Sumner Fam...So THANKFUL!

Well hello there...

2011-06-22T14:36:00.000-07:00

These 2 precious kids sum up my heart...I am overflowing with joy, happiness and peace. I have so much to share, I don't even know where to begin...So I thought I would just say hi and share a cute pic of my babies.

God is good and I am thankful.

I hope everyone is doing well! I am sorry if I have felt distant--I have been, but it's not you, it's me. I have been totally obsessed with working on things at home--in my heart, and in this earthly structure where we rest. I have had the privilege of falling in love again--with my Savior...and in doing so it has helped me fall in love again with my husband, our kids, our family and friends.

More to come...just not sure when ;)

XOXO,

Dani :)

1 thing I love!

2010-10-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

So I love a lot of things and I'm not the type of person to hold back any of what I love...if I love you, I will tell you...I often end my phone conversations with "love you!"...and please know, it's ok if you don't respond with "love you, too". I just want everyone special in my life to know that I love them when we hang up or part from one another...love is a special word, but I don't think it should be just saved for your husband or mother or children...at least that's my view! ;) There are different kind of loves!

Ok, on to my real point of this post!
Shell Beach, Pismo and Avilla I think are famous (at least in my heart) for beautiful skies and of course the beautiful Ocean! I love it when it's cloudy and overcast out and beaming through just 1 cloud is the Sun, shining on the Ocean in just 1 spot...it is breath taking! I think it is breath taking because that is my life. No matter what I've done or what is going on it could be very cloudy, but God is beaming through with some hope and love...I love that!

If you care enough to read my blog and care about our family...I love you!

Makenzie is hilarious!

2010-09-20T09:21:00.001-07:00

Makenzie is usually full of questions but this one caught me off guard this AM!

"Is there a potty in my heart for Jesus to go poo poo?"

Love my girl!

Our big move!

2010-09-19T19:22:00.000-07:00

I finally have made time to sit down and share what is going on in our life on my blog! As you all know (I hope!) we are moving to Shell Beach near Pismo Beach in a week and a half! We are so thrilled about having the opportunity to move to such a beautiful place that we have dreamed of moving to for almost a decade! We love, love, love the San Luis Obispo area and have spent a great deal of time there over the years...for business and pleasure! A few months ago or so Gary and I decided to move in another direction professionally which allows us to have Gary work from home! Which we LOVE! Although it is taking adjusting realizing that just because he is home doesn't mean he is at my beck and call to help with the kids! I'm working on it! ;) So we started thinking about where we really want to live "forever" I say "forever" because I'm not even going to begin to challenge God with my plans...He has made it abundantly clear in my life over and over again that my plans really don't matter much...His do! Which is fine by me...most of the time! ;) We prayed and prayed about this decision...We did the old Benjamin Franklin list of pros and cons and it looked a little something like this...

Pros of moving to Shell...
Living closer to the Beach
Living closer to more of our family
More conservative area (our liberal friends tease us!)
Seems like an easier place to raise Godly kids (not so much $$ around)
Less expensive place to live
Healthier lifestyle
We really want to get settled in the area we want to be in before Makenzie starts kindergarten next Fall...wow, time flies!!

Cons of leaving the Bay Area... Leaving our incredible community of friends that mean so much to us...you all have been such a HUGE part of our lives and our babies lives!

So as you can see we had basically 7 pros and 1 con...but that 1 con was a HUGE one! We feel so fortunate and blessed to have made such incredible friends here...I can not describe in words what a blessing they have been. So this move has become bitter/sweet...but as our friends (Herbolds) keep reminding us "we will spend so much more quality time together now!" We already have amazing Walker scheduled for a few days to come visit in October and the sweet Sargents (possibly Olsons too!?) are planning on early November! And we are coming back up mid-December for a few days! And we are waiting on a few more dates from some of you...you know who you are! LOL! ;)

I haven't been really emotional about the move until today...I lost it like 3 times! And I'm not usually the emotional one in our marriage! ;) The message at Church today was basically about the Israelites in Exile and what the true meaning of Shalom is. Shalom means so much more than "good health" it truly means to be complete, perfect and full. I read yesterday "No wonder the Jewish people are so blessed, because every time they say Shalom to one another, they are also allowing the full meaning of SHALOM to be pronounced over them." I'm really probably butchering a great message so bear with me, and feel free to check it out yourself at MPPC.ORG. Nonetheless it struck a cord in me, and I lost it. When we got to MPPC for the most part we were a bit like the Israelites, in Exile. And we found Shalom through our amazing friends at this amazing Church. And we will be forever grateful! After Church we went to lunch with some of our Home Group friends (a tradition I'm going to miss!) and of course someone said "this is probably our last after Church meal all together." and I lost it. again! I love these precious people whom I feel privileged to share a part of their life with and we are going to miss the weekly interactions! But we are going to make every effort for sure to stay connected! God used them tremendously to pour out His Grace and Love.

We have loved living in the Bay Area...it really is an incredible place with such character (and character's!). I know we will be back to visit often!

On to our next phase of our journey...

Yosemite!

2010-09-19T18:26:00.001-07:00

1st of all...I'm not quite sure how anyone could go to Yosemite and not believe that there is a God out there that created this world (and He happens to LOVE us all very much!). We had a great time! The highlight of my trip came on the 2nd day we were there...we had met some great camp neighbors (who are now our friends!)...they were just really sweet, sweet people. It was a couple and their youngest daughter and her new husband! I think it is so cute that they vacation together! Gary is not going to want me to share this story but I'm going to because it warms my heart about the man whom I am honored God allows me to love...Anyway, we were chatting with them and something came up about them going to Church and Gary said "we are Christians too!" And the Father (Don) responded to Gary "we knew you were Christians by how you talked with and were patient with your kids." And I just wanted to publicly say what an amazing daddy Gary is...he is abundantly patient with our babies. Zach was "helping" him set up camp and Gary was so patient with our 22month old doing things when he totally could of gotten frustrated about a number of things he was doing. I am just so glad that Don whom we had never met before would say something so encouraging to my hubby. Our kids are so blessed! I don't think that Don could of paid Gary a better compliment...and I wanted to share it! Sorry Gary! ;)

Here are some pics of our trip...

fishing on the last day while Gary packed up camp!

Happy photogenic boy!

She actually looked at me for a pic! yeah!

Maki was not really in to me taking her pic this trip so I'm thankful for a few that she actually looked at the camera!

Makenzie took a bunch of pics and this was one of them! The rest were pretty hilarious!

my cutie!

snack on the bed! I love my boys!

Zach fell asleep on 1 of our bike rides! I love that our kids are sleepers! Sorry Mich! ;)

Nope not praying...sleeping!

Deer!

Mak loved that he fell asleep!

Somebody loves her daddy...

short update and a bit of blabbing! ;)

2010-09-07T13:55:00.001-07:00

1 pic from our trip to Yosemite last week...more to come! ;)

I will be posting pics later this week from the last few month...sorry, I haven't made my blog a priority at all...other things have my attention right now! :) LIKE OUR BIG MOVE!! YEAH!! More details coming soon ;)

Anyway, I just have to tell you a little story of what happened this AM that has struck a cord in my spiritual soul...At the end of our street there is a River bed that the kids LOVE to go to and look at the ducks. So this AM Makenzie was riding her bike and Zach and I were walking (Zach was really running/jumping/skipping/walking) There is this 1 particular driveway that is super long and I always get a little nervous when Mak is riding her bike because it is on a blind corner. So Mak got right up that particular driveway when we hear Zach fall and scream...poor guy skint up both knees. Mak jumped off her bike and ran back to help him as I was picking him up I heard a car screech (sp?) as they peeled out of their driveway... And my heart sank and exploded for joy all at the same time! If Zach had not fallen it is very likely that one or all of us would of been hit by this car. And a rush of thankfulness came over me because I realized how many times does God do this in our life to protect us. How many "bruised knees" have I had that saved my life?!?! Needless to say, I'm thankful for Zach's skinned knees...and Makenzie was so cute when we got home being his nurse helping me clean them up and putting medicine on the band-aid on Zach's knees, that he promptly wanted off immediately...oh well, at least the medicine stayed on his knees!

Life changing...

2010-08-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

Life never stays the same...the only constant is that life changes (a LOT!) or maybe that is just true for our life! ;) Thankfully Gary and I adjust well with change...although now that I'm getting older I feel a bit less spontaneous...but of course my hubby's game for anything the Lord has in store!
In our 10 years together our life has changed....a LOT! With every change we mourn the loss of the familiarity and consistency of routine only to find that the next phase has brought us closer together, closer to the Lord-probably because when big life changes are about to happen we are always on our knees so much more (wish we could just stay on our knees more consistently/continually), and more rewarding in some way. So with this next phase of trust and obedience...here goes!
I'm thankful that in this life of change there are a few constants that never change...my hubby by my side...unless we are running because then he is always in front of me! ;) a God who loves me and has a plan already in place for my life. A family who supports and jumps on board and who are some of my closest confidants. Friends who are there no matter what is going on and how busy life gets...to pick up the phone and feel like no time has passed (even though sadly, much time has!). And precious children that God has blessed us with...It is crazy to think that from now until eternity passes I will be Zach and Mak's Mommy...such a privilege and honor!

So stay tuned as our life changes yet again, in an amazing way...

xoxo!

*I know I owe my faithful blog readers pics from the last few months!!! I'm sorry to all 3 of you! ;)

Lessons from a 4 year old and my hubby...

2010-07-18T14:49:00.001-07:00

***UPDATE- The Burlingame police recovered my Driver's Licence, credit cards and 1 purse!...We are still praying my camera card will return too! ;)

On Saturday afternoon we decided to take the kids on a bike ride by the reservoir in San Mateo...right off the 92 on the way to Halfmoon Bay.

It was a beautiful perfect afternoon! We must of seen at least 10 deer...A very pleasant, beautiful ride! At the end of our ride Gary went to get his truck and the kids and I waited at the main gate for him so they could run around and Gary could load the bikes up...Gary calls my cell to let me know that our truck was broken in to. The passenger side window was smashed in and my purses (yes, 2...a clutch type with my wallet and a bigger catch all with every one's stuff in it) had been stolen...I was visibly upset over the short phone call and Makenzie asked me what was happened...I told her "some bad people broke Daddy's window and stole my purse and bag." She without even hesitation said "Let's go sit down and pray!" Wow, this child amazes me... I swear, where did this child come from!?!? She is AMAZING! So we went and sat on a bench and prayed...prayed for peace for Daddy and for the people who broke in our truck.

So this is why I'm thankful in a weird way for the break-in...
#1- Mak's immediate response to prayer!
#2- When hungry enough Makenzie will eat an apple that is not pealed! HUGE!
#3- Mak and Zach got to meet 2 very nice police officers and they gave them badges!
#4- We are not a fast food family...besides In & Out ;)...and we were forced to eat at Wendy's because we were so late getting on the road and we couldn't drive on the fwy home...wow, I forgot how amazing a frosty is!...Makenzie was in HEAVEN!

What bums me out...
#1-My camera was in my purse and ALL our pics from our trip to NY...over 200! Those precious memories...sadly are gone...looks like we are going to need to go back for more soon!!! ;)
#2-That it was totally my fault! For 10 years now (LITERALLY!) Gary has told me to cover up my purse and not leave them in plain view when I leave it in the car...and I left it on the floor on the passenger side...Gary totally had a right to be frustrated with my negligence...but he wasn't, he was totally gracious and felt so bad about all my stuff being gone...Gosh I do not deserve such an amazing man!

Lord, thank you for blessing me with such an amazing husband and now a daughter who seems to be following in his likeness of YOU...she could not have a better role model than her Daddy...No wonder she is AMAZING!

xoxo,
Dani :)
Missing my cute new orange purse a bit too much as well...sigh... ;)

Better me than you

2010-07-12T06:01:00.000-07:00

Better me than you

Ok, so I have fallen in love with this blog...I don't even remember how I found it (we'll call it divine intervention!) but I'm so glad it came across my screen! I read a handful of blogs and this one is now on my favorites! This lady is so real and she LOVES the Lord and her family...and since that is what I'm striving for it's great to read encouraging blogs!

Enjoy this FANTASTIC TRUTH and PERSPECTIVE...Gary's favorite word!! ;)

BTW...we are home! We had a such a wonderful time! More blogging about that later...

xoxo!
Dani :)

Happy Birthday Gary!!!

2010-06-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

Gary went to a gun range the other night with a few friends to celebrate our friend John's Birthday! Look at the end of the barrel of the gun! AMAZING timing of the bullet coming out!!! I would also like to point out if you blow up the pic my hubby's amazing accuracy of shooting! Way to go Gary!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE!!! YOU BLOW ME AWAY!!! hehe!

Makenzie's Birthday pics!

2010-06-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

Here are the pics from Makenzie's Birthday! We didn't have a big party this year at our home...we decided to throw her a birthday party in Buffalo this summer with all her cousins back there! We had a great time celebrating our little girl this year! The 4 of us went to San Fransisco for her actual birthday and had a blast! And she felt very special when Shayna and Kevin came to celebrate her early the weekend before (and to visit with us!)! THANKS for coming guys! You know how much we LOVE having you and how much your little bro and little sis LOVE being with you both!
Enjoy the pics from her Birthday!

