Decision '08...

I just finished reading up on all the propositions and I think I have finally decided on my votes for all those. My final decision for president has not been made yet. I know where I am leaning towards, but I feel as though I need to look up some other issues and views this person has in order to make my final decision. I'm not someone who likes to share their political views, but I just thought I would let you know where I'm at. I may let you in on who I vote for if I feel like I can make a good enough argument to defend my choice. :-)

Pumpkin Patch...

We went to the pumpkin patch on Friday with my mom. The pumpkin patch at Live Oak Canyon next to the 10 Freeway is super awesome. They have u-pick pumpkin fields, pumpkins that are already picked that you can