the lamb family

Come home soon Isaac

2011-08-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

I have a friend from college (Jamie and Jason Kelley) who are trying to adopt this wonderful little boy Isaac. From her blog http://room4love.blogspot.com Jamie writes, "Isaac is 3 years old and was born with Down syndrome. In his current country, there is simply no place for him in society at this time. If he is not adopted at age 4, he faces transfer to a mental institution where the likelihood of his survival is very low."

I have read places that 95% of kids with Down syndrome that get transferred to these mental institutions DIE because the conditions are heinous. This breaks my heart. And I think about my friend Jamie as she has tucked her kids in bed and the house is quite how she must be dreaming about her little boy coming home. Wondering when she can hold him and tuck him into bed and sing him songs and give him kisses. I miss my kids after a day. I can imagine have this separation. If you would like to help bring Isaac home you can go to Jamie's blog and donate. I have seen the humility that this family has had when someone has donated $3 or $3,000. Seriously even dollar helps. I recently went to an adoption seminar, mainly because I wanted to raise my awareness about the need. What stuck with me was when the speaker said "not all of us may be called to adopt but all of us are commanded to help orphans." So even if you can't give re post this and pray for Isaac to come home soon.

Grab This!

West Coast to the East Coast

2011-08-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

Wow where do I begin? Well, plain and simple we have moved. We moved from California to Buffalo, New York. I have a little bit of regret not documenting the last couple months but at the same time it takes a time to move with two little ones and most importantly we were soaking up every minute of our life in SLO with students who were more like friends and friends who were more like family. We went to Big Sur, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite, took more walks on the beach with coffee from our favorite coffee shop, we took a train ride up the coast with friends, we went to every farmers market on Thursday night, the kids and I would ride the trolley that stopped in front of our house just for the heck of it and the list goes on. If I wrote this post just even a couple weeks ago I would be sobbing thinking of all that I miss but Jesus is Good and has done a work in my heart. Now there is still a tear prick in my eye and sadness in my heart as a write this but I see God working and feel Him providing and I am starting to trust Him more and more.

Trust in him at all times,
O people; pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.
Psalms 62:8

Kevin has also been a rock for me. He is adaptable. He welcomes change. And he sees the glass half full. I am thankful to have married a man with the complete opposite nature of mine. The kids are doing well. Nothing phases Dave, he just keeps smiling (my parents nick named him the "smiling machine"). Abbey is adjusting. The first week was hard for her; she missed her friends and the old house. But a week in Colorado with staff kids at our staff conference put her on the fast track to making New York home. This definitely helps my heart.

I guess this post ended up being less about details of our move and more about my heart. Maybe more details in the future but I promise you I have the blogging bug again so a should be in this space more. And I can't promise you that I won't slip in a few old SLO adventures every now and then. You know I will, coming from the women who blogged about Christmas in February.

Easter Egg Fun

2011-04-16T20:18:00.000-07:00

We have been having fun celebrating Easter. I bought a bunch of Easter eggs a couple weeks ago and they have been the toy of choice everyday. They are a 101 ways to play with Easter eggs. Here are a couple we have discovered.
1. At first we put them in a big box and the kids pretended they were taking a bath in them. They would "wash" each other in eggs, so cute. And Davey was o cute, he would splash in them like it was water.
2. Then there was always the dumping them out of the box and throwing them all over the house fun. I think I picked up those eggs a thousand times. ahem
3. We had a contest of who could launch the egg the farthest with their mouth. Mama had the clear advantage on that game. But they didn't care, it was always an up roar of laughter as soon as the egg flew from my mouth.
4. We hung the eggs on the bush in our front yard. I think Abbey felt like she was decorating a Christmas tree all over again. But the Easter egg bush has been a hit. I have seen several people walking by take pictures of it.
5. And then there was the o so creative swimming pool idea. Abbey's imagination is in high gear lately so when we picked up some swim goggles at the store from the summer she came up with this idea one rainy morning.
I am sure the kids will continue to find new ways to play to with the eggs this week. But if you have any more ideas leave a comment.

MDO and Friends

2011-03-29T19:52:00.000-07:00

We spent this morning hiking with friends at Montano De Oro or MDO if you want to speak like a local. We were almost a little preschool with all our kids in toe, 9 kids in total. The picture above is not an accurate view of our hike. The kids where out of their strollers running around after about 10 minutes. But they had fun!
This place is gorgeous with the ocean cliffs, huge waves, and beautiful wildflowers. I never get tired of coming here.
It was a little wet after the rains this past month. But the kids loved playing in the mud. They kept calling it the icky sticky mud. You can see my adventurous messy little girl jumping in the mud while her cleanly best friend Emma is knelt down, crying out in horror. I love how different their personalities are!!
Messy best friends!!

Check out the Video of the Beautiful Day CLICK HERE!!

Seeing the Fatties

2011-03-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

Pre kids Kevin and I would take drives up the coast at least once a month. I loved stopping at the cute little town of Cambria and browsing through the antique shops. Sometimes Kevin would lovingly suffer through a lunch at the Tea Cozy with their flowery china, pictures of the Queen of England everywhere, mini tea sandwiches, and a waiter who pronounced scones in snooty way. Now Kevin's favorite stop is this beach where the sea elephants or what we like to call them "the fatties" always are. And what we both love is the breathe taking views of the ocean crashing on the ragged coast line and the rolled hills (Irish green in the spring and golden wheat brown the rest of the year) sprinkled with crows grazing and vintage windmills.

So we decided to take a trip with the kids.
First stop: the fatties Next: Cambria for some pie. No antiques and tea for us this trip. But the pie and hot chocolate was amazing and clearly Abbey loved her present pastry.
And on the way home there was a surprise...zebras!!! Yes I said it, zebras. There are zebras that live on the Hearst Castle property so very once and awhile you can see them from the road. But this day we could almost touch them. So fun!!See, Davey was excited! He is ecstatic over the zebras.
And in Abbey fashion she showed her excited too!!
Just another fun day on the central coast.

Homemade Laundry Soap

2011-03-09T08:12:00.001-08:00

I have been trying out different laundry soaps in order to eliminate more chemicals from our house while helping the environment and our wallets. I tried the environmentally friendly soap at Costco which still have chemicals in it. Then I tried the all natural soap nuts. I LOVED that these nuts are from trees and so they are literally all natural but I wasn't thrilled about the stain removal. So, for the last couple months we have been using a homemade soap from soule mama.
Here is the recipe:

Homemade Laundry Powder
(Makes approximately 5 cups)

2 cups (finely) grated castile soap*
1 cup borax
1 cup baking soda
1 cup soda ash (washing soda)

*(we used Dr. Bronners. Half peppermint half plain. Next we will try lavender.)

2TBS per load.

It isn't the same as the regular detergent but so far it is working the best out of everything I have tried. Especially if I spray the stain with a little oxy clean before a wash. It is super easy to make and Abbey loved helping so give it a try and let me know what you think.

Parents Weekend

2011-02-27T20:06:00.000-08:00

Here are a few wonderful moments when my parents visited for Abbey's birthday.

I heard it has been the hardest winter in a 100 years on the East coast this year so of course we spent some time soaking but the sun at the beach.
The pool was too cold at the hotel but Abbey loved the Jacuzzi.
My mom came to the rescue to help finish all the kids crowns for the birthday party. Couldn't have done it without you mom. If you look closely you can see Davey's little hand holding onto my mom. So cute!
Abbey and my dad having a tea party. What a sweet moment. By the way Abbey is trying to figure out which is her pinky finger so she can properly drink tea.
It was a great time together eating good food, going to the running warehouse many times, stopping by the swap meet and just enjoying being together. Thanks for coming all the way out here. We love you!!

Birthday Video

2011-02-25T19:50:00.000-08:00

Kevin made this video of Abbey's birthday party. Didn't he do a great job!!

