He Makes Me Laugh

My husband that is. He amazes me with his endless creativity and imagination. Sometimes I wish my brain worked a little more like his.

Brian has always made me cards, whether it's for my birthday, valentines day, etc. he will make me a card. He gave me a store bought card once, and even though it was really sweet, I was a little sad that it wasn't home made (I hope that doesn't make me sound like a brat).

My birthday was on the 16th, and when I came home from work there were beautiful flowers on the table and a card that wasn't in an envelope. It looked just like a "real" card...it said Happy Birthday on it multiple times and there was a picture of an elderly couple on the front. "How sweet, you bought me a card!" Brian responded with a, "no, I think you should look closer..." Here is a picture of the elderly couple for your viewing pleasure:

The Newest Addition to the Fam

Isn't he sweet? He loves people and he loves to smile...I love that about him.

Baby Shower Love

A few of us girls threw a baby shower for one of my oldest friends this weekend. And by oldest I don't mean age, I mean that I have known her my entire life! It's a pretty cool thing, and hopefully one day our kids will be able to say they too have known eachother for their entire lives.

Lauren is having a boy, and she is due on May 2nd, but maybe the little guy will grace us with his presence sooner. Here are a few details from the day as documented by Shanni, one of my fabulous photographer friends. You can check out her blog here for some of her other work. Details, details, details...

So excited to meet the little Furtado!

The Weekend

We had a mellow day for Brian's birthday on Saturday...slept in, made breakfast, finished the latest "Lost" episode, etc. Then we ended up heading down south a bit to Marina with our fabulous friends and good neighbors, the McLelans. The boys needed to fit in a birthday surf session and there were no waves in town, so we decided to make an afternoon of it. It was beautiful! It's amazing how much clearer and brighter the water is down there. AnnHelen and I enjoyed ourselves on the beach chatting away and taking photos while the boys surfed their hearts out.



On our way back from Marina we stopped at Chris and Anna's house so that we could be there when they got home from the airport with their new little man. It was so special to be a part of his homecoming. This new little guy is now offically home, no more moving from place to place and he now has a family to be a part of. He stole my heart right when they took him out of the car.

He is so precious! He's 5 months old and he looks like a little peanut, I love it. You can see how tiny he is sitting next to his 6 week old cousin in the second picture. It's so neat to think that these two little ones with such different beginnings will grow up together and probably be best buddies.




The whole adoption process is amazing. I am so happy for Chris and Anna, and so thankful for their example of amazing patience and reliance on God through this whole process. They were and are such an inspiration to so many people.

Happy Birthday Mr. B!

Today is my Love's birthday :-) One more year and he will be the big 30, crazy how time flies! I am so thankful for him. I am thankful for so many things about him, but one of the most is his persistence. With out that, I probably wouldn't be where I am today. When he wants something, he goes after it with his whole heart and he never stops trying. I love his love for people. He has a heart that genuinely loves and cares for everyone and is truly interested in what people have to say. I love his heart for adventure, and that he wants to make every day a new, exciting chapter in our life story.

Here he is as a little 2 year old. The pictures of him as a little tyke always make me laugh a bit because he looks so mischievous, like he's up to something...he still gets that same look in his eyes. Happy Birthday B, I love you with all my heart!

There is one more reason that today is a special day...my brother Chris and his wife Anna are coming back from Ethiopia with their new baby boy! They have been in the adoption process for almost 2 years now, and all of their patience has paid off. I can't wait to meet this sweet little boy later today!

Christopher Tarik Beniam Reno

My newfound hobby

So I mentioned that I was finally going to learn how to sew after all of these years, and guess what? I have! I knew that I would need a goal if I was ever going to get anywhere, so I decided to make aprons for some of the ladies in my family for Christmas. It was super fun, and I think they turned out pretty cute. But, I couldn't have done it without the help of my mom...thanks mom for being a great sewing teacher!

I only have pictures of the half aprons that I made. I'm a bit sad that I never got photos of the full aprons...they were cute, kinda retro/50's style. Anyway, here is my first sewing project...

These are matching aprons for my sister Amy and her daughter Aaliyah

And this one was for my sister-in-law Jeni

I'm working on another sewing project right now. It's something simple, but cute. It's super fun creating things and seeing a finished product, I love it! Let's hope that I keep at it :-)

Tropical Thailand

I just realized that I never really showed the pictures of our island adventures in Thailand. What gorgeous places we went to! We spent the first part on the island of Phuket and the second part on a very small island by the name of Koh Phi Phi Don (goes by "pee-pee" for short).

I found out that if we are ever to be stranded on a deserted island that my husband would be able to provide food and drink for us. He knows how to climb palm trees, and he can open coconuts within a minute.


Celebrating our one-year anniversary, woo-hoo! We had a great day filled with rock hiking, paddle ball, swimming, opening coconuts, surfing, and of course "splurging" on a nice meal. By the way, the dress that I'm wearing in this picture I had made in Vietnam. I can't wait for summer to get here so that I can wear it!

On a hike to the other side of the island...

Our little bungalow

We took a boat ride to Phi Phi's neighboring island, Koh Phi Phi Ley. No one lives on this island and it is beautiful! We hit a lot of snorkeling spots along the way and did a lot of "oohing" and "aahhing" at the impressive cliffs and crystal clear water.





We spent part of a day kayaking to different coves and beaches on Phi Phi. I forgot how tiring kayaking was...wow did we get tired. But we found an awesome beach so it was well worth the trek.




Later that same day Brian and I went to the other side of the island to swim with sharks...reef sharks. We had heard that they were always at this specific spot so we decided to check it out. Actually, I had Brian check it out first and then I mustered up the courage to get out there myself. I'm glad that I did, it was pretty cool. Well, this brings us to the end of our travels. I can't believe we've been home for almost two months now. I already can't wait til our next trip :-)
Australia? New Zealand? Africa? South America? Who knows, but I'm looking forward to it!