The Common Car
I had one of those "you know you live in Southern California when..." moments the other day. I came home and asked Jeremey, "Hey babe, what is that C-A-Y-E-N-N-E car?" I see them everywhere so I am assuming it is maybe a step-up from a Ford. Jeremey responds, "It's a Porsche"..."Really? Are you sure? Cause it is real cute,"I say. Laughter from hubby who says, "you have great taste honey." I was still determined that he might be wrong or that somehow these vehicles would be in my reach so I looked it up on Autotrader...yep, he was right it was a Porsche and USED it cost twice as much as my parents first house...I guess that would take our 60-month car payments to approximately 30 years. I wonder if the car would still be running?

Family Time
For the most part, though we cannot afford the above luxuries, I love where I live. The weather is great, although fairly predictable (sunny) except for the very occasional rain (which causes my house to flood...not so fun). Now that I have two children, I am especially craving more time with my family. We have been incredibly lucky to have my mom here multiple times this Fall and Winter (she comes again next week!!) and my dad was able to make a nine-day appearance at the beginning of January. He is an amazing breakfast chef and I put in my request each day...admittedly my tastes are predictable but I adore his crepes (with berries and whipped cream of course).

My Porsche
Adding sweet Neriyah to the mix has certainly made life full. It is amazing how a little person that only eats, sleeps, and poops can consume nearly all the energy of two-grown people. She went through a phase about a week ago where she would ONLY SLEEP on mom...so I slept half-sitting up all night (waking frequently with that creepy startle...you know like when you doze off in class and then hear the teacher call your name and you try to pretend that you were tracking). One morning, after yet another sleepless night, I jumped on Craigslist and found a swing called "sweet peace" since this is what I was lacking, I decided we would be proud owners by that night. The Porsche of swings, it features a vibrating seat, multiple speed and sound options (including an i-pod dock). Neriyah loves that it moves like the womb and even has a blood/heartbeat sound setting. I am finally getting the luxury of sleep which makes life with an infant and a 2-year-old far more enjoyable.

The Mute Button
Gabriel is definitely two...a lovely age as it is so fun to watch him explore the world but not without its challenges. My son, who has great hearing, seems to have the technical ability to mute my voice (I would like the same feature when he is screaming in the car). Favorites right now for this guy are macaroni and cheese, eating vitamins, drinking chocolate milk, watching the Polar Express, and playing trains...riding trains...yes there is a strong theme in our home right now. He is working on potty training (although we haven't officially started with underwear). M & M's are a great incentive but even greater is that he simply does not like a dirty diaper any longer. Hilariously, Gabe imagines nearly every speck on our floor to be a spider...so several times a day, I hear a scream followed by "SPIDER" (or SNAKE). At the off chance that there is really something to fear, I come to investigate. Typically, I find a string, piece of fuzz or a feather. Clearly my dirty floors make for the nightmares of small children.

Big Bro
Quite honestly, I expected him to be a bit resentful of his sister. Our experience has been much the opposite. He loves to gently kiss her and is still making every effort to teach her how to pray (I think her lack of response when he asks to her to pray baffles him). I'm sure this relationship will change many times over the years but so far he seems to be a really sweet big bro.

Neriyah is already 8 weeks old! What? Time is flying and yet she is gestationally only 1 week old. So, we will not see smiles for nearly two more months...and at 5 lbs. 12 oz. she is just beginning to fit into her newborn clothes. She is nursing like a champ which makes feeding time a shorter and much more meaningful process for me than the pumping and bottles.

Lots more going on in our world in terms of next steps for ministry...I will try to post again soon! For now...Neriyah just woke and is ready for some mama time.