This is the light show in Upland that we went to on Sunday after Church!

Kendra loves to stand on here head!

I'm a crazy child!!!

Kendra was so excited about here Christmas gifts that she wouldn't let us finish putting her P.J.s back on!!!

More lights in Upland!

Christmas kisses for mama!

Christmas Dress

Kendra's hair is so long that when she wakes up we have to put it in a pony tail so she can see!

They love their water!

Kendra with Aunt Jen!

Aunt Jen let Kendra play with her cell phone!

My beautiful girl!

Here's Kendra's model picture!!!

More beautiful pictures!

Our Family Christmas Tree!

Kendra in her cute dress!

Some Pictures Of The Queen

Christmas is coming!!

I am getting so excited. I think I just about have all the Christmas shopping done. Like it's hard to spend money!!! Well, the Mission Inn has their lighting thing this Friday so were are going to that. Saturday we are hoping to get our first real Christmas tree, go to a wedding and be in the Redlands Christmas Parade, if it doesn't rain!!! Next week we are going back up to central cali. Andrew's preaching and them we are goin to visit where he grew up because I have never seen it before. I am glad we are getting the opportunity to visit his neck of the woods. I'm sure Kendra will enjoy the ride j/k.

Kendra's Birthday

Kendra really liked the cake that the G-Ma made for her.

Visiting Unkie Davie, Auntie Kate and Jadon the Cuz

Kendra loves her Unkie Davie

A Picture of the Whole Fam

Believe it or not, this is not Texas, it is California!!!

Our Noble Steed

Kendra didn't like actually riding on the horsie as much as just touching it.

Rinding The Horses

Susan and I went on a romantic horseback ride through the country known as Kate's Dad's backyard.

The children are just like their parents

At the Beach

Kendra loves to watch the waves, and her pappa loves to watch her watch the waves.

Kendra at the Beach part 2

Kendra and her mom at the beach

Kendra and grandma- Halloween

Kendra is suppose to be a fairy, but it turns out the costume is a witch costume... coincidence, I think not.

halloween Part 2

Mom was a pumpkin and dad was... we're not sure, but he really liked his pipe.

Kendra's 1st Birthday (among other scary things)

These blog things are addicting. I couldn't help but think all day of what I would write next. Well, I noticed that we haven't posted anything about Kendra's birthday, so I will share some pics from that. It went well. There were a lot of people there, which was good because we brought a lot of food. I also had the pleasure of hitting a home run in the softball game, which is always a plus. It was great to see the babies all playing together. Kendra enjoyed herself and loved the cake that grandma baked (props for g-ma). Thanks to all who came out. We love you guys.
Also, I have finally figured out what I am going to do with my education- get even more education! I've decided to not just get my BA (I am graduating this spring hopefully), but will spend three more years and get my MA in Rehabilitation Counseling. I've realized that with the career market the way it is, having a bachelors is mass comm just isn't going to cut it. And though I love working at the radio station, I much prefer to work with people. And, sadly, I like school. But the even better news is that Susan will be going to CSUSB in the winter!!! I'm excited! She's thinking about getting into social work instead of nursing. It'll be interesting to see where God leads. Either way, I am pretty stoked about it all.
Lastly, our pastor, Ray Velasquez, has been coming over to our abode on Monday nights to teach me Greek and other interesting Bible stuff. I'm loving it. But Kendra, I think, is in love with him. She literally crwls over to him and stand up next to him and wimpers until he picks her up. She gets excited and more than that... SHe Just Sits There!!! She just sits on his lap and smiles and laughs. But he loves it. And as long as she isn't knocking stuff over (like usual) I am all cool.

Beijing, Here We Come!