More to come later this week from our time with Shay and Kev...
I'm 4!!!!

Yum! We had cupcakes (purple!) for dessert after breakfast!

Ladies are just so much neater...

nap time in the city!

Merry-go-round in San Fransisco!

They were so excited about lunch at the Rainforest Cafe! And DESSERT! Of course we had the VOLCANO! ;)

Chowder bowls at Boudin Bakery!

Makenzie is 4!

2010-06-03T05:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, where does the time go?! I have been wrestling with "time" for the last few months...actually several months. I can't believe my baby girl is 4! I can't believe I'm 30! I can't believe I've been married to my best-friend for 9 years! Seriously where does the time go??!!

If you would of told me about parenthood in detail with what my days (and nights!) would look like after children...I would of told you it sounded like a prison sentence! I mean seriously who in their right mind would give up most of their hobbies, favorite things to do, favorite places to visit, long relaxing weekends, freedom to travel, spontaneity, long chats on the phone, long showers in the AM, a clean house, a quite house, a career outside of home that you get to dress up for, etc...all for a little person who needs everything from you to survive. Not just food and shelter but EVERYTHING. Love, cuddles, time, encouraging words...It is so funny how my perspective has CHANGED...I DON'T look at it at all like a prison sentence but I do look at it as a PRIVILEGE. I am privileged to "die to self" everyday for my children (and hubby!)...do I miss my past freedom, sure...daily at times! But I wouldn't change my current circumstances for ANYTHING else this world has to offer! I am exactly where I want to be...caring for and loving my kids (and hubby!), I am so grateful we decided long ago that I would stay home with them. Gary and I are very like minded in this area...I don't actually think we ever even really discussed it. It was just a given...and for that I am thankful!

Maki-Happy 4th baby girl! We love your tender, sweet, caring heart...Thank you for changing my life in the most incredible way with being your Mommy.

A few cute things from this week that she said...I really should post all of her cute little hilarious sayings!

"Are we having Mommy-Mommy tacos?!?" aka...mahi-mahi tacos!

"I don't want to be a fireman or a baseball player when I grow up...I want to be a Mommy! I can't wait to take care of Zach!" Ok, so she was a little confused about Zach not growing up too...she is so dang cute!!!!

Pics to come from her Birthday celebration!!!
xoxo!
Dani :)

A parenting article!

2010-06-03T04:58:00.000-07:00

I hope you enjoy this article on parenting and perspective as much as I did!

Slacker Mom of the Day AWARD!

2010-05-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

I totally deserve the slacker Mom of the day award today! Every morning the kids brush their teeth in Makenzie's bathroom...well the only difference was today I let them brush for like 15 minutes (they LOVE brushing and playing in the water!) while I was on the phone with Carrie (my sis in law!) right outside the door because they were a bit loud...in my defense (a VERY weak one I might add!) I did check on them every couple minutes and I could hear from being right outside their door they were having fun! And then I heard a little whine from inside so I opened the door to see Makenzie washing Zach's hair with hand soap! They were both soaked and poor Zach had soap running in his eyes! So they both had a late AM bath too! I did have great conversation though with Carrie! Thanks Cpaz!!!

At least he smiled for the pic! He is such a ham!!

Compassion Weekend

2010-05-13T05:03:00.000-07:00

Hi! I'm so sorry I took so much time off of blogging...I really do love it! And I'm back...hopefully! ;)

As most of you know it doesn't take much for me to be inspired or motivated for a cause...it is just the way I'm wired. I can be a super sappy person...especially when I hear of someone hurting. A few weeks ago our family participated in Compassion Weekend at our Church. For those of you that aren't familiar with it, every year our Church celebrates Compassion Weekend. Instead of going to Church, 3000 plus members sign up to serve the Bay Area and live out Christ's love to serve the needy, poor and hurting. In years past we have served at a home with HIV positive residents, built AIDS caregiver kits for people in Africa. This year we decided that we wanted to serve as a family because the kids are getting to an age where we want them to see service for Christ in action. So we decided to go to a nursing home because we thought the kids would be great with the older folks. Well, it definetly had an impact on us! The kids were a hit! The smiles and joy that our kids brought to 30plus seniors was amazing...Zach was his normal sweet self laughing and being silly..he must of untied 10 peoples shoes that morning (all the rest had velcro shoes...lol). What was even sweeter was Gary following him around tying the shoes of the folks that Zach had just untied and being so kind and warm with the residents. There is just something heartwarming watching your hubby love on others and making them feel cared for. And Makenzie was her sweet compassionate loving self...she brought in big dolly and introduced her to everyone...big dolly "had a cold" that day so Mak was cuddling her a little extra ;)

So this little act of service got me thinking...why don't we go to nursing homes regularly with the kids so that they can have an impact and know what it is to serve?...So here we go...I'm really excited about the opportunity to serve the older generations with my babies smiles and love! I'll keep you all posted...

BTW...Mom's group and HG...I will be throwing it out to all of you as well! Want to join us!?!?

Feeling super blessed! Happy Mother's Day!!

2010-05-12T20:22:00.001-07:00

Do you ever have times in life when you are overwhelmed with thankfulness!?!? Well, that sums up where I am in life right now...
There is just something about Mother's Day celebration that brings the things that are most precious to me to the front of my mind.

My journey is overflowing with things to be thankful for...I try to remember them daily...Here is just a glimpse of my joy...my life!
My sweet baby girl and my wonderful, over the top amazing hubby! More pics to come on our quick last minute trip to Hawaii a couple weeks ago! :)

Oh this precious girl brings me so much joy! Do you see all that sugar on her french toast?...

Baby Zach...never thought in a million years I would have such an amazingly wonderful happy baby boy! Isn't he handsome!?!?

Me and my boy on Mother's Day AM...

I know Zach doesn't look happy but he is! ;) Maki is so happy about her finger nails painted purple!

Kids running!

2010-04-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

Ok so I know my last blog was weeks ago...sorry! I promise to be a better blogger going forward!! ;) Here is a cute video from today...Mom, I know you are going to love it! I love how Isaiah runs laps around the other kids!

xoxo!

Dani :)

Who am I?

2010-03-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

My identity? This has been on my mind lately, just who am I? Am I Gary's wife, Makenzie and Zach's Mommy, a family member, a friend, a follower, a leader, a business woman, an athlete (I use that term very loosely these days!)...

I was wrestling with wanting to be more...wanting my own identity. I wanted to know exactly who I "was"...At any given moment I am all of those things or just 1 of them...since I started being more present in the moment a few months ago I realized I am so much better for it! It has brought me more joy and released so much pressure to just live moment to moment and be present in the moment I'm living...

When I'm on a date with Gary or spending time with him after the kids go down, I'm Gary's wife. When I'm playing with my kids or running errands with them, I'm Makenzie and Zach's Mommy. And did I mention how blessed I feel to be their Mommy and that I'm able to stay home with them!
When I'm with our family or chatting with them there is nothing like that family connection, familiarity and security, I'm part of a family.
When I'm spending time with a friend, I'm a friend (and sometimes a Mommy too if the kids are with me!).
When it's 5am and my family is cozy in bed sleeping and I'm on the computer or phone working, I'm a business woman. P31 woman has a whole new meaning to me now! ;)
When I'm working out, I'm trying to be an athlete.
And I hope that in all of these pursuits, I'm a follower of Jesus...in all my interactions I want to reflect Him...Lord, I know I fail at times but I'm trying!

I am so thankful I am who I am...although there are others whom I'd love to be like...and a few traits I'd love to lose of my own...they make me who I am and I am OVER the TOP GRATEFUL for all the things I get to be each day! -Gary's wife, Makenzie and Zach's Mommy, a family member, a friend, a follower, a leader, a business woman, and an athlete (this one still makes me laugh...ok, I used to be an athlete...now I'm just trying to be an athlete!)

careful what you wish for...

2010-03-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

Potty training...I'm just curious why ANYONE would want their child potty trained! I mean seriously this is one thing I regret...potty training Makenzie! I get it, it is a pain to change diapers! But has anyone been in a public restroom lately?!?! Today we were out to dinner at CPK...love the Moroccan salad! :) And of course Maki had to go potty...so Mommy took a deep breath and took her to the bathroom...it actually looked pretty clean...but to a GERM FREAK like me...I knew GERMS were lurking! So of course we had wet ones in hand (we buy stock in that company by the way!) we LOVE wet ones! Maki knows the drill...DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING! She really is so great and careful! But on this particular day Makenize touched the toilet seat and bowl...sigh, to many that may not be a big deal and I tried to blow it off like it wasn't but deep down I was FREAKING OUT! So much that while she was going potty I washed my hands...I hadn't even touched anything yet, but they just felt dirty! I know I'm crazy, Lord please help me! At home I could care less what she touches...I pride myself in our clean bathrooms...A MUST! But good Lord she touched a public restrooms toilet...

I asked her tonight if she wanted to wear diapers again and she touched my face, smiled and said "Mommy, you're silly!"

So if Zach is 10 and still wearing diapers you know why!

Germ freak (ME!) is going to watch a movie with my hubby! Good night! :)

what i've been learning...

2010-03-08T06:28:00.000-08:00

i'm so sorry for the radio silence lately...i've been going through a growth spurt spiritually (hopefully not physically!) and have been trying to figure it all out.

here is a little glimpse of my heart...

the last few months those near and far to us have been going through major crisis...dear friends of ours lost their newborn baby just moments after birth...this rocked my world. it rocked my world because we love these people and didn't want to see them hurt. it rocked my world because that precious little angel i felt deserved to live a full life with wonderful parents...but i realized it was not this baby i was mourning for because this baby was born in to the arms of jesus...i'm mourning for those amazing parents and their loss.

....so much more sadness.

to make a LONG story short...i've been realizing the more sadness i feel the more i need jesus to hold me. the more joy i feel i want to praise jesus. the more confusion i am faced with the more i pray to jesus.

so bottom line i need/want more of jesus!

i'm also learning to be more present in every thing in my life! no more distractions...this has been hard! i do not want to be distracted when i'm with my kids, hubby, family or friends. so my cell will be on silent much more now or not with me. so if i'm harder to reach, i'm sorry. but when i'm with you, you will have more of me.

ok enough of my babbling!!
a few updates on my cuties!

maki is without doubt the sweetest little thing i've ever encountered! she is sooo thoughtful and wonderful! example: she was really sick last week and tita (my mom) called to ask her what to send her to help her feel better...maki replied with i think binoculars or something and before she hung up she said "tita, don't forget to send zach something too!" my heart melted...she is always so aware of others feelings. she is the 1st one to comfort another child if they are sad or hurt...and she is over the top sweet and gushy with gary and me! although i'm thinking she may be working us a bit...she knows it melts us! ;)

and zach...wow he is hilarious! and so fun! he makes me laugh almost every moment! he is always smiling! and he is running all over the house! if a door is closed he opens it!-i'm thinking we need those handle cover things. the other day he woke up early from his nap and he disappeared...i found him in maki's room in the darkness saying "ma-ma" he wanted her to wake up! he is always knocking on or running in to Gary's office when he's working in there. maki finally gets the concept that daddy is "at work" when he is in the office but...zach not so much! oh well, hopefully soon! we can not have any gates up with zach either. if there is one up he just screams...he loves his freedom! i think we may be in trouble with this little one... ;)

and we are so excited baby micah is here! my brother and sister in law just had their 3rd little blessing! we can't wait to meet him...soon! :)

ok enough of me this am...
xoxo,
dani :)

9 years...

2010-02-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

9 years ago today a young, naive, Bride said her vows to a wonderful man of God who she fell in love with unexpectedly...I really didn't know what I was getting myself in to...

Today, 9 years later, that Bride is so GRATEFUL that young Bride followed her heart and married that man...My naive-ness allowed me take a leap of faith in to a man who loves me fully and unconditionally. I'm so glad I didn't think about what I was doing...and I just went with my "gut/heart"...my gut/heart does not steer me wrong...ever! You were without doubt the best decision I have EVER made! Cheers to the young Bride making the best decision of her life @ the ripe old age of 21! Although I'm pretty sure there was divine intervention so I can't take all the credit! ;)

Gary you are a GIFT!

Gary Lee you so complete me...
I am MORE in love with you today than 9 years ago, if that is even possible!
FOREVER I am yours...and thank you for being eternally mine.
Together forever my love...together forever!

Gary you are more than I could of ever dreamed of! Thank you for being so wonderful!
I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR YOU G!

ALL MY LOVE...FOREVER!
:)

It was fun to reminisce and read old blog posts about our Anniversary...but WOW, my cheese factor is SUPER HIGH! Oh well, THANKFULLY we love cheese! ;)

http://sumnerfamilyfun.blogspot.com/2009/02/celebrating-8-wonderful-years.html

http://sumnerfamilyfun.blogspot.com/2008/02/happy-anniversary-my-love_17.html

http://sumnerfamilyfun.blogspot.com/2008/08/happy-7-12-year-anniversary.html

HAWAII pics!

