psalms

can i tell you how much i love the book of psalms?  yesterday was a beautiful and sad day.  my dear friend tim and his wife amy said goodbye to their son of whom they only knew during  9 months of pregnancy and 4 days of life.  another old friend played a very old song he wrote music to the words of psalm 46.  god is our refuge and our strength, and ever present help, therefore we will not fear...thank you Lord for being our strength!  i pray you continue to be tim and amy's and their girl's strength.  

also for class today (my last class for the summer!!!) i need to memorize psalm 8.  i love this-the fact that my professor is having us memorize a psalm.  when was the last time i memorized scripture?!?  sadly to admit, i can't because it was so long ago.  so...no more procrastination.  off to get a fresh cup of coffee here at panera in my usual booth to sip my favorite morning friend and continue to memorize psalm 8 and the answers to the questions on the test.  by 4pm i'll be done and on my way to see my best friends at the spaghetti factory to celebrate!!  

what are you doing this weekend?  we are also celebrating ryan, emily and my sis in law nikki's birthdays tomorrow with a big summer bbq!  i can't wait!!  sigh...great weekend ahead!

okay...off to memorize!

my favorite..

my favorite little man...i know this photo was about 7 months ago (note long hair on aly and short hair on will!) but i saw this in my iphoto and forgot about this shot and i just fell in love with it again.  oh how i LOVE having a little guy.  my favorite things about him right now...

1.  his temper tantrums.  emmy never had these.  he CRACKS me up!  (it's frustrating too, but mostly hilarious!) he asks me for something...i say, "go get it and i'll show you how to do it" he asks again-because he doesn't want to go get it, he wants me to go get it..and i say again go get it.  he huffs...walks into the other room and punches the couch with a loud grunt.  it seriously cracks me up.  by far the funniest thing so far!  i'm trying to learn the line between allowing him to be a little boy and be physical and rough and also the line where he needs to know to share and not throw and hit.  i don't think he does this yet (at least what i've observed) but having a little guy is new territory for me!!  

2.  his words.  he didn't talk for a long time.  now he talks all the time and has such a great little vocabulary.  i love his voice and words.  'right thhheeerrree' as he points to a bug or cup or item he wants...he says it all sing song-y...it's so cute!!  

3. his humor.  he LOVES youtube and they have these french animated penguins that he LOVES and he dances around to the music and knows the little moves the penguins make.  he also loves danze avec igor.  he jumps and dances to the little monkey.  he's more literate in youtube that i!  but he dances around, making up silly songs, tackling his sister to the ground and laughing, then if we are cracking up more...he just knows he got us going and tries for more.  i love it!

so...there is an update on will.  our little 2 1/2 year old wonder guy.  i'll have to take a photo of him in the pool.  he has these 2T swim trunks he wears, but has NO toosh or hips to hold them up, so he's low riding like the surfer guys all the time!  seriously, the only fat on that kid are his face cheeks and bootie cheeks!  they just aren't fat enough to hold his trunks up! : )  

i love...

i love my friends. i love my grad program. i love wednesday girl night outs...i love the conversations we have...i love the questions they ask...i love that ryan watches the kids and knows how important my time with the girls is and is thankful to be mr. mom...i LOVE the lemon cream shrimp pasta at roman cucinas...i LOVE the tirimisu...i love family style ordering and sharing food... (GO TO Roman Cucina's in Fullerton-there is one in Costa Mesa TOO!)

i love so many more things, but last wednesday was pretty great. i love you cate, abbie, charity, lauren, kim (and amy and grace and dez and the other charity who were not there that night...) let's book the next one!

holy holy holy

so i was listening to whisperings (my study/homework music of choice!) while in panera bread doing my homework before class and then it clicked off and revelation song began to play on my itunes. i had no idea that it was going to do that...but i had this 5 minute worship time in panera.  listening to that song rather than learning it and singing it in the car - i began to cry!i literally closed my eyes, bowed my head and worshiped in panera... 'with all creation i sing-praise to the king of kings...you are my everything...' man, how i wish he was always my everything! but...isn't that the beautiful part about our lord? while sitting in panera...drinking my smuggled starbucks coffee and writing about erickson's view on sin (my homework for theo II)...that we are forgiven...he died and rose again for our sin...holy holy holy is the lord god almighty who was and is and is to come. oh lord...sweet lord come soon!  

