easter egg hunt

yesterday, april, the new neighbor, (she moved in almost two months ago,) came over to tell us that the easter bunny was making an early visit to our street. now don't freak out, our kids know that easter is about the death and resurrection of Jesus. but taylor and levi are still little and soon won't be interested in kid things. we've never told them there is an easter bunny, but we've also never told them that there isn't one. so saturday at 8am, an empty easter basket was delivered to our door and taylor went outside to collect the eggs and gifts that were left in our yard. each yard had their own supply of goodies that april delivered at 5am. we were so incredibly blessed with not only goodies but we got to spend some time drinking coffee outside with our friends. we love living on a cul-de-sac and have grown to love our neighbors. did I mention i also got a goodie ~ $25 Starbucks card?! You'd think this new neighbor has known me forever!

The only bummer was that matt and levi were spending time in the desert and missed the fun. i'm sure i'll have pictures and stories to post about them when they get home.

taylor is patiently waiting in the front yard before she searches for the eggs. i couldn't pass this up.

this is the view from my house, some of the neighbors are enjoying their coffee.

kaitlyn, who is new to the neighborhood, and taylor. they have become fast friends!

brandon, levi's best friend

the kids of los feliz court

and some of the adults (april is on the left)

drive in

friday night we had our first experience at the drive in. it was so much fun. we went with another family whom we just adore! we brought pizza, drinks, popcorn, candy, blankets and wore our pjs. the movie was funny and we even stayed for the second one - however everyone except levi fell asleep. melinda and i both brought our cameras and attempted to document this memorable night. here are some of the shots that i took, none are good, but will be in my mind as the most fun to take thus far. we were laughing so hard because it was completely dark outside and the flash on the camera went off several times before actually snapping the picture. we were all totally blinded many times before the movie began. it was definitely a night we'll remember!

melinda and her camera

taylor trying to keep her eyes open for the picture

levi and loren

brett was blinded

levi couldn't keep his open

several blinding attempts at taking a picture with all 8 eyes open was unsuccessful. but here is one where they all smiled! i can't wait to go again!

taylors first soccer game

today i was a soccer mom, a very loud and excited soccer mom. my sweet taylor tried out for the school team and made it. she is one of just a few 4th graders to make the co-ed team of 4th-6th graders. yeah taylor! when she started playing soccer, we affectionately called her "turn around taylor" because she would aggressively take the ball, take it down the field, shoot and score...for the wrong team. i yelled "turn around taylor!!" all season long.

this year, it looks like she will be called tough girl taylor, she was the only child to get hurt during the game - and it didn't just happen once, it happened twice. she didn't cry nor did she come out of the game. once she fell flat and the other she was knocked in the face. she may wake up with a fat lip, but she'll wear it proudly to school. harvest beat the other team considerable but we stopped counting at half time. it was very exciting!

here is taylor head to head, er, um chest with an older girl from the other team.

her coach is telling her the position she will play

one of the times she was knocked, she took a penalty kick.

she's aggresive during the game, look at her go!

praying for maria

i got to spend the day with two very special people - maria and my mom.

this is my sister, maria. she came to our family 12 years ago, when she was 9. she has been through a lot in her life and is a blessing to us. she is currently at western med stumping the doctors with her "episodes" which now know aren't seizures. we don't know what they are or what is causing them. poor girl is so tired of the poking and meds. she has been a trooper.

my hero in this is my amazing mom, who has been by maria's side non stop. she is tired and feeling worn out, but she won't leave, maria needs her. maria is deaf and has faced more in her 21 years than anyone should ever have to face in their life. my mom is selfless, she is the most patient, giving, caring and strong woman i know. she is maria's advocate.

please pray for maria to heal. pray for the doctors to gain wisdom. pray for my mom continue to be filled with God's love, strength, grace and mercy.

christmas

as always, christmas is a blessing to our family. not only do we get to celebrate the birth of the One who came to save us, but we get to spend time all of our family.

since taylor and levi were little, we decided to give them three gifts on christmas, that's how many Jesus received so why should they get anymore? after all, it's His birthday. the kids have always been more than satisfied with that and it sets limits on us. we have to really think about what to buy. no more impulsive shopping on our part. taylor and levi are more than happy with that and have learned not to expect any more than that.

when levi was about 3, i was explaining this to him, as we drove down the street. i reminded him about the story of the birth and related it to the three gifts he would receive. at that age, we went over it a few times so there wouldn't be any disappointment. when we got to the three gifts that Jesus received, levi was ok with the first two, but when i said the third one, levi was upset. he said, "myrrh?! why didn't jesus get a bike."

here are a few pictures of our blessed day.

taylor and levi

my crazy mom and nutty aunt lula

my little, no, my younger brother josh

taylor

my sweet niece, cheyenne

my nephew, matthew...sorry, er...matt

and us

we pray you had a wonderful christmas and have a blessed new year~

shhhhh

keeping christmas secrets?

a visit to the happiest place on earth

we had fun looking into the ginormous christmas tree balls on main street.

the tree is so big, the kids barely reach the bottom of it!

taylor and levi loved the tea cups. matt and i didn't join them, aging has caused our tummies to react to spinning. blech! matt and i watched them while secretly searching for the snacks and coffee cart! yummo~

space mountain at night. we enjoyed this ride twice (and the matterhorn four times!) it is nice going with the kids now that they are older. we were there before 10am and left at midnight! what a fun day!

it was nice to meet up with the bruns in the evening and ride the roller coasters again with them. taylor and levi just love brett and lauren. we think their parents are pretty cool too!