2010-02-16T16:22:00.000-08:00

I have finally uploaded our Hawaii pic highlights!
Looking at all these pics makes me want to go back tomorrow!!! Oh gosh, do we love Hawaii!! Every time we are there we always talk about moving permanently...it is just so complicated with the schooling for the kids...private schools are really the only way to go...not to mention we would really miss our family and friends! We'll see if we ever end up over there..? God, what do you think?

There are a TON! ENJOY! :)

I love my boys!!!

Ashley (my cousin!) came out for a few days with us!!! We love you Ash! This was the day she was leaving...Maki was not so happy about it.

He pushed that chair everywhere!

She was so excited to have those umbrellas!

Maki's snack she made!

Zach's 1st haircut! Why does my husband look scared with me holding those scissors? haha

Zach not really getting the concept of binoculars! ;)

Cheeseburger in Paradise!

Sunrise! Thanks for the early wake-up calls kids! ;)

Going on a date! THANKS Ash for babysitting!

Gary telling stories to Maki...precious!

Zach and Diamondhead in the background!

so cozy!

knocking Daddy over!

she had such a blast boogy boarding!

this is what we did for hours a day!

I love this pic!

precious...

Big hugs!!!

1 of my favorite pics!

The view from Hula's...

Yummy...

A gingerbread house in paradise!

such a cozy sleeper!

napping on the plane! :)

baby Molly update!

2010-02-13T14:08:00.000-08:00

Please continue to pray for baby Molly! Her surgery went well but there were some CRAZY post op complications... Please visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mollyeaston

Please pray for baby Molly!

2010-02-08T12:57:00.000-08:00

Please pray for baby Molly! She is our great niece and her and her family need prayer! Molly was just diagnosed with cancer. She is such a precious little girl with amazing parents and she needs healing!! Please visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mollyeaston

You can also visit http://www.printfection.com/missmolly it is a store some of Shaunna's friends put together to help support Molly! VERY CUTE LOGO! And $5 of every item goes directly to the families medical fund! There is also going to be a fund raiser in April for the medical fund.

THANKS for your prayers!! And support for this precious family!
Love,
Dani & Gary :)

a video from Hawaii!

2010-01-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hi! I have a ton of pics to go through but here is a really CUTE video from the trip! We had a BLAST!

30 years young!!! :)

2010-01-12T20:05:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to me!!!! Yes, I'm 30!!! Look at me all grown up! ;)
I am so EXCITED about this decade I can not contain myself! I am so pumped and super jazzed I feel like a self-help guru! Someone today actually told me I should write a book! Haha, if I was going to write a book I have so much better stuff to write about than how super pumped I am for this decade! Don't get me wrong, I LOVED my 20's! So many of my dreams came true in them! But I am just so much more clear on what I want in my life for my 30's and what I don't want in it.
Today was a FANTASTIC day! Gary (of course!) has been going over the top to make me feel so special to really enjoy my special day and week! THANKS Gary!!! I sooo appreciate all your effort!!
BTW...we are home from our trip! It was so fun and AMAZING! I will post pics this weekend but here are a few from our dinner tonight at the Rainforest Cafe! We decided to go there because it is one of the kids favorite places to eat! So entertaining!

Maki loving on little bro with hugs!

Umm, he is big!

She has such personality!! And there was no way to get Zach to turn around he was so busy watching the water!

30's bring it on!

A quick video to end the year!

2009-12-31T18:53:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!
Here is a quick video I promised my sister-in-law Michele I would post!
Wishing everyone a FANTASTIC 2010!

So thankful for all our blessings!

Love,

Dani, Gary, Makenzie & Zach

Merry CHRISTmas!

2009-12-26T20:29:00.001-08:00

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!! We sure did!

Highlights:
Makenzie was SO in to it this year!
A great Christmas eve service with my hubby!
Kids sleeping until 715AM Christmas AM!
Cinnamon rolls!
A birthday cake for Jesus!
Gifts...way too many!
Maki handing out gifts to everyone!
Skyping Nonnie Pat! So great to hear her voice...her camera was not working but at least she could see us! So glad she has Skype now!!!
Skyping G's sisters (and their fams!) Maki loved seeing Shya and everyone else!
The excitement on Makenzie's face when she got her big girl bike!
Zach cuddled on me for 30 minutes on the couch! PRICELESS!!!
Tita & Jaja being here!
My Mom's cooking!
Relaxing all day long!

Pics to come...

Hoping everyone is feeling all the joy of this wonderful time of year!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

catching up! most of November...

2009-12-17T21:12:00.000-08:00

Hi! Sorry it has been so long since my last post! Been busy living life! ;) Where should I start? Mak and Zach are doing great! HEALTHY! So grateful we are through all of that! ;) We had a GREAT Thanksgiving! My parents came up for a few days and we also hosted for some of our dearest friends...Love you Sargents, Herbolds, Steeles & Heller! It was so fun to have so many babies/kids here for Thanksgiving! While my parents were here we went non-stop! I took a 2 hour nap the day they left! My Mom and I went out on black Friday @430A shopping...found GREAT deals! We went to San Francisco, Halfmoon Bay and the Stanford vs. Notre Dame game! Such a jam packed wonderful weekend! Gary wanted to buy my Dad Notre Dame tickets since that is his favorite team and they were playing Stanford Thanksgiving weekend. So the 4 of us went! SO FUN! And what a great game! Such a great memory to have with my parents and hubby! What else?...Maki is Mommy's super helper and loves running errands with Daddy! All of his clients love her! But then again, who doesn't!?!? And precious Zach is a walking machine! He gets so excited he cheers for himself! I must video it and post it! I hope everyone is doing great and enjoying this wonderful time of year!

More posts to come soon... ;)

me and my dad at the notre dame vs. stanford game! gary, my dad, my mom and I had a BLAST!

Tita and Jaja with the kids!

Maki got her 1st pedicure with Tita and Mommy! My mom was so excited to take her with us! I have to say this is something that when I was pregnant I imagined sharing with my little girl...and she loved it! Not sure how often we will go but it was definitely something special! Aren't those toes so cute!?!? Oh yes, and the polish was off in about 3 days! ;) They only charged us $10 for her!

Having fun with Tita!

After we got the house ready for our Thanksgiving dinner! We had such a great time!

Maki's centerpiece she made for Thanksgiving!

Our candle centerpieces! Thank you Marthastewart.com!

my hubby helping me with our center pieces for Thanksgiving dinner! So grateful he has his tools! :)

climbing! what Zach does best!

making a play dough cake for Daddy! Love those wedgits! Thanks again Schmidt family!

napping on Mommy and Daddy's bed! She was reading stories 1 moment and I turned around and she was out the next!

update on Makenzie!

2009-12-13T18:21:00.000-08:00

**Here is an updated email we sent out about Maki! :)

HI!

WOW WHERE DO WE START?!?! THIS EMAIL IS IN CAPS DUE TO OUR OVER THE TOP EXCITEMENT!!!

ALL TESTS CAME BACK NEGATIVE!!!! AND NO KIDNEY DAMAGE!
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR LOVE, SUPPORT AND PRAYERS!

WE ARE A BIT PERPLEXED, SHOCKED AND SO GRATEFUL! THE INITIAL TEST SHE TOOK 1 WEEK AGO SHOWED THAT SHE DID HAVE THE SYMPTOMS OF THE CONDITION AND THE MORE INVASIVE TEST YESTERDAY WAS SUPPOSED TO SHOW US:
1-IF THERE WAS KIDNEY DAMAGE AND HOW MUCH
2-WHAT DEGREE OF THE CONDITION SHE SUPPOSEDLY HAD

WE HAD FAITH THAT THERE WAS A POSSIBILITY THAT SHE DIDN'T HAVE IT, BUT THEY HAD PREPARED US THAT SHE DID. TO SAY WE ARE OVERJOYED AND RELIEVED IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT!!

I WON'T GET IN TO ALL THE DETAILS OF THE TEST YESTERDAY BUT TO PUT IT LIGHTLY, IT WAS AWFUL! THE DR. CAME IN PULLED ME ASIDE AND SAID "I JUST WANT TO PREPARE YOU THAT THIS TEST IS HELL, AND IT IS NOT ONLY TRAUMATIC ON HER, BUT ON ALL OF US IN THE ROOM!" AT LEAST HE WAS HONEST... ;) MAKENZIE WAS A CHAMP! SHE DID WAY BETTER THAN GARY OR I WOULD HAVE FOR SURE! SO THANK YOU ALL FOR PRAYING FOR THE LEAST AMOUNT OF TRAUMA AS POSSIBLE...SHE SEEMS TOTALLY FINE TODAY ABOUT IT!

THIS IS NOTHING LESS THAN A MIRACLE AND WE ARE PRAISING GOD FOR HEALING HER! IN THE DOCTOR'S WORDS "PERPLEXED" WHY IT WOULD SHOW UP ON THE INITIAL TEST AND NOT ON YESTERDAY'S TEST IF SHE ACTUALLY DID NOT HAVE IT! HE SAYS "PERPLEXED!" WE SAY "MIRACLE!"

SHE IS STAYING ON THE ANTIBIOTICS FOR ABOUT 4 MONTHS AS A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE AND WE WILL HAVE A FOLLOW UP APPOINTMENT JUST TO CONFIRM EVERYTHING IN MARCH...AND THEN WE ARE BASICALLY DONE WITH ALL OF THIS! AND SHE DOES NOT HAVE TO HAVE THAT TEST EVER AGAIN! :)

WE CAN'T TELL YOU HOW FORTUNATE WE FEEL...IN LIGHT OF HOW WE ARE FEELING WE FEEL LED TO DO A LITTLE TOY DRIVE FOR LUCILLE PACKARD CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AT STANFORD...WE HAD THE GREAT PLEASURE OF MEETING PARENTS AND KIDS YESTERDAY WHO GO THROUGH MORE IN A WEEK THAN WE HAVE IN OUR LIFETIMES...FAINT HEARTED CAN DEFINITELY NOT VISIT THAT PLACE...YES, GARY CRIED WALKING THE HALLWAYS...LOVE HIS TENDER HEART! SO OUR PLAN IS TO GO TO SUNNYVALE TOYS R US TUESDAY AFTERNOON AFTER ZACH'S NAP TO GO SHOPPING FOR THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL...IF YOU ARE FREE AND INTERESTED IN JOINING US, PLEASE DO! OR IF YOU WANT US TO PICK ANYTHING SPECIFIC UP AND TAKE TO THE HOSPITAL PLEASE LET US KNOW! THIS IS JUST 1 SIMPLE WAY TO BRIGHTEN SOMEONE'S DAY THERE AT THE HOSPITAL IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! WE ACTUALLY GOT THE IDEA YESTERDAY RIGHT AFTER MAK'S PROCEDURE...2 DEAR FRIENDS HAD DROPPED OFF A TEDDY BEAR AND CARD FOR MAKI AND BEFORE SHE WAS EVEN OFF OF THE TABLE WHERE THE PROCEDURE HAD BEEN DONE, A TECHNICIAN CAME IN AND HANDED IT TO HER...I CAN NOT TELL YOU THE JOY THAT CAME OVER HER AT THAT MOMENT...ALONG WITH A HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF! I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE NO WHERE NEAR NORTHERN CAL AND I'M SURE IF YOU FEEL LED YOU CAN FIND A CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL NEAR YOU...IF YOU NEED HELP LET ME KNOW! I KNOW FOR US THIS WAS A LITTLE WAKE UP CALL TO TAKE CARE OF THE SICK TOO...NOT JUST THE HOMELESS, NEEDY AND POOR...BUT NO PRESSURE! THIS IS JUST WHAT WE FEEL LED TO DO...GIVE WHERE EVER YOU FEEL LED! WE JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN US IF YOU WEREN'T SURE WHERE TO GIVE OR WANTED TO GIVE SOMEWHERE ELSE AS WELL.

WELL ENOUGH OF MY BLABBING FOR TONIGHT!

PRAISING GOD! AND SO THANKFUL FOR OUR AMAZING FAMILY AND FRIENDS NEAR AND FAR!

ALL OUR LOVE AND GRATITUDE,
DANI, GARY, MAKENZIE AND ZACHARY :)

prayer request for precious Makenzie and some pics

2009-12-09T14:00:00.000-08:00

***this was an email I sent out today...sorry if I missed your email address on the email!

Hi Everyone!

I'm sorry for sending a mass general email but we don't have the time nor energy to talk with you all individually...sorry!

Long story made REALLY short...Makenzie is having issues with her kidneys. We are having a test done tomorrow at Stanford at 945AM and COVET your prayers!

A few specific ways you can be praying:
1- that there is NO permanent kidney damage!

2- there are different degrees of this condition (1-5) and we are hoping for either complete healing and that there is NOTHING there or that she has a lower degree 1 or 2, and does NOT require surgery!

3- she is having a pretty invasive test done...pray that she is not traumatized AT ALL over the procedure and that it goes smooth and quick!