Last week, Susan and I (that's right, Andrew is writing a blog thing- word!) had the privelage of seeing Bro. David Hardin. He is an upstanding gentleman who has a passion for spreading the word (literally) to all the world (again, literally). He attends the summer and winter olympic events to hand out bibles by the thousands and spread the message of Christ to those who attend the events. He came to our humble church in Banning to share this burden with us and asked for prayer and support. Well, Susan and I got pretty excited about the possibility of joining Bro. David in Beijing for the mission endeavour, but weren't exactly sure whether this was truly God's will or not. Then, we went to a youth rally in Brea, and guess who was there? No, not Michael Jackson, Bro. David Hardin! I know, crazy, right? Needless to say God has been confirming in our hearts the passion to be a part of what God will do out in Beijing in August 2008. For those of you who don't know, China is a commie nation (this is a bad thing). And as a result of the government system, churches that preach Christ have to do it underground (not literally, but more like on the D.L. (down low)). So we American missionaries will be able to do something that the Chinese pastors and missionaries aren't allowed to do; go out on the streets of China and tell people about the savior of the world.
There is a small possibility of Susan and me getting in trouble/kicked out of the country/thrown into prison/forced to build another Great Wall etc. as a result of our spreadng the gospel, but since it is the Olympics, the gov't won't be as strict. Besides, since when do Christians get thrown into prison, right? Almost never... (that was sarcasm).
All of this to say pray for us. We are going to raise somewhere aroung $4,000.28 for the trip too, so if you know anybody who knows anybody who could help us out, let us know please.
Until next time (this very well might be my last time posting on our blogg. Hopefully Susan won't see this.)

The Birthday

Well, today is Kendra's 1st birthday. Time is already flying. I have not learned how to put picture on this computer yet so sorry for that. We had a wonderful time at the party and we thank everyone for coming. Kendra loves all of her new stuff and even enjoys playing with her clothes.

First Steps

Kendra took her first steps yesterday! Andrew was stuck at work but when he found out Kenra was taking steps he came home. This moning she walked a little more sturdy so I hope she can take a few steps at her B-Day party (Pray for good weather). I guess we will have to find her a pair of shoes that fit. I have never heard anyone run into the problem that we have with Kendra's feet. They are cunky so they don't fit into normal baby shoes. We went to payless to try on wide shoes and they still didn't fit. Oh well, we will find the right pair someday!!!!

Kendra's B-day Wish List

A few people have asked what Kendra might want for her B-Day so I asked her. She told me she wears size 24 months (hopefully through the winter months), she likes every thing musical, books, and she wants to be able to sit in a kid backpack when mommy and daddy go hiking, and anything she can put in her mouth.

Well, Andrew wason the air for the first time today. He and I were very excited. He is hoping that this will lead into more on the air stuff but who knows. He has been doing promotion stuff at route 66 the last 2 nights. Kendra and I went down to visit tonight and she loved it so much. Thank God for all the wonderful things he is doing.

* Once again I ask you to pray for us. We are really interested in seeing more college age fellowship between the churches around here. God has always had that on Andrew's heart!!!

Well, it's been a long time since I have written on the blog but we finally have the internet!!! Kendra is doing okay. She is getting more teeth which is good but she has a fever and doesn't want mom and dad out of her sight. I cannot wait till they stop hurting. Andrew is doing well. He preached for the first time in a long time at Banning. It went very well. We have both been praying about doing mission work. Within the next few weeks Andrew got in a car accident. I don't know if that was God telling us to be patient or if he was telling us to do something else. We are now praying about a great multitude of things. Like buying a old/used car, and possibly purchasing and old/used house that needs a lot of work. As you can see we need a lot of prayer. Please pray for our family as we make big decisions and if anyone has advice, we would love to hear it. Thanks for your support. Oh yeah, school for me is a lot of fun but it's also a lot of reading!!

Well, we joined the Banning Church on Sunday! We are so excited. Before we closed the service, Bro. Ray asked the church to pray for our family because he said the devil works extra ####### minister’s lives and families. I know this to be true and he does try to wreck ministries, reputations, and relationships. Everything that has happened thus far has been a blessing from God. I have come to the point in my life that I have realized everyone is human and mistakes will happen but God is faithful regardless if we are. This means He is always there.
When we were searching for God we came across a church in Riverside called Sandals. The first night we went Pastor Matt told the whole church that when he was younger he had struggled with ###########. One night he had a dream about it, woke up and told his wife. The next night his wife prayed for him all night long that God would guide his thoughts. He woke the next morning with no horrible thoughts.
God opened my eyes so much to this. I was so amazed that a pastor would be that honest. I think it helped so many men that were there to realize that once again everyone is human but God can conquer all. It also showed what a wife should do in the circumstances of life. I can honestly say that I have never been taught such a great lesson about marriage at church before. I am glad God made this real.
God had us try a few other places were we heard about missionaries traveling the world and the thousands of people they have seen saved. Blessing after blessing!!!
“Christianity” is so different from what I thought it was. God wants us to have freedom. He wants us to explore thoughts and question (Of course always keep in mind that he is God but he wants to be real). If we are close to God our lives will show that. We will be kind; we will not be afraid to share difficult situations; failures, and excitement with God and other “Christians” and church members; we will want to listen to others problems; we will be able to put down our pride to say “I don’t know”. Sorry for rambling on and on but I love this new found ‘vision’ I have.