To my beautiful little girl:
Abigail you are an amazing kid. You have accomplished some major milestones this past year. You are completely potty trained, you sleep in a big girl bed, you can count to 20 (pretty much) in English and to 10 in Spanish, you can say your ABC's, you transitioned from being an only child to being a big sister, you are starting to dress yourself, you saw your first movie at the drive in (Tangled) and you are learning to ride a bike.
You love being in the water; pool, shower, bath it doesn't matter. Your favorite TV shows are Seaseme Street, Dora the Explorer and any thing Princess. Your favorite foods are mac and cheese, raisins, pancakes, apples, red peppers, and anything chocolate. You make friends very easily where ever we go, especially if they are girls. And in the past few months you have been captivated by princesses., you wear your princess daily almost daily. You don't like wearing things on your head, you aren't very interested in coloring, and you won't eat mashed potatoes.
You are still an energetic fun loving kid but you are starting to be a little shy. You have a tender compassionate heart and you are an affectionate little girl who loves to give kisses and hugs freely. You hate to see others sad or hurting, you sing to Davey whenever he cries. I just love your beautiful personality. I love having flash light dance parties in the dark with you. I love seeing you hug your brother. I love snuggling with you under a blanket to read books. I love that you reach for my hand to cross the street. And I love when I say the final goodnight you respond with " I love you Mommy". I absolutely love you Abigail. Happy Birthday!!

She's 3 Years Old!!

2011-02-24T21:33:00.000-08:00

My little girl turned 3 on January 21st. We started the day with pink chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Then we had a Dora Princess party at the beautiful Islay park to celebrate. It was an amazing day: there were lots of kids, good friends and my parents were there all the way from NY! It was so sweet having them there. They bought Abbey princess dress as seen above which was perfect for the party.

We celebrated with pink and orange Dora cupcakes. Abbey helped with putting all the candles in cupcakes, maybe she thought she was older then three?
The kids played pin the tail on Swiper the Fox.
Little Freddo was the tough guy.
Martha Stewart helped with some decorating ideas. Don't you just love these.
Stewart took a swing with Dora
Davey was entertained by the grandparents the whole party. Looks like he had a good time!
And Wyatt had a blast running around with the balloons.
And here's our attempt to get a group kid pic with their crowns. I used Soule Mama's pattern for the crowns. I love how Abbey is attached to her best friend Emma and don't you just love Fred's expression.
Abbey had a blast and so did we. Happy Birthday Abigail!!

O Christmas Time

2011-02-20T21:54:00.000-08:00

I know it is totally ridiculous I am posting Christmas stuff in February but I just have to.

First we packed in our Christmas fun with local festivities...

We went to the Victorian Christmas Lights in Paso Robles. It is 12 blocks of houses lite up with Christmas lights and all kinds of fun stations to stop at along the way: live nativity scenes, random people sings Christmas songs or at least their version of Christmas songs, free Starbucks, roasting marshmallows, free cookies, cake , hot coco, live music. And there was even actors acting out the Grinch and Ebeneser Scrooge and a real snow to sled down. Kevin and I love it. Abbey however was so tired she slept in the stroller the whole time, the first and probably the last time she will do that. And Davey slept in the baby carrier so it was almost like Kevin and I were on a date.
We had to ride the holiday Carousel in the Mission Plaza.
taking walks downtown to get some treats

When we head to Tucson to visit family and friends for a couple days.

This is my Grandma Carol and my Aunt Linda in the picture. I love this picture of my grandma and Dave, it is so represents how my grandma loves being with the kids and they love her. Abbey was leading grandma by the hand around her own house tell her all the things she needed to see. So cute!
And here is my strong Italian grandpa, we call him Poppy.
I cry every time I leave my grandparents, they mean so much to me. Our visits are too short and too far between.

The last night in Tucson we had party with all our college friends. And boy was that fun! We had the party at our best friends the William family in their beautiful Victorian (I think) house and we had fine food from Brooklyn Pizza (my favorite!). It was simple and fun, we laughed a lot and kids were running around every where.
After all that we headed to Prescott AZ for the grand finale Christmas celebration with Kevin parents. Sadly Davey was so sick the whole time we were there but it didn't stop him from learning how to sit up on his own on Christmas day.Feed the neighbor horses some carrots.Decorated the treeI always try to knit with Kevin's grandma. She is a knitting guru and the best teacher. Christmas morning!! This was the first year Abbey really understood opening presents and she had so much fun. Dave just tried to eat all the wrapping paper. That kid is crazy about paper.
And to celebrate the reason for the season we made a birthday cake for Jesus.

Beef Bourguignon...yum!!

2011-02-19T22:20:00.000-08:00

I don't know if it is all the rain or what but I have been on a mad cooking spree. Today I made beef Bourguignon from some stew meet that I got on sale. And may I say is was AWESOME!! Seriously you just have to make this. You can find the recipe over at Passionate Homemaking and I made it with her amazing Garlic Mash Potatoes. It did take some time to make but oh so worth it.

Valentine's Party

2011-02-12T21:47:00.001-08:00

I have never been into celebrating valentine's day. Kevin and I don't buy big gifts for each other and we usually stay in for dinner. But this year I was excited to have a party for the kids. What really got me excited was thinking about celebrating God's love for us. Besides the fact the decorating with red and pink and hearts is beautiful, kids exchanging cards is priceless and the sweets are awesome.

Some yummy snacks. These are peanut butter and jelly stars and hearts.
A couple crafts: we made heart necklaces. But Calvin wore his in boy fashion.
We also made some crayon melts. First you shave crayons then sprinkle the shaving on wax paper then cover with another piece of wax paper. The next step is the fun part. Take a iron and run it over the wax paper and you get this cool tye dye effect. The kids love it! You can cut shapes out too. We made heart and taped them to the widow. They look great with the sun shining through.Valentine bags
Giving of Valentine's
Receiving the Valentines
My little cupid! Isn't he so cute? The funny thing is that I didn't even need to undress him for the picture. I think we crawled around wearing only his diaper the whole party. seriously who has time to dress their kids. We were just too busy having fun!!

You may have noticed that I have been neglecting my blog for months and I am sad because so many fun things have happened since December. That is why I have decided to post some very outdated events now and then. So don't be surprised if you see a Christmas post next.

A Tea Party: Abbey style

2011-01-15T15:08:00.000-08:00

Christmas Time is Here

2010-12-11T10:09:00.001-08:00

We started decorating the day after Thanksgiving for Christmas. I would have posted sooner but with Kevin gone in East Asia for a week and me alone with the kiddos we were in survival mode around here. And now that Kevin is home we are in full swing celebrating this Christmas season. We try to go to as many the local holiday festivals as we can, which I'll post about soon.
As we were decorating the house, Abbey decided to decorate herself. She is constantly making us laugh.
It was the first year Abbey was able to help decorate the tree. A couple ornaments were broken along the way but our favorites are still in tack. My favorites are the old fashions glass ornaments from Kevin's mom. Kevin likes the silly ones, such as a sheep that says "Fleece navidad". And Abbey loves all the snowmen. I think we have 5 or 6 snowmen that she plays with. She carries them with her where were she goes, she lines them up from biggest to smallest, she has them talk to each other, and they each have a role: one is a mama, a daddy and the babies. I love watching her make up stories and play pretend. So what are your favorite ornaments on your tree?

Happy Turkey Day

2010-12-02T21:40:00.001-08:00

know it has been a week since Thanksgiving but I had to share. Our holiday was a mix of high and lows. Our high was celebrating Thanksgiving a couple days early with Kevin's sister Denise.
As you can see Davey was a fan of his 1st Thanksgiving.
We had fun making an apple pie. Abbey loved sprinkling the flour on the dough. I of course made the pie for my mom's recipe and the result was heaven on a plate (thanks mom).
The low was Abbey getting the stomach flu. We had just been to a conference the weekend before where the stomach flu was going around. It was just the worst seeing her so sick but I loved snuggling in the rocking chair as she slept in my arms in between puking. Kevin and I were up all night with her but thankfully the worst was over by morning. So we spent the rest of the week taking it easy: watch Finding Nemo and Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, fed the ducks at Lopez Lake, napping and we decorated for Christmas (more on that tomorrow).

A is for Apple

2010-11-17T20:37:00.001-08:00

I just love U-pick farms especially when they are pesticide free. It is apple season so we checked out SLO Creek Farms. We had so much fun picking apples and playing in the fields. Abbey was a natural at apple picking. Which is good since she eats at least two apples a day. For days after this trip I kept finding half eaten apples all over the house. At least it is a healthy addiction.

We will definitely be going back. And maybe and I mean maybe I will consider canning some apple sauce. Anyone have any great applesauce recipes?

Monterey

2010-11-15T22:40:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we went up to Monterey to visit the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium.
The best thing was having Matt and Lauren Thiede join us. They came all the way from Chico to spend time with our family. And we are so glad they did because it was a blast staying up way to last catching up on life and then exploring the aquarium the next day. The sad thing was I left the memory card for our camera at home. I am so bummed because we saw some amazing things. So we made do with Kevin's camera phone.
There was a touch and feel tide pool section.