We know our precious little one is in our Creator's hands and have peace knowing His will, WILL be done...we would rather have news that we don't want to hear, and know that He will carry us all through it, than for His will NOT to be done...it honestly took us a few days to get here...praying we stay here!

A HUGE praise already in this situation- we were not supposed to get this appointment scheduled to well after the 1st of the year because this specialist is so booked up! But when I called the office the scheduler got us in this week! I didn't even have to bribe her! ;) So THANK YOU LORD!

Thank you all for your prayers and support!

On our knees now more than ever...
Love,
Dani & Gary

Here are some pics from the last couple of weeks! ENJOY!

lovin' on little bro!

our cutie boy!

dancing with our guide at Hidden Villa!

look at those moves!

how do you spell P.R.E.C.I.O.U.S?!

petting a cow!

How cute are my boys!?!? My hubby can even pull off that nerdy hat! ;) Love you G! :)

yes, they are that cute! ;)

on a train ride when we cut down our Christmas tree! well, I should say Gary cut down the tree and we all ran around and ate cookies! so fun! :)

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY ZACH!

2009-11-11T19:25:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAPPY BOY!

just days old...

Oh precious Zach you are 1 today! Where do I start? You are so full of joy! You have been an absolute pleasure to parent Zach! Let's go back about a year or so...And what a year it has been! Let's start with Mommy's pregnancy...it was wonderful!...well for the 1st few months then it was horrible! And by horrible I mean...HORRIBLE! Mommy was so sick...trouble breathing...well trouble with everything. I had enough fluid for you and 2 other babies...polyhydramneosis...when the Dr. broke my water it was like I was normal again...I could breath and my heart no longer skipped beats...my blood pressure went from 149 over 90 to 119 over 70 almost immediately! I was induced week 37 and could not wait for that moment! My sweet boy I tell you all of this because I want you to know how much I love you...and I would DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN FOR YOU! You are so precious and wonderful...I really didn't know my life was missing anything until you were born...and now I have realized YOU were the missing piece! I now feel complete...although I didn't know I wasn't complete before...weird huh?. God gives you what you need when you need it I guess! You were quit the colic(y) baby...and by colic I mean COLIC! You screamed your head off for hours...and hours! But even then you were oh so cute. We took you to the chiropractor out of desperation and it was almost an instant transformation! From that moment on you were/are the happiest baby boy! We are so thankful to Dr. Tarr! You have had quit the busy year...You went from a diet of just breastmilk to now eating everything in sight! You love your food! Especially cheese & fruit (just like Mommy!)! You are so lighthearted and funny (just like Daddy!)! You laugh at almost anything and have the cutest smile and laugh (just like Makenzie!)! And you love being outside (just like Daddy, Mommy & Makenzie!)! You have been on a few trips this year on an airplane & by car...You love to fly but are not the biggest fan of your carseat! You are all boy...you climb everything in sight! And you love to cuddle! You sleep through the night! Mommy & Daddy THANK YOU for that ZACH! Your smile lights up a room and we are so thankful for you little one...
Happy Birthday!

Here are pics from his party Saturday and dinner tonight to celebrate our baby boy!

1 year later...

His train cake that I made him for his party! Daddy and Maki helped too!

His 1st experience with cake was wonderful!

opening presents with bis sisters!

His pal Brendan and him trying to break out from the party! ;)

Our dinner tonight!

They were just a little excited about the cake! Maki has been sick so it was wonderful to see a smile on her precious face!

The after party! Lively group, huh?! Look at Jaj sleeping! Both kids took a 3 hour nap as well! Nina (on the left) came with Shayna for the party! She is such a delight! :)

Cozy with Daddy!

Can't start brushing too soon, right?!

Action shot!

cozy!

Where's Zach?!

It was bound to happen...

2009-11-09T21:16:00.000-08:00

Yes, Gary and I both woke up sick last week...Gary is umm, how do I put it?...a horrible patient! But after a decade I think we are finally getting somewhere...! I have to say it was nice doing "nothing" and not having an agenda but I just wish we were feeling better so we could of enjoyed it more! THANKFULLY we are better now...but now precious Maki is sick...please pray for her and also that Zach doesn't catch it! This is like the craziest cycle of sickness ever! Ready for a sick free week for all of us! :)

And 2 cute little Maki stories!
#1 Makenzie last week...We were looking for tortillas in the refrigerator and for some reason I kept missing them...even though they were right there in plain sight where we always keep them...again, I was sick ;) After many moments of looking we found them and Makenzie said "we should pray and thank God for the tortillas!" So she dropped to the floor bowed her cute little head and said "Thank you God for the tortillas and the eggs! AMEN!"
#2 kind hearted Makenzie strikes again!
I put Zach down for a nap and Makenzie was playing in her room while I got ready for the day...I went to check on Mak and found her wrapping a book with a receiving blanket for Zach's B-DAY! I walked in and she said "look Mommy, I'm wrapping books to give to Zach for his Birthday!". Gosh I love this little girl...her kind heart never ceases to amaze me! I took a pic of the wrap job as well...gotta love all the tape she used! I'm thinking with a little direction I can have her wrap all the gifts for Christmas!

...Zach's dedication video is coming soon!

what does...

2009-10-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

walking pneumonia (Zach) + walking into a cactus (Mak) + a hand sliced open (Gary) + the flu(Mak) = our October!

Good BYE October! Still waiting to hear back on the results if it was the swine or just your old run of the mill flu for Maki.

HELLO November!

OVERWHELMED!

2009-10-19T01:19:00.001-07:00

I am so overwhelmed...overwhelmed with gratitude! Today, well yesterday because it is now 1:20AM as I sit here and type...we dedicated Zach. We stood before the congregation of the Church we attend...the Church we love, and committed to raise Zach to know Jesus...not just meet Jesus, but to KNOW Jesus. It is 120am...why am I awake?...we even went to bed early! I'm awake because a little past midnight Zach stirred in his bed and I looked at the monitor (LOVE video monitors!) and saw him cuddle back up with his blanket and go back to sleep...in that very moment my heart was flooded with emotion! Mostly gratitude and a little disbelief...I know it may sound crazy but at times I really wonder if my life is just a dream and I'm going to wake up and realize it. I FEEL LIKE I DESERVE NOTHING THAT I HAVE! Mostly, a God who loves and wants to know me! Jesus is my bestfriend...not because I have been that great of a friend because I haven't. There are days when He calls and I don't answer, there are times when He has asked me to do something for Him and I don't...but yet HE still loves me! My gratitude does not stop there...God has blessed me with 2 of the most amazing little children. Makenzie with her sweet kind spirit and Zach with his constant smile and joy for life...why has He given me so much?! And of course my hubby who loves me unconditionally and is exactly what I need/want!...so wonderful that my need is exactly how God aligned my want.

I truly know that my life and Zach's commitment to Him are in His hands and for that I am grateful! If they were in mine I know I would surely mess it up! Please pray for Zach to come to know and honor God all of his days...and to live a life close to the Lord. I know life can be so hard...I just don't know how people could go through it without the strength from God...I surely could not.

Ok, I really should go back to bed...Zach will be calling me early! Nothing beats the sweet call of "ma-MA!"...although it is a little sweeter after 7am! ;)

*I will post dedication pics later this week and hopefully a video of the dedication for family and friends who couldn't make it!

Our trip to San Diego!

2009-10-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

Well we had a blast in San Diego! Minus a run in with a cactus for Maki. :( She was so brave for Daddy & Aunt Christy as they worked on her arm for a good 30 minutes pulling out cactus thorns! She was AMAZING! So amazing Uncle Mot and Aunt Jill lavished her with cake and ice cream afterwards! She was so excited! It wa so much fun spending time with everyone!! I must note that Makenzie is absolutely in love with Shya...by love I mean obsessed! She had so much fun with her big cousin! Thanks everyone for such a great time! And especially for Nonnie Pat for putting up with all our chaos! We love you all!!!! Shya and Makenzie! Makenzie LOVES Shya soooo much!

I love this shot...these poor kids and the paparazzi! Look at Gary behind them taking another shot!

Gettin' some lovin' from Aunt Christy!

Aunt Christy and Makenzie at dinner! Barefoot grill of course!

a very bright airplane ride!

can you say cutie?!

shhh..don't tell him we put Shya's crown on him! Although he can pull any color off!

Molly pulling something out of his mouth! LOL!

Dr. Daddy and nurse Christy working on Maki's arm...look at her little face...poor thing was so upset! But she was so brave!

Uncle Tom planting with the girls!

Molly and Gary! Thanks for recycling Mol! ;)

Zach with Aunt Jill!

Shya and Aunt Jill on the bus ride through the Zoo!

cuddling with Daddy...his favorite thing to do!

Aunt Christy with her new glasses! Love them!

looking at fish!

Aunt Jill, Aunt Christy and Nonnie Pat! I love this pic! And my sister-in-laws and Mother-in-law!!!!! xoxo!

Aunt Jill at build-a-bear with Makenzie and her new bear! Such a special afternoon for Makenzie to remember!

giving her new bear an air bath and Zach's new polar bear Maki picked out for him!

after lunch on the way to build-a-bear!

silly face!

more silly faces!

Gotta laugh...or cry! ;)

2009-10-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

What does your baby do when they are left for 30 seconds in reach of an in & out milkshake?! Here is what ours does...
Thankfully he is such a cutie!

I didn't have time to take a shot of Makenzie waxing our floors with water and an eraser from her chalkboard while I was putting Zach down for a nap! Serves me right for not putting a show on for her when she asked! LOL! :)

***We got home from San Diego last night and I will try to post pics tonight! So much fun with all Gary's family! Love you guys!

Cutie Mc'cutie!!!

2009-10-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh Makenzie cracks me up!! So today we all went for our flu shot...uck! 2nd attempt...Friday was our 1st appointment and they ran out of shots so we had to go back today. Makenzie being 3 years old was not so excited about being poked...with Zach we just distract him, they poke, he cries, we comfort, all is well...with Maki not so easy. She knew today was the dreadful day...we talked about it all AM...she negotiated and tried to rationalize as best as any 3 year old could..."I don't want to go Mommy!"..."I'm tired Mommy, I need a nap! Put me to bed!" yes, she would rather go to bed than get a shot...me too! ;) So there we were in the Dr.'s office, the nurse comes in, Maki starts crying and throws 1 of her worst tantrums EVER! Thankfully Daddy was there to help! Gary holds her while she continues to scream, the nurse puts alcohol on her arm then puts the shot in...while the shot is still being injected Makenzie screams out "THANK YOU!" and says "that didn't hurt at all!" my little nugget is so cute! Gosh I love this child! So all the stressing out for nothing!

YOSEMITE!

2009-09-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

We had 6 wonderful nights in Yosemite! Words do not express what that place does for my soul...EVERY time we are there I feel so close to the Lord. Is it because of the lack of distractions, no cell service, no Internet service- except at the business center at the Awahnee (wish we didn't find that out!...but we only checked once after a yummy breakfast treat!), or the simplicity of life, or possibly because I'm with my beloved family 24/7 with no other care in the world, or possibly just looking at God's beautiful amazing creation every time you look up.? I don't really know what it is, I'm sure it is all of those reasons and more that I'm not even aware of...but, I am so thankful for the refreshing time! The last evening we were there Gary put both kids down (like he does so often! Thank you my love!) and I went on a bike ride at dusk. I rode to the meadow and just stared at Halfdome for 15 minutes and just prayed. Prayed a prayer of thanksgiving...I could not be more thankful for all the blessings in my life, and it is times like this, when I feel so close to the Lord that thanksgiving prayers are really all I can pray. I don't believe there is 1 more thing I could possibly ask for with all I feel He has given me/allowed me to have. My salvation, my husband, my children, our family-who loves us unconditionally, our friends-old and new-who love us unconditionally. I have far more blessings than I deserve. I am so grateful that Yosemite is just a 5 hour drive away-pretty good time I think pulling a trailer and with 2 little ones who need pit stops! We love every opportunity we get to go!
Okay enough of my ramblings...here are the pics!
We had a BLAST! Makenzie was in heaven with the outdoors! She is so much fun! And Zach was really at the perfect stage for my anal germ phobias! He is crawling all over the place and standing but not walking yet so he would just crawl around the trailer but when we were out and about he didn't touch anything we didn't want him to! It was great! The next trip when he is walking I'm sure is going to help me grow in that germ area...but for now I'm thankful! ;)
The 1 pic of all of us! :)

piggy back time!

They were going on a walk...obviously someone wanted to cuddle!

We had eggs in the trailer from our last trip in the toy box and they were a huge hit this trip too! yeah for Easter eggs! :) Can you see her cozy little bed next to her! She loves it! I should of taken a pic of Gary reading her stories...scrunched! :)

beauty...

my man can park! Yes our site was like a 90 degree angel to get the trailer in! CRAZY! He parked it on his 1st try! We could not believe it he thought for sure it would take 3 or 4 maneuvers! I would of given up and went to the Lodge! Yeah Gary! :)

This is pretty much a theme...our kids love Daddy holding them! Even if it is together! ;)

My bike partner!

