Christmas time!

Welcome to Texas! It has been so nice being home and enjoying the break from little boys. I love them dearly; however, getting away to rest and spend some time with your own family is always needed.

I have been able to rest and really be excited about being me again. My jogging in the mornings has been incredible. I have really felt great, and then not so bad when I have a Christmas cookie! We got to decorate our tree on Sunday, and I found the pickle ornament! New tradition: Whoever finds the pickle in the tree gets the first gift! It was a Chris Tomlin Christmas CD. Pretty excited!

I am also getting some work done and thinking about new years resolutions. Anyone got any yet? Need some help on ideas.

The time difference here has really gotten me. It is only two hours but I am still really off. It is 11:40 here and I am not really tired. I should be- or need to be. Last night I told my self to be sleepy. Didn't really work out until about 2 in the morning. So tonight, I am going to do better. Hopefully!

Had a skype date with Donna, so everything is good with her! And the retreat went well- so YAY!

Alright- long day tomorrow and I want to read some in the john orthberg book-

Christmas X-2 days

Update

It has been a wild ride since I arrived in California in May. I was on a mission to find a church, a mentor, people to mentor, a bible study, a dance studio and friends. God has provided all and then some. I have been so blessed and am very thankful for all that I have done and will do in the coming months. This experience is exactly what I have been needing since I graduated college. Living more on my own and gaining new experiences and expanding and exploring the opportunities that God was going to provide for me. No I can look back on the last six months and truly see how blessed I really am. I have an amazing family back home who loves me, as well as a new family here. I feel like I have adopted two twin boys that adds to my family.

We had hot chocolate after school the other day and our picture turned out as such:

The joy of little boys! :) I will get to spend Thanksgiving with them, making pies and enjoying the life of a four year old. I was always so eager to grow up, and now I get to relive my young days through them. Not everyone gets to experience that.

I rode the ferry a couple of weeks ago and took a picture of the sun setting on the Bay:

It was pretty incredible. I get to come home on the 16 of December! Can't wait to be on Texas soil! Hope to see you all soon!

Crazy how many options are in front of me...

So I just joined this book study on Boundaries. I think this is much needed for my life. How to obtain healthy boundaries and still function as a normal human being with exercise, plenty of sleep, good food, and a quiet time with God.

It's funny how come across these things and how God guides me t the paths that I am on. Rule number one, "No!" should be in my vocabulary. Let's try. no, No, NO, NO! Ok, I think I am getting better at this. Rule number two, Don't take what sounds good, wait for what is the best for me and then say yes. Rule number three, Don't be afraid to hurt anyones feelings. (Do not be a people pleaser).

Those are the big rules at the moment. More to come I am sure. I have pushed my limit this weekend with everything that went on and now I am recovering. I lived at the church- and now I need a little time to recover. So that is my plan. I got to hang out with Chris while Paul was out of town and it makes me enjoy this family even more.

I have come to realize that I really want to do more college ministry stuff at my church. Be apart of it not just an outsider. So now that I am reorganizing and reworking a few things my life just might work- but of course with boundaries. So we shall see what happens.

Pray for me so that my boundaries will be healthy ones and that my NOs come out with ease.

-girl on a mission

Monday.

So it's Monday. The start of a new week. I am working today at the studio and then have a dance lesson tonight to get my hips into gear. I have come to figure out it is not as easy to move my hips as I thought. And as redundant as it can be -I have no core muscles. Lame. So sit ups and crunches here we come. :)

I got to hang out with Shari yesterday after church. We watched Letters to Juliet... such a good movie. Total chick flick- but I loved it. Cheesy for sure and you know how much I like cheese. haha
We would have watched another chick flick but the disk wasn't in its holder so then we proceeded to watch NCIS instead. Which it has become one of my favorite shows.

Now I am trying to sit still and allow God to talk to me... instead of controlling everything myself. Would I do that!? - Never.

Well, yeah it's me.

Pray for me to let go, release my strong hold and allow God to use me. I'm in the way, so get me out!

Peace.

Cleanse day 1

Today started a journey to get rid of all of the processed food in my body. I have a headache already. Go figure. I think it is a mental thing. I have a headache that is mental I think- cause i can't have things. And I am trying to figure out my relationship with food. I know it is emotional, yes I like to eat when I am emotional. So now I am embarking on a seven day journey to get the toxins out of my body and allow me to grow and get better!

So start praying that I can stick with it! I want a new relationship with foods and sugar and eat because I need fuel not because I'm bored and need something to do.

Yay for water! Got to go drink some more...

:)

Favorite Flowers...