i have a old friend from high school whom i still adore, tim allen.  he and his wife just had a baby boy this week, and three days later, he passed away.  this is the third friend of mine in three years to have to say good-bye to their son.   oh lord come soon for tim and amy in their grief, for jay and dee in their grief, for the leveasheff and their grief...oh lord-come!!! those little ones get to sing with creation in heaven while we sing here on earth. they will never know sin...even though we do and we grieve over sin and over loss on this earth...we can still sing with all creation of his great power and love. i can't wait to sing this song in church in two weeks. i can't wait to introduce it to the congregation...oh, i pray they don't hear me, but hear the words and sing with all creation to the great king of kings.  that they will sing, holy holy holy is the lord god almighty, and know it in their core that he is holy, even in tragic times. 

download this song:

revelation song by gateway worship on the living for you album.   

pray for tim and amy and their two little girls as they wrap their heads around the loss of river. pray as the spirit would lead you.  for affording a funeral/memorial service, for healing from birth and going home empty handed...for moving into a new home july 1 and having all kinds of boy clothes and crib and baby stuff that doesn't get to be used...pray for community to surround them (as i know they are!!)...for their two little girls who have to try to understand they don't have a brother here on earth anymore...thank you friends.  

Our home...

Our home, in Hart Hall at Biola is under MAJOR construction this summer.  Below are photos I took as of Saturday...I'll post some more later this week when I get some updated ones.

This is the new RA office, the old vending machine area
To the left, the new RA office, to the right, the old RA office, the new vending machine area
This is a photo from the lobby of the new ceiling they are dropping with beams and recessed lighting
Front view of the new RA office.  Not as big as I thought it would be...at all!  I think there will be room for their desk, book case, fridge and a small side chair.   :(  I wished it was bigger!!  Oh well...at least they will have a new space with AC!!  Yeah!!

so, for the moment, we are still in Placentia...MELTING!!!  The AC is broken at my inlaws house and I don't blame them for not fixing it with the cost of energy...but omgosh!!  i'm so melting!!  The poor babes are waking up from the naptime all toasty pink and sweaty - cute a cuddly, but HOT!!  We basically live at the local fountain in fullerton.  (i'll post those pics once we take them!)

How is your summer?  Off to a girls night out (YEAHOO!!!) at Roman Cucinas (one of my favorite places for food...this summer I vow to learn how to make a side link to post my fav restaurants and reviews of them since y'all always ask me for places to go)  OH!!  my favorite place that is new to me...but old...

The Beachcomber at Crystal Cove.  Pricey food...BUT...park and walk to the beach, play in the water, get a yummy cocktail at the bar and that receipt pays for your parking.  It was like being at surf camp as a kid in youth group all over again!  I WANT to book a crystal cove beach cottage for a fun family get a way!!  Anyway...that was so super fun on Monday (our date day, thank you heather!)  we had planned to use our Disneyland passes, but it was too dang hot!  So we went to the beach...it was awesome.  Felt like summer!

What feels like summer to you?  

love to you all!

Cool new date night!!!!

Okay, so it's not super original-dinner and ice cream. BUT...the places that we have just gone to are AMAZING and you NEED to go support these local businesses!!! And, i'm all for small little non-chain restaurant places with charm.

Downtown Fullerton-last week we had a girls night out (YEAH YLFC ladies!!!) at Ziings

www.ziings.com. GO!! It's an awesome chinese restaurant sort of like PF Changs, but cooler and a bit quieter (but still great atmosphere).

Here is what to order (if you need help-but the wait staff is great!)

Lettuce Wraps

Ziings chicken and mongolian beef for a meal

Pineapple spring rolls...TOTALLY sharable and crazy amazing.

Dessert-it's a little drive from Ziings, and is actually super fun to do if you are at home all day and have dinner and want to get out with the kids. We have LOVED doing this once a week and hope to continue during the summer.