There was an amazing kids section. We had to pry Abbey away from there so we could see some real fish. But doesn't she look cute is her fish outfit.
Dave joined in the fun and decided to be an octopus.
Abbey loves the scuba divers cleaning the tanks.

The jelly fish and the sea horses were my favorite. The jelly fish are so beautiful but scary. And the sea horses are so interesting; they can be supper tiny or look like crazy leaves. Did you know that sea horses are the only animal were the males carry the babies and give birth?

1st Food, Crafts and Pies, O My!

2010-11-11T14:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the best. Davey had his first bite of real food, smashed banana with milk. He loved it! I like making baby food and having them try new things but what I don't like is the extra time and mess involved. That is why I have held off as long as possible but with a week of him waking twice a night I thought we better get this show on the road.
The highlight of the day was making crafts with some friends and our kids in the morning. It was so fun but wild with 6 kids, hence no pictures of the actual craft making. I think it is better to enjoy the moment then capture it. At least that is what I tell myself.

We did start the morning off right with coffee and blueberry scones. yum!
Then we were off on an adventure with the kids to find colorful leaves. With our baskets full of leaves we headed back and made these beautiful turkeys. and of course we made colorful hands prints of turkeys too.
The kids had a blast! And I so enjoyed spending time with other moms. Our conversations don't get to go super deep. We are lucky if we can finish a sentence let alone a conversation without a little voice yelling; "I got to go potty", "she took my toy", "i want juice", "mom, Mom, MOM!". But there is something about going threw this crazy stage of life together that is encouraging.

Continuing on with the best day ever: the kids took a nap at the same time (first time in a month, yah!) so I made apple pies for Kevin's Bible study. That's right not one but two apple pies. You wish you were in Kevin's Bible study now don't you? Anyways,I had bought one of those apple peeler, slicing, coring gadgets after my friend Cara convinced me that it would change my world. Well, I loved it. You end up with all these pretty apple peels.
So, I tried sprinkling them with cinnamon sugar and baking. The result was a failure, oh well. If anyone has any tips on how to make them crispy just let me know. After cleaning the house, getting dinner on the table and kids into bed I felt like June Clever. Trust me that is not a typical day for us. I promise, I can prove it to you with my messy house today. But it did feel good to spend time with friends, be creative with the kids and be productive. What a good day.

6 months

2010-11-05T22:39:00.000-07:00

Davey is 6 months old to day. I can't believe how fast these months have gone by. It is definitely not easy. I get frustrated, sometimes angry with my lack of sleep or I wish I could wear a shirt that doesn't have baby puke on it or I want to cry sometimes cause I don't feel like I know what I am doing with these contantly changing little ones. But then I look at my baby with his toothless wide mouthed smile it just melts away any feelings of frustration . And when I hear the unhindered, out of control, roaring laughter of my little girl brought on by simply watching the rain run across the car window, it wells up this joy inside of me that pushes out any feelings of inadequacy. Yes some days are hard but I love life with my kids. So today I have overwhelming feelings of thankfulness and I feel blessed. So glad you are in our life Davey!!
At 6 months Davey likes

jumping in the Johnny Jumper
loves and I mean loves Abbey
cuddling
his orange monkey
being on his stomach

He is rolling over, pushing up on his hands, still waking up once a night, and puts anything in his month that comes near his hand.

We love you Davey!!

Trick-or-Treat

2010-11-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of treats this weekend and I am not just talking about our obscene candy consumption. Our good friends Ricky and Cara Williams came to visit this weekend with their adorable kids; Clair and little Ricky. It was also Kevin 34th birthday and Abbey went Trick or Treating for the first time. What a fun weekend!

Our wonderful friends the Williams who travel every year to come for Kevin's birthday. We love them!
Clair and Abbey playing at the park after the SLO kids costume parade at downtown farmers market.
Abbey twirling in her Dorothy costume. She LOVES her Dorothy costume. She literally lived in it all week, twirling where ever she went.
Carving pumkins.
Of course we had to have a Dora pumpkin.
And last night we went trick or treating with some friends.The kids had such great costumes: from left to right Steward is a monkey, Abbey is Dorothy, Davey is an elephant, Wyatt is a garbage man (don't you love his trash bin that his dad made for him:) and little Huck is a hamburger. Such cute kids!!
The first house: I think both Kevin and I had this moment as Abbey was walking up to the first door of, wow she is growing up fast.
Davey said if I can't have candy I'm gonna sleep.
brother and sister picture. We're thinking maybe next year we'll dress them up as lambs and we will be shepherds, since they are the little Lamb kids.
What did you dress up as for Halloween?

3 Speckled Hens

2010-10-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting to post about one of my favorite antique fairs; Three Speckled Hens. It is an outdoor fair with antiques and old stuff that happens twice a year. The prices are decent. They aren't garage sale price but definitely better then what you would find in an antique store. Usually I drag Kevin along with me but this time Kevin watched the kids while my friend Amanda and I were in heaven looking at all the beautiful old things.

Here is Amanda modeling the new hat I got for Abbey's future dress up box. Isn't so fun!
I also got a great deal on an old trunk. You can see a corner of it by Amanda's hand in the picture below. But when I got it home it doubled in size. Definitely didn't realize how big it was. woops. There was great vintage Christmas stuff. I just loved the holiday feel.

So many fun vintage things! Do you want to come with me in May!

Banana or Blueberry Crumb Muffins

2010-10-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

I have made these muffins twice and everyone in the house is in love with them. The real test is Abigail, she ate 3 in one day.
She must think they are junk food to eat them like that but I am here to tell you they are good for you. Especially if you use sucanat instead of brown sugar and use apple sauce instead of oil. One thing I did was use bananas and blueberries and I didn't even bother making the topping but I'm sure that makes them extra yummy.

Check out the recipe over at Passionate H0memaking. Enjoy!!

City to Sea

2010-10-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

Today Kevin ran the City to Sea Half Marathon with his sister Denise. The race starts at downtown San Luis and ends at the Dinosaur Park in Shell Beach. This is the pre-race picture which of course they are being all goofy. These two are crazy when they are together, can you tell?
While Kevin and Denise where hitting the pavement Abbey painted a sign to congratulate her daddy and Aunt. This girl loves making in her words, "paint hands".
Post-race picture: don't they look good for running 13.1 miles.

My Attempt at Sewing

2010-10-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

I just love the clothes at the baby boutiques that have the hand made touches but they are so expensive. So I took a couple of Abbey's solid color shirts and then adding something fun. I love how the pear turned out. And the polka dot star... Abbey literally lived in this shirt for 3 days, day and night. It was getting a little nasty but man did she make her mama feel good.
Now she is requesting an elephant shirt so that is my next project.

And the Winner is...

2010-09-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

...Abbey! Actually 2nd place for Most Unusual vegetable. With the combination of her crazy creative personality and Kevin helping her, well of course Abbey's vegetable was chosen for most unusual.

And celebrating with ice cream was in order. How is it that she always ends up with both cones?

AG Harvest Festival

2010-09-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

Today we are having record high temperatures but we still had to make it to the Arroyo Grande Harvest Festival. We had a great time with a kid festivities: deby car racing, mini train rides, petting zoo, and toy train museum. But the other part of me was actually celebrating the harvest, I'm thankful for all the local farms that we have all around us. I am thankful that we can buy fresh produce locally and all kinds of organic food too.

Well here are some photos. I'm not happy that Abbey's face is covered up in all the pictures but I would rather had lame pictures and have Abbey wear a hat. I honestly think the only reason she wore her hat is because David was wearing one. Whatever works, right?!

Both Kevin and Abbey were in heaven at the petting zoo.
Kevin would have a potbelly pig if he could have his way. Good thing I have veto power.
Abbey asked if she could hold daddy's hand which melted Kevin heart.
And they had all the old tractors and firetrucks out which I loved.

And we had to enter the vegetable decorating contest. We are sure Abbey's will win. Honestly, who doesn't love a potato with huge eyes.
Well everyone is napping now except for this mama. I'm thinking mini pool fun in our little grass patch this afternoon to stay cool.

