Wet Wednesday

Today my beloved took the whole family to the Antioch water park for some wet fun in honor of Sunshine's birthday. This was our second time there. We had such a great time. Since today was the first day of school for alot of schools there weren't too many people there.

They have an area just for tots to play in but we moved on to the bigger part of the park. To my surprise Sunshine loved going down the waterslides by herself! She's so brave. Princess on the other hand was so scared to even try once. Then I showed her the double innertube that ALW and I just rode and she agreed to go down, just as long as I went down with her. To my surprise, she really enjoyed it. We ended up going a few more times then she went down with Daddy a few more times too. There's this one tunnel slide that we all liked but Princess was too afraid. After she tried the innertube one, she gathered enough courage to go down the tunnel slide. What happened after that? She loved it.

Now ALW, he just loves swimming. He would go down all the slides by himself with no worries. Did I mention that he's never taken a swimming class his entire life. He just goes and starts swimming under water!

BTW, did I mention that I forgot to bring my camera? So no pictures to share but that's OK. Here's a picture of the crew the last time we were there:

Afterwards, we were suppose to go to the Concord drive-in to watch Clone Wars but just as we were going to exit, I looked back and everyone fell asleep. Best thing to do now is just go home and rest.

Can't wait for Sunshine's party on Saturday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNSHINE!

Our little Sunshine turns 3 today! I can't believe our youngest isn't a baby anymore. She's grown up so much faster than the other two did. It's probably because she has to keep up with them. Let me tell you a few tid-bits about our little girl:

• A few days after she was born, she had to spend a week at John Muir Hospital because she had jaundice. That was a real tough time for our family.


• On the doctor's chart she was always at the zero percentile even though she nursed and drank an 8 oz bottle of formula.


• She still wasn't gaining much weight even though she ate 2 jars of baby food and an 8oz bottle durine ONE feeding! That's why we started feeding her table food at 6 months. Since then her favorite hobby has become eating.


• She has a chipped tooth from running after Daddy during a "chase" session.


• She's just as clumsy as her momma.


• I love this one...she potty trained herself in ONE DAY! I still can't believe I'm not buying diapers.


• She can be the sweetest and stinkiest little girl all at the same time.


• She hates it when there's dirt on her. Of course she doesn't realize that her whole face and hair is covered with the food she's eating.


• If she spills something she has to clean it up with every clean kitchen towel I have. She's doing better, though, she's using paper towels now.


• She drives her Daddy crazy when she talks in full sentences. He just has to gently tackle her and squeeze her for about a minute.


• Every few minutes she'll come up to me to tell me that she wants to tell me something. So I bend down and she whispers, "I love you so much." I hope she never stops this. I love it!

These are just a few things that our little baby does that's super special to us. We love her so much! Happy Birthday, Sunshine!

Trash to Treasure

We're finally doing it! Yay! We're having a YARD SALE on Saturday, August 16th! Come by if you can. You never know what "treasures" you'll find.

God's Googly Part 2

In the game of cricket a "googly" is a pitch which is thrown with baseball's "curveball" grip.

I first heard this term while visiting our sister church, The Cornerstone Bible Church in Natomas. It was such a sweet time of worship and fellowship there. Even though it was our first time visiting, it felt like home.

God allowed us to sit under Nick's preaching that morning. The title of his sermon, "Trusting Christ when Life gets Confusing - Part 1", his text John 13:18-30. I won't go into full detail but the meat of the sermon was to stay trusting in God, when you're given "curveballs" or "googlies" in your life. You may have a plan for your life to go one way, then God allows something else to happen that directs your path somewhere else. Often, we're not content with just knowing God has a plan for us. We want to know what that plan is and we want to know it now. God does not give us anything we cannot bear (1 Cor. 10:13), so is it possible that He doesn't reveal His plans for our lives because we can't handle it? Sure! God protects us from what we can't handle. I praise Him for that.

I can go on but it's probably best to visit their website and hear Nick for yourself. I'm sure you'll be encouraged too.

I'm so glad we were able to visit them. We were so blessed to be there. I hope God would allow us to visit again. Let's not forget to lift these brothers and sisters up to the Lord. If you're reading this, let's take some time right now to ask God to bless their ministry. I'll be praying with with you.

FINALLY!

Finally I get to sit down and post about all the happenings in my life. I'll do my best to post as much detail as possible but I've got lots to catch up on. So here it goes...

God's Googly

What's a googly? I'll explain in a later post...

Battle of the Bands

Every summer our youth ministry hosts a Summer Camp for Junior High and High School students. For at least 8 years now (probably more), other churches from different cities join us. We've met some great brothers and sisters in the Lord this way.

I'd have to say, this is the highlight for our youth ministry. We get to spend a whole week hearing from the Bible, fellowshiping with other believers, enjoy some super fun games, build relationships with new people and draw closer to the Lord without the everyday distractions of life. What REALLY makes this week worth all the months of preparation and labor is to witness a young adult give their life over to our loving Savior!

God granted me the priveledge to witness a young lady who started off the week as one who's life is on the path to eternal seperation from God, to one who will inherit the Kingdom of God. Her original intention was to go to summer camp for the fun experience. Little did she, or anyone else, know that God had other plans for her soul. As she sat there in the chapel, listening to another student give her testimony, she couldn't help but to think of the sin that separated her from God and the freedom she has in Christ. After our discussion group time, we sat outside and talked more about the Gospel. With tears of joy streaming down her face, she prayed her first prayer as a child of God. I'll never forget her words, "Lord, please don't ever leave me! Please!"

PRAISE GOD! This is what our ministry is all about. I'm not just talking about the youth ministry, I'm talking about the ministry that God has given all His people. He's given us a command to go out and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). May we never lose sight of our purpose here on earth.

Honoring Milagros Evangelista

As you know my grandmother (a.k.a. Nanay) celebrated her 75th birthday on July 4th. My mom planned a spectacular surprise birthday dinner for her at the Front Room (local Italian Restaurant in town). Attendees included family and friends that we haven't seen in a while.



The great-grandaughters performed a sweet little hula number. Thanks to Auntie Star here's a clip:

She was so happy that night, she couldn't stop smiling. In fact she still talks about it til this day.


Here are a few more pictures from this memorable event, enjoy.

WE LOVE YOU, NANAY!