Ask and You Shall Receive...

Dear Rhiannon,

Tonight, after we finished reading your new bible, you looked inside the front cover. Next to a picture of a cross John 3:16 was printed.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son. That whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life."

You were curious so I explained what it meant. I told you that God sent his son to earth to die for our sins and that if we believe in him and ask him into our heart we will live forever in heaven. Your response was, "I want to live in heaven forever with Jesus and God!"

I've asked you before if you wanted to pray and accept him into your heart and you always replied with a strict "No." This is such an important and life changing decision I never wanted you to feel forced- even if you waited until you were 90 to do it I wouldn't be any less proud than I am right now.

Your prayer was simple, "Dear Jesus, come into my heart. Amen" Oh, Sweet Girl, I hope someday soon you realize how important those words truly are. I know this is only the beginning of your journey of faith- and I know God has prepared you in advance for amazing things!!

I love you SO much and I am so so proud of you.

xoxox,

Mommy

"And Mary treasured these things and pondered them in her heart..."

Dear Rhiannon,

As your parents your Daddy and I try very hard to help you understand the true meaning of Christmas. "The Birth of Jesus" may seem like a redundant phrase to most, but to us it is an event that changed history- and our lives forever. You have asked us many times if Christmas Eve is Jesus' REAL birthday-- it is so much more than that Sweet Girl, it's a celebration of Life. His, Ours, Yours. The amazing Eternal life he offered us through his birth and death. Thousands of years and countless generations later we rush around buying gifts and preparing meals, busying ourselves with errands, parties, and events- we forget how important it really is to stop and be amazed at this precious and incredible gift we have received.

You are an amazing reader now (and I'm not just bragging cause I'm biased! ;)) You fly through books and in no time you're on to the next. Tonight I thought it would be nice to have you read out of my bible for the first time- and not just any passage, but the story of the birth of Christ. As you read it you had many questions and comments ("Whats a flock?" "Bethlehem was where Jesus was born! I was born in Riverside!") As I sat the listening to your voice I felt so nostalgic. Will you remember this? Will it be as important of a moment to you as it was to me? Will you treasure these things in your heart and ponder them, as I have? You read until you couldn't keep your eyes open any more and it was so cute because every time you got to a new verse you would read the verse number: "Ten. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Eleven. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." I can't say I've ever been more proud of anything you've done. I hope this instills something in you that lasts your entire life, a thirst for heavenly knowledge and a hunger for spiritual understanding.

I will treasure this moment and ponder it in my heart forever.

I love you Sweet Girl.

Mommy

Summer 2011

Hello September!

Here is another photo post!

Our summer has been so full of fun and sun- It's hard to think that Rhiannon will be starting preschool soon! We have been so blessed to have such amazing friends and family!

Daddy took us to our First Twins Game!! He loves his team and was so happy to share this experience with us! Buffy, Travis, and Grammy came too! It was such a blast!!

We visited the Annenburg Beach house with our friends two weeks in a row!

Ballet started again this week and Rhiannon moved up to Pre-Ballet! Every time we ask her if she would rather do sports so says "no"so in ballet she stays! =)

So happy to see what the fall brings!!

xoxo,

Sarah

Rhiannon is 4 1/2...

Dear Rhiannon-

My how things change in a matter of months!

You are now 4 years and 6 months, where did the time go?

You are preparing to start preschool. Mommy is having a much harder time with this than you are. We went and saw your new school and you beamed for days afterward, recounting every detail to anyone who would listen. You can't wait- but mommy can!

These past six months have been challenging to say the least. Daddy went on another trip, we visited North Dakota, and the summers calendar has been stuffed full of fun trips and play dates with friends.

You never went through the "Terrible Twos" but, boy oh boy, the 4 to 4 1/2's have been terrible enough to make up for it! It's been very challenging trying to find the methods of discipline and accountability that work for you. You throw tantrums that would put "TERRIBLE" two year olds to shame. But my love for you is unconditional and the moment you apologize my heart aches because I know that I probably wasn't on my best behavior in the midst of the tantrum either. We're working on it and are hoping school helps!

We celebrated your "1/2" birthday with pancakes and Disneyland!

Daddy and I also bought you your backpack and lunchbox for school- You look so proud in this picture

You are so beautiful Rhiannon, inside and out. You are special, and smart, and I'm so happy that I get to be your Mommy!!

xoxo,

Mommy

Rhiannon's First Swim Lesson

I am not the best blogger- life gets in the way and busyness takes over. It makes me sad but all I can do is try my hardest to document our amazing life more often so one day Rhiannon can look back and see how cute she was and how much fun she had!

As I said, this summer has been SO busy and is flying by! But I HAD to write a post about Rhiannon's first swimming lesson! I get so sad thinking about forgetting the little things she does or says and this is one thing I CAN NOT forget!

Nick and Rhi are total fish. Once they're in the water it's tough to get them out! But as hard as we try to teach her basic swim technique she will not learn from us- so we started swimming lessons at an amazing school here in West LA and she did SO good! She paddled and kicked with her little flippers on- Nick and I were so proud! ;)

xoxo,

Sarah

I Heart Faces: Slice of Life...

I'm joining I heart faces again this week for their "Slice of Life" contest! Click the link below to check it out!

This is a slice of our life in Los Angeles... living so close to the beach makes this girl happy- and what makes her happy makes her Daddy and I happy too! =)

xoxo,

Sarah

I Heart Faces- Peoples Choice, Best Face From February

This is my first entry for I Heart Faces and I'm so excited to join in the linky fun!

This is my sweet February baby- we tend to celebrate her birthday all month long and that means I have my camera with me at all times! I had a million pictures to sort through but this one is my favorite.

Can you tell how blessed we are!?

xoxo,

Sarah