She was so excited her skirt had pink on it and it matched her shirt! She wanted a picture!

Daddy and Maki riding!

Happy Boy!

SO GLAD WE BROUGHT THIS TOY! He loved having it outside too!

The River was COLD! Gary jumped in! I thought he was CRAZY! Well he is crazy, he loves me! ;)

I love my boy!

picnic time!

Again, Happy Boy! :)

My boys!

Throwing rocks! Every AM...

Playing in the trailer! Yes that trash can is disinfected! ;)

Mommy I'm so tired...

I love my baby girl!

Sorry this is actually the only shot I took of scenery...we took so many last time I figured nothing changed. ;)

Oh my gosh I love this little girl! :)

Look.at.those.eyes.

Mommy I don't need a nap! ;)

I love this man!

Daddy carried both kids most of the way on a hike...thankfully he is in such great shape! He actually enjoyed it! I enjoyed my relaxing hike too! LOL! ;)

My life... :)

Fall is here!

2009-09-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

Today was Makenzie's 1st day of Mommy & me preschool for this year! She has been so excited to go back to all her friends and of course Teacher Diane! Gary stayed home with Zach so I could just focus on Maki at school...we are trying to build it in to our schedules so every week Makenzie and Gary or me goes and the other one stays home with Zach...that way they each are getting our undivided attention for a bit. Hopefully it works out like this for the year! :) The class is so great and we just love the program! I love that it is a preschool environment but I'm there with her. And I can not say enough about Teacher Diane...WONDERFUL! :) We are also are back on track with gymnastics and swim too...wow who would of thought a 3 year old would have so much going on! LOL! Swim actually only goes a few more weeks and then we just have preschool 1 day a week and gymnastics...so there is plenty of room for our spontaneous life! ;)
Here are some pics from this week!
**also, I'm almost done going through all the pics from our trip to Yosemite last week...I'll post it soon!
Hope everyone is having a great week! Happy Fall! :)
1st day! Of course she wanted her scarf Nonnie Pat made her! She is all about accessories! And she refused to smile so this is the best one... ;)

My little painter!

This was last night after gymnastics..I could not find her anywhere in the house...she was not responding to my calls either so I was a bit frantic...I found her in between her bed and dresser reading her new bible! I was so excited to find her doing this! Now my prayer is she does it all of her days! Please Lord! :)

Shayna's Wedding photos!

2009-09-11T19:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am finally posting Shayna's wedding photos! The top pics are the 2nd ceremony in Lodi and the bottom half are from the ceremony in San Diego! Here are my other blogs (San Diego, Lodi) about the Wedding in case you missed them...or if you just love my writing so much you can read them again! LOL! ;)
And they lived happily ever after...

This is one of my favorite pics! I love all the smiles! Gary had said something funny, everyone laughed and then at the end of everyone laughing Makenzie did this fake really loud laugh...and then everyone laughed again! It was hilarious! **Side note...Makenzie did the same thing in a Church service when she was a year old! She has always had this funny fake laugh! So cute! ;)

Yes, she is this pretty and yes her gown was that gorgeous! She could be a model!

The most beautiful flower girl. EVER!

I love these pics of G and Shay.

Tiegra and Nina, 2 of Shayna's best friends on the left were her bridesmaids for the ceremony in Lodi...and me.

Kev's best friends. Very nice guys!...and hilarious!

Gary bringing it! I love how he talks with his hands.

Proud Daddy.

Daddy/daughter dance

lining the aisle in S.D.

waiting...with the coordinator.

finally getting ready to walk down the aisle!

2 becoming 1...i love this sand symbolism.

flower girl entertained herself during the beach ceremony...love it!

I love the joy in their faces!

San Diego's wedding party. Chelsea was her bridesmaid in S.D...but she couldn't make it up for the Lodi ceremony.

Yup, I'm the shortest...love it.

The end of the photos...but the beginning of their life. YEAH for Shayna and Kevin! Love you guys! :)

Family pics!

2009-08-30T19:05:00.000-07:00

We had some pics taken of the little ones and us! I LOVE OUR FAMILY! :)

**updated! some pics from the wedding and our weekend with Tita and Jaja!

2009-08-20T12:46:00.000-07:00

Hi! Sorry I don't have more wedding photos to post...Shayna is having technical difficulties with the images and her computer...I think it will be sorted out soon! So here are just a few from the ceremony in Lodi! The top 3 are from Tita's camera...thanks for emailing them Mom! :)

At the end of the night! Hence Gary and Zach down to their T-shirts...look how tired Zach looks! He was such a champ staying up so late!

Love that dress...and I love that Shayna had all the guys in khaki linen pants and white linen shirts...and of course sandals!Gary walking Shay down the aisle... love this pic!

Praying. Look at that dress!

flower girl and me-matron of honor...so honored! We forgot her flower basket at home for the ceremony in Lodi...at least we didn't forget Gary's shirt this time! In San Diego like 3 hours before the ceremony Gary had to run out and get a new one! Thankfully they pressed it for him! I totally forgot it at home! Oops! Oh well, now he has a short sleeve and a long sleeve linen white shirt!

Dancing at the reception in Lodi!

Tita and Jaja came to town for the weekend! We had a great time and of course they took Makenzie on a date to dinner and the toy store! She had a blast! And it gave Gary and me an opportunity to spend an afternoon and evening with just Zach .

Makenzie pointing out the door to The Cheesecake Factory...every time we ask her where she wants to eat she says " The Cheesecake Letter Factory" Hilarious! She has a show called "The Letter Factory" and she puts them both together! She is so adorable!

"Ummmm...Daddy there is something on the table I want!"

Big hugs!

Mommy love...

Hmmm...I wonder where Zach gets his beautiful eyes from?!?!

My favorite pic of the weekend!

Daddy with his babies! We found a Chevy's in Foster City right on the water! BEAUTIFUL! Gary surprised me a couple weeks back on our date night and we loved the atmosphere so much we took everyone on Sat! Jaja LOVES the jalapeno jelly!

Our 1st solo dinner with Zach! Maki was on her date with Tita & Jaja! We had Sushi, Zach ate a ton of tofu!

I love this pic! Check out the look in my Mom's eyes! Why are all the pics of us at Restaurants?! I swear all we do is eat when they come to town!!!!

Maki's swim lesson! Ok so Makenzie is a fish in the water! She loves to swim so we thought we better get her swim lessons so she can really learn how to be safe. Rex is a swim coach and also happens to be the children's director at our Church...perfect! The guy is AMAZING with kids! And Makenzie LOVES him! We do too! Perfect right! Well she seemed like she was not into the swim lesson at all...and by that I mean she cried! And kept saying "I want to go home!" It was probably a pretty long 30 mins for Rex! Sorry Rex! But he was a champ and so patient with her! We were walking to the van and she said "Mommy, that was SO MUCH FUN! Can I do it again?!" I found it hilarious because she didn't seem like she was having fun at all. But I guess she loved it! She is so excited about her next lesson on Friday! We'll see how it goes!

Zach splashing in the spa! He loves the water!

comments!

2009-08-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

So I opened my blog up for comments! Be nice! jk of course! It only took me 1 1/2 years to add it! LOL! :)
MUCH LOVE,
Dani :)

update on my cuties!

2009-08-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

Hi Hi Hi!!! Where to start!? I have not been as faithful on my blog as I would like to be! I guess the business of summer fun has been a bigger priority! One of the purposes of my blog- besides staying connected to friends and family-near and far, is for our kids to look back years from now to catch a glimpse of those memories! I also just started photo books for every year...basically I'm going to make a photo book for every year and in it will be a short summary of what we did, like travel or whatever was going on. Then when they are older I am going to give it to both of them. And of course keep a copy for us! We have so many pics (I'm addicted to my camera, as you all know!) and I want us to remember and have words with the pics...we'll see how it goes! :)

A little update on my cuties:

Zach-Wow where to start with this little guy! 9 months old last week! I CAN NOT believe how fast time goes! He is scooting and spinning everywhere! And he loves to stand, so much so that he locks his knees when you put him down and almost lays flat on his back before bending them because he just wants to stand! He is a babbler! Mama, mmmmm (means: food!) & daaaa-da are his most popular and most coherent words! He is such a happy boy still smiling at everyone and everything! And yes, sleeping great! THANKFULLY! 12-13 hours now..which is crazy compared to the 1st few months of life! I guess God knew I could only handle that for a bit! LOL! ;) He is in love with Makenzie and laughs at just about anything she does- even take toys out of his hand! Let's hope it stays that way! And this boy can eat! It still shocks me at how much he intakes at a meal...just this AM for breakfast: rice cereal and pears, 1 whole banana, yogurt and pancake! I'm thinking he has Gary's metabolism! Can't wait for the grocery bill when he is in High School! I still feel bad for Gary's Mom and all that he ate when he was in High School! Sorry Nonnie Pat! Looks like Zach is paying us back for you! ;)

Zach bundled last night in San Fran! The weather was beautiful! It felt like Fall was here! :)

Precious Makenzie Lee...she is loving her gymnastics class! They actually moved her up into an older age class and I was a bit nervous because she can get distracted (as all 3 year olds can) but she has so impressed me with her attention span with the coach and all the other kids. She loves helping and loves wearing her ballerina outfit to the class! I will have to post some pics next week...hopefully! :) She is really into singing all the time now...it is really cute when we are driving somewhere she sings to Zach-"makes him happy!" she says. So cute! She is such a helper and loves anything we ask her to do! How do we continue this into high school!?LOL! And she is a chatter box! Some times so much that Gary and I can't get a word in...I know, crazy! LOL! She loves to dance and is constantly giving us dancing lessons! Her specialty right now is ballet. But her new favorite thing to do is go to the grocery store where they have little shopping carts for kids. She gets to push her own cart and fill it with things from our list! She usually doesn't get away with putting other random stuff in it because I catch her and ask her to put it back. But last week she snuck ice cream cones in! I found them when we got home! I was actually really happy they got through! :) It is so much her favorite thing to do that she asks almost daily to go! It is so much easier for me now because I can put Zach in the cart and push him around versus carrying him in the carrier on my chest.
Maki with her new panda! She loves her new little guy!

Buffalo!!!!

2009-08-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

I'm finally posting pics from our Buffalo trip! Sorry, I had so many pics to go through...I really do need to cut back! I guess everyone is right, I do take way too many...lol! ;)

Buffalo was so much non stop fun! Where to start?!?! We stayed with my parents at their house on the river for the 1st few nights and ended our trip at my brother Dave's house! We had such a blast with all our family and friends that are like family back there! Makenzie and Zach had such a great time with all their cousins! Mak talks about them all the time! My parents threw a huge 4th of July party because their house has the BEST view for fireworks. Thanks everyone for making our trip so great! It was like going to 2 completely different places...My parent's house is on the River so we went fishing, on the boat and walked a ton! And D and Michele's house is in the country so we were on their property the whole time we stayed with them...and there was so much to do! SO many pics, it was so hard to narrow them down...
Kenzie did not want to stop picking raspberries at Uncle Dave and Aunt Mich's house! She ate a ton! As you can see...

picking raspberries!

more raspberries...

my bro's...why am I so white?!

my beautiful boy and his wonderful aunt-my brother doug's wife...

my precious boys!

the birthday kids! aaron, elijah and monica!

dave, my dad and isaiah on the boat on dave's pond...

Maki had a blast paddling until jaja got the motor going!

Zach was actually looking tan on this trip...until he was next to Uncle D!

Dave with baby Zach...look at his beautiful eyes!

Isaiah and Hope have such a great playroom! And look at what they are playing with! LOL!

we rode and rode and rode! Makenzie loved it!

Dave and Gary being silly...they were pretty annoyed with me taking pics so they were teasing me with a funny pose! Haha, I posted it! LOL! ;)

cutie!

my bros! again...why am I so white!?

my precious God-daughter Mony! I love you Monica!

pile up!

precious...

salt and pepper...

we love orange!

My parents bought all the kids those flashlights for the 4th...They were a hit!

4th of July party at my parents!

aw...me and my bro! Dave being silly...

Isaiah you are a cutie!

precious Makenzie

This was the climbing wall...entertained them for hours!

Mel (Carrie's sister who lives in Buffalo now), me and Carrie.

Ana, Carrie and Mony!

Everyone! Doug and Carrie look this way! LOL!

Tea time! Considering we had 5 kids under 4 everyone got along great!

Monica holding Zach!

Aunt Mich getting piled on! There are actually 4 kids in this pic...but one is in the belly! Yeah another baby! Mich was a champ with so many of us at her house during her 1st trimester! Glad you are feeling better Mich! :)

Zach being a ham at dinner! That was his 1st night of tofu! He loved it!

Hopey holding Zach!

Ana and Makenzie at Darien Lake! It was such a fun, hot day!

I love my boys!

Isaiah and Hope have turkey's! Makenzie had a blast watching them!

Shayna & Kevin's 2nd ceremony and reception!