Pacifiers for Trains

2010-09-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

In the last month we have broken Abbey of two habits that we weren't fans of. The first was this need to wear a band aid on her finger for naps and to bed at night. That is two band aids a day people! It all started about a year ago when she burned her thumb on my hair straightener. I bought some colorful fun Sesame street and Dora band aid which apparently are crack for toddlers. Abbey had to wear one to bed otherwise she would throw a fit. I know I know! I was weak and gave in because she is a good sleeper and I didn't want to give that up and I didn't want to fight the battle. So a year later, (sigh) she was still wearing band aids and they where a regular purchase when we went to the store. Honestly, two bandaids a day for a year...that's like 650 bandaids!! Finally about a month ago before NY I thought enough is enough. I started telling her at every nap and every night that when the band aids ran out of the box there would no more band aids. (Repetition is key with Abbey) The day came where the box was empty and I was nervous but she did great. There was a little sadness and she did ask for a band aid for a couple weeks but now we are a band aid free. It feels good!!

Now for habit #2: After David was born we tried to get him to take a pacifier but ended up with Abbey addicted to them. She wants everything that is David's. Sigh again. And in the last month she has been taking the paci everywhere and throwing fits about it and we just couldn't take it anymore. So for a couple days I told her she could buy anything toy she wanted at the toy store but she would have to use the pacifiers to pay for it. Yesterday morning Abbey and I had a mother/daughter date. We went to boo boo's then got some chocolate milk and headed to the toy store. The toy store guy over head me explain the game plan to Abbey once more and he said "O yes! The good old pacifier / toy exchange". Abbey picked out a Thomas the train that lights up and makes noise. She tried to negotiate to keep her pink pacifier but the toy guy played along nicely and said "the train will cost all the pacifiers". We are now a pacifier free home.

NY Vacation: Niagara Falls

2010-09-06T09:13:00.000-07:00

During the few days we had at my parents house in Lockport we spent a day in Niagara Falls. This amazing place is only 25 min away! And since Abbey has been in love with the kids show Dora the Explorer so we turned the whole day into a "Dora Adventure" because we had a lot of walking to do. So we went "longest bridge" , "castle" ,"biggest water fall".

This is the "longest bridge" which is actually called the Peace bridge that crosses the Niagara River and connects the US to Canada.
We are actually in front of the American Falls and Niagara Falls is in the way back. Yes there are two huge water falls in Niagara Falls Park.
We didn't bring a stroller so Kevin was in charge of chasing Abbey
And I carried Davey
The Canadian side of the park always has amazing flowers.
Abbey had fun running and playing the whole way.
My cute boys.
What a beautiful place to feed Davey. I can watch the falls and Abbey can chase the birds. And since the birds are fat and slow from being feed by tourists Abbey was the closest she has ever been to catching a bird.
We finished this perfect day by celebrating my dad's birthday. We grilled steaks and asparagus and ate the best sweet corn ever.

And Abbey ate her rigatoni like a true Italian kid.
Abbey snuggling with her grandpa watching Dora. I think that was my dad's favorite birthday present.
My family! We miss them alot. Abbey asks everyday, "Let's go see your mom and dad". And I say, "Lets go!".

NY Vacation: the Island

2010-09-03T21:21:00.001-07:00

Last week we went to New York to visit my family. It was rough red eye flight to get there. Dave did great but Abbey slept for 45 mins the whole night. and when she woke up from that tiny nap she woke up in a rage; kicking and screaming for at least a half hour. At one point she yelled "Take your hands off me". But we made to Buffalo and then headed upstate to my Aunt and Uncle's Island on the St. Lawerance River . Yes they own an Island!

The St. Lawerance River

The first night we were there we celebrated with lobster. We're not a rich family but my dad loves to celebrate with his family over a really good meal. So, he had 14 cold water live lobsters flown in. We ate lobster till we were stuffed.

My dad the master chief and the life of the party.
Kevin bringing out the big guns to crack those claws.My beautiful cousin Andrea and her wonderful husband Jonathon.
My Uncle Tom: a true Italian man.
It rained for two of the three days we were there but we didn't mind because instead of the guys off fishing all day we were all together in this two room house playing cards, sharing stories of the old days, eating, laughing, eating some more and just spending good quality time together.

My dad with the kiddos: melts my heart.
All the men together.
Abbey snuggling with Andrea wrapped up in this amazing quilt she made for Abbey. I can't tell you how much I love this quilt with it's beautiful vintage fabrics, hand stitching and so much meaning it in. thank you andrea!!
Sam turning the left over lobster in the best bisque I have ever had.
My mom with Davey. She couldn't get enough of holding him.
Well I'll post more pictures of NY next time.

The Comparison Game

2010-08-20T17:58:00.000-07:00

I am really into this new website http://www.girltalkhome.com

It is a website where 4 different woman sharing thoughts about homemaking, marriage, motherhood, being a woman of God through the Word. It’s where the gospel is prized most of all. I have reading through The Snare of Compare series and it is kicking my butt.

Here is just the first paragraph...

"How do we respond when someone else gets what we want? We compare our situation to theirs. We measure our lot against theirs—especially if we think they have it better than we do. Why can she eat whatever she wants and stay so skinny and I just look at a piece of chocolate and gain 5 pounds? Why does she have that gorgeous face and I look so average? Why can she barely study and make a 4.0, and I have to work so hard for a 2.5 Why does she have such a beautiful voice and I can’t even carry a tune? Why can she decorate and sew and paint and do photography, and I can’t even make a pillowcase? Why does she get pregnant without trying and I am still infertile after all these years? Why is she married at 20 and I am 35 with no man in sight? Why does her husband lead their family and mine won't initiate anything spiritual? Why does she have a big beautiful home for just the two of them when our family of seven is still crammed into this little townhouse?"

Ever had thoughts like these? Well, I was so convicted and now as I continue to read through the series I am asking God to change me. Check out the website and their blog and let me know what you think.

Lettuce Wraps

2010-08-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

I just made these for the second time the other night and they were as good as a remembered the first time . yum! Dare I say as good as PF Chang's, I think so. The picture doesn't do them justice but trust me you are gonna want to make them. If you make the sauce you can half the the ingredients. Enjoy!!

Ingredients

Filling:

1lb ground turkey
4 cloves garlic, crushed
11/2 c shittake mushroom
1 large carrot, shredded
2 TBSP fresh ginger, grated
2 TBSP brown sugar
5 TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP rice vinegar
1 TBSP sesame seed oil
1 (8oz) can water chestnuts, chopped
1/2 c green onions

Special Sauce:

1/4 c sugar
1/2 c water
2 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP rice wine vinegar
1 TBSP ketchup
1 TBSP lemon juice
1/8 tsp sesame oil

Preparation & Directions

Chop your mushrooms, water chestnuts, and shred your carrots. Then brown your ground turkey with your minced garlic until it's no longer pink. Dump in your chopped items and let them cook for 2-3 minutes. Add your ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and rice vinegar and stir it well letting cook for another 2-3 minutes. Last add your chopped green onions, give a final stir and let cook for 1 more minute. Wash and spin lettuce leaves, from Iceberg or Romaine Lettuce. Serve as an appetizer or main dish. Sauce is optional.

Throw and Walk

2010-08-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

We now have a video of Abbey the flower girl. Thanks Kevin for your amazing editing job.

Isn't Abbey's dress the cutest, Lauren bought it off esty.

Thiede Wedding

2010-08-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday students in our ministry who have become good friends got married. It has been so sweet to walk through life with them as Lauren interned with us and Kevin worked closely with Matt with the Cuesta ministry. They have loved Abbey like their own and we have so enjoyed their friendship. They are the kind of friends that it doesn't matter what your house looks like, you want them to come over and hang out because you know they wouldn't judge. Or you can try new recipes out on them because you don't have to impress them. They are the kind of friends were you always feel welcomed into their life every time you are around them. Oh Matt and Lauren we are so happy you.

Now about the wedding... It was a beautiful day on Lauren's parent's ranch. Abbey was the flower girl and sadly I don't have a good picture. The wedding had a simplicity about it but elegant personal details were everywhere. I think I held Davey on that shoulder for a good 5 hours.
Matt and Abbey dancing and laughing. Matt always gets Abbey laughing hysterically.
Abbey just adores Lauren. She always runs to hug her.
The food was beautiful and delicious!! It was so amazing that guests were taking pictures of it (including me). It will always be the best wedding food I have ever had and Kevin and I have been to a lot of wedding.
Matt and Lauren we love you and we will be visiting you in Chico!!

