Yesterday Randy celebrated his 40th birthday! We had the chance to celebrate with Randy's mom and brother and a few friends on Saturday night, eating dinner and playing games late into the night! We celebrated with the five of us all weekend in little ways, a trip to Yogurtland, watching football together, relaxing and trying out his new camera (his gift from me and the kids was a new Rebel 2Ti...his old camera, as well as his 100-200 lens has been slowly dying). Yesterday, his actual birthday, was a work day. But he was joined by two of his closest friends (not to mention neighbors) in the evening for some beer and board games.
We are so thankful to God for the 40 wonderful years He has given to Randy! Thinking back on the past decade, these are some of the "highlights"...
Went to the Salt Lake City Olympics Welcomed a son into our family, Isaac Welcomed a daughter into our family, Violet Completed 15 years of service at Children's Hospital Central California Taken road trips through 11 states (California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona) and visited three more by plane (Illinois, North Carolina, and Florida) Served as our church moderator for 4 years Volunteered on Jr. High, High school, and College staff at our church Been to numerous baseball games (I'd guess over 50) Learned to play hand percussion instruments (bongos, congas and cajón, all of which he has played at church) Run the 10K Run for Relief at the MCC Sale EVERY YEAR for the past 10 (and 15 of the last 16 years) Ran one marathon, and five half marathons Taken thousands of pictures (most of them outdoors) Camped at Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Park 19 times (this isn't even counting the day trips we've taken to hike or snowshoe) Been a faithful and loving husband to his wife Been a loving, supportive, and fun dad to his kids Been a faithful follower of Jesus along the way!
We can't wait to see what God has in store for Randy's next decade!
Our family was able to get away from the chilly fog of the Valley this past week and spend some time at the warm, sunny California coast! We stayed at a friend's house for five wonderful days, relaxing, walking on the beach, playing in the sand, and even spotting lots of sea life in the waves (sea lions, otters, even dolphins)! Note to my photographer friends and relatives, none of these pictures have been altered at all...this is just the beauty of the sunlight by the ocean (well, and the amazing photographic eye of my hubby)! Not all of our fun was out on the sand. We brought lots of games. We visited the Farm Market at Cabrillo College on Sunday morning, which made for super-yummy meals the next few days and nights. And we went to eat at Phil's Fish Market in Moss Landing too! My parents joined us for one day and night. While walking on the beach at sunset we came across a beached sea lion. There were some women from the Marine Mammal Center there that had cordoned off the area around him. It seems he had some trouble getting out of the surf and seemed injured. We stuck around 'til dark, hoping to see the "rescue team" come and get him but eventually went back to the house. Of all the Januarys we have visited the beach, this was the best weather by far! We lounged around on the sand for hours every day! What a wonderful start to the New Year!
Our family had a wonderful Christmas week! After the kids' final day of school (they went all the way to the 22nd), we celebrated with some neighborhood families over dinner and a piano recital. All three of the kids had a chance to play a few songs for the group (we even made a program of the songs, sugar cookies for the reception, and took bows after our performances). Here is one of Isaac's songs. You can check out the rest of the videos on my youtube channel.
Christmas Eve we spent relaxing as a family, eating breakfast for dinner (our Christmas Eve tradition), and going to Christmas Eve service at our church with our neighbor, Jack.
Christmas Day was spent with Randy's family, church in the morning, lunch, playing at the park, games in the evening, more food, and a time of gift giving, both to each other and also gifts to the baby Jesus (in the form of some reading aloud of the Bible, Christmas songs played on the piano, and a search for the Christ child with some clues, like the shepherds and magi). The day after Christmas we spent some time in our yard with our 92-year old neighbor, Jack. Isaac broke in his new baseball glove a bit after we opened up a present from him, the game Ticket to Ride (a train game...fitting since he worked for the Santa Fe Railroad for over 40 years).
On Wednesday my parents came into town for a couple days. We had fun relaxing, cooking, playing games, and traveling to Visalia to see the extended family. At our get-together with my dad's side of the family Audrey played a short piece on the violin with her teacher, Kathleen (who also happens to be my cousin's girlfriend). After three months she is starting to get the hang of this new instrument!
During this Christmas season we also had our final meal around our oval table with some of Randy's work friends (unfortunately, no picture...there were so many of us we didn't think of it until some of the guests had left). We then had our first meal around our new table with our friends, the Co family. We have been saving up for quite a while for a new table, with the seed money coming from an inheritance from Randy's grandparents. We wanted to spend the money in a way that helped remember them well. Randy's grandpa was a wood-worker and Randy's grandma was a fantastic cook who would spend days preparing meals for their large extended family gatherings around the holidays. We thought it only fitting that we purchase a table. Our own was just large enough to fit our family plus one or two, which meant that even inviting one other family over usually excluded the kids to a separate table. It was great to eat our first meal with both families seated comfortably around the table (and there are 2 leaves in the hall closet to expand the table as our family grows).
Speaking of a growing family, I would be remiss to not include some of our adoption story in my Christmas post. This year we have continued our journey towards adopting a boy through Fresno County Social Services. At this time last year we were only one class away from completing our requirements for licensing. Once our paperwork went from the foster to the adoptions side of the County, however, the process has been anything but speedy. It took months for us to be assigned a case worker, more months to schedule a home study, and now more months of waiting for a phone call to have us come in and read a child's file (for potential placement). We have friends that have adopted and waited years for everything to come to fruition. But these friends have adopted infants, or had to deal with international paperwork. Aren't there hundreds of kids, if not thousands, in our county that need stable, loving homes? Although I know that all things come in God's timing (not our own), my heart was so heavy entering the holiday season, knowing that the boy I will someday call my son is still in another home, whether it be a loving foster home or a tumultuous, abusive or neglectful home. It is the hurt of an expectation unmet. It is a mother's tears, quickly wiped away, while watching her children sing, smile, play and laugh, and wondering if her other child (her unseen one) is doing the same. It is the heart's ache to know that my child is here, but not yet safe in my home. And my prayer that my Lord would keep him safely in His arms until the time that I can hold him myself. It is my heavenly Father growing in me a deep longing for another child. It is the tenderness of His Spirit to bring a dear friend (and fellow adoptive mother) from thousands of miles away to listen and empathize with my story over a glass of wine. It is the relevance of His Word to remind me of Simeon and Anna, that waited not just a year, but decades in the Temple, hoping to see the Savior, the promised King and Messiah.
In a season filled with gifts, both given and received, I chose this year to receive. As our family prepares our hearts and our home for another child, we are reminded that we are incapable of this task in our own strength. As we remembered the gift of this little baby, Jesus, we were reminded to receive all His gifts with gladness (gifts of patience, kindness, gentleness, generosity, marriage, family, and our current children), and take the time to appreciate them! He is the one that renews our hope and helps us to be truly ready for all He has planned for us in 2012.