Capriccio Gelato-Fullerton (in the Target/Old Navy center) (actually directly underneath the Amerige apartments)

Pannacotta (sp?) is Ry's favorite. It's like hazelnut.

Cappuccino and cookies and cream (you can have 2 choices per bowl!!) for aly

The kids get watermelon cones. And it tastes just like a watermelon. You can sit outside, enjoy the summer evening, the kids can get all soggy with ice cream and just have a fun night.

So. GO and support these two businesses. BTW...from a previous post, Ziings is right next door to Roman Cucina, still one of my favorite, if not my favorite italian restaurant. Lemon cream shrimp. Get it. There is NOTHING like it!!

Okay...if you have any cool local restaurant suggestions, lemme know! I'm always lookin' for something fun and new.

Adjusted...

I think i'm adjusted to our new summer and space here in my in-laws lovely home.  Here are some of the things I love about being here:

1) FREE LAUNDRY! 

2) The late afternoons after naptime in their backyard.  The fountain is running, the kids are laughing and playing and it's so fun to make a meal and eat it in the backyard and just be lazy out there

3) My in-laws!  After a meltdown of being tired and dealing with change w/o Ryan being here, my dear ed and linda, whose hearts are so generous, let me bawl in the kitchen over a loaf of bread! (after not having food b/c of needing to grocery shop, and barely sleeping and moving for two days, the fact that we were eating their food was a gift, but I seriously lost it over a loaf of bread!) I loved staying up last night and watching "so you think you can dance" with my ed (dad in law).  

4) Tri City Park-we are a block away from a park where Ry and I grew up and it's so nice to walk there in the morning to go play.  

I know I love so many more things about being here (like NO CONSTRUCTION NOISE!).  I'll write more later.  I'm sure more will come when Ry arrives tonight.  Seriously, the longest week ever w/o him!

Enjoy your weekend.  It's almost here!

Emmy's first trip to the Dentist!

Taking "pictures" of her teeth : )
Her excitement in waiting to see the photos of her teeth
Her "photo" aka x-ray
Yum...bubble gum toothpaste!

Today was a banner day in the Low house!  Emily took her first trip to the dentist like a pro!  The only thing she was nervous about was the light in her eyes so the dentist could see her teeth (he was kind to turn it off for her!) and the air gun thing that dries your teeth out.  He let her hold it and push the buttons to test it out and to see that she'd be okay.  I'm so proud of her!!  here are the photos from her first dental cleaning : )  

P-Town

With all the construction going on in our hall this summer (two new lobbies, our new bathroom, new courtyard and the modernization of the fire alarm system) we opted to move from the chaos and banging and ringing to head back to our roots (P-town means, Placentia). We (ry and I) if you don't know this already, grew up together (since 3rd grade, we even had a class together, our 3rd-4th grade was a combo class and i was in 3rd and he was in 4th!) and we moved back to his home with his parents this summer.  It is an adjustment.  I LOVE his parents, that's not the adjustment.  It's living not in your own home, where you can watch what you want to watch, be in a part of the home where you want to be...leave stuff around and be lazy about cleaning b/c you can... i don't feel that freedom yet.  I will.  I just don't yet.  I'm adjusting.  It's just not our home.  Is this indicative to what it will be like next summer when we actually finally move out of hart hall, our beloved home for 8 years?  feeling like adjustment is coming earlier than i had hoped.  sigh...

ry is also gone at an ACSD (don't know what it means, sorry, something conference for student development??!) conference in Ohio.  I'm so stoked for him to get some R&R with his collegues, but wish he was here while we all adjusted.  The kids are particularly squaky (sp?) and adjusting to a new bed and room...new stuff...we will survive and make it work!!  there is a lovely park within walking distance, they have an AWESOME backyard so we can run around, play, catch bugs and butterflies...their cousins come by often so we can all hang out together, free laundry (yeah!!), and a beautiful home/roof over our heads.  I am so grateful for my in-laws and the relationship i have with them that we can live under one roof for a summer...it's just not our home and an adjustment.  

thanks for letting me process.  any summer plans for you?