Don't Forget

Church Volunteer Christmas Party

Saturday, December 12 at 5:00pm

Getting Ready For Christmas

Christmas Season is here and it sure feels like it. My kids got a huge kick out of seeing all the snow on the hills Monday morning. After more than 25+ years of living in the East Bay, I had never seen anything like I what I experienced on a drive over to Stockton for a meeting last Monday. It looked like a winter wonderland driving over the hill from Livermore to Tracy.

This week has been filled with planning and preparing for Christmas. Hopefully we will finish up all of our Christmas shopping this week (this is the best we’ve ever done). On Monday night we made a gingerbread house with the kids. Although Ethan’s interest in building the house quickly faded and all he wanted to do was eat the decorations. We got our Christmas pictures finished and Christmas cards ordered from Costco (on a side note: Have I ever mentioned how much I love Costco ).

Here are just a few quick thoughts that I hope will help you this week:

1. Don’t forget about Jesus in the busyness of Christmas – if you don’t make time each day to celebrate his birth, it will never happen

2. Spend time doing things with your family and children – don’t buy this culture’s philosophy of Christmas…buy…buy…buy

3. Make your motto: Presence not Presents

4. Give your spouse and kids a big hug and kiss every morning and every evening – it will make your day better

Happy Thanksgiving!

For all my friends and family who read this blog, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!
Here are some very wise words of advice - DON'T EAT TOO MUCH!!!

Here is a picture of my kids deciding to use chalk as makeup. Alanna told me they were movie stars :)

I finally got some Christmas lights up around the house. Now you might be thinking to yourself, "Wow, Josh is really on top of things." But don't be deceived. You see the real story is that I bought these lights three years ago, but this is the first time I have ever taken them out of the box. Now doesn't that make you feel better that you aren't the only one who procrastinates?

I found a new recipe that is guaranteed to take five years off your lifespan :). It's called "Deep Fried Stuffing." Basically you take sausage, enclose it in turkey stuffing, deep fry it, and then dip it in gravy. It really, really tastes good.

Having this woman in my arms, definitely makes this a Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for my wonderful wife of almost 10 years. She fills my life with so many wonderful things that if I took the time to list them all, I would never finish this post. But I will suffice to say, Cecil is definitely on the top of my Thanksgiving list!

This is my family photo from our Thanksgiving get together. Starting from left to right: Me, Grandma Mabel, Alanna, Cecil, Ethan, my Mom Kathy, my nephew Jeremy, my Dad Wade, niece Lilly, my brother Jeremy, my sister-in-law Mary, and niece Bella. We had a great time at my parent's house in Vacaville.

Here is my Thanksgiving prayer for all of you: May God bless you with family and friends along the journey that will allow you to enjoy your achievements and successes. May you remember that only two things matter in life - God's Kingdom and relationships - and may you live your life accordingly...Blessings.

Happy 65th Birthday To My Father-In-Law

This past Sunday we had a small birthday celebration for my father-in-law, Cecilio. I am really blessed to have such wonderful in-laws. They have been so supportive of our marriage, helping with the kids, and just being wonderful people.

Some Final Pictures From The Hospital

I finally got around to looking through our photos from the final two days at the hospital. Here are a few of the better ones. As you can tell from the pictures, Ethan was very excited to go home. On Friday, when I told him that we were officially discharged and could leave, he quickly asked me to put him in the wheelchair. While I packed, he sat there and made up some wonderful songs about the joys of going home, seeing his sister, taking a nap, and leaving the hospital. Cecil and I have been amazed at how well he is doing. It's almost as if he never had surgery. Our pickest struggle now is trying to continually explain to him that he cannot run up and down the stairs, play baseball, or rough house with his sister or me. 

Thanks again for all your prayers!

We Are Home!

Well…the entire process is over. The surgery went perfectly and Ethan was moved out of the ICU after only one day. Then on Thursday, they removed all the final wires and tubes so that they could monitor him until discharge on Friday. On Friday he was discharged around 1:30pm. His doctors have been impressed by how quickly he has recovered. Cecil and I are worn out and very tired, but it’s a good tired since we know it’s over. Thanks again for all your prayers, emails, and phone calls. It is wonderful to know how many people care. When I'm a little more rested I will post some pictures of the last three days.

2nd Day - Out of the ICU

Today has been very busy. At about 5:00am this morning, Ethan was moved to a different section of the ICU to get ready to move upstairs. To prepare for the move, his nurses had to take out 3 of the 5 IV's. To say the least that made the morning and early afternoon very stressful. At about 4pm, his nurse wheeled him up to his new room on the 3rd floor. In his new room, Cecil and I are both allowed to sleep and eat in the room. After last night, we both could use some sleep.

Ethan is doing some light eating and drinking (crackers, jello, juice, and water). Tonight his nurse inspired him to eat by providing chocolate ice cream. Because he isn't having enough fluids, they are still giving him fluids through the IV. With all of the trauma of having his IV’s removed, Ethan has a phobia of nurses touching him. So tonight, I took his blood pressure and temperature to keep him from freaking out. Later on he asked me if he could sit on my lap. It took a little bit of work maneuvering all the tubes and wires, but we managed. Hopefully after a good night of sleep he will be a little more relaxed.

Thanks again for all your prayers, comments, and emails. They are encouraging to read and I share them with Cecil throughout the day.