Davey at 3 months

2010-08-03T22:55:00.001-07:00

They say that the cloud lifts at 3 months after a baby is born. I think that is happening in our house. Now I don't want to jinx it but Davey has started to sleep better this week and it has made for one happier mama and a happier Lamb household. He is sleeping from 8pm to 8am with one feeding at night. I know, I know that is amazing. And now starting this week we has started to take a nap longer then 30mins. He is so much happier because of it too.
Right now the things Davey likes are: milk, riding in the ergo, cuddling, being outside, looking at his monkey car mirror, his lamb mobile and of course is mom and dad. He is starting to make those cute baby noises when he is happy. But he is also easily startled which results in the saddest scaredy-cat cry. So sorry Dave but you are just gonna have to get used to your loud energetic sister who wants to always show her affection toward you.

The Letter of the Day

2010-07-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

I have started to attempt to teach Abbey letters. Each day we "learn" a new letter: we write it out and then find that letter through out a magazine and cut it out to glue on a paper and we write out things that start with that letter. We have fun and it is making our house very colorful.

We Like Grass

2010-07-27T22:44:00.000-07:00

I want a backyard. In my head I know that I have been blessed with a great house: it is a 10 min bike ride to work, a 10 min walk downtown, it has fun old character to it and best of all it is an amazing price for it's size. But I still dwell on all the things I want different and so I have been trying change my mindset to thankfulness instead and working with what we have. So a month ago after bringing home Abbey's new kiddie pool and putting it in the dirt square of a yard and having the pool turn into a mud pit I decided we have to plant grass. So my amazing husband and a good friend Matt worked all day to dig up the dirt and plant grass seed.

I wish I had a before picture but here is our little grass patch of a back yard. Abbey LOVES it. She dances on it and runs in circles on it and rolls in it. The other night we had a picnic dinner. So fun! It felt so much like summer eating outside.
Davey loves being outside
This picture is of Abbey and her mini camera that she likes to take "pictures" of Dave.
And Ducky needed a bath because he was dirty.
And even though our grass is patchy and small, I love it and Abbey loves it so I'm happy.

Sand, More Sand and a Little Sunburn

2010-07-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I have said this before but I never was a beach person. I personally LOVE the mountains! But with kids they have so much fun at the beach and so I have become a fan of the beach. However I am still not a fan of the sand that gets in everything and you wouldn't catch me diving into the cold ocean.

This past weekend it worked out that a bunch of friends with kids could go to Avila beach. And we had a blast...

Abbey loves playing in the sand. She was by far the messiest kid, covered in sand from head to toe (literally).

Davey loved the sound of the waves, he fell asleep despite the fact that he had to use a pink flower blanket. Oh and you can see Abbey and Wyatt playing in the background.
Me and my friend Amy in front of our killer beach spot.
Staff friends: the Zellers and the Goodsons.
Such a cute picture of the first steps in the ocean: Wyatt, Amy, Abbey, Lauren, and Kevin
We ended the day with ice cream at Avila Barn and long naps.

I love flowers

2010-07-13T22:48:00.000-07:00

I bought this cute flower container (the white one in the corner) were I had beautiful pansies in it. And of course I let them die because I am terrible at watering plants. Abbey would look at the dead pansies and say are sad flowers. So, two days ago a fire lite in me and I had to get new flowers. Well, when I got to the store there were too many beautiful flowers to choose from. So I bought lots and lots of flowers. Abbey and I had a blast planting while Davey sat back and watched.
The finished product...tada!! Funny thing is that I didn't put any flowers in the original white container. Well, I guess I get to go flower shopping some more!!!

A Visit to Chico

2010-07-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

This is long over due but I had to post about our trip to Chico were we visited our friends the Payne's. We were on staff at Cal Poly our first year with the Payne's and we have remained friends and now we both have two kids that are the same age. Abbey and Tobin are both two and a half and now David and Leona . We had so much fun, got little sleep, ate great food, and played in tons of water (as you can tell from the millions of pictures).

We went to the fountains in downtown Chico where Tobin and Abbey played and cooled off for the heat.
We went to the pool every night and had a blast. Abbey loved being thrown up by her daddy. I however was not as excited.
Abbey LOVED the water slide: she would go again and again.
Adrienne taught Abbey some beginner swimming lesson things. Thanks Adrienne!!
I love seeing Abbey having fun with other kids. Tobin is one of those kids that Abbey gets along with really well. I love these pictures of them all bundled together warming up after the evening swim.
Ok maybe they are getting a little too cosy.
Adrienne and I hanging out with the babies in the shade.
Thanks Josh and Adrienne for all the fun in Chico. We love spending time with you!!

My little flower girl

2010-07-10T23:08:00.000-07:00

Abbey made her debut as a flower girl last weekend. I was a little nervous because my little girl is a little bit of a bruiser but she was so excited to wear her white princess dress. And she did amazing. Kevin taught her to "walk and throw, walk and throw" and that is exactly what she did. This picture of her practicing. And this is Abbey with her Crusade staff friend Kate hanging out during the wedding.

See more Flower Girl Abbey Pictures CLICK HERE

My cute kids

2010-06-24T22:16:00.000-07:00

For the past week and a half Kevin has been in Orange County working with the student teams that are going over seas this summer so I have been home with the kids. It has definitely been hard at times since both kids are waking up at night (multiply times, sigh). But we have had fun and their have been plenty of cute moments.

Such as Abbey reading to Davey from her princess coloring book.
And then telling him he has to pray, followed by a very loud prayer.
David has started smiling which always makes my heart felt.
And there have been many times my shoulder has been used as a pillow.

The BIG 30

2010-06-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

I am 30 today. I am 30! I AM 30! Even though it is sad to not be in my twenties anymore I have so much to be thankful for: I have Jesus, I love my job, we live in a great community, I have wonderful friends and I have the most amazing family.

Since college I am usually not around friends and family on my birthday to celebrate. So my wonderful husband surprised me last weekend with bringing in my best friend from college (Cara) from Arizona and when an Italian dinner with friends that drove in from all over California. And if that wasn't enough he booked a night in a hotel in Avila Beach with my close girlfriends (while the husbands watched the babies). Isn't he thoughtful and so sweet?
I was overwhelmed with all the sacrifice everyone made to make me feel so loved. It was so much fun and truly life giving to spend quality time with good friends. Thank you Kevin for making this happen. I love you! And Happy Birthday to me!

Big Girl Bed

2010-06-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

Usually kids start climbing out of their cribs but not Abbey. Last week we found her climbing into her crib so we thought it was time to pull the trigger on a toddler bed. Found this bed on craigs list and bought it that day. That night she insisted on sleeping in her big girl bed. She loves it and she especially loves jumping on it!

David's birth story

2010-06-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

David James Lamb was born on May 6th at 4:15 in the morning. The day before was a normal day. Friends from the Berkeley staff team were in town so we walked downtown for dinner at Moe's and ate pulled pork sandwiches. By the time we walked home I wasn't feeling well so I decided not to go to Bible study. Instead I got Abbey to bed and rested on the coach where I fell sleep till Kevin came home around 11pm. I got up to go to the bathroom and then I felt a pop. I thought I was peeing but that would have been a world record for the longest pee. I definitely knew then that my water broke and this was it. I called for Kevin and we both wondered around the house in circles anxiously gathering all the things we needed.
After Caellin Douglas came over t o watch Abbey we made our way to the hospital. I still wasn't feeling any contractions at this point and didn't for another hour. Then they started...at first they weren't too bad and I thought I can do this. I was planning on not getting any drugs, I figured my labor with Abbey was short, I can do it natural again.
I labored for 3 hours through intense contractions on one of those exercise balls. I was feeling proud of myself because I was much more relaxed then with Abbey but then the contractions became long and hard with little rest in between. I wasn't dilated any more then when I came in and that is when I thought, what if this labor isn't short, I can't do this any more. So I asked for an epidural. I was frustrated that I asked for one but I didn't think I could make it. I didn't know then but when you get to the "I can't do this any more" stage that is when your body is in transition right before you start to push.
Well, by the time the anesthesiologist got there an hour later, I felt like I had to push. My doctor hadn't been called, I was so scared and in so much pain. Kevin and the nurses convinced me to relaxed and then I pushed this little baby out in 3 pushes. My doctor never made it and the nurse did the delivery and yell "It's a boy". The nurse placed a boy with a full head of brown hair on my chest all goopy and it was love at first sight. I looked at Kevin and he was a mess, weeping with happiness. I found out later that He came out with one arm out (ouch!) and with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. It was lose but still scary. David is healthy and gaining weight like crazy. We feel so thankful to God for two beautiful and healthy children.

