SWEETNESS

FRIENDS!

My 10 girlfriends from college got together a couple of weekends ago for a double baby shower. In the afternoon I hosted a baby shower for Kelly Arreola who is expecting a baby boy, Jack, in May. We had a fiesta themed party complete with Sopes, Margaritas and a Pinata. We always enjoy being together. It was so wonderful that the girls, coming from all over the state, could all be here. Their company always refreshes me and warms my heart. Just seeing their faces does me good.

That night we had a meet the baby shower for Erica, my dearest friend, matron of honor and roommate for 3 years in college. It was so great to finally meet sweet Elena. She is absolutely precious

I was too busy to take more pictures!

Noelle and Natalie starting to play... hooray!

The past couple of days the girls have started to up the interaction to what is starting to look much more like PLAY. It is super cute. Today, Natalie walked up to Noelle and gave her a hug it was so adorable.

Noelle is a really great big sister and although she sometimes frustrates Natalie, 9 times out of 10 she is doing something really thoughtful for her. I'm really proud of her. I pray that whatever the childhood years bring that they will have a lasting friendship and can encourage one another throughout adulthood.

There really isn't much better in this world than a baby belly laugh! Enjoy!

The Girls at 9 Months!

Tanya and Sterling

When we lived in Fresno and I worked at Patio Cafe, I met two very dear friends, Amber and Tanya. Amber lives in Clovis and Tanya now lives in Maryland. Tanya, her little boy Sterling, and one on the way came to visit us a couple of weeks ago. It was so great to have some time with them. Natalie and Sterling seems to have similar interests :).

Thanks for coming guys! Now we just have to make it out to Annapolis!

Sarah's Breakfast at Tiffany's Shower

The Cousins: Me, Sarah and Lindsay

The Sisters: Diana, Kelly and Julie

My cousin Sarah is getting married in a month and so we had a beautiful family shower in Murrieta. Sarah is a big Audrey Hepburn fan and so the theme seemed fitting. My mom, after years of being an activities director at Newport Harbor, definitely went above and beyond to make a great ambiance. Sarah seemed to really enjoy it.

Valentine's Day Date

Ryan and I had a nice date too :)! Valentine's day marked 10 years that we have been together! Crazy. I am so thankful for Ryan and for the relationship we have. Glory to God. We would never be here without Him.

A Beautiful Winter Sunset in Newport

Playing with my new camera that I got for Christmas! We got down to the beach and the sky was amazing. We knew it was going to be an incredible sunset. It seems like we are coming out of the newborn phase where we had to divide ourselves so much in the girls care and are beginning to have more and more moments where we can enjoy being a family of four. We are even venturing out more and more (and having it go well anyway). The girls are incredible blessings.

I just have to say while posting too that Natalie is an absolute joy! The little thing loves life! She is walking all over the place and exploring. Yesterday at Noelle's kid's play class that we take through the city, Natalie acted like she was one of the toddlers, walking all around and trying out new toys. She would squeal with delight at all the new things she tried - a push car that I sat her in, a tunnel she crawled through, a ramp she walked up and jumped off of into my arms, a slide, a swing, etc. It was so fun.

Natalie's Walking!

We are just checking off milestones like crazy in Natalie's baby book. She shows lots of determination and keen observation (much like her sister). She is probably really wanting to keep up.
There is one milestone however that remains blank in the midst of all the writing - "Slept Through the Night." So I look at it longingly for a brief moment and then just enjoy all the other fun milestones we are watching Nat tackle. For the record, she has slept through the night a couple times but it's never stuck, try as we might.
Natalie has such a fun personality. I can't tell you how much delight she brings us. It is really fun to watch her little baby self walking along. Here's a video! Noelle likes to pretend like she's the baby and walk to us like Natalie does (as you can see).

Static!

A dry winter day, during the Santa Ana winds. The trampoline gets filled with electricity. Isn't this amazing? If you click on the picture you can see it even better.

First Words

A couple of weeks ago, my parents said that Natalie was saying "mama" when I was gone. I figured she was just making a new noise. But sure enough, the next day she said both mama and dada and it seemed like she really knew what she was saying, which really surprised me. She is already looking like she's going to be quite the talker, funny little girl.

OAXACA

In November Ryan had the opportunity to accompany his mom and a group from their church to Oaxaca, Mexico. It was a rich experience for both of them as they served the participants in a several day conference called "La Gran Festival".

This conference is put on by an organization called Growers First that works with the native coffee farmers in this region as well as other places around the world. Their mission is in part - "Growers First equips isolated indigenous family farmers to undertake long term economic and community development through outreach and partnership." Dave Day, the founder was part of Ryan's group. He gave them as much opportunity as possible in a short trip to experience the culture and serve the people.

It was really significant for Ryan and his mom to participate in this trip together. Julie also had the opportunity to get baptized in the ocean at the end of their trip.
Thanks to all of you who supported and prayed for them!
Here are some pictures.

A Summer Break from Winter

Today it is 85 degrees. We are wearing summer clothes (after I reorganized girls closets for winter). It isn't just warm. It's hot. In January. You gotta love Costa Mesa. The city wear we wear scarves and boots as soon as its in the 60s while other places in the country 60s bring out the shorts :)!

New Year's Resolutions

Ryan asked me the other night what my New Year's Resolutions were. I told him, "I don't do New Year's resolutions." I think that I am always resolving to work on something, or maybe I would phrase it, grow in some area of my life. After we had a couple more exchanges I said, well, if I had to come up with a resolution, these are what have been on my mind lately:

1) Have more patience with Noelle

2) Read more books to Natalie

3) Be kinder in my words to Ryan

Things that are so easy to throw out there but not so easy to keep up (except maybe the book reading). Isn't that the way with New Year's Resolutions all around. It brings me right back to the three reasons I don't make them:

1) I desire to always be open to growth and change, not just at the start of the year.

