Surfliner to Seaworld

Abby and I tagged along with Andy's class for a BIG ADVENTURE! First, we road the TRAIN to San Diego...which for Abby was really exciting until about San Clemente. Then it was, "Mommy, I'm done with the train!" Throughout the ride she had a plethora of babysitters in Andy's wonderful students. Abby loves the attention...shocker!

We spent a couple hours cruising around Old Town San Diego until my friend Tina picked us up. She knows how to HOOK UP a friend! We went to her Chiropractic Spa where she scheduled me for a hot rock massage! It was the most relaxed I've been in months! Then we drove to her house where we got to hang out with her boys for a little while before bedtime! Hanging in Abby's room was a brand new outfit...(remember I said she knows how to hook up a friend) Needless to say Abby has a new favorite skirt!

The next morning Abby awoke before the rooster would even crow! Ugh! We attempted to "stay asleep" until 7:00. Then it was up and out of the house for our trip to Sea World.

Abby LOVED Sea World! We had a jam-packed day of fun! Our first stop was the dolphin show...which by the way was REALLY fun! Once again, Tina had connections and was able to get us to be first in line to take pictures with the Dolly the Dolphin! We managed to squeeze in the Pet show and the brand new Shamu show...while taking in the sea creature sights along the way.

It was a fun-filled adventure for sure! Though I am thankful for the long weekend to recover from the lack of sleep!

Pray without ceasing

My nearly three year old is far better at boldness in prayer than I am! It is quite remarkable and inspiring. Recently while at her gymnastics class we saw my friend Jennifer who Abby has never met before. Jennifer was wearing a back brace as a result of recent surgery. Abby gently patted her on the brace and said, "Do you have an 'owie' on your back? We need to pray for you [let me interject...here is where I might say "I'll be praying for you" with the best of intentions and very little follow throuh...NOT ABBY] immediately with head bowed and eyes closed and her tiny little hands up by her face, "Dear Jesus, please help Jennifer's back feel better...AMEN!" Oh-I wish you could hear her say AMEN-you know the word means "let it be so" It is with that spirit that she declares AMEN!
She is also a commited prayer warrior...she will continue to pray for people she knows have on-going illness until she receives confirmation that the person is indeed well. Right now her prayer list is long and growing. She is praying for so many "babies in tummies" and sometimes she shows her age and gets overwhelmed by her long list and she'll say,"Dear Jesus please help EVERYONE!" But other times she'll surprise me with her sensitive heart. Our friend Ryan Morgan had knee surgery over a year ago...when she saw his picture on my computer the other day she said, "We are praying for his knee to get better." I assured her that his knee has healed. I can't believe how long she remembers things! Her fervor spurs me to be more motivated in my prayer life! By the way if you need prayer...don't let me tell you..."Oh I'll pray for you!" Make me pray with you then and there! Of course if Abby is nearby she'll remind us both!

a PROUD plug

we have a hope
Originally uploaded by ange7.

That is the opposite of a shamless plug...that's because I am SOOO excited about this new CD for many reasons. We feel a bit like we have a "new arrival" in the house. No, not that kind (there's several more months to go on that one)! Andy has co-produced, engineered and created this CD through months and months, hours and hours of labor.


So what is it? It is a compilation of original worship music and some re-worked hymns by the musicians of Santa Barbara Community Church where Andy and I attend.

So why am I plugging it? I am excited about the fact that this is a benfit CD for International Justice Mission. My good friend SCOTT ANDERSON did the amazing album artwork. Not to mention that my talented husband helped bring it to life...and if that's not reason enough....I have two of my songs on the CD! You can check out those songs on MYSPACE

So where can you get one? They are being sold through our church for a requested minimun donation of $10...so why not buy two and give one to a friend? Email me if you are really interested. Or you can go to ANDY'S BLOG for more details

PRACTICALLY Perfect

PRACTICALLY Perfect
Originally uploaded by ange7.

Newsflash! My child is not perfect. I know this comes as a shock to many of you. You better sit down for this: A few weeks ago Andy went to Vegas for the weekend to celebrate a bachelor party with his friends. I suppose under normal circumstances I would have been fine with this scenario...BUT things were far from normal. Being pregnant causes me to be exhausted, and I was dealing with constant nausea...so needless to say my patience level was at an all time low. Couple that with the fact that Abby was beginning her first (of many to come I am sure) phase of rebellion. Don't let anyone tell you about terrible two's...It is the terrible "almost three's" that get you! The first night Andy was gone it took me 45 minutes to negotiate Abby to going to sleep...this is normally a 10 minute process. I went straight to bed!

Later that weekend was her first willful act of rebellion. First I will own up to all the things I did wrong before...I kept her out way too late at a birthday party...I tried to put her to bed after she'd already fallen asleep in the car...and she had eaten a highly unsatisfying lunch. ALL that said...I put her down to rest, and as usual she was chattering away up there. Then it was quiet. Ahh she's asleep...what a good girl! After about a 30 minutes I heard a few little tinkering noises so I went up stairs to check on her...and THIS is what I discovered. (Remember the videos take a while to load)


Major props to my friend Tad Wagner for the great song at the beginning of the video "You are a Tiger"

The Proud Sister

The Proud Sister
Originally uploaded by ange7.

Well we shared the big news with Abby yesterday! She is going to be a sister! It went exceptionally well. She had the reactions I expected of excitement and curiosity. Her enthusiasm was absolutely adorable, but her tenderness was a sweet surprise. She hugged and kissed the baby via my belly. CLICK HERE to see the video of how we told her.(THIS WILL TAKE A WHILE TO LOAD)

I am sure there will be many days filled with questions and anticipation. At the moment, if Abby could, she would MAKE this baby a girl. For that reason we are going to find out what we are having this time so we can prepare her for being the best sister to whatever comes our way.
It will be another 2 months before we know if it is a boy or a girl.

So here's the scoop... I am 12 weeks pregnant right now. Yesterday I had my second doctor's appointment and got to see the baby on the ultrasound. At first he tried to hear the heartbeat with the doppler, but it didn't work (giving me a brief anxiety attack). Then he quickly wheeled in the ultrasound, and I was relieved and excited to see our new baby sucking his/her thumb!

This has been a rough 12 weeks filled with constant nausea and major fatigue, but I can slowly feel things turning a corner. The biggest thing I feel right now is JOY and RELIEF!

Gabriel Asher Carreño

Gabriel Asher Carreño
Originally uploaded by ange7.

My new nephew! What a good boy he is already...showing up EARLY! My brother Daniel and his wife Marybeth are the proud parents of this adorable little boy...someday we'll tell him that his cousin, whose a girl, had him beaten in the weight department by 2 whole ounces! Course- he'll probably be strong enough to take her in about 2 months! Welcome to the world Gabriel! We love you!
Love,
Auntie Angela

Fiesta Family

Fiesta Family
Originally uploaded by ange7.

Rainy days and Tuesdays always get me down. I have to remember that most days in our area are like the one from this photo of Fiesta at the mission.

trying to be as cool as my husband

Well-It is about time I start one of these myself. I can't let Andy be the only voice for this family! The only problem is he is doing a pretty good job...so maybe this is a lost cause. Speaking of Lost...do you watch it? Great show! I digress...from what? Someday there may be exciting posts but as for now it is naptime! It's a rainy day!