Andrew is preaching on Sunday morning August 26th @ Banning so please pray for God to speak to him in the most amazing way!!! Thanks

I also wanted to thank everyone for your fervent prayers for our family!!!

The Banning Church

Well, we spoke with Bro. Ray last night from the Banning church. He gave us great advice as to what we should do with our desire to join the church. We have had much prayer over this and I am so thankful that God has spoken loudly as to what he would have us to do. I know God speaks in a still small voice most the time but this time; it has been the loudest and most bold voice I have heard in a long time. Bro. Ray asked Andrew if he was truly called to preach God's Word to a group/congregation of people. Andrew said yes. There have been many things in our lives that have made me question why God chose Andrew but I know he did. Andrew finally heard the encouragement that he has needed for so long. Bro. Ray told Andrew he is always there for prayer, questions, concerns, and study. He also told Andrew that being a minister was God's call for Andrew (and not anyone else) so he will be accountable not only for his life, and family but also for his ministry. I am so glad that God has led our paths the way he has. Much learning has taken place, and I am so thankful for every second of it, even though there have been pains, God has been faithful to see me and Andrew through.

Why is God so great to us????

Kendra is now clapping very well. Her two little bottom teeth are coming in beautifully and she has learned to shake her head no. She is so cute!!!

Andrew loves his internship and is hoping that it turns into a job. I hope so too.

We are also looking for a place to live. We haven’t found anything that we like yet but I know God has that all planned out already. Just keep us in your prayers please as we are continually searching for God’s truth in our lives.

Camp

Well, we are taking a trip up to camp today. I don't get off work until 6pm but we really want to see our family and friends that we have not seen for awhile. Robbie told us that he would be more than willing to take us up so we are pretty excited to go!!!!

Vacation

Well, we are home! We had a great time at David's and Kate's home and we also got to meet the new baby. He wasn't that tiny anymore but much smaller than Kendra. We all had such a great time with the little munchkins...

Also, while we were gone Kendra had her two bottom teeth come in. She was only sad for a little while. They are so pretty. She also started clapping!!! So Big...

Father's Day

We had a great Father's Day. Kendra went swimming twice and had so much fun. Well, our plans have changed a little. We are no longer going on our big trip but we are still planning to see David, Kate, and Jadon. I started looking at the cost of gas and realized that it would cost a pretty penny to drive that much.

Prayer request: Andrew starts his internship today at 89.7 and he is really excited. Just pray that he can find a new job...

We tried to take Kendra to see Pirates 3 but she didn't want to stay in the theater so we stayed for about 20 min. Thank goodness the Wild Animal park was fun. Kendra liked the goats the best because she almost touched one of them.

Moving???

Kendra has finally started to move. The only problem is that she only moves in reverse. BUT last night she went from a sitting position to a crawling position all by herself. Oh course soon after she face planted and started screaming so we figured it was time for a bath and a book!

Beautiful Babies

Kendra loves to meet all of her friends. She is a lot chunkier than they are and this little one is catching up in height!!!

Kendra loves the doggies a lot. Not so much when they try to kiss her though!!!

Life's to short.

Well, life has been moving fast and yesterday seemed like eight years ago!!! God has truly been moving our family in a great direction. It started with reading a book called "The Power of a Praying Wife." From there God revealed a lot to both Andrew and myself. The book instructs you that you must start on yourself before God can work on anyone in your life. Boy did that happen. After struggling with some doubts God reaffirmed his strength. God has shown us both, places where we are weak and where we need much work. We have found that talking to one another is the best solution to every problem. I praise God for his forgiveness and the forgiveness that he teaches us to do as well because we all need that on a daily basis!
Well, after basically a new beginning (it feels like) we have decided to take a family trip. We figure the only thing holding us back is ourselves. So we are going to be heading north to Oregon and maybe Washington. That all kind of depends on if we are to tired to keep driving!!! Kendra is very excited to go.
Also, keep us in your prayers as we search for a church to regularly attend. God has taken us to a place in Riverside that we think he has called us to but we are praying and studying the New Testament together to make sure that this church follows the scriptures and only the scriptures.