2) God's mercies are new EVERY day.

3) On our own efforts we fail to live up to our resolutions but through the transforming work of Christ in us we can live in new freedom and new ways of being (a change from those same patterns of behavior we repeat over and over - hence the need for a resolution)

This last reason was pretty much the message at church last week that reminded me once again to seek dependence on God and not self-improvement. Still don't think I'm getting that, maybe sometimes.

Cousins

Brooke and Andrew are my cousin Lindsay's two little ones. Growing up my cousins Lindsay and Sarah were right around my same age and we were very close. We have lots of fun memories together, especially at my grandparents house on the lake. My grandpa made us a playhouse on the beach, complete with electricity and running water. Their house was a great place! Lindsay still lives in Lake Elsinore and it is so fun for our kids to be getting older and beginning to play together. Here are some sweet pictures of the cousins (close enough).

Life with a two year old...

I sit and look around my house and think, how did it come to this? I can't help but smile as I look around and see the markings of a two year old, my two year old everywhere I turn. Who else but a toddler could make such a mess? How do these things get here? You could also learn a lot about Noelle from where I was sitting before writing this (at the kitchen table).

• Underwear in the corner of the room (our feeble attempts to potty "train" - I'm going to pick up a book at the library tomorrow. One of the counselors that I supervise asked me last night if I have an advantage in potty training because of my counseling background? Well, maybe I should but I think that I'm currently getting no where. I'll spare you the details that make my days so fun recently)
• A sparkly princess sticker stuck to the wood floor (she told me these stickers were "MAGIC", oooh)
• Rice all over the floor (this child loves rice - could eat it for every meal. It makes such a mess. She still can't eat dairy, wheat and peanuts. Doctor will hopefully retest her at 3)
• Her little red Lightening McQueen Crocs. She loves Cars (the Disney movie). Ryan and I marvel at how Disney gets its name on everything. We have Cars' bandaids, sippy cups, vitamins, magnets, shoes, clothes, pajamas, bath bubbles, chair, etc. Ridiculous.

I could go on but am tired. And I should probably go tend to this house that never seems to resemble clean :).

We just had to get a new hard drive so my pictures aren't downloaded yet so I thought I'd share some thoughts. Pictures soon!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I got the most wonderful gift for Christmas - a Canon Rebel (a really nice digital camera). All sorts of people went in on this gift for me because it was quite pricey but hopefully with all the great pictures I get we will all feel it's worth it!

Here are a couple pictures from Christmas and hopefully some coming from our recent trip to Northern California soon!

This Christmas season was great because of how much we can enjoy it anew through Noelle's eyes. I am also thankful for the ways our church encouraged us to prepare our hearts and not just our presents. There seems to always be some new light that can be shed on the miracle of Christ's birth.

This Christmas Day we went to my Aunt Diana's house. My entire mom's side of the family were there so we got a group picture.

Video Updates

Natalie is seven months now and a very proficient crawler. She is pulling up on things and is looking like a "climber". Noelle was very busy like her sister but not much of a climber. And unlike Noelle, Natalie has to put everything in her mouth! Definitely keeps me on my toes.

I'll look away for a minute and then turn back around and say "NATALIEEE, what do you think you're doing?" Natalie always turns and looks at me with a big grin and Noelle thinks its hilarious. Noelle is always coming to me now and saying, "What do you think Natalie is doing?" And sure enough it's something wild and Noelle loves it! She is such a sweet big sis and loves to make Natalie smile (right now, her jumping up and down or running towards us is natalie's favorite).



For some of you family members that knew me when I was little, you will get a kick out of this video! This is so me!


Noelle and I love looking back at some of the old videos. We thinks some of them are soo funny. My favorite is "My Baby Ballet Dancer" or "Hallelujah" and hers is "Lots of New Tricks" the one where she just learned to walk and falls on the "stuff in your way." It makes her really giggle. You could see any of them here:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=kmccarty81&view=videos

NOELLE AND NATALIE!

Last night, I was sitting on the couch with both girls on either side. Natalie had a full belly and was therefore very happy and Noelle was feeling extra cuddly. She was getting right in Natalie's face and talking to her and they both had huge smiles. I started laughing and it made them smile even more.

I felt an overwhelming sense of delight in my girls and thankfulness for moments like that. It was followed by a sober moment to remember that many people don't ever or often feel this type of love. I then remembered that God delights in His children wanting everyone to know it and was filled with an awareness that it was not just the three of us sitting there loving each other but there was a forth joining right in on the smiles.

BEAUTIFUL GIFTS...

Tomorrow I'm having a "Shopping Party" at my house. I wanted to tell you all about the two organizations that will be there. They are really awesome organizations whose causes minister to some beautiful women. The organizations sell the products made by women in India and Uganda.
If anyone reads this and wants to come to the party, it's at 11:00 (Dec 6th).

Check out their websites and buy Christmas gifts that are a double blessing - 1 for the recipient and 2 for the creators.

International Princess Project - They seek to restore, equip and empower women who are removed from the sex slave trade in India. These women learn to sew and make a living creating "punjammies" - pajama pants that are sold here in the US.
http://www.intlprincess.org/

31Bits - Work with refugee women in Uganda who make beautiful jewelry. They come alongside these women to bring hope and restoration as well as give them a market to sell their jewelry.
http://www.31bits.com/