Pregnancy #2 and family Photos!

About a month ago, Jake, Isaac, and I visited my friend, Renee, in Alameda. While there, Renee was gracious enough to take a few photos of us as a family and then of me with my baby bump. After the family photos Jake left with Isaac and I hung out with Renee and our good friend, Stephanie. I have been best friends with these girls since 1993 (Renee even longer) and it is ALWAYS fun and full of laughter whenever we get together. Here are some of my favorites from the session...

The "goddess" pose!

Lastly, I got Renee and Stephanie to do a "hands heart" with me

I love these women. This is what long lasting friendship looks like!

Mrs. and Mrs. Hansen Curran

Today one of my best friends married the love of her life. We have walked with each other through a lot of changes, struggles and triumphs over our decade of friendship and I was honored to support her as she married her girlfriend of 4 years. What a time in history to be a lesbian! There are so many opinions and conflict surrounding peoples' choice to love one another, that it was a privilege to attend such a glorious celebration filled with love and support. The woman officiating began by discussing the mystery of God's plan as outlined in Ephesians chapter 3 and Paul's prayer:

14When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,^e 15the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.^f 16I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

20Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.  Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT

As I listened to the words and truth of God, I couldn't help but beam from the Spirit igniting my soul with pride of what God gives us in Him and the honor of what these women are becoming together. It was so great to be a part of such an occasion.

Congratulations Megan and Emily!! You are bold and beautiful and simply two of my favorite people. May God bless your life together!

Travel, travel, travel (Part 1: Colorado)

We are home at last. It's been fun, but it feels SO good to be home. Our journey started on August 3rd with driving to Roseville to see a home for rent and WE GOT IT!!! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! It's in West Roseville, so it's closer to Sacramento airport and it has a fantastic backyard. It's also within walking distance to my cousins which is fantastic. The only downside, was that I was flying out the next morning to start my road trip in Colorado, so we couldn't do any moving or sign the lease until we got back.

The trip to Colorado was fun and adventurous, but also very tiring. I learned what it was like to be a single parent and it is no easy feat! Just when I thought of stopping to get a coffee, Isaac would be starting to fall asleep and there was no way I was going to interrupt that process, so I just drove. Getting stuff in and out of the hotel was also a challenge since I couldn't really leave him alone. I ended up wearing him in the Ergo and that worked, but still took planning and organizing to make it all run smoothly.

Jake drove our car to Las Vegas so I wouldn't have to drive from San Luis to Vegas. Isaac and I flew to Vegas from San Jose and then drove to Richfield, UT. The next morning we went to Grand Junction and Jake flew in (he had been working). We then drove to Boulder, CO to visit his sister, Kate, the last aunt to meet Ike. It was lots of fun visiting with her and her boyfriend, Nick. We also got to visit the Celestial Seasonings factory which I LOVED. We didn't get to go on a tour since infants aren't allowed on the tour and we ran out of time, but there will hopefully be a next time!

After Boulder we drove back to the Western Slope and stayed in Delta, CO in order to attend my dear friend's wedding. Naomi and I went to nursing school together and grew close over learning how to handle schoolwork and whether or not we wanted to marry these men we were dating. :) When I married Jake she did our flowers and so it was an honor to be invited to support her marriage to Jeremy. They got married in the Black Canyon, pretty much on the edge of a cliff and her brother officiated it. They are a WONDERFUL couple and it was such a beautiful wedding! Congratulations to Naomi and Jeremy Werlin!!!!

And then some pictures of us at the wedding...

Later that day (the 9th), Jake had to leave for work and I stayed the rest of my trip with my friend, Tammy, in Grand Junction. Tammy is like a second Mom to me. She was my director for Sweet Adelines when I lived in Grand Junction and I got to work with her at the Grand Valley Surgical Center. She and her husband, John, are so witty and loving. God totally blessed me by putting them in my life when I lived in Grand Junction and it was lots of fun to stay with her during this visit.

Isaac also had a marvelous time and enjoyed this little game that Tammy's grandson had put on her Kindle. It's not much of a game, but the kitty on the screen reacts when Isaac touches her. He was quite entertained.

The first evening I was there, Tammy invited the people that I had worked with over for peach daiquiris and appetizers. It was great seeing, talking and laughing with them. I miss working with those women and I pray my next job has a community among coworkers like GVSC.

The next day Tammy and I visited Bailee (one of the girls I worked with) who just had her second baby and he was only five days old!! Crazy to think that that was Isaac just 8 months ago.

That evening I met up with my aunt and Isaac tried Feta cheese for the first time. I think he liked it. ;)

Then we went to chorus practice. Isaac was pretty worn out, but it was wonderful to see and hear the ladies sing. I also got to sing a couple songs with my old quartet, Cover Charge, which was fun. It's been awhile since I've sung that high, but there's nothing like creating harmony!!

Blow the pitch!

Isaac being held by Jennifer, enjoying the "wall of sound." :)

Meet the Johnstons

Congratulations to the Mr. and Mrs. Kevin and Yasmin Johnston!!

Yesterday, June 27th, Jake's good friend from flight school married the beautiful Yasmin Akhtar. The wedding was beautiful despite the rain and it was lots of fun to hang out with Jake’s friends and their wives. A big thank you to my in-laws for watching Isaac during the wedding. There were a couple babies at the wedding, but it was nice to kick back and enjoy adult fun and be worry free since I knew Ike was having a blast with his Springsteen grandparents.

During the wedding I had to pump a couple of times and Jake kept me company. Later we found out that a rumor spread that Jake and I were getting lucky in the utility closet. That’s a much more fun alternative to the truth, so I guess there’s no need to really argue it. ;)

There was also a zip line at the wedding. This was a groomsmen adventure, but one too fun not to share. The zip line was not necessarily for guest use. It was discovered by the group after they took some wedding party pictures and Jake decided he would be the first to test it out.

Next Adam took a ride on it. During the course of the first two zip liners the string got a little tangled which caused the following scene:

Hilarious. 

Kevin is an awesome guy and it was fun to be a part of his and Yasmin's day. 

Avocado

I liked today. Jake came home after a long 6 day stretch, I got to catch up with a good friend, we were able to FaceTime with Jake's parents and (the best part) we napped. :) We also introduced Isaac to his first solid food! (pictures to follow) I was much more proactive in getting photos today, so I will share today's news through those.

Isaac and me waiting outside for Jake to get off the plane

My dear friend, Rachel.

Isaac acts very interested in food, so I have been aching to begin him on solids, but I wanted to wait until Jake came home. Originally I was going to wait until his 6 month birthday, but it's only one week away, so what the heck! I decided we would start him on avocado. This may have been a little ambitious, since (as my mother pointed out) it is not sweet at all like breast milk. I did try to mix some breast milk in to help the transition, but, well, you can see from the photos...

Started off good

hmmm

what is this taste?

it's suppose to go down my throat?

What did you give me?!

He ate it, but I wouldn't say he did so with gusto. Perhaps we'll do something sweeter for his half birthday, like applesauce. I can't believe we're already at this point in his development! Exciting times.

Isaac had a good time talking with his Michigan grandparents:

And my favorite part of our day- napping.

These Springsteen boys love their naps!