So today is the big party for my boss at the sudio. She is trying to rent out the other few desks and areas she has available. It has been kinda stressful up until this moment where now the food is arriving and the guest will also be arriving soon. I will be here for the first hour then I head to a dance lesson then back to help with anything in the middle and then I am free to go home. YAY! It has been a long week. I even had like 10 hours of sleep last night and I am exhausted. I am going to have to work on having a set time I get up. That has been known to help with the body. So as I sit here I am in the aroma of gardenias. I would have to say they are making it to the top of my favorites list. I have also come to realize when I went to pick them up that I truly am in love with flowers. I love them- all of them. The smell, their beauty. I used to be not so in love with flowers. I guess I always put flowers and the sentiments behind them together. Why? I don't know. I am sad that I have not truly appreciated their beauty until today, when 75 gardenias surround me and their smell of sweet peace consumes the room.

Yes, I am in love with flowers.

What is your favorite?? :)

20 something...

Why is that everyone tells you that College is the best time in you life. I can tell you why.

One: You have built in friends. People you live with, the person who sits next to you in class, dorm community, campus life.

Two: You are in the "real" world but not.

Three: You don't really worry about the balance of your life. You're young, you stay up to all hours of the night, and you could care less about next semester till it gets there.

Four: Your parents still take care of you (they always will but more so now)

So, YAY! You get a piece of paper that says you are educated and now can handle yourself in the real word. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN???

Now, you can figure out the rest of your life. You have ambitions and want to do great things, yet because you don't have 5 years of experience you can't get a job. And what you want to do, you can't do cause you need money, you don't have. And your not supposed to go into debt so you don't borrow money. Which then leads to a minimum wage job which gives you experience in a job you don't want. Then for the rest of your life you try to get to the job you can't have unless you know someone that might know someone who will give you a chance. This is a viscous cycle.

So at the end of the day, network. It will be your best friend for life.

OK, that's the end of my venting for today.

It's my birthday!

It's Friday, and today I am officially 23. Weird. My sister pointed out at my mom's party this weekend that we are the ages of when my mom had us (with april and I switched of course). And yet none of the girls actually have kids. I take care of kids so technically I think I am the closest to grandkids we are going to come for a while.

Chelsea, Julie and Shari took me out on Wednesday when I got back from Texas. They took me to Boco de Bebo which is an Italian family style restaurant. It was excellent. Then we went to a salsa club! It was AWESOME! I had such a good time! I can't wait to go back!

Today on the schedule: RELAX, hang out with Zanne, do some media stuff at the church, eat dinner with the family, open my present from my mom and then hang out with my sister tonight!

Excellent day!

"Recalculating" Said in an English accent...

Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.

Then when you bite into the wrong one, you then put it back half eaten and then continue to the next piece. As my pastor put it so nicely on Sunday... we are all driving down the highway and when God told you to turn, you didn't and your nice GPS comes on and says "RECALCULATING." Or what the GPS is trying to say "YOU IDIOT YOU MISSED YOUR TURN!"

In life, we may miss our turn or fall down, or fail. But it isn't the end of the road. There is always another way and the end destination is still apparent, it is how you get there that makes the difference.

Sunday service was excellent. I can still feel my heart melt as he talks about failures and all they include. The Father is still going to be there to pick you back up no matter what happens.

Here is the youtube video he showed that made all the women in the congregation cry:

The aftermath of Kate's visit

So... with getting up at 3:55 to be on the road to the airport, I was surprisingly awake. Not talkative but who really is that early??

So I dropped her off by the Delta sign, gave her a big hug and then got in the car headed back to my casa. I then think you know- I would like to get my work out, out of the way. I park in the visitor parking my the golden gate bridge and run the bridge, watch the sun set and listen to some Shane and Shane. It was a perfect morning.

I then headed back to the house and crashed for a couple more hours before doing laundry, changing sheets, and just cleaning around the house. I have LOVED every minute of Kate being here and I miss her already!

Now back to reality of work and making progress on the rest of my life. Exciting! But loving it here in California for sure!

~Girl on a mission

Day Eight, " WICKED COOL"

So today was our adventure starting with the boys.

Luke and Cole are a bundle of joy to be around. We sang a song from Kate's camp about fruit. They loved when she did the sad face part. They thought it was hilarious! After spending the morning and lunch with them we headed off to the big city! It was a beautiful clear day, with little fog! We got to the ferry for Alcatraz right on time, rode over to the island and got to listen to stories from the prisoners from these head sets!

It was awesome. It was a personal guide telling you where to go and how to turn. It was awesome. I highly recomend anyone coming to the area to stop by and see the island- just a tip, you will need to purchase tickets at least a week in advance!

Moving on from there, we went to the In and Out burger, cause we needed to get in and get out to make the musical. We ended up sitting next to a couple that are couch surfers. You should google it if you don't know what that is...

We make the walk back to the car and drove down Bay street to Chris' work. We got to change clothes and look pretty before headed to the Orpheum Theater. We were so excited, and thanks to Kate's great music interests we expressed it loudly in the car on the way there. Singing to all types of music with big smiles on our faces!