2009-08-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

Shayna and Kevin's 2nd (and final!) ceremony and reception was Saturday night at the Church where Kevin is a Pastor in Lodi. It was so beautiful! The Church grounds are probably the prettiest I have ever seen for a Church. The ceremony was in the Amphitheater and behind it is a beautiful little creek and woods. I can not paint a picture of how gorgeous the setting was so you will just have to wait for pics! But the only catch is I don't have them yet! Hopefully soon/today?!!

The ceremony was beautiful! Gary walked Shay down the aisle and the Senior Pastor prayed and then Gary officiated...it was so wonderful and special to see! Gary really did not want to officiate her wedding...he really just wanted to be Daddy on her wedding day. So it was perfect that they did 2 ceremonies because Shay and Gary both got what they wanted! Gary got to be Daddy at the 1st ceremony and Pastor/Daddy at the 2nd! It was beautiful! I love it when Gary does weddings! He always has a message for the audience as well, not just the Bride and Groom. It is like an opportunity for every couple to renew their vows and a reminder of what marriage is and where our focus should be! He did such a great job! And I have to admit I have a little crush on the guy! ;) Ok more than a little! He also challenged everyone there since it is basically their "community" to commit to pray for them for a year...it got me thinking, am I praying for my "community" enough?...no. Most of the people that I know that read my blog are from our "community" so just an fyi-I'm committing to pray for you more!

We had such a great time with everyone and are so grateful everything went so smoothly! The kids were GREAT! Zach was an absolute champ! He is usually in bed by 630p at the latest! And he was up past 10p! And was still all smiles! PRAISE GOD! And Maki was adorable as the flower girl. She even announced to everyone at the reception that it was time for cake on the microphone! She wanted more time with the microphone but Gary had to pry it out of her hands...so cute!

Shayna planned and designed the whole reception herself! It was beautiful and I'm not just saying that because it's Shayna! Everything was perfect! She really should start a wedding planning business! Although I'm pretty sure she is burnt out now after 2 of her own in 4 weeks! LOL! We are too! But it was all so worth it! And I got a pretty dress out of it! Once again, Shayna has great taste!

Tita and Jaja flew in from Buffalo where they were spending a month or so and we are so grateful for them coming all that way! And for all the help they were with the kids!

Well enough of my ramblings for tonight! Praising God for such a great time! And praising God for marriage...especially mine.

God's goodness!

2009-07-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

I am so overwhelmed by God's goodness! Words can not express my overflowing gratefulness and emotions! God is so good! I LOVE this stage of my life...I love that Zach is 8 months old and is all smiles! And Makenzie is such a joy! I can not believe how fun it is to be their Mommy! Nor how much work it is...lol! :) But worth it! After a very long week I went out to celebrate a great friend's birthday! Happy Birthday Kim! It was so great being out with so many people who mean so much to me and Gary! Gary stayed home with the kids and took care of dinner, baths and bedtime. SO GRATEFUL Gary is so hands on! I do know how spoiled I am that he is so capable and loves being so involved!
You know how after a long week things pile up on you...or at least they do for me...clothes out, playroom a mess, kitchen a disaster..ect. I came home and the house was clean...Gary spent his evening cleaning to try and lighten my load...honestly it is not necessarily the clean house that makes me so grateful (although I AM!) but just that he sacrificed his evening to clean the house while I was out with our friends so I wouldn't have to worry about it this weekend. Gosh this man humbles me! I love you Gary and am so grateful for your heart! And I love my friends! Dinner and bocceball was so much fun! We just reconnected with an old friend and I am borrowing his motto for a bit- "The Lord has been so good to me in spite of all He knows of me!"

Shayna's Wedding!

2009-07-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

Hi! Sorry it has been so long since my last post! We have been busy! We were in San Diego for Shayna's wedding and then went to Buffalo for our annual family reunion for the 4th of July! We have had such a busy but amazing 3 weeks!

First I will start with Shayna's wedding...
Oh my gosh it was beautiful! She was a beautiful bride! We had such a great weekend visiting family and running errands for the wedding. I don't have pics from the wedding yet that I can post but I will as soon as I am able to...

I have so much filled in my heart about Shayna and her wedding...Shayna asked me to be her Matron of Honor...I probably haven't written about it because for one of the rare times in my life I am speechless about something. As you all know I usually have a lot to say about everything...I am not usually at a loss for words, but this time I am. I am absolutely honored that she asked me and am still speechless about it. My relationship with Shayna is so much more than I could of ever asked for when I married her Dad (or as she still calls him "Daddy"... so cute!). Shay and I have had hard times and good times that we have gone through together...and I am so grateful for where our relationship is now! At least we laugh now about the chores I used to give the girls when they lived with us in Valencia...gosh looking back I was like a Gestapo! But we had so many great times too...that Shayna reminds me about all the time. Like every Tuesday night we used to go to Outback for dessert after the kids homework was done...we all wore sweats. Like our many days laying out together. Like our late night talks when we would all stay up late and just talk. Like the many times (too many, I confess) when I would pick up Shayna early from school-loved the look I would get from the office ladies signing her out! ;) And so many more memories...I could go on and on...that night before her wedding it was like old times-Shayna and Chelsea stayed in our hotel room in the bed beside us. And I had a thought at about midnight that brought me to tears...this phase of life is over. Shayna is no longer "our little Shayna" she is a grown woman about to commit her life to the man of her dreams. Things are forever different...I balled! But then when Kevin and her were standing there hand in hand saying their vows to each other I realized we weren't losing Shayna, we were gaining Kevin. Yes things will be different now but that is ok...actually it is wonderful! What a blessing it is to have the great addition of Kevin to our family! We are so blessed! Welcome to the family Kevin! Or as I have been calling him "son in law"! Shayna it was an absolute honor to stand by your side on your wedding day! I love everything about the Godly wonderful woman you have become!

Gary's Surprise Party!

2009-06-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

Mommy and Daddy at Daddy's surprise party! He was so surprised! Such a fun memorable night to remember! Makenzie saw the pic this AM and said "Mommy that is where you got my balloon! THANKS!"

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

We have had a really busy weekend but I just couldn't let today go by without wishing everyone a Happy Father's Day! Especially The Dads/Daddys in my life! I will 1st start with my Daddy-because well, he is my Dad! Dad- I love you so much and am inspired by you (just started my shadow boxing Mr. Blackbelt!) 2nd of course my hubby- G, our kids are so blessed...SO BLESSED by YOU!! And lastly my brothers-Dave and Doug- you both are such AMAZING Dads! Can't wait for us all to be together again! 2 weeks! Yippie! :)

I am surrounded by GREAT Dads!!

Hope everyone had a great Father's Day weekend!
Love,
Dani :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GARY! :)

2009-06-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to the man who makes my world go round! Ok, so I won't get too gushy on my blog...I'll save that for his card! But we all know I'm a gusher and very cheesy especially when it comes to Gary!

Gary, you rock! That pretty much sums it up! You are such an amazing man and I am so blessed to be your wife! Thank you Lord! You are the best Daddy in the world and our kids are evidence of just how amazing you are! You always put others 1st, especially our family! And I am so grateful for that!

Like I always say and will continue to say until the English vocabulary expands...words do not express how much I love and appreciate you!

Love you Chumby!
Dani :)

some fun pics from Makenzie's Birthday weekend!

2009-06-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

Last night Gary and I went out on a date! We had a great time! Thanks to our AMAZING babysitter Erica! Seriously, we love her! Mak has really taken to her and they have a blast together! We are so thankful! We were talking at dinner about how precious this stage is with the kids...I know the baby/toddler age is tough in it's own rights but we aren't dealing with crazy emotions or anything like that yet...our problems are really very simple. And for that we are grateful! We are trying to figure out when Maki should start kindergarten...Do you think 6 1/2 is a little old to start? Gary suggested 10! LOL! Would love input on this!! Email me!
Love, love, loving getting out on date nights! Erica, you are such a BLESSING! :)

**thanks for your prayers and encouragement! I am feeling much better! Vanessa, 6 times?! Wow you are a much stronger woman than I...I have hit my wall at 3! playing in a creek...she looks 10 years old to me here! STOP GROWING Maki!

some lovin' on the grass!

so precious!

awww!

my 3 favorite people! :)

we were taking pics too!

playing with Daddy at her Birthday dinner!

His plans...not mine.

2009-05-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

So you think I would learn not to make plans because rarely my plans are God's...and yet, things always work out and His plan prevails!
We had a great Birthday weekend planned for Makenzie! I baked cupcakes for her Mommy and me preschool class on Thursday and was so excited for her 1st chance to have her classmates sing to her on her Birthday! Seriously, I was more excited than she was! And low and behold I woke up Thursday at 3AM with a very high fever and the aches...I know my 1st thought was the swine flu! And then I realized I had a clogged milk duct (sorry gentleman readers!)...Mastitis! AGAIN! 3rd time! I so overproduce milk it is crazy! I think I am going to start weaning Zach...So I didn't get to go to her special day at school..thankfully Gary had a flexible AM so they could both still go! I was feeling so guilty...this Mommy guilt is so real! And we had plans to go to breakfast this AM and then to Color Me Mine right next door to Stacks...but I was not up for it at all so we postponed.
Thursday afternoon I went to the Dr. and waited and waited to be seen. My Dr. was out of town so I was waiting on the on call Dr. who had to go and do an emergency C-section. So I pleaded with the nurse to just get me the prescription. I pleaded my case that this is the 3rd time and I was certain of what it was...she said she had to go ask another Dr. but she wasn't sure if they would prescribe it without being examined. I was actually quit shocked, I mean really why would I try to get antibiotics if I didn't need them? It is not like I was trying to get vicodin or some other narcotic although the pain I was in I would of taken them too! Just antibiotics...So I texted Gary and asked him to pray. I was feeling crummy and did not want to wait another hour or longer to be seen...the nurse came back and gave me the prescription!

This is the touching part...I called Gary and told him what happened and he told Makenzie.
His conversation with Makenzie:
Gary- Mak, Mommy got the medicine! See Jesus always takes care of Mommy!
Mak- I know Daddy...and He takes care of you and me too!

I didn't know that they had sat in the backyard to pray for me together and that Gary had used the opportunity to show Mak another glimpse of Jesus...so glad he did! My heart melted when I heard her cute little voice in the background say those words...I mean seriously nothing is sweeter than that! Kids really do listen!

I was so disappointed about the change of weekend plans but realized that all Makenzie cares about is time...she doesn't care what we do. Sure she would love to paint at color me mine but the easel in the backyard is great too! She just wants us...I want to plan all this elaborate stuff and organize fun events but she just wants to get wet, color, paint, sing and dance! And she is perfectly happy doing it at home. This AM we put Zach down for a nap and Mak and I sat on the couch and made necklaces for an hour! So fun yet so simple! She loved it! On a side note...Gary is a champ, he wore the necklace she made him all day! Even to meet with a client and out to eat! Makenzie was so proud! Seriously, what a great Daddy! (I highly endorse the "Melissa and Doug" necklace kit! Hours of entertainment!)
I need to remember less is more with children too!

I am also suppose to co-host a baby shower for my dear friend Walker tomorrow but am obviously not up for it. Jessy the other host is fantastic and is covering everything! Jessy, I don't know if you ever read my blog but THANK YOU! You have been fabulous to plan and organize this shower with! And Walker, I love you and am so sorry to miss it! I can not wait for our kids to grow up together! You are going to be an AMAZING Mommy! :)

Praying for my antibiotics to kick in soon but in the mean time enjoying the down time and marathon necklace crafts!! I am totally channeling Martha! :)

honesty of a 3 year old!

2009-05-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

Makenzie was having a rough moment...

Here is how the conversation went...

Me-I think you need a time-out.
Mak-No, I need a nap!

And now she is blissfully sleeping! :)

Makenzie Lee is 3!

2009-05-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Sweet baby girl,
Where did the time go? You were in a hurry to get here, 5 weeks early and HEALTHY! You have so much energy and life Mak! You are enthusiastic about everything! You bring so much joy to so many...but especially to your Daddy and me! You are non-stop fun and excitement! You make parenting fun! We love you beyond words little one...Thank you for being so amazing!

We love:
your little hands when you grab ours to hold,
your spontaneous hugs,
your spontaneous "I love you's!',
your laugh!,
even your cry,
your joy,
your wisdom (you are so much older than 3!),
your creativity!,
the way you always remind us to pray and your excited "AMENS!",
the way you always want to go on an adventure outside,
your sweet and loving concern for Zach,
the way you love to make him laugh,
the way you laugh when you play chase with Daddy,
your frequent ballet lessons for Daddy and Mommy,
how you love DANCE PARTY! We know you won't be going to Master's College,
the way you care for big dolly,
little one we could go on and on...

"I'll love you forever...I'll like you for always...as long as I'm living my baby you'll be!" No words are truer or send me to tears more easily every time I read them!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!
We love you so much!
Daddy & Mommy

Picasso?

2009-05-25T06:31:00.001-07:00

Makenzie drew a bear...see the detail of 4 legs, 2 eyes, a mouth and a big head! I know Mak is no Picasso yet but we'll give her time!

Our time in Valencia!

