Madilyn’s Dol and Halmoni’s Birthday

Celebrated the birthdays of these two special ladies. My mom looks radiant and Madi is so beautiful in her matching pink hanbok. 

 

Emily did such a cute job of decorating for the party.

 

Sweet memories.

 

A picture of my parents and my brother on his Dol.

 

Halmoni and her girls.

 

I love this sweet girl.

 

The happy family.

 

 

Time for Dol jabi.

 

She picked the rosary.

 

Uncle Larry provided the music with his ukulele.

 

Happy Birthday, Halmoni!

 

Happy Birthday, Madi!

 

Morgan’s other favorite girl.

 

Zach having fun with Gomo Halmoni.

 

These two have my heart.

 

My brother and his beautiful bride.

 

Playing with cousins.

Born just a day apart, this weekend, we celebrated the birthdays of my niece and my mom. They were both gorgeous in their pink hanboks and my brother and my sister in law did a wonderful job of preparing all the details.

Surrounded by mostly family and a few close friends, I  couldn’t help but miss my dad. Later, in tears, I said to Morgan, “He wasn’t there. He missed it and he would’ve loved it.”

Of course, Morgan reminded me that he was  there and he actually didn’t miss a thing. It was only us that missed him.

So true.

I love you, Dad and I continue to marvel at my mom’s bravery. She’s courageously fighting to live life without you and there are days when that undoubtedly gets hard.

But you would be so very proud of her.

The Countdown to Zachary’s FIRST birthday!

I can hardly believe it’s only 10 days ‘til my sweet boy turns ONE! We went from thinking we were going to do an intimate, low-key family party to now, a full blown, BIG celebration! Hey, you only turn ONE once, right?!

Plus, we have so much to be grateful for! We’re celebrating all that we’ve come through this year as a family. It only seemed fitting to do that with all the people who are dear to us and who love Zachary, too!

Between party planning and the Big Bear Cabin project this summer, I told Morgan I’m going to need a vacation after all this is said and done! :)

Thankfully, I started planning for the party early. Plus, a couple of my girlfriends are helping me out. 

Instead of a particular theme, I determined the colors of the party first, which was easy. He’s practically an “Independence Day” baby anyway so red, white, and blue seemed appropriate. I threw in the baby blue, just because he’s my baby boy. :) That led to the obvious resounding theme which is freedom… Americana… ICE CREAM… and a GIGANTIC waterslide! Basically, everything SUMMER!

I can’t wait to share some of the details. Details that probably don’t mean a whole heck of a lot to anyone but me. Nonetheless, I enjoyed creating a few EASY decorations for the big day.

I’ll also be writing a special birthday letter to my boy.  

The only thing left to do is shop for the food next week and decorate my house.

The countdown is ON!!!

*A shout-out to my girlfriend, Holly at PeaceLoveEtsy for creating Zachary’s 1st birthday invites! They turned out so ADORABLE! He held that ice cream cone for a fraction of a second so I’m thrilled just to have gotten this picture. Let’s just say, the girls enjoyed sharing that drippy treat on that hot MORNING. :)

Father’s Day

A quick Sunday morning Breakfast of Champions: scrambled eggs, bacon, and DONUTS! You KNOW it must be Father’s Day. ;)

 

Kids were excited to shower dad with some extra love before church.

 

The girls’ gift for dad.

 

Sweet cards.

 

 

Kisses for his boy.

 

A family gift for his office.

 

His very own fan club.

 

His three little blessings.

 

Are there any truer words? 

I’ve also heard the quote like this: “Any fool can be a father but it takes a real man to be a daddy.”

Happy Father's Day to the most selfless, patient, kind, fun, hard working, compassionate, generous, loving, wise, brave, humble, servant leader any family could want or ask for.

And for the countless other ways you give of yourself (without complaint) and love us each and everyday... There really are no words.

We adore you, we thank God for you, and we are so blessed to call you OURS!

Nothing makes you appreciate your own father more than the first Father’s Day without him.

Dad, we’re sad for all the life that’s happening and the new memories being made without you. We’re sad that we don’t get to see your smile and your face light up when you see your grandchildren. We miss your voice, your laugh, your smell. What I wouldn’t give to have one more Father’s Day with you. It’s our selfishness that makes us sad. And yet, we have this unwavering hope.  The hope of seeing you again and never having to say goodbye. Until then, dad…

See you in glory.

The Greatest Brave

A mom has to be brave enough to let her boy grow up and climb mountaintops. The Greatest Brave allows and son (helps a son) to plan and attack adventures born in his heart. It’s a mother’s instinct to keep her son from harm, to protect him, to be close to him. While there’s a time to hover and supervise, we raise our sons to release them. That means when our boys emerge into young manhood and yearn to do brave things of their own, we dig deep for our Greatest Brave. Without the opportunity to be brave, our boys will remain weak, unsure, and reluctant. They will stay boys. By releasing our grip enough to step back, we give our boys the blessing of learning the Greatest Brave.