It's a BOY!!

2010-05-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

On Thursday May 6, 2010 at 4:17 in the morning David James Lamb was born. He was 8lbs and 21 inches. He beautiful and perfect! Birthing story to come but for now I am sleeping whenever possible.
CLICK HERE to see more hospital pictures!
CLICK HERE to see more pictures of Davids first week!

A grandma and a mom but no baby

2010-05-03T13:39:00.000-07:00

So, it has almost been 3 weeks since my last post where I thought the baby was coming any day based on my doctor. Well, here we are in May and no baby yet. All this extra time has been great to get the house ready and spend more time with Abbey. But I am as big as a house and ready to have my body back. The saddest thing is my grandma and mom came out from Arizona and New York to help when the baby came. But the baby never came and eventually they had to go home. We did have lots of adventures and made really fun memories while they were here.

We "played" bocce ball.
Had a photo shoot in front of the beautiful vineyard around here.
Spent time reading and relaxing.
Went to the beach. It was cold but Abbey didn't notice.
More books being read. Cat in the Hat became a favorite that week.
And we snuggled in bed.
It was a great week of four generations spending quality time together. Thanks grandma and mom for coming all the way out here.

About to Pop! Is it a Boy or Girl?

2010-04-14T23:20:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor today and she said that the baby could come any day. She said she might see me this weekend! What! That sent Kevin and I into needing to take a couple deep breathes. This baby is definitely coming early and no wonder, look at how big I am.
The last couple weeks Abbey has really taken an interest in the baby. She wants to see the baby and hug the baby and kiss the "baby". Slightly inconvenient when we are out in public when she starts lifting up my shirt. The whole thing is so cute and special. And I am praying she likes the baby as much once he or she is here.
Speaking of he or she, what is your vote on if we are having a boy or girl? Abbey is insisting baby is a girl. "I want a small sister", she says. So there's one vote for girl.

Tell Mommy when you have to use the Potty

2010-04-08T14:41:00.001-07:00

I am proud to say that our first child is potty trained. I was nervous about the whole thing and definitely had my doubts going into it. But I thought I had to try before this next baby comes. So, I asked the facebook world for any tips and a friend, Amanda from our old Sunday school class in Tucson told me about this 3 day method that she swore by. You throw away all your left over diapers, you use no pull ups, only underwear(even at night and naps, yikes!) and it is all positive reinforcement (no consequences or hinting that you are frustrated). Oh, and you never ask if they have to use the potty. You just keep saying over and over again, "Tell mommy when you have to use the potty" that way they learn when they have to go and to tell you. The whole method made sense to me and I felt more confident. But the first day Abbey went through 30 pairs of underwear and I thought she would never get it and I wanted to give up. But Amanda encouraged me to keep going. So, we were home bound for 3 days drinking lots of juice, putting lots of stickers on the little potty (especially veggie tales stickers), enjoying chocolate covers raisins after any success and singing a made up potty song over and over again. But at the end of 3 days Abbey had no accidents during the day and after 5 days none at night and naps. Complete success!! Great job Abbey!!

Beach Fun

2010-03-28T22:34:00.000-07:00

The rain has stopped and it is heating up around here. So we headed to the beach to have a little fun. Abbey especially loves the water and sand and being in a bathing suit so she was in heaven running on the beach.

Abbey joined these boys in their sand castle to play with all their toys until a wave came and destroyed it. And isn't it amazing how fast kids make friends.

Baked Shrimp Scampi

2010-03-24T16:35:00.000-07:00

I want to blog about something else besides Abbey all the time but it is just so hard when she is just so darn cute. So here is my attempt to share about other things going on in our family.

I love to cook. I don't like to bake but I love to cook so I hope to introduce some of my favorite recipes now and then. The picture above does not do this dish justice but it is definitely one of our favorite shrimp recipes. Abbey is not a fan of sea food yet so she usually eats something else. Not ideal to make two meals for dinner but we love it so much it's worth it. Try it out and let me know what you think.

Ingredients:
1 lb. large shrimp in the shell (I use about 20/lb. size)
1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. dry white wine
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tsp. minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
2 tbsp. minced shallots
1 1/2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
1/3 cup panko
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.

In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of black pepper until combined.

Starting from the center of an oval or round baking dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer in the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Place under the broiler for 1 additional minute to brown the top. Serve with lemon wedges.

Bringin Down the House

2010-03-22T22:38:00.000-07:00

Wednesday's at 10am have been a highlight for Abbey. We go to our local record store downtown called Boo Boo's Records for music time. Heidi is the woman who runs the program. She dresses like a rock star and always wears a flower in her hair and leads kids in acting out childrens songs. She plays songs like "Wheels on the Bus" and the "fire Truck" song. Abbey loves going to Boo Boo's and so you have to imagine our sadness when Heidi tearfully said the program was ending.
At the last music time we showed up early to get a good spot. There were 75 parents plus their kids packed into the tiny back room. It was madness and Abbey seemed to take on the personality of the party like atmosphere. She was a wild woman that day; running through the crowded room, getting up and down the stage, lying down on the stage and taking music shakers from other kids. Needless to say I was excited when the last song which is always the very popular "Fire Truck" song came on. Abbey of course ran up on the stage to party. Well, on this last music time ever, on the last playing of the"Fire Truck" song ever, Abbey (accidentally) pulled the cord. The music went silent and all you hear are voices singing the song for the last 30 seconds. That's my wild child for yah, she always leaves an impression. :)

Johnson Ranch Hike

2010-03-12T15:23:00.000-08:00

A recent adventure that we had has been on my mental wish list since we first moved here. A couple miles out of town there are these hills that are just gorgeous during the spring. They are electric green and it reminds me of Ireland. For years I would think how can I get back there to hike around some day. It was all private land until a couple months ago when it opened up to public use. Needless to say we packed a picnic and took an easy Saturday afternoon hike.

We had a lot of fun exploring another beautiful central coast spot. For anyone that is local the hike is called Johnson Ranch hike , off the 101 between SLO and the Avila Beach exits.

Fun after the Rain

2010-03-12T14:32:00.000-08:00

It has been a pretty rainy winter here on the Central Coast. So, when the rain stops we take full advantage of being outside with our active two year old. Most of the time we go to the park but we have discovered an adventure right outside our door by walking up the hill that we live on.

Kevin showed Abbey how to put leaves in the run off water and watch them float away. Her favorite was putting a flower in a half of a walnut shell, calling it a "boat" and then letting it loose in the water.
She loves to watch them race done the hill until see can't see them any more. Sometimes she'll chase after the leaf and other times she'll just lie down and play in the water.
What does your family do after it rains?

A New Side of Pismo

2010-02-09T07:20:00.000-08:00

The place that we live in is so beautiful and has so many places to discover. Every once and awhile we break out of our routine and explore a new place. Recently we went to the see the Monarch butterflies in Pismo Beach. There is a cluster of Eucalyptus trees that the butterflies come and live for awhile. Fun to see but hard to capture with a picture, hence no picture.
But while we were there we saw a path and Kevin always has to see where a path leads him. And I am so thankful we did because just as be reached the beach we came upon the scene above. It was incredible! And to make it more perfect there was a homemade swing just Abbey's size.
We will definitely be going back but with a picnic this time. And it has inspired us to explore more new places. What adventures have you been on lately?

Two Already

2010-01-31T21:25:00.000-08:00

Our little girl is 2 years old now. These last two years have gone by so fast and I can't imagine life without Abbey in it. She has been a truly a blessing to us.
Above is Abbey patiently waiting to blow out the candle and eat the frostly off the cupcake. This picture also shows off her annual birthday shirt. This year I decided to use buttons. And she loved it. She walked around all day saying "birthday shirt" and playing with the buttons.
Emma and Abbey playing with the party favors. I might have gone a little crazy buying fun favors since only three kids were at the party.
All the kids joined in to help open the presents.

Abbey you are full of life and energy. You think everything is funny so you bring so much laughter in our house. When people meet you they always comment on the joy you have and how beautiful your red hair is. You don't like to play by yourself, you are a true extrovert. You are tough, it has to be a pretty good fall for you to cry. But you have a tender heart, you give hearts and kisses generously. Right now you like Sesame Street, Veggie tales, reading books (especially Curious George) and going to the park. Your favorite foods are pot stickers, mac and cheese with broccoli, toast, gnocchi, oranges and of course any sort of treats. You would rather play in the dirt than play with dolls. We love you so very much Abbey and we are so thankful to live everyday with you.

