Track Meet Day

This past Saturday was a blast! Alanna participated in the Bay Area Lutheran Schools Track Meet. Her school, Prince of Peace, hosts the event and about 13 other schools from around the Bay Area compete in various events. There are about 500 competitors from kindergarten through 8th grade. We were especially proud since Alanna represented her age group for girls in four different events. She came in 2nd in the long jump, 3rd in the 50meter, 4th in both baseball throw and 50meter relay. I've attached some pictures so you can see how determined she looks while she competes.

CRAZY DAY at School

This is Lutheran Schools Week and our kids attend Prince of Peace Lutheran School in Fremont. So each day this week the kids get to do something fun or crazy. Well, today was Crazy Day so we had lots of fun this morning helping make the kids look very crazy. Alanna was totally into it but Ethan was a little more hesitant. He didn't want anything weird done to his hair (for some reason he has always been more into comfort than coolness...probably got that from his Dad) so we worked with limited options.

Valentine's Day

As our culture has done over and over again, a simple holiday has been commercialized. Over this past week, I have heard and seen too many commercials all suggesting that if I really want to express my love for my wife I must buy this flower arrangement or this piece of jewelry. Of course, I do think it is very appropriate to make symbolic gestures of love and appreciation on Valentine's Day, but I also think that many times people try to make up for an entire year of neglect by buying that diamond necklace or splurging on an extravagant weekend when what is really desired is meaningful connection.

Thankfully, I have been blessed with a wonderful wife who over and over again has made it clear to me that she is not impressed by extravagant financial displays. Instead she has helped me learn over almost 10 years of marriage that simple yet meaningful displays of my love mean much, much more to her. After these many years together, Cecil continues to amaze me with her passion and excitement for life; her simple yet profound words of wisdom; her superhuman powers of balancing home, marriage, personal, and family responsibilities; her desire to follow and please God; and her unconditional acceptance and love for me.

So to my dear wife I say, "I love you and Happy Valentine's Day."

Life never stops changing

Today, we went out to Costco (my favorite store - if you can't find it at Costco you don't need it) and bought Alanna a twin bed. She finally outgrew her toddler bed which really wasn't designed for a child that weighs 50+ lbs. It seems like just yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital and put her in the bassinet, then we transitioned to a crib, then toddler bed, and now an adult bed. I was talking with Cecil's Mom today and she said, "She's not your little baby anymore, is she?" Unfortunately, she is right.
So just a heartfelt reminder - enjoy each moment you get with your spouse, kids, friends, and anyone God brings into your life because you will never again get these moments back.

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.

Happy Birthday to My Wonderful Wife!

My wife celebrated her birthday on Wednesday this week and I celebrated my birthday today. This is the 10th birthday we have celebrated together since we got married and the 17th birthday since we first met in 9th grade. I have found that my wife is like a fine wine, she gets better with age (I know that's a cheesy line but it's true). In fact, my love for Cecil has continued to grow through our years of marriage. She isn't perfect, but she's closer to perfection than anyone else I know. And of course, anyone that can put up with me for all of these years deserves some serious extra credit. Cecil, thanks for so many wonderful memories. I love you with all my heart.

We had a great time out tonight for dinner and then a slice of Coco Kahlua Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory!

PS - Special thanks to Lee & Carrie, we had a wonderful time at MacArthur Park Restaurant. Thanks for the recommendation.

Alanna's First Field Trip

All parents will understand exactly how I feel when I say, "Kids grow up so fast." Yesterday, Alanna had her first field trip to Joann's Farm in Livermore. It just seems like yesterday that Alanna was just learning to say, "Dada," or that Cecil was teaching her the alphabet. Today, as you can see from the pictures, she is becoming a vibrant, beautiful young lady. She is full of energy and life. We also got her first report card yesterday and we were so proud that she received all +'s. Of course it is kindergarten but still, I'm a Dad so I get to brag :)!

Getting everyone caught up on my life...

It has been almost year to the date since I last blogged. For the past 3 months, I have continued to tell myself that I needed to get back to the weekly routine but obviously that didn't work. So I'm sure that all of you that are faithful blog readers (I'm only aware of one faithful reader - my wife :) and she just makes sure that I don't post anything too ridiculous), have been wondering what has been going all over the past year that has kept me from this incredibly important job of posting. So, here is the answer....

1. Some major personal stuff that I needed to work through - this is still a work in progress but seems to be headed in the right direction now.
2. Two month sabbatical from church life (December and January) which was connected to #1. This gave me a chance to get a break, finish the semester of seminary (I was taking 12 credit hours including Greek and Hebrew), spend time with my family, and do some much needed personal heart work.
3. My wife took a trip with her Dad to the Philippines in February for 3 weeks. It was her first trip home since she left at the age of 5.
4. Graduating from seminary with my Master of Divinity degree from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary - It took me 7 years to complete a 3 year degree but its finally over. The joke at our house is that now I expect to be called Mastor Josh like my great model in ministry the unpretentious Master Yoda.
5. The final summer with my daughter before she started kindergarten. I can't believe how quickly time has flown by. Alanna has turned into a beautiful young girl. She certainly takes after her mother. She is kind, compassionate, very obedient, loves God, and is always singing, dancing, or making up lyrics to a new song that are in her head.

Well...that just about does it. Hopefully this posting becomes the first of many more.

Thank God for my wife!

It seems that just about every day I find myself in amazement of my wife Cecil. To me she is definitely a super woman. She somehow manages to find time to clean the house, prepare meals, work part time for our business, and invest lots of time in teaching our children. My kids are so well behaved and smart (obviously I'm a little bit biased), and all the credit goes to my wife. In fact she already has Alanna doing "school" out of a preschool work book. She is truly amazing and I love her for it!