purge!!

So, I have no idea where this energy is coming from (since ry has been on the couch all week with brochitis and a fever), but I have this sudden need to re-arrange and to purge! We got our two bedrooms repainted this week which has inspired me to literally tear our house and storage open and re-arrange. The kids room is done, the hall is almost done, our bedroom is next, the living room will stay the same (not much i can do here in terms of re-arrangement) but will have some new stuff on the walls to brighten it up a bit...i can't wait to attack our bedroom tonight!! i'll show photos soon. it will be a great idea to post photos too because I don't know that many of you or the family out of town who reads this really know what our home looks like since we live in a dormitory. We have a two bedroom with an office apartment and a little back yard. I love our home. it's quick to get cluttered, but warm, mostly peaceful and comfortable.

Many friends will be the happy recipients of my purging, which could not make me happier to bless them with our stuff (and to get rid of it too!!!!!) To those friends, i'll see you Saturday!! If I have anything left, i'll be having a garage sale soon at my in-laws house (since we technically do not have a garage). Do you even just get to a point that you look around and you realize just how much stuff you really have? This is what happened to me and now that most all things that will be kept is now contained in new baskets and boxes, it is now time to get it all out!! : ) sigh...yeah!

Much love to you all!
aly

photos

finally! here are some new photos

prayer and snowglobes

do you ever feel like a snowglobe? you feel calm...peaceful, just sitting boyant in your little world, then someone shakes it all up and everything around you feels disorienting? this is my life the past year...but really january on. not to go into too much detail because again i'm tired from being up with emily at 4am...i just want to ask for your prayer:

1) my dear friend dana had surgery today to remove potentially a cancerous mass from her thyroid. she has two kiddos (3 and 6) and are dear friends of ours. please pray that her tumor is not cancerous and if it is, that it was totally removed.

2) other dear friends of ours, andy collins-his 6 year old daughter, presli is having brain surgery tomorrow to remove or scrape (i' m not sure the exact terms) a spot on her brain that is causing numbness to spread over her body.

3) for our home to be well again-free from fever, bronchitis, ear infections...

and lastly that as we move into this busy season of school, juggling jobs, ministry, parenthood and marriage, we don't loose sight of our true identity-our true home-daughters and sons of God. if i am ever convinced of His presence, it's now-that in the midst of my snowglobe calm, or storm, he is the calm-consistent-never changing (praise Him for that!) presence in my life that is my rock, fortress-i will not be shaken.

thanks for reading. do you ever feel like your life is a snowglobe? find comfort-you are not alone.

an adventure indeed...

so...at 4pm yesterday, emily woke up with a 102 fever...went to bed...we checked in on her several times and she seems cooler. at 4am she woke up with a 105.2 temp!!! through it all, she was a champ! not lethargic (it takes quite a bit to couch this little diva) actually playing tea in the lukewarm tub the nurse told us to put her in and joined in with ryan and sang god of wonders! amazing. so, she was on the couch stripped down to her little undies while we waited for her temp to drop under her night night drinking water and singing to leapfrog's letter factory at 5am while ryan and i were semi asleep semi adrenalene rush trying to monitor her temp and watch the clock till our next phone call to the nurse. in a hour it went from 105 to 99. praise the lord. the rest of the day she slept, woke up...played...colored...laid...played...and now still at 99 degrees, she is asleep. sigh...

what an adventure. i hope to not repeat this one!

i said i'd post new photos, of which i have...but i'm too tired! i'll do it tomorrow.

please pray for our family that will doesn't get this crazy 8hr fever thing. we've been in the thick of getting brochitis and ear infections out of our systems.

off to the in-laws tomorrow..because facilities is painting our bedroom and the kids bedroom!!! yeah!!!

off to bed : )

HOB

so...our valentines day was planned a week late intentionally to avoid crowds and inflated costs. it was my year to plan (we switch off every year, next year, ry plans our 10th wedding anniversary and valentines day) and i had this plan in my mind since december! i can't believe i didn't spill the beans!!!

i bought tickets for the third day show at the house of blues (hob) (one of ry's favorite bands). we had a blast and he was totally suprised. i am super cool!

we had an awesome dear friend courtney who spent the night with the babes so we could get away for the night and we stayed at a local hotel with a 2pm check out, so we slept the morning/afternoon away!! ah...sweet sleep!!!

i am so blessed to have ryan and i love that i got to suprise him with things he loves! (me and third day!)

we are now home enjoying the peace of naptime on the couch with a cup of tea and books (ry is reading a man book-i'm reading evagrius of pontus-i've no idea anything of this desert monk yet, but i'm about to find out-it's for my history and traditions of spirituality class)

how did you celebrate valentines (if you did at all?)?