2009-05-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

We went down to Valencia for a long weekend and had a BLAST! Chelsea and I threw Shayna a Bridal Shower on Saturday and it was so much fun! We had a great time celebrating the beautiful Bride with so many of her friends and ladies she grew up with! Zach was at the shower the whole time and was an angel! Seriously some times I pinch myself with what an easy, happy kid he is! THANK YOU LORD! God knows what you can handle and I guess he knew I couldn't handle a crabby kid! ;) Makenzie also came after her nap...she really enjoyed the cupcakes! Speaking of cupcakes, THANK YOU Liz! The food was AMAZING! We had such a great time visiting with friends and family! Gosh we miss you all! Move up here! Because God knows we are not moving back! LOL! Way too hot! It was 106 at 1 point...that heat is the closest to hell I want to get! ;) I am such a baby now! 90 is hot to me...seriously I'm a wimp! And we would miss our new friends so much! It is funny Gary and I were talking and we feel like we have lived here all our lives and that life before was just a dream or at times nightmare(some of which we created!) but we love our life here! We couldn't imagine life without our friends! I can't believe we have only known most of you for the last 5 years or so...it feels like we go back years! We love you guys! :)

I also had the chance to catch up with an old friend...Jenni Vaccarro. We go back nearly 20 years...we played softball together, she was also in Gary's youth group. Her and her family knew me through my ups and downs as a kid...As we were reminiscing and talking about the last decade or so...wow I am feeling old! We were talking about stuff from the past that I haven't really thought about in a long time...and it was so good to think back. Yes, there was a lot of hard stuff that I/Gary went through when we 1st started dating and got married. But there was so much great stuff too. Like remembering back to why I fell in love with my husband...remembering back to why he fell in love with me...remembering back to our friends that stuck with us through thick and thin, who loved us unconditionally...remembering back to our Church (RLC!) and how much they showered us with Christ's LOVE! (I remember when we moved up to the Bay Area we were so sad that we had to leave our Church, we thought we would never find another 1 like it! THANKFULLY we found MPPC! MPPC has been so amazing for us! PRAISE GOD!)...remembering back to when Chelsea and Shayna lived with us...God has been so good to us and so faithful, even when we weren't...and for that I am eternally grateful! Our life has changed so much since our Valencia days...but I NEVER want to forget where we came from or what helped mold us in to the people we are today. So glad God allowed our paths to cross Jenni! I really appreciate your blunt, honest approach to life and I'm glad you expect the same from people...I love your honesty about yourself and authenticity...and your desire to know the truth. And by the way...if anyone needs a chiropractor in the SCV she is AMAZING! She does soft tissue work as well...She is fantastic!
Speaking of friends...we had the chance to spend some time with my bestfriends growing up...(seriously these girls mean so much to me!) Kellie, JP, Anna and Court! I love when we get some time to spend together and it is always a great ab workout with all the laughing we do! ;)

Tita and Jaja-thanks for everything! We loved staying at your house! And Makenzie LOVED Tita's bath tub with the rocks! She thought we brought it home with us :( We love you guys! Thanks for everything! It was a bit weird not having my brother Dave there with his family since they moved to NY...but we will see them soon! Yeah, less than 2 months! :) Can't wait to see Doug and his family too! And everyone else who will be back visiting!

Here are some pics from the weekend...I lost 20 photos somehow in my camera...I put them in some "file" so hopefully I can find them and post them later.
Tita with happy boy!
Our friend Kellie!

Kellie's boys Levi and Tytus...Levi is reading to us! So cute! :)

Ashley with baby boy! The pic with Luke didn't come out! So bummed!

Zach loves Sara! :) But who doesn't!?!:)

falling asleep with Tita...

Happy Zach at the Shower!

Shayna and her TP Brides!

Yes, all of Shayna's friends are beautiful! :)

The Bride and her Mom! My hams!

This is Shelly my parent's cleaning lady for the last 20 years with her kids posing with Zach and Mak! She showered us with gifts! She couldn't believe that I am a Mom now...get in line Shelly! LOL! :) Love it! Thanks for all the presents Shelly! You really shouldn't have!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommys in my life! I had such a great Mother's Day weekend! Gary worked extra hard to make it very special! THANKS GARY! :) Makenzie continues to tell me "Happy Mother's Day Mommy!" - I love her precious voice! This AM she asked "is it your day again Mommy?" I said "yes honey, everyday is my day!" LOL!

Our weekend included a bike ride, an evening out with my hubby, nap (2 weekends in row! YEAH!), necklaces with my angels name engraved on it! and my favorite gift-Gary had 2 precious pics of the kids and traced their footprint and hand print on the back! This gift is so SPECIAL to me! It has touched my heart as much as the thought of looking back 20 years from now reflecting on these days...the good old days...these are the good old days! Every day we are making memories for our "good old days" memory book in our hearts! Hope you are enjoying your GOOD OLD DAYS! :) I sure am!
Thankfully a Mommy and Wife,
Dani :)

Our little ballerina!

4 month old pic-he is 6 months old now!

giving little brother kisses!

Lights, camera, ACTION!

2009-05-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

Or should I say Lights, camera, no action!
Zach started baby food and he LOVES it! When I say LOVE, I mean LOVE! He had no funny faces for us! I was so bummed! I know I'm lame but those adorable horrible faces babies make when they taste their 1st foods is absolutely adorable to me! Makenzie's 1st funny faces are still deeply embedded in my mind! But not with Zach he was literally smiling! And could not get enough! I was so bummed...I guess I should be excited, maybe he won't be a picky eater but we had our camera out and video camera rolling to capture those silly faces...oh well! Maybe prunes next week won't be a hit!
So here are the boring pics of my son actually enjoying his 1st meal! He is such a good eater! He obviously loves food like his Daddy and Mommy! :)
The one funny picture! After his 1st taste of water...I guess he was expecting something else :)

hmmm...

YUMMY!

look at those adorable hands!

Celtic Woman

2009-05-04T14:11:00.000-07:00

We went to the Celtic Woman concert last night! It was amazing! I know many of you may be thinking REALLY?! Even one of my closest friends who also happens to be my sister-in-law Carrie told me not to tell anyone that we went...she made such fun of us! But I don't care! We had an amazing time! Celtic music is not something we usually listen to but these ladies are so talented! They harmonize so beautifully! Hope you enjoy the short youtube video of them! I played it this AM for Mak and we had to watch it over and over again! She loved it so much she started playing the piano and made me dance! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHOyPLSVam4

The song in the video happens to be my favorite! I don't know what it is about the song but it just stirs so much joy inside of me!

Carrie, what do you think??? Still laughing...?

just a little gushing...

2009-04-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful for our little ones! I am overwhelmed by how much I love them! Makenzie is such a wonderful big sister! She is a little Mommy! She is always wanting me to wake him up when he is napping so she can play with him! And he has great hand control now so we play this game where he takes something out of her hand she laughs, and takes it back and then he laughs and we go back and forth a few times...it really is hilarious! The 1st time it happened we laughed to make light of the situation so now Makenzie thinks it is cute when he takes her toy. We hope it stays cute to her! LOL! :) And baby Zach is such a happy baby! I really can not believe he is the same child before we went to the Chiropractor (you can click on Chiropractor to hear the story if you missed that blog entry). He is full of laughs, smiles and giggles! He smiles at everyone! And not just a little smile...when he smiles it is like his whole body is smiling! It is adorable!

Ok, sorry for the gushing I am just overwhelmed with joy over these 2 little people that God has blessed us with!

YOSEMITE!

2009-04-26T07:21:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time! Poor Gary was sick the whole week with a cold...1st time in years he has been sick :( but he was such a trooper! We still did everything we wanted to...we walked and walked and walked! We all woke up Sunday AM with little colds so we decided to pack it up and go home...easiest pack up ever! When we got up to Yosemite it was 29 degrees and started snowing! It was such a great experience and so beautiful to see Yosemite covered in snow. We were supposed to leave on Friday but we were having such a great time we decided to try and extend our trip...before G walked into the Ranger's office we prayed that if it was God's will we would get a spot, if not we would just go home. The ONLY site available was the site we were already in! The ranger said the likelihood of that happening was zero! Isn't that so neat! God is good! In February we bought a travel trailer because we have really missed camping. We have not gone since Mak was born. We are so thankful we bought it! But I do have to say being in a travel trailer is not really roughing it! The only thing we were missing was a washer/dryer and our jacuzzi. Seriously it was one of our best purchases EVER! We did miss tenting it a bit but it will be years before we do that again with the little ones. The heater was on most of the night so we stayed nice and warm. Hope you enjoy the pics!
playing near the River with mud!

nap time!

My smiley boys! Don't you love the sunhat I made Gary wear! The kids each have one too! :)

We played by the River multiple times a day!

Story time before bed

That portable DVD was great on the drive but we tried to limit her to just 1 show a day when we were there...way too much beauty outside to watch a show!

We spent most of the trip searching for the perfect walking stick for Makenzie...we found it and then it broke! :(

Yosemite falls and the river behind her.

We saw Bambi on a trail...we also saw a coyote.

Sunday brunch on the AM we left. We were all so tired! Gary and I basically pulled an all nighter...but not the fun kind!

January 2nd, 1997 was the night I became a Christian! That night was also the highest the water level has ever been in Yosemite's history!

Tired, sick Gary after a long walk...thanks for being a trooper G! :)

Lower Yosemite Falls

riding the bus...1 of Mak's favorite things we did daily! :)

giving little bro some love

Makenzie's 1st camp fire! She was so excited! So was Gary! :)

She was so excited to see the horses!

Makenzie climbing around at lunch...look past her on the left. Gary caught Zach and me walking by! :)

her favorite hiding spot in the travel trailer!

playing in the travel trailer! She was so excited every time the windows fogged up she would decorate the windows!

Our 1st meal!

29 degrees!

look at that adorable silly face he is making!

so cozy!

Gary's surprise pic in the camera! Love you too!

snow! just like Buffalo...jk!

Like I said we weren't really roughing it! :) This is the best way to camp!

Fun day with Shayna!

2009-04-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

Yeserday was such a great day! We drove out to Lodi and spent the day with Shayna doing wedding stuff! I would have great photos but my camera died after only taking 1 shot! Can you believe it? I was so bummed!
Shayna, thanks for organizing such a great day! WE LOVE YOU! :)
And I am about to pay Kevin the highest of compliments: I was talking with my Mom on the way home and was trying to explain how excited we are for them to get married and how wonderful Kevin treats Shayna...but words failed me...so I simply said "Mom, Kevin treats Shayna like Gary treats me." And my Mom said, "Ah, enough said!" Gary has prayed since Shayna was just a baby for a man just like Kevin to enter her life...and he has! Praise God! :)

So I have no great shots of:

all of us taste testing the food from the caterer which was beyond amazingly delicious! It was so hard to narrow down the choices!
Or
pictures of the Church where Kevin works and the 2nd ceremony will be. Such a beautiful amphitheater and setting! (For those of you who don't know, Shayna and Kevin are getting married in San Diego on June 28th with family and their closest friends and then having a 2nd ceremony and large reception in Lodi on 8/1.)
Or
at the dress shop when we saw her BEAUTIFUL gown for the 1st time! It is gorgeous! Gary keeps saying how beautiful she looked! Although I wouldn't of posted a pic of the dress anyway! But I would of posted Makenzie and Gary playing hide and seek in all the dresses! So cute! And the dress shop owner thought it was cute too and didn't mind! Probably because we bought not only Shayna's gown there but also Makenzie's flower girl dress! Shayna picked out an adorable little dress for her!
Or
a pic of Kev's parents and all of us going out to dinner! We had such a great time with them! Sharon (Kev's mom) held Zac most of dinner...so cute!
Or
Kevin's new apartment that will soon be their home! :)
We made 6 stops in all and Makenzie and Zachary were angels! I really could not believe how great they did...such troopers! The closest thing we got to a melt down was at our last stop, dinner. But we bribed Makenzie with ice cream for dessert and she made it! She had 2 HUGE scoops of ice cream and was in heaven! She consumed more sugar yesterday than ever before...she LOVED taste testing all the desserts at the caterers! :)
Here is the 1 photo of the day!

*I will post pics and a blog about Yosemite later today hopefully! Depends how long the kids nap! ;)

HAPPY EASTER!

2009-04-13T08:19:00.001-07:00

I love Easter! A day full of JOY and HOPE for our life today and tomorrow! We had a wonderful day! Josh, Emily and Marguerite came over for an early afternoon brunch (Josh made yummy omelets and Em made a fantastic dessert!) and egg hunt for the kids...well actually just Maki! She was so cute when she found her basket she said "there is too much stuff in the basket!" so next year I guess we won't fill it so much ;) And then we went over to our dear friends Hide and Judy's house for dinner with their kids, grandkids and a couple other friends. Makenzie had a blast playing with all the older kids. And I don't think Zac was put down but for a 30 min. cat nap...he was such smiling machine! We feel so blessed to have such great friends up here that are like family! It definitely makes living so far away from our families easier even though we miss them all so much! Hope you enjoy a few pics from our day! We are SO EXCITED we are heading to Yosemite tomorrow for the week! I will post pics when we get home!