Brave moms allow sons to learn lessons essential to brave men. 

1. When he feels alone in the world, and he will, God is with him. 
2. When he finds himself in darkness, and he will, God will move
3. When he feels weak, and he will, God will give him strength.
4. When he needs courage, and he will, God will make him bold.
5. When he longs for purpose, and he will, God will use him to change lives.

I enjoyed this post from The MOB Society. Read the rest by clicking the link.

In today’s culture, the notion of being “brave” seems to have become distorted. We have mistaken bravery and courage for the freedom to make personal lifestyle choices. To me, bravery comes from Christ’s example: stand for truth, speak it in love, serve humbly, and be willing to lay down your life for the sake of others. 

The world needs more brave men.

That means with God’s help, us mamas need to be brave, too. Let’s endeavor to raise up our boys to let them go… to fight the good fight and change the world, for His glory.

So, we bought a cabin!

Our own little mountain retreat up in Big Bear!
Actually, it’s a joint family venture because Ben and Lucy own the cabin with us. Hi guys! :)

Last month, we showed up on Mother’s day weekend and to our delight, it was SNOWING and so very beautiful!

This past weekend, the place officially became ours so we spent the weekend “attempting” to clean out the place.

The back deck has an amazing view of the private forest behind us and even a peek-a-boo view of the lake.

Exploring in the backyard.

Catching the last of the sunset.

The girls took Zach on a stroll around the neighborhood and also took some pictures with my camera.

Our quiet and peaceful street.

Spring has sprung in the mountains.

Posing, I guess. :)

 

Hi Zachy!

Happily playing and watching for wildlife.

Having fun with daddy.

Since the cabin came furnished, there is LOTS to do in terms of cleaning it out. In fact, it took us a whole day, just to clean out the small kitchen! It’s definitely a work in progress and there’s much we’d like to do but we’re taking it one step at a time.

Lord willing, we’ll be able to rent it out as much as possible but also, enjoy it with family and friends and make some great memories along the way.

I was hoping to take more pictures of the cabin this weekend but we just got so busy. Next time!

This is where we’ll be spending much of our summer so I’m sure there will be lots more pictures to come.

As Morgan and I sat in the living room on that first night after all the kids had gone to bed, we were quite amazed that the Lord would allow us to have a mountain retreat to call our own. In fact, we realized that our new cabin was laid out in the exact same way that our first home in Malibu was laid out! We loved that tiny home. It was barely 500 square feet but it was everything two newlyweds needed or wanted. Plus, the beach was just down the street!

We always said if that place was any bigger, we would have stayed there in a heartbeat. We have the best memories of our first 5 years there. So, what made us move?? KIDS!! We wanted kids more. :))

Now we have THREE and the Lord has blessed us with a similar home and enough room for the whole family. The cabin floor even creaks in the same spot as our old house. :)

What an incredible gift!

And so, it begins!

Last week, we officially declared it SUMMER since we finished up our regular commitments for the “school” year. We decided to celebrate with some friends and a little frozen yogurt. Yum!

Also, we know it must be summer around here because Christina visited Grandma for the week and we got to see her more often… and SWIM!

Riding in the golf cart.

 

Finding ladybugs and enjoying the warm but refreshing pool.

 

They’re all getting so big!

 

Zach looking stylish and chillin’ in the shade with Grandma.

 

Getting his toes wet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christina and Grandma also came over one night so Morgan and I could go on a date night.

We enjoyed happy hour on the patio at Flemings but it was such a hot and balmy night, we had to sneak into a store, just to get some reprieve from the HEAT!

This summer is already shaping up to be a busy one. We’ve got a family project in the works that will take up most of the summer and require quite a bit of traveling. I’ll get to share more about that in the next couple of weeks as those plans finalize. It’s a big undertaking but we’re excited about it and I look forward to sharing more details (and pictures) SOON! 

The girls are also looking forward to a couple of fun classes/camps they’ll be taking this summer. A craft camp and a sewing class.

In addition to all that, we hope to catch up on some school work, as well as make time for lots of reading, play dates, swimming, and beach days! Oh man, I hear the beach calling my name. :))

And… I almost forgot!

We’re already working on planning a very special birthday for Zachary!

I can’t believe next month, our little boy is turning ONE!

What a year it’s been. Last summer, we were anything but relaxed. Much of it was a blur and yet, the details are still etched clearly in my mind. This summer, I’m so incredibly grateful to God for a healthy baby and the fact that he’s home. Beyond thrilled, actually!!

There’s much to celebrate! And so, it begins…

Welcome, Summer 2015!!