that's it so far. picking up photos tonight, so i'll post some new photos tonight or tomorrow.
off to read : )

bunk beds...

awe.....my babes are big kids now : (

i very impulsively (but for $375...can't pass that deal up!!) bought bunk beds for the kids. we have dear friends who will be having twins soon (yeah jess and chad!!!!!) and we are giving them will's crib. on top of which he was growing out of and em was growing out of her toddler bed...or rather her little friends in bed with her were pushing her out of bed due to the vast quantity of them sleeping with her at any given moment!!

it arrived today so i've been rearranging furniture to make them fit in their little bedroom. it works! (i'll post a photo soon-em is napping on it right now!) so now i'm waiting for the mattresses to show up. em was so excited to sleep on the top bunk we put her toddler mattress on the top bunk so she could sleep on it!! awe...soooo cute!!!

so here it is, by monday our two little lows will be sleeping on twin beds. no more cribs...no more toddler beds...a new stage in our life. exciting, yet full of memories of our past four years.

my heart swells with love for them and am so thankful they love each other and can sleep in the same room together!!!

have a great weekend friends! we are still getting over this darn cold and now i'm a bit under the weather. hope to kick this soon!

loved...

after almost 10 years of marriage...i just feel so loved. i felt loved before today, but ry sat me down on the couch and seranaded (sp?) me to a song he wrote for me...a gift money could never buy!!

worship with you

days go by
and sometimes it seems
the questions bring more comfort
than the answers
the darkness falls,
and we can lose sight
that this is the place
where our love is forged...into something transcendent
our love it speaks...about someone beautiful

chorus:
if our love is daily lived as a song
each stanza lifting praise
to the one who made our hearts to be one
and through the night and the rise of the day
i will stand here hold your hand
and i will worship with you

pressures mount, and sometimes it seems
that we can barely reach the surface
to breathe the air
yet through it all,
i'm finding my heart
becomes more knit to yours
and love is forged...into something transcendent
and it speaks...about a god who's beautiful!

chorus

bridge:
oh and if all the world could see how thankful i am to love you
cuz you stir up the worship in me do you see
that we were meant to live this way

chorus

i love you ryan.

sick...

the little diva who is emily is sick. so is her brother, will. however, will is still running around and full of life whereas our sweet emily who is usually right in front leading her brother in adventures, stories and playing is on the couch in her pj's trying to smile and be full of life, but she's really just too sick to do anything. bronchitis : ( and a fever park her on the couch yesterday and i figure today as well.

a fun excuse to watch movies with them : ) although their little attention spans only watch it for a bit then play with other things while the movie is on. today's movie: letter factory movies (three of them! leap, lilly and tad's adventures in the alphabet and spelling and reading...) and cinderella. there wouldn't be a movie time without a princess story for our little princess.

please pray she feels better, that her congestion breaks up. at least she can sleep during naps and bedtime without coughing too much. and will has a double ear infection.

btw...anyone have thoughts on kaiser? we are considering changing to kaiser because it's about $300 cheaper a month for our family. we'd end up only spending $60 a month for our family of four-biola picks up the rest. i've heard a mixed bag about it. any thoughts? i'll welcome all.

i'll see if emily is up for a photo so you can see her little face. it's just so sweet, yet sad!! oh..and pray we (ry and i ) stay immune!! we have our valentines get away next week and i want to be well!! it's my year to plan and i can't wait! (if you don't know, we switch off years of planing anniversary and valentines. this year is actually ry's turn, but i took it from him because of the timing of things i can't type here just in the actual event ryan reads this blog!)

okay...off to post one more blog...

suprise

we ran into our dear friend kate at a local coffee shop and we used her photo booth and took this photo : ) here is an updated photo of the kiddos and me : ) the babes are sick at the moment, but still enjoying life : ) arn't they cute??!!

have a great week all!

sleeping...

i slept 9 hours last night!!! but i woke up at 6:15am!! i was going to pray and do my prayer/reading time, but knew i was going to do yoga in 1/2 hour...so i didn't start...either!! i posted a blog on food!! and now, it's 7:45 and i'm still the only one awake! how is that possible?? i should be asleep!!! : )

when was the last time you slept 9 hours? that was a gift. seriously. i've been sooo tired lately. i wonder why? ! grad school, two toddlers, ministry, husband...i think i'll go now and do the dishes from last night. we had the RA's over for soup and corn bread (such a treat!) yes, the soup was a giada dish. ry made it and he did amazing!!

ah...the door just opened...emily is awake!!

food...

do you like food? i happen to LOVE food and LOVE new places. people actually ask me often for referals on everything! breakfast, coffee, lunch or dinners...even dessert! so...if you ever need a place/recommendation, write me and i'll give you one!! i'll figure out someday when i have time to add a link on restaurants. here is a taste of my top picks...

breakfast:
brownstone cafe-downtown fullerton
anything there is amazing and the quaint atmosphere is almost other worldly. you feel like a mini vacation when you sit outside near the fountain, sipping coffee, eating the yummy anything (skillets are great, the french toast is dessert, it's just all yummy!)
go there!