I love her beautiful profile! And her amazing hair with that natural curl!

my handsome boy wearing a tie! so cute!

GORGEOUS!

She dumped all her books out of the basket to fill it up with eggs.

Marguerite and baby Zac...I love his paci smile!

Josh and Em with baby Zac!

discipline!

2009-04-10T19:10:00.001-07:00

I just watched the cutest thing! Makenzie was disciplining Gary!
Maki "Daddy that is very naughty. If you do it again I am going to have to spank you."
Daddy "oh I'm sorry Maki, please forgive me." while holding back laughing!
Maki "that is ok, I forgive you! thank you for not being naughty."

I love these precious moments that are building wonderful memories with our baby girl...she says the cutest things! :)

Tickers!

2009-04-03T14:08:00.000-07:00

I just posted tickers at the bottom of our page! FUN! :)

a few pics from last week...

2009-04-01T15:31:00.000-07:00

we went to the park and had a picnic! :)

happy boy!

Maki trying to pick up her baby bro!

bubble time at gymnastics!

more bubbles...

Maki loves her gymnastics class! I do too! :)

wanted to cry...

2009-03-24T19:31:00.000-07:00

4 things happened today that made me want to cry...
#1- I was in the other room for a minute when Makenzie was having her snack of apple sauce at the kitchen table and I came back to her eating a stick of butter! Not the whole stick but at least 1/3 of it was consumed! I wanted to cry with laughter and fear for her probable stomach ache...thankfully no tummy ache occurred!

#2- Makenzie would not nap today! Gary was home for lunch and to put her down, but for some reason he wound her up (poor guy got an earful for winding her up! Sorry Gary!)so she couldn't sleep...I wanted to cry, because I had so much to do during her nap time so I was frustrated and then was laughing at myself for being so upset my daughter wouldn't nap! I mean really it was only 1 day...and then she napped on our walk this afternoon!

#3- Zac was in his chair and I walked in just in time to see Makenzie kissing his head so tenderly and sweet...I got a bit teary!

#4- I was making dinner and Gary and Mak were having shaved ice in the family room while watching a show...Gary came running in the kitchen to tell me what had just happened...Makenzie sat next to Zac and played with his head so tenderly and sweet during 1/2 of the show! SO ADORABLE! The tears came on hard! I'm so grateful she has done so well with the transition with a little brother!

Wow, I had an emotional day! Isn't it funny that there are tears of joy, tears of laughter and tears of sadness?...I hope when this life of mine is through I have had more tears of joy and laughter than tears of sadness...right now joy and laughter is kicking sadness's butt! YEAH! :)
After Maki's non-napping day we were playing in her room and she wanted Zac in her crib bed with her. Oh my gosh I love my kids! :) They are so dang cute I just want to squeeze them! AND I DO!

Here is a pic of the butter culprit! I had to take a pic and was laughing so much that I know I sent her the wrong message of saying no and it is wrong but laughing at the same time...oh well. Sorry it is blurry!

field trip!

2009-03-24T06:54:00.001-07:00

Last week Makenize had a field trip with her Mommy and Me preschool. Gary took her and of course they had a blast! They always do! I ran errands with Zac sleeping! A weeks worth of errands in about 2 hours! I forgot how much less time things take when you don't have a 2 1/2 year old with you! BUT I WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR THE WORLD! She makes every thing an adventure and so fun! She is always pointing out the flowers and people, she has really helped me to slow down...but that is another blog entirely! They all met at a bus stop and the whole class rode the city bus to a museum in Palo Alto and ate lunch in the park and played! They had a blast!
Here are a few pics from the day!
My precious girl...I am still trying to grow out those bangs.

Waiting for the bus!

playing at the museum!

that's my girl! :)

She is a monkey! I love it!

Spring is here and Easter is coming!

2009-03-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year! For a couple of reasons, the weather, but more importantly the anticipation of Easter! The true meaning of Easter, the most powerful day mankind has ever known...During this Lent season Gary and I have been really focusing on all our blessings and being thankful for every last one of them. A friend of ours sent out an email challenging us to count our blessings, no not just the cliche "I'm so blessed, I can't count them" but truly counting our blessings. It got me thinking about all the blessings in my life, not just the big obvious ones but every last blessing. Especially the little ones, the ones that make every day more joyful! And it is an overwhelming feeling when I think of all the things the Lord has done for me and is to me...
A few updates on 2 of my biggest blessings...
Zac is 4 1/2 months old now! He is such a joy to be around! No really, he is the happiest baby EVER! All he does is smile! Unless he is hungry or tired of course! He is so content and fun! We call him Mr.Smiley or Happy!
Makenzie is at such a fun stage! I love spending all my days with her...she is such an amazing little person! She is so much fun and such a talker!

Here are a few pics and the bottom video is so cute of Maki when we were at Pismo Beach!
Mommy and Zac

Daddy loving on his boy...

Daddy tickling Zac...Zac is SO TICKLISH!

My precious boy...

My precious little girl...

Just a little background on this video...When Maki goes poo poo she tells us who she is doing it for...she dedicates them to people. Don't ask me why! I have no idea why either, but 9 out of 10 times she dedicates it to my brother Dave. Love you uncle D! ENJOY the video! Isn't her voice precious!

SHAYNA & KEVIN!

2009-03-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

Shayna and Kevin came to visit last weekend! It was a really nice visit and we were so excited Shay stayed a few extra days! :) Mak and Zac miss her! Here are a few pics from the trip!
Kevin had already asked Gary for Shayna's hand over the phone but this was the 1st time he had a chance to really sit down with him and chat...The chat went well! :) Wonder if the gun is loaded?...

Ahh...

I didn't even notice what Kevin was doing until I just downloaded the pics! Careful Kev, he is going to be bigger than you 1 day...ok, since Kevin is 6'7 I doubt Zac will be bigger. But he will be taking Karate so watch out Kevin! LOL! :)

Zac's 1st trip!

2009-03-07T19:45:00.000-08:00

We took our 1st trip with Zac! We went down to San Luis Obispo last week, well we actually stayed in Pismo Beach. We had so much fun! We have so many fond memories of the area. When we lived in Valencia, Gary used to go up to SLO for business at least a few days every other week or so and of course I went with him :) We have always loved the area!
The kids were angels! We actually could not believe how smooth the trip went! PRAISE GOD! Makenzie loved playing on the beach but she really wanted to play in the water. She thought we were going to Hawaii to play at "her" beach. Sorry Mak! But she still loved it! And the place was dead...maybe it is the economy or maybe just a down week but either way it was like a ghost town. Of course we ate at Firestone every day! Firestone is our FAVORITE restaurant ever! It is a BBQ place that serves the best tri-tip in the world! And it is the only place my health food conscious husband eats french fries! We had our red meat intake for the month! But it was so worth it! Here are some pics of our trip!
our precious boy...

my view from the back...funny, I finally am all grown up and I'm back in the backseat again...funny how life goes! :)

playing on the beach!

getting ready for volleyball with Daddy!

so beautiful!

we really were on vacation, she was eating in bed!

shells!

precious...

calling Shayna! :)

so cozy!

Shayna's engaged!

2009-03-07T19:21:00.001-08:00

Shayna got engaged this week! We are so excited! Shay and Kev are coming tomorrow so we will get plenty of pics to post! Yeah! :)

busy, fun weekend!

2009-03-02T19:21:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has been so long since I made a post! I have a ton of pics from the last couple of weeks and I will blog about later this week but 1st...

We had such a great weekend! On Friday my dear friend from childhood, Courtney, flew in and we had the best time just reminiscing and talking about fun memories! Court-I love you so much! I cherish our friendship! We also got to see her hubby Mike on Sunday!
Then on Saturday AM Gary's sister Christy, her partner Molly and our precious niece Shya came to visit and meet Zach! SO MUCH FUN! Makenzie could not get enough of Shya, they had so much fun playing together! Makenzie is 2 1/2 years younger than Shya but only 2 inches shorter! And she weighs 2 lbs more! So they were about the same size! So cute! We had a blast visiting with Christy and Molly too! Christy has ALWAYS been one of my favorite people! We always enjoy our time with her and her family. Molly is wonderful too! She is just about 1 of the funniest people I have ever met! My stomach always hurts from laughing after a weekend with those 2! Thanks for coming up everyone! We love you all! :)
Cousins!

Court in her PJ's holding baby Zach!

Makenzie and Shya in the bounce house!

having a picnic with play dough

Christy and Molly! I know Christy looks nothing like Gary...yah right!

sandbox fun!

Shya tickling Zach!

My favorite shot of the weekend! I love that yawn!

Court and Mike with Zach!

Celebrating 8 Wonderful Years!

2009-02-17T12:01:00.000-08:00

Wow, we have been married 8 years! Where does the time go?! We have been through so much in the last 8 years together! AND I AM SO GLAD TO BE GOING THROUGH THIS LIFE WITH YOU GARY! Can't wait for the next 50! I was looking at what I wrote last year and realized I love you more and more each passing year if that is even possible...and for that I am THANKFUL!

8 reasons I love you...
You are:
a man after God's heart
a man after my heart
a man who loves his children deeply and completely
a man who loves others unconditionally and wherever they are
the MOST forgiving person I have ever met
wise
generous
and of course handsome! ;)
(I have to say it was hard to narrow them down to 8! I was sitting here frustrated I couldn't narrow them down and choose...and then I thought, what a great problem to have!)
I love everything about you (even the things that drive me crazy!)...because that is what makes you, YOU!
Thank you for all you are to me and all you do for me and our family!
ALL MY LOVE,
Me :)

Some of my favorite pics of us over the years...It was so fun reminiscing looking through old photos! FUN TIMES! :) It was hard to narrow them down (I'm seeing a theme of having a hard time narrowing things down)!

1st Anniversary in Hawaii!

Yes, we are on the same wave!

Sedona

Western night at a company conference! Me, 5 months prego! :) He didn't want to wear the hat but I think he looks great as a cowboy! :)

Gary's awards night! Go Gary!

YOSEMITE! Can't wait to go back with the kids! SOON!

So tired after a long day of sight seeing in Germany!

Ethiopia on a missions trip! I love the kid picking his nose! ;)

5th Anniversary in Hawaii!

Having trouble downloading pics...

2009-02-17T11:54:00.000-08:00

I have some great pics to post of the kids but for some reason I can't download them on my computer...I will post them when we figure out what the problem is. Hope everyone is having a great week! :)

just happened to hear...

2009-02-15T18:43:00.000-08:00

Mornings around here are usually pretty hectic especially on Sundays when we are trying to get everyone out the door and to be on time for Church. As I am sure they are in any home. This AM was like any other, we were all in the kitchen getting ready for breakfast. Gary was at the stove making pancakes, Zach was in his fishy chair, Mak was already sitting at the table waiting for her favorite pancakes and I was trying to get the table ready and drinks for everyone. Gary put Mak's pancakes on her plate 1st and I just happened to hear her say in a very quite voice "Thank you God for this beautiful dinner."
I stopped in my tracks and just took a deep breath...I was so focused on getting things done that I almost missed such a special moment. And I realized that I am often focused on my tasks that I must be missing so much...especially things that come out of her precious mouth. She talks ALL DAY LONG...and I mean ALL DAY LONG! At 2 years old she was speaking in sentences so I should not be surprised!
So I am committing yet again, to slow down and listen...

** So funny Makenzie still calls every meal dinner no matter how many times we explain the differences...she says no, they are all just dinner. I don't know where she would get her stubbornness from? Or her mind of her own?...LOL! Wow, we are in trouble! LOL! :)

overjoyed!

2009-02-12T14:13:00.001-08:00

Today I am overjoyed....and that joy and peace can ONLY come from Him. I will praise You when I'm troubled and I will praise You when I'm overjoyed. Today I am overjoyed...

God is so good...I am so grateful for the life He has allowed me to have...I can not explain what is going on in a way that would give true justice to God. So I thought I would just simply write: PRAISE THE LORD!

Enjoying the little things,
Dani :)

Pics are coming this week, I promise!

So stinking cute!

2009-02-10T18:38:00.000-08:00

Makenzie is so stinking cute I can't handle it! Her personality over the last few months has really blossomed! She is beyond sweet and polite!
2 short funny things that happened today:
#1
Gary and Maki wrestle all the time...ok not really wrestle he just grabs her and rolls around on the floor and she laughs hysterically! Gary always says "you want a piece of me?" in a very funny voice when they are rolling around...so today Gary grabbed her and they were going back and forth and he said his line, and she yelled "NO THANK YOU DADDY!"

&
#2
Makenzie and I were going to sit down and read stories at "the blanket store" (we have a place behind the couch in the corner of the playroom where we keep all our blankets and pillows and that is what she calls it) and she said "read me Gi-lith!" I said "Gi-lith?" she said "you know Mommy Gi-lith, the big and scary man in the bible!" At last I got it, David and Goliath!

She is so fun! I love spending all day with her!

I will post pics later this week...both kids are down and we are going to watch 24! DVR is a wonderful thing! ;)