We got good parking that was FREE. And had second row seats which were perfect. We could see the facial expressions and everything! We had such an awesome time, it is so sad it is over. As we were walking down the big hill to the house tonight Kate said, "I just want to push rewind and see it all over again!" I feel the same way.

This has been an awesome week! We need to go to bed now, Kate's plane leaves at 6 a.m.!

Till Tomorrow...

Day Seven, "Does anyone speak English??"

I can't believe it's already been a week...only one more day until Kate leaves me :(

So today we slept in a little bit, got ready and went to eat at this place called Crepes On Cole in Cole Valley. Kate's friend who lived here this summer suggested it, and it was delicious! I had some pancakes and Kate had a a crepe...I highly recommend eating there.

Then we drove to Steiner street to visit the Painted Ladies. Took some pictures and of course wanted a picture with the two of us in it, so we went on a hunt (literally) for someone to take our picture. Apparently, we were the only Americans and no one there spoke English. We felt like we were in a different country. We walked around the park and somewhat stalked people and waited for them to talk to see if they spoke English so we could ask them to take our picture, but the hunt was a failure and we eventually just kind of asked with motions if someone would take our picture...she acted confused, too a picture and well, we at least were in the picture!

Then we went to Lombard Street and drove down the curvy road, parked, and walked up it to take pictures. It was such a pretty street with cool houses that lined each side. Kate loved the blue house and all the hydrangeas.

Then we went to take a few pictures on the trolley since we didn't get any of us actually riding it yesterday.

We went and visited Chris's clinic today and Kate got a tour of it since she's going to be a PT and all. I keep telling her she is going to move out here and work there...I'll convince her one of the these days :) Then we went and walked the Golden Gate Bridge and almost got run over by the bicyclists again. We think someone may have jumped off the bridge right after we had left....sad day.

We finished our day in the city with a trip to Ghiradelli Square for some ice cream and then headed back home to eat dinner with the family. There was a wreck and it took us 2 hours to get back. Needless to say, we had some great quality time (which is Kate's love language so that was great) on our trip home.

We had a delicious diner that Paul made for us, consisting of Salmon and salad, and now we are going to maybe watch a movie and head to bed! Big day tomorrow...so excited!

We hung out with these crazy guys:

P.S. Had some video malfunctions so had to put yesterdays on hold. Sorry Guys!

Till tomorrow...

Day Six, "Downtown"

Mr. Downtown, bring me a dream...

We had a very big day today, but it was a ton of fun. First we went to church, where we heard an awesome sermon about the unity of the body of Christ. Then we headed to hop on the ferry and took a trip to the city.

Once we finally made it (the ferry ride was about 45 minutes), we walked through downtown and stopped at Pier 39 to see the seals! They were funny. Then we went ahead to the trolley station and bought day passes to ride the trolley through downtown. We waited in line for about an hour and had to listen to this old man sing and ask for donations...let's just say he was not musically talented...poor guy.

On our trolley ride we stopped at China town and at Union Square to walk around. Along the way, we got in trouble for jumping on a moving trolley that wasn't really moving in our opinion. The guy on the trolley made us get off....we weren't too happy about that. We walked some more, almost got hit by a few birds who apparently are ok with flying into humans. Shopped at little souvenir stores and then went to eat at Fisherman's Wharf.

We ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., which was delicious. We sat at the bar to avoid a long wait and met some very enthusiastic staff members that kept us entertained throughout dinner. A little advice: don't order the peanut butter and jelly smoothie from there...it's disgusting.

We continued on through downtown and rode the ferry back and watched the sunset, which was awesome. We then went to Cafe Gratitude to have some coffee and it was an epic fail. The coffee and the service was bad, but it was an adventure nonetheless.

After our bad tasting coffee mishap, we went to the headlands since it was a clear night and took pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge and the city at night time. It was beautiful!

Now we are back at the house and watching a movie to end our Sunday...two more days of Kate and Traci adventures...it's gone by so fast!

Till Tomorrow...

Day Five, " WATCH OUT FOR SNAKES!"

HIKE DAY:

We are fantastic travelers that forget to eat lunch and bring water on a hike- but never-the-less, we had a blast! We went on a hike, did not get lost, and had the most beautiful scenery to look at. It was amazing. We (or Kate) talked about the proper way to walk and how different leg muscles and how apparently I have really bad body mechanics. So I am working on putting my back, back together with the help of Kate and Chris of course.

We saw the Ocean:

Pop Quiz: What Ocean is this??

We also walked through beautiful trees and saw lots of rocks:

After making it back to the house after four hours, we needed to get clean. So we showered and got all fancy to go to dinner. We ate at M&G Burger in Fairfax. It is apparently famous. It was not too expensive and was really good- that or we were just really hungry from not eating lunch. We then took our adventure to the headlands, where we decided to come back when the fog is slightly less and the sun is slightly more filling.