East Coast Christmas

2010-01-18T09:00:00.000-08:00

After Hawaii we made our way to the other side of the country. First we stopped in Michigan to see my brother Sam graduate Farris State College. We are all so proud of you Sam!
After the graduation we hit the road for the 10 hour drive to Lockport, NY for Christmas with the Marotta family. Every time we go to New York we eat like kings so I wasn't surprised when my doctor said at my prenatal visit this past week I had gain a couple extra pounds. We ate the best buffalo wings (you know Buffalo, NY is where chicken wings where invented), my mom's amazing coffee cake, seafood, prime rib, and authentic Italian bread, meat and cheeses. My parents go all out and now I need to go all out with exercising.

We also did some winter activities with Abbey that was so fun. We went sledding a couple times. Yes that is my brother being crazy in the background.
And we built a huge snowman, as you can see we used all the snow in the yard. Luckily we had two strong men, my dad and Kevin to lift the 100lb body and head .
Abbey was so in love with her snowman that she had to give him hugs and kisses. So cute.
It was a fun to be with family and for Abbey to being with her Uncle and grandparents. Especially since she was in a phase of saying "I love you Papa", "I love you Gaga (grandma)", and "I love you Sa (Sam)". What a sweet kid and what a sweet visit.

Hawaii Christmas

2010-01-16T20:24:00.000-08:00

We are just getting back to normal around here from all of our traveling during the Christmas break. Our first destination was a wonderful vacation from Kevin's parents and sister to Kauai. It was beautiful, relaxing, and a lot of fun with family. We were in the water everyday, Abbey lived in her bathing suit and her floaty ducky thing.

This is Abbey chasing a wild chicken. They are everywhere on the island of Kauai. It is crazy to be in a parking lot for walmart and see wild chickens crossing your path. But i know what you are thinking (or at least my dad), man that girl has a Olympic runners stride on her. We have Abbey on a strict running schedule everyday to develop that natural speed of hers. Just Kidding. But that girl does love to run.
We went to the north shore one day and tried to go to this secluded natural ocean pool that happens at low tide. It is call Queens Bath. I had heard it was beautiful but dangerous at high tide. After making the mile hike to the ocean we arrive at this sign showing the total deaths in the area; 29! Needless to say we were getting nervous so the women stayed where it was safe as the men (Kevin and his dad) went to check things out. They headed out on this cliff walk with crashing big waves and I was nervous. By the time they returned, 20 minutes later I was not happy because I had started thinking the worst. see picture below (me with angry face and Abbey crying).
After that we headed to some safer waters. This is us with Kevin's sister Denise at the gorgeous north shore.
We did so many fun things...We ate a lot of shaved ice. This is so delicious with macadamia nut ice cream. yum.
We danced!
We played on a hammock in a beautiful place.
We swam with beached sea turtles.
And of course we played on the beach.
Thanks Lamb parents and Denise for an amazing vacation!

Toddler Talk

2009-11-30T20:06:00.000-08:00

I know it is December and we already decorated for Christmas so this picture is a little late but I promised to show you the end result of our pumpkin engraving. The "lamb family" pumpkin turned out pretty good. But the "welcome" sadly never made it. Can't wait to do this again next fall.

This main point of this post is inspired by my friend Kyra as she wrote about her triplets toddler words a couple weeks back.

Abbey has been growing so fast. I am most aware of this fact when she repeats what I say or communicates what she whats whether I like it or not. I could never understand toddler talk before becoming a mom but I now find myself translating Abbey's words for others. I thought I would try to translate for you some of the cutest and funnest of her "words".

airpain...airplane
sh*t...shirt
cera...cereal
T.D....TV
gagee...chair
wawa...water
ribbit...frog
ca key...coffee
blue blue...blueberries
nanananana (tongue in and out)...banana
chow chow... food

Abbey doesn't stop moving from the time she wakes up, she has energy and spunk, and a day doesn't go by that we don't laugh a lot together.

These are the staff kids playing ring-around-the-rosie at the staff conference last week. They played together every moment they could: hiding in the curtains, running up and down the halls, and chasing each other until they dropped exhausted into bed.

This is Abbey eating a cupcake and sitting next to her buddy Logan (right) at Kate's (left) 2nd bitrthday party.

I apologize for my absence

2009-11-07T13:23:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it have been 2 months sense my last post. So many times I have had fun things I wanted to share but I have had some distractions. First my parents came to visit and we soaked up every minute with them. (We miss you mom and dad) But then school started the day they left and our lives are crazy those first five weeks. But the biggest hindrance has been falling asleep on the coach at 9pm and the relentless nausea very night that starts at 5pm that incapacitates me. I am being a little dramatic but you might be wondering what is going on. Well, some of you moms probably guessed it (or you already know), Yes we are pregnant again!! We couldn't be more excited for baby lamb #2. He or she is due May 6th!
This is our little lamb baby. Sorry this picture is so small. The doctor says everything is going well and we are both healthy. Praise God! Sadly I am not aloud to run during my pregnancy but Abbey and I have been walking a lot. Well, maybe this post will get me on a role again because I hope to share some of our fall adventurers.

I Love This Guy

2009-08-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

A couple days a couple I was feeling pretty humbled. I am reading this book Stepping Heavenward and it is rocking my world. It makes me want to be a better wife and mother and love Jesus more. Hence the humbling after a long day in 100 degree heat and trying to get Abbey to nap for 3 hours and me not reacting the way I want to toward anyone. So, since Abbey was determined not to sleep we had to get out of the house. And when we got home Kevin, my amazing husband had made us dinner. It was a gourmet meal: mac and cheese, corn for the can and pot stickers. He pan fried the pot stickers so he went all out. All joking aside I was so thankful. And besides dinner we had left me a surprise: my favorite ice cream (Ben and Jerry's coffee with health bar), my favorite wine, my favorite candy (Toblerone) and a chick flick, all with little love notes. What a guy! Right?!

Berries, Pumpkins and a Pool Party

2009-08-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

Today we did something that I am so excited about. We went to your usually berry patch and while we did pick some berries and eat a lot more, we craved pumpkins! Not the Halloween craving with mushy squishy insides and seeds. We went into the pumpkin patch while they were still green and craved a personal message in them. So as they grow and ripen our message scares the pumpkin and it comes out looking so cool. I've seen this in fancy antique stores around here in the years past and was in love. So I am so excited to see how our personal pumpkins turned out. One says "Welcome" and it will sit at our front door to greet all our visitors. And our other pumpkin says "Lamb family". I will post the finally results in October.

After that wonderful outing we joined some really good friends for dinner and a pool party. Well, it was more of a pool party for the girls. Wow if that was Friday evening, what does the weekend hold?

I say yes to CSA

2009-08-19T20:34:00.000-07:00

Ever since I started doing weekly meal plans thanks to Adrienne we eat out less, waste less food and eat better. I have been wanting to join the Cal Poly Organic Farm CSA for years. Every week you get a box of fresh beautiful organic vegetables. Now that Abbey is older see loves farm animals so the weekly trek to the the farm is now an invited treat instead of an annoyance.
This was our first week and we received this abundance of gorgeous veggies: tomatoes, blue potatoes, eggplant, basil and more (except those peaches- they snuck in the picture). See those cherry tomatoes in the front. They were from the up-pick section at the farm for free! Free and delicious, i couldn't pick them fast enough for Abbey to eat and it was so fun. Besides the fun with Abbey on the fun we joined this CSA because it is organic, in our price range and we will be eating local. If you want to find a CSA near you can go to http://www.localharvest.org/csa

Family on the Go

2009-08-06T21:52:00.000-07:00

It has been too long since I last posted. Since San Diego we went home to SLO for a couple days then back in the car to Tucson where we survived the 110 degree heat but had a great time with friends and family. Then to Prescott to visit Kevin's family. Next to Telluride, CO where we marveled at God's creation in this gorgeous mountain mining ski town and after this mini vaction we headed to Ft. Collin Co for our national staff conference. Now we are home and oh is it good to be home. I'll post some pictures from our visits tomorrow but for now eher are some pictures of Abbey adoring our boss's baby kitten.

