Good-Bye Friant Street and San Diego...

We entered the house praising God, and we left praising God. This house was truly a blessing, a place we used to worship God together as a family, to bless others around us, to serve the church and to welcome our fifth member of the family. This was a good house, and we know beyond a shadow of doubt that God blessed us when he provided this house for us. Good bye 8708 Friant Street...good bye San Diego...we will be back if only to visit...

Vacation Bible School aka Packing Time

Usually I teach the youngsters at vacation Bible school, but this year Jeff had the week off and we used the time for a house hunting trip and to pack. It was truly God's timing...we needed every minute of it too!! Let me give a run down of the time because it has been a c-r-a-z-y time in our lives...Sunday afternoon my mom arrives. Sunday evening we have a huge good-bye party (mostly church, playgroup and a few neighbors) hosted by Kelvin and Yolanda Wong. Jeff and I left early Monday morning for San Fransisco, meeting a realtor to look at house on the peninsula at 9am. Mom took the girls (who were super worn out at this point) to VBS then went home and helped clean, put up blinds, take down pictures, and puddy holes. Kate had a stomach ache on Monday so she went early to hang out with her and finish the day at VBS.

The next day Jeff and I met a different realtor to look at houses on the East Bay while Mom took the girls to VBS then to a dentist appointment. Kate again was nervous, but Mom held her hand to calm her nerves while holding RL. Yes, she is THAT good. We made an offer on a house in Fremont. Jeff and I flew home late Tuesday night, arriving slightly before midnight.

Wednesday Mom and I took the girls to VBS, we grabbed a quick coffee then headed home to pack for the family vacation in Coronado and our two month temporary housing stay. Our offer on the house was rejected, and while we talked about offering on a different house Mom picked the girls up from VBS. We decided to offer on a different house, continued packing then at 5pm my friend Jen came to get me for a good-bye party with my book club. I forgot about that, so I quickly threw on something nice and headed out the door. Mom and Dad went home that night and Jeff and I stayed up super late so we could finish packing.

Thursday and Friday the packers/movers came and packed and moved everything onto their huge truck. We stayed in a hotel in Mira Mesa, and I continued to take the girls to VBS while trying to clean the house so we could get our deposit back.

Friday was the big push because we had our landlady coming to walk through the house, and an Ice Cream social for VBS. We made it, but by the time we arrived RL was limping (see earlier post about her accident), Hannah was crying (friend issues with a boy names Josh...) and I was a sweaty mess from all the cleaning. BUT, we made it, and all three girls sang and played and seemed to have a fun time. I am thankful that at this busy time the girls were able to have some fun time and forget about the stress of moving. I am also incredibly thankful to my mom for all the care she gave our family at this time...let's just say that Hannah, Kate and Rachel Lee were not the only girls that cried while she was around...

Can you find Kate in the black dress with red and white flowers? Rahcel Lee (yellow shite and polka-dot pants) is also next to Hannah (brown shirt).

Saying the memory verse..."For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son. That whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16...praise God for that promise which is true yesterday, today and tomorrow both in San Diego, San Fransisco and around the world. What a good God we have!!

Kate's Five Year Old Adopt-a-Cat Party

You never know what a year of growth will bring. This past year with our sweet girl we have seen her take on many different roles, and in all of them the beauty of her loving and generous spirit has emerged (although not all the time...). She loves being a younger sister and an older sister, a student, a daughter, a friend and being alone. She plays with dolls and has learned that she likes biking (and she can ride a two wheel bike!). We have seen Kate grow this past year, but I am so glad to say that Kate is a still very much a snuggler. And I love snuggling with her. So I wasn't surprised when she wanted a party where kids could take home a stuffed animals. Stuffed animals suit Kate's snuggling and soft personality. We decided to theme her five year old party with stuffed toy cats and call it an Adopt-a-Cat party. Kids were able to pick out what color cat they wanted. From there, we made birth certificates with the cat's names on them, a collar and small toy for the cat and put it all inside a little to go box for the kids to take home. It was a hit (and a lot of work!).

Here we are painting our faces like a cat:

And here are all the kids with their baby kittens:

And all the chaos of making birth certificates, collars and kitten toys:

When I asked Kate what kind of cake she wanted she said she wanted a watermelon cake...that is a watermelon cut and decorated in such a way that it looks like a cake. This also was no surprise because Kate will usually save half her dessert for later...she just doesn't have a sweet tooth. the watermelon cake was fun to make, and I am sooooo glad my mom was able to help cut and decorate with me...I could not have done it without her!! (Notice how fun she makes it too...pretending to eat the cake with the girls...so silly!)

It was great to have the family together celebrating Kate. Knowing that we were about to move made me treasure these times where we can celebrate these life events together. Family is truly a blessing!!

 

My Sweet and Loving Kate,

I am so fortunate to be your mama, the person that you snuggle with in the morning, the person that hears your thoughts and ideas, the person that holds you when you are sad or tired, and the person that gets to know your silly and funny side. You are truly a treasure, designed by God to bless both our family and others. I love who you are so much, and learn so much from how you care and listen to others. You have your own pace of life, taking time to focus on the really important things and making sure that everyone is included and taken care of. Your loving heart is such a delight. Thank you for love you give and the love you share with us as a family. I praise God for you, my gift, as pure grace from God above.

May you grow to know the depth of love that I, and we as a family, have for you. May you know the greatest of God's love, and the freedom we find in knowing that we have grace, forgiveness and never ending perfect love from God above. I love you deeply and completely.

To the moon and back I love you, I love you, I love you!
Your Mama, Sarah