Life

Well, life has been flying by. It has been about a week since the last blog. Everyone is doing wonderful. We think Kendra might be getting a tooth. We have thought that for a long time, but I think she now has an excuse to be grumpy. She is getting sooo big! Andrew is doing great. He only has a couple more weeks of school left. YES!!! He is also moving to a new Starbuck's in San Bernardino, next week. I found out they had put him on a list to move and he really didn't have a choice. Oh well, hopefully it will only be until he graduates. Just continue to pray for our family as we seek God's place for us. I am ready for God to take all of this in His hands. I am so excited to be where God wants us. I really don't know what church God will have us join (of course one that teaches about salvation through Jesus Christ, most important thing) but all I know is I cannot wait to start serving!!

Dispalce Me

Andrew's group of people that were going to attend this backed out so he talked Kendra and me into going. We only stayed for about 3 hours. We had a lot of fun and it was a great experience. We stationed ourselves next to a family with 2 kids and with in on the way. The mother and talk for awhile and she was able to share her testimony with me about her struggle with cancer, not being able to have anymore children, and her pregnancy. She was very sweet and let us use her blanket for Kendra to lie on. The picture that you see is everyone built a hut out of cardboard boxes. This was to demonstrate how the displacement camps actually are in Uganda. We were not able to stay to long so we didn’t get to see how they distribute water and food but they told us how much these children were feed and the fact that they might get one meal a day. They live in constant fear of the rebels. Pray for the children in Uganda and go on the website to check out and see if you can help. www.invisiblechildren.com

Our New Family Pet

Kendra got here first pet today. She picked out her very own fishy. She was very excited and interested in her new pet.

Swimming

Today was Kendra's first time taking a dip in a swimming pool. She loved the water, but loved the water hose even more. Her daddy held onto her very tight, so she was safe in his arms. She is going to be a great swimmer so we are gonna have lots of fun over the summer. Yay!

Invisible Children

Tomorrow Andrew is going to this thing called displace me. It is sponsored by the Invisible Children's group. It is supposed to help raise awareness for the children in Uganda, Africa. He is going to be able to write about it for the school paper. He is pretty excited about that. Pray for these people!!!

Birthday Party

We had our little family party for Andrew. He is getting so old (22). Kendra loved the birthday candles and could not stop looking at them and smiling. I told her she was going to have her own birthday cake in about 6 months!!! The night ended with a story for Kendra and A Night At The Museum for mom and dad!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

BABY

Kendra is so cute! We went to Wal-mart and to the grocery store today. She is such a big girl and sat in a cart all by herself. She was so proud and happy!!! She is growing up way to fast.

Kendra's day with Dad

Today Kendra got her first pair of sandals. They are so cute. She visited her dad at work and met a man from Africa named John. He made her smile a lot. Dad and her spent the whole day together and they had the greatest time in the whole world. It was full of laughter and ice cream and giggles and dancing to some good bluegrass music. Relient K bluegrass style, there's nothing better. Oh oh oh.

Wedding

Last night our family went to a wedding. Everyone thought Kendra was so cute. She was a very happy baby and spent most of the night with Grandma Marcy and Grandpa Tony. She also tried to eat mama's bread. That didn't happen so I gave her some mashed potatoes and she loved it. When we arrived at home she was pretty tired and cranky but around midnight she finally fell asleep!

I have seen other peoples blogs and thought this would be a great way to inform everyone on how our little family is doing!
Kendra just had her 6 month well-check. She was great until she heard the noise of the paper on the table. She is doing great and now weighs 17.5 pounds and is 27 inches tall. She is our little (heavy) bundle of joy and we love her soooo much! She is eating 2 jars of baby food a day, is saying dada, also sitting up all by herself and now is able to push off the ground with her legs. The doctor warned us that we should start baby-proofing the house now!!!
Andrew is starting the last quarter of school for the 2007 school year. He has been doing a wonderful job of balancing school, work, church, and fatherhood. He is now in the process of looking for an internship over the summer months.
Susan is working part-time and being mama!
* If you would not mind praying for our family as we search for the church God would have us serve Him in!!!