Following the kitten at all costs :)

Family Beach Day

2009-06-29T14:04:00.001-07:00

On our day off we headed to the beach and had fun as a family. I must be crazy cause I am actually posted pictures of me in a bathing suit. Brave I know with those bad tan lines. But I just love this picture of Abbey and I: holding my hand and with the other dragging her wagon. She has been going through this phase where she has to hold our hand where ever she goes. I just love this phase. Please don't let it end.
Fun in the sand.

Kevin sufing.

Playing in the water with Kevin.

Abbey tasting the salt water. yuck. But she kept going back for more.

This smile sums up our day. FUN in the Sun

Elephants are scary

2009-06-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

We are in San Diego. Actually we have been here for a week and a half. We are living in the Univeristy of San Diego dorms with 2 other familys, a couple others staff members and 19 students from Campus Crusade. It has been a fun but busy time. Abbey has LOVED having 4 friends to play with just one door away. It does get a little crazy with 5 kids running around in a little hallway so to burn off more energy we went to the world famous San Diego zoo. This zoo is huge so we only had time to walk to the elephants and the mini petting zoo.

Abbey's reaction to the Elephants was quit unexcepted but so cute. She won't even look at them she was so scared. She would turn her head away and cover her eyes. No crying or wining just quietly hiding from the elephants.

DAD: Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

Everyday I think that I am so blessed to have you as my dad.

I love you dad and miss you a lot.

balloons and fun

2009-06-16T13:58:00.000-07:00

We had our final weekly meeting where we through a party for the graduating seniors. So, I gathered up as many balloons as a could from the party and brought them home for Abbey. She goes crazy in trader joes cause she knows she will get one balloon so we couldn't wait to see her reaction to dozons of them. Needless to say she was in awe. So fun!!

makeup baby

2009-06-04T20:40:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite pictures of my brother as a kid is of him covered in my mom's mascara. Now I have pictures of my own wild child who discovered my mascara.

And here she got into my cover up...

A Berry Fun Day

2009-05-25T11:22:00.001-07:00

The other day Misty, Emma, Abbey, and I went to a local U-pick strawberry patch. Of course my friend Misty had strawberry outfits for the girls. Above is Abbey showing off her cute hat for us. And below is her friend Emma, clearly they are good friends.

A little play time before we go...

And then strawberry picking and eating begins.

Abbey is crazy for berries so she wasn't into the photo shot that Misty and I were trying to have. She just wanted to eat!!

At times I wasn't picking them fast enough for her so she would pick one herself and eat the stem and all.
I think she ate her body weight in strawberries that afternoon along with a quite a bit of dirt. Luckily it was an organic farm so we didn't have to worry about pesticides. We can't wait to go again.

Mother's Day and Abbey's Dedication

2009-05-13T12:55:00.001-07:00

It has been awhile since I last posted because i have been sick and things have been busy but I couldn't help myself after such a good Mothers Day. The morning started off with a hand made note from Abbey wishing me a Happy Mother's day and a gift from Kevin. Actually it was my second gift. Early this week a box of fancy chocolates came in the mail which we polished off in 2 days. and that was with "self control". Yikes! But that morning the Martha Steward Encyclopedia of Crafts was on the dining table! Hundreds of pages of beautiful crafts. I thought he had forgotten but of course he remember and I left very loved. Thank you Kevin!

Then we were off to church where Abbey was dedicated. It was a sweet moment as our church family prayed for her and we committed to raising her in the love of Christ. I couldn't believe Abbey let Pastor Ron hold her. But half way through the prayer she leaned over for me to hold her and she said "Ma Ma" into the mic in her super cute voice. At that moment I was in heaven, felt so proud and thankful to be a mother.

Open House Weekend

2009-04-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was open house at Cal Poly. This is where all the potential and future Cal Poly students come and check out the campus with their parents. Saturday is a carnival of clubs on campus; the ag club has a axe throwing contests, the chem club sells their homemade ice cream, the ethnic interest clubs sell their delicious native foods, the salsa and swing dance clubs are dancing all over and there's prizes and music and free stuff. It's like I said, a carnival. So, we headed over with Abbey to hang out at our booth and she had a blast with her "friends" and dancing to the live music. And we enjoyed eating BBQ ribs and Korean BBQ chicken. YUM!!

Here is Abbey with pigtails for the first time. She wouldn't keep them in till recently. SO CUTE!!

And this is Abbey and Mikela dancing to the Crusade worship band. They were been so cute. One would laugh then the other would laugh, one would chase the other and vice versa, one would dance and then the other would copy her moves. It was a good day!

Jesus is Alive

2009-04-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was wonderful! We celebrated Jesus' resurrection proving that we can KNOW and HAVE eternal life in Him. I hadn't planned on doing any traditional Easter things like dying eggs or hiding Easter baskets because Abbey is so young. But at our neighborhood party they had a Easter egg hunt for the kids and Abbey had a blast. We couldn't believe how fast she caught on to putting the eggs in the basket. Even today she keep putting the Easter eggs in her basket and then handing me the eggs to be opened to get the hidden treasure, which was just random toys that I would stick in there.

Seriously, isn't she just the cutest!!

No Naps means Adventure

2009-04-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

It has been a struggle to get Abbey to nap lately. I don't know if she is just in a weird transition for two naps to one but she is sort of choosing none lately. And when that happens we have to get out of the house. Our extrovert little girl loves going places and being around people so that is what we did Friday afternoon. We went to Avila Beach!

Ironically on the way she fell asleep and so Kevin picked us up some coffees and an amazing scone and we sat in the car near the beach, having a great time talking while Abbey slept. Of course she was prematurely woken up by the crazy loud motorcycle driving by but 30 minutes is enough to take the sleepy edge off. So, we were off to the beach, were we couldn't peel Abbey away from looking at the ocean.

Eventually she was running around everywhere which explains the picture below. Abbey is really into dragging purses around lately but the camera case had to do here. (Don't worry it is empty.)

This is Abbey and I in front of the Friday Farmers market down there. There were so many fun fresh vegetables stands but the best thing were the seafood vendors selling fish tacos, ceviche, and other mouth watering dishes. I was thinking of and missing my dad the whole time because I know this would have been something he would have loved. I love family!!

Hair Cut

2009-04-08T20:41:00.000-07:00

The last time I cut hair was when I shaved off Kevin's side burn. I don't know what made me think that things would go any better this time around but I cut Abbey's hair this Monday. I didn't shave off her hair but her bangs are quite short now.

We have been playing outside more these days since Abbey can walk. Lately she has just loved playing with this pull-along-dog and the popper toy that every kid grows up with. She usually wants me to chase her with the dog but she wants full control of the popper. She drags that thing all around the house bringing it's crazy loud popping sounds where ever she goes. It's so fun to watch her grow up. I just love being a mom.

2009-04-07T19:22:00.001-07:00

So I promised to post some pictures so here they are...

This is my mom entertaining Abbey in a long day in the car. She did a great job because Abbey was a "5 star" baby that day.
After much deliberation on whether or not to go to the Rochester Children's Museum or the Buffalo Zoo we decided on the zoo since it was such a warm day. My mom said the Buffalo zoo is the oldest zoo in the US (it's actually the 3rd oldest- you were close mom) and it sure looked liked it. But I loved its old charm with its old lanterns and stone walls. We had a blast looking at the huge elephants, the really smelly gorillas, the crazy monkeys and an escaping peacock.

Abbey and my dad sitting by the fire. They are so cute together.

The last picture before Abbey and I left for California. I miss you mom and dad.

The beginnings

2009-03-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

I never thought I would be blogging but I am giving it a try to stay better connected to friends and family. So here I go....

Right now I am in New York with Abbey visiting my parents. I don't know who is having a better time, Abbey with my parents or them with Abbey. They gave her a new nickname today, "five star". As we were carting her around from antique store to antique store and then a long drive to the lake my dad kept giving her "stars" for her good behavior. She ended the day with 5 stars! Which then meant she was a 5 star baby, hence calling her 5 star for the rest of the night. So cute! I have just loved being around my parents. Being with them is as if I am living in a Seinfeld episode that never ends. We just laugh about everything and anything and they are so passionate about things...i love their loudness. Since we have been her Abbey has had a cold, eye infections and four new teeth coming in but it hasn't stopped her from being her smiling, laughing, energetic self. Today my mom taught her how to blow her nose so she keep running around in circles blowing her nose all night. I will post pictures soon.