Haute Cakes-costa mesa
if you want to people watch and see the OC that is portraited on tv, this is the place to be on saturdays!! it's amazing!! everyone is beautiful!! BUT...the food is AMAZING! by far, my favorite place to eat breakfast and lunch. HANDS DOWN!!! mid week its mellow and not so crowded by silicone and juicy sweat outfits... : ) what to order...oh my...brioche french toast bejewled with berries and hot real maple syrup...my favorite scramble there-pierre's scramble. it's scrambled eggs with feta cheese, carmelized onions and leaks. i have no words for how much i love this scramble. i may go this morning in fact because as i type this i am drooling!! fresh orange juice, strong coffee, top choice. beware of pricing...it's a bit pricey (it is newport beach unfortunately!) but its' so worth it. courtyard seating...you could even get a homemade cupcake or pastry and coffee and sit and enjoy the sun. there is also a great gardner/florist adjacent to the restaurant that is inspiring and totally overpriced, but buying a couple flowers is always a treat. my favorite morning-haute cakes, walking down the way to butera and wandering through the furniture store for inspiration (insanely pricey, but amazing ideas to duplicate!) and buying a coffee to go and walking around balboa island. sigh...

Lunch:
haute cakes as well as brownstone. both have great food!! brownstone-order the famous tomato basil soup. amazing!! haute cakes order the brie and pear sandwich. it's sweet with balsamic vinegar and just unique and awesome!
let's see...market city cafe on birch street...i LOVE their salads. caprese salad...mixed green salad with the soft fresh mozz. cheese and balsamic tomatoes with an arnold palmer YUM!!! then you can walk up and down birch street and shop!!

Dinner:
oh man..how do i narrow it down...
japanese:
midori-this little place in la mirada has such great deals on sushi and teriaki chicken...and quick service. i think they are believers or at least like "the fish" 95.9 because its what they play in the background. awesome prices and i spilt teriaki chicken between me and the kiddos and it's only 7 bucks!!! ry and i split the washington roll and you get free miso soup. the ambiance is nothing to write about...but it's yummy and quick!

italian:
by far my favorite food. i am a food network giada junkie!! but...where to go...MAGGIANOS!!
i am not one for chain places, i like to find little places...but their food is soooo splitable and soooo amazing i would be remise to leave it out. order the $10 appetizer of mushroom al forno for your entree, it's the perfectly creamy baked ravioli i've ever had and the perfect portion. the maggiano's salad (iceberg lettuce, pancetta, red onion, bleu cheese and some amazingly light sweet dressing that binds it all together!!) is the best thing to start out with. dessert...tiramisu. splitable...creamy, the best around in my opinion (and i try this dessert everywhere i go!) if you don't like ravioli, joey d's rigatoni is another favorite and even ordered 1/2 portion is splitable. make a reservation and you won't have to wait hours to enjoy this place!! costa mesa in the parking lot of south coast plaza next to sears.

roman cucina...amazing! a little loud...but unique and dark (great date night place!). do NOT order anything else but the lemon pasta. if you are not a fan of shrimp, then ask for chicken. this is SOOO worth the lactose intolerant tummy ache!! this lemony creamy goodness is the best and i have no other words to describe...just try it!! splitable too.
dessert-order the cannoli. ry's favorite cannoli around is this one. the tirimisu is not bad either, but maggiano's is still best. i order the italian wedding soup instead of the salad b/c it's very heavy on parmesan cheese. but, if you like parmesan cheese, this salad will be your favorite!! two locals-costa mesa and DT fullerton. GO!

mexican:
el farolito-placentia
this place i've gone to since i was 7 and now all the kids i knew who bussed the tables now run the family biz!! the best and most crowded hole in the wall mexican food around. if you have the guts...shrimp diavolo. order sour cream and milk on the side to calm your mouth down. the nachos supreme appetizer are a meal themselves...order with sour cream and guac on the side and seriously, everytime you order this the nachos will look different. piled mile high with carne asada, cheese, beans, etc...it's the best.

okay...so...that's my fav places so far. i know i have more. but...so far that's it!