birthday slumber party! It was the first time she has had a slumber party here. A great time was had by all! The night started out with eating pizza and watching movies, followed by opening presents. They did manicures later in the evening and watched a few more movies, blew up balloons and made animals out of them, then ate ice cream and candy. Yes, things got quite hyper around here from the sugar highs, but they need to be cut loose once in a while after all! The house got quiet around 1 a.m., but they were up and ready to go by 8. We did the birthday cake this morning, and they played wii games until the parents came to pick them up.
Here are some pics from the festivities:

Happy 10th Birthday Sarah!

Mama and daughter

Sarah's Birth Story

Ten years ago after 12 hours of labor, pitocin, one epidural and many cries of "I can't do this any more, this hurts!", Sarah came into the world. She was born at Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna. After I had her people told me how great I looked considering the fact that I had endured a complicated labor for 12 hours. At the time I thought they were just being nice, but looking at the picture now I can't believe how good I looked!

Sarah's labor started at around 3 in the morning. I was having pretty regular contractions and realized it was time to head to the hospital. We lived a ways from the hospital, so I wanted to make sure to get there on time, ha ha, no worries there! I remembered feeling nauseated, but thinking that everything was normal, I was in labor after all.

When we got to the hospital I was so excited to practice my Lamaze. I was walking all over the place, squatting, doing whatever I wanted to...except for being in pain of course. The nurse did a urine sample, again, a normal procedure. Soon the doctor entered and she had a really serious look on her face. She informed me that I had severe pre-eclampsia. I had a basic idea of what it was - high blood pressure in pregnant women. It can be very dangerous if left untreated and can lead to a condition called eclampsia. Not a pretty diagnosis, it can be fatal. The doctor then told me that I would need to lay flat on my back for the entire labor, no moving around, standing, walking, nada. I was devastated, although I didn't know what I was in for. I was going to be given magnesium sulfate to stop the pre-eclampsia. She asked me if I wanted an epidural since I would be in so much pain. I accepted, I figured she knew what she was doing. Labor continued on and I was able to handle the contractions. It wasn't too long before things started to get going though and I was ready for the pain to be gone. After I had progressed enough (it was mid morning by this time), I got the epidural as promised, and it worked, it was wonderful! No more pain, just a little pressure and I could sit back and rest.

Around 1:oo pm I started to feel the pain returning slowly. I kept asking the nurse to re-up my epidural, please. She kept saying she was waiting for the anesthesiologist. Another half hour would pass and I would ask again, still no epidural. Around this time I realized I wasn't getting any more, and that was when things got scary. Then, the doctor decided that due to my pre-eclampsia my labor needed to be sped up because the baby was in distress. She told me they would need to give me pitocin; little did I know what that meant! Of course my contractions got unnaturally harder and longer; I was in for a wild ride. I panicked when the epidural had worn off. By this time the pitocin had kicked in big time. I didn't get the chance to slowly move into the pain as it intensified. It hit like a ton of bricks, and it was mainly in my back. At this point the nurse, (who was a mid wife as well), was helping me the best she could. Ron was so great, he really tried, but I was in so much pain I had no way to cope. I started feeling like the pain was going to kill me, that I couldn't survive this. I cried and let the whole world know that this was too much pain for any person to endure. I started to see the nurse and doctor's faces look concerned, and I was afraid I was headed for a c-section. A little while after this the nurse told me that I could push, finally! This was the hardest part of the labor. My back was in so much pain I felt like my spine was being snapped in two.

After half an hour of pushing she was finally out! The doctor had warned me that she would be a floppy baby from the epidural and mag sulfate. She didn't cry at all, but she was beautiful. The nurse whisked her off into the hall way as soon as I had seen her. My room was so full of machinery and medical staff there was no room for her to be examined so they had to take her out into the hall. Later Ron told me that she was intubated, but responded quickly. It seemed like forever until they brought her back into the room. She looked perfect in every way and was really pretty for a newborn. Her weight was 6 lbs. 2.5 oz, height - 19 1/2". She was tiny! (We had to put her in preemie clothes for the first week because she floated in the newborn ones.) Within a few hours her color looked good and her apgar scores were fine. The doctor told me later that she was on the verge of doing a c-section when my labor suddenly progressed. I am so grateful that I was able to birth her naturally!

I am so thankful for the ten years we've had with Sarah. We're blessed with a wonderful, smart, strong, and talented girl. I never imagined I would have such a wonderful daughter. I look forward to many more precious years to come!

Justin's 2nd Birthday!

Justin turned 2 March 31st! It's hard to believe he is almost 2 1/2 now, time flies! We had his party at Redwood Park. Here are a few pics from his small party:

Mmmm, carrot cake!

Our wee tree hugger

Thanks so much for coming Isaac! You're a true friend! :)

Sarah's Birthday Party

Last weekend we celebrated Sarah's 9th birthday at the Discovery Museum. She and her friends had a great time. Here are a few of the pics from the day:

Birthday girl with her cake

The girls

Justin had fun too!

Waiting for the sugar!

Puppet Show

Playing on the boat

Sarah Is Nine Today!

Today is Sarah's 9th birthday. She was born Friday October 2, 1998 at 4:29 pm. at Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna, delivered by Dr. Kathleen Harner. Weighing in at a tiny 6 lbs. 2.6 oz and 19 1/4 inches long. Her full name is Sarah Alyse Alexander. Sarah means princess and Alyse means truth.

It doesn't seem like it's been that long since we've had this wonderful girl in our lives. She really is a great kid, and we're blessed by God to have her.

We didn't have a digital camera when she was born, but here are a few cute pictures of her.