We then went to San Anselmo for the movie in the Park. Tonight was Mamma Mia- the sing along version. So we stayed for a little while and then headed to TCBY and got parfaits! They were awesome. Now we are getting ready for bed and perhaps a movie is in the horizon.

Check out our clip:

Till Tomorrow...

Day Four,"Can we buy the crackers?"

Day Four was an all day journey across the lands of California to WINE COUNTRY! We traveled to Sonoma where we wondered around the city and had our first wine tasting. My favorite white wine was there the Blanc. We also looked at several shops, bought earrings and stared at expensive dresses that one day as old ladies we will own. We also noticed the abundance of mustangs in the city. :)

As we continue to travel North to Napa, we stopped at two Vineyards close to one another, the first one is the Black Stallion. We tried 5 different wines and enjoyed them all, we absolutely loved the crackers. They were sweet and

looked like little soft mints. The glasses had stallions on them:

We continued our day down Silverado Trail to our next vineyard Mumm Napa. It was Kate's favorite, because it was so pretty. It had an art gallery and a great view with awesome seating area. The gift shop was fun too. They even had creative bags for the wine and whatever else you wanted to buy there. We saw limousines- but we didn't take the tour with them cause we had a coupon... hehe.

As we left our favorite vineyard we stumbled across this awesome sign in which two girls with awesome accents took our pictures. We were running back and forth with a timer from my camera- so they came in handy!

We then went to Chris' favorite winery where we got her some Chardonnay. This is the World's famous winery and even Oprah has been there!! It wasn't my all time favorite- but it was fun non-the-least.

"Best Napa Winery"

To close the end of the beautiful day together, we went and saw the view from Golden Gate seminary. It was beautiful. We went on Great Circle Road and traveled to see where the boys go to school and then stood and took pictures of the view until we started to freeze. So then we headed home.

You can also check out our video:

Another adventure will take place tomorrow. Get ready! :)

Till tomorrow...

Day Three, " Under the Sea"

So today is my normal kid day- or mom day. Therefore Kate gets to travel with into what is called the craziness of children world. So, with my magnificent plan of going into the city for a change of pace with the kids, we went to the Aquarium. Leaving the house around 9:45, with the kids dressed and smiles on their faces. We found parking and were getting out to be tourists. When a man walks up to me asking me to buy some newspaper thing for a dollar and then asks me if Kate was my daughter... WHAT? I am walking with twin four-year-olds and Kate is my kid. Do I look that old??? Geez

So then we proceed to the Aquarium of the Bay:

We saw lots of sharks, fish, sting rays and then random animals that should not be found in an Aquarium such as a chinchilla. The kids had a great time, and we left with a shark book in our hand and a smile on our face. :)

After leaving the Aquarium, we ate lunch in the car while we sat in traffic and made in home just in time for the boys and Kate's nap time. Around 2:15 we gathered our belongings and headed to the Little Gym for the boys play time. Kate and I rested and breathed for a moment as we watched the boys get rid of lots of energy. YAY.

We then proceeded to swimming pool where our under water adventure continued. And of course Luke brought his shark... that squeaked. :) A lot.

We then came home and watched Finding Nemo to end the great day of under the water.

Just for an added bonus... Kate and I are avid SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE watchers, so we did watch the finale tonight. I won't say who won just yet... because some of you might not have watched it yet. But- I am so excited about the outcome!! YAY! :)

Till tomorrow...

Day Two, "Wood Day"

Second day on the travels with Kate, we woke up this morning ready to hit the stairs! We went to the Dip Sea Stairs and ran/ mostly walked the stairs, equivalent to a 50 story building.

This is where they start:

After hitting the stairs, we made our way over to the big city of Berkeley, and saw the University of California at Berkeley. It was pretty cool- nothing like OU, but then again we arn't in Oklahoma or Kansas. We picked up our tickets to see WICKED! We are stoaked!

After that little adventure, we drifted our way around the curvy, winding road up Mount Tam, where we took pictures, then finally made it to Muir Woods. We walked to paths took pictures of trees, with trees. We talked about trees and walked on wooden stairs. (Hence why the theme wood day). Here are some pictures to showcase our tree adventure:

Yes, we are in the tree!

After lolly gagging around Muir Woods for a while, we made our way back to the house where we preceeded to go to the community service project with my church. We went to Hamilton Elementary and stained a fence. It was actually really fun! We took pictures and smiled.

We really didn't do anything with shovels, but we thought it would be a great picture opportunity. After enjoying our evening staining the wood at Hamilton Elementary, we headed back to the house and watch So you think you can dance... We shall see who wins tomorrow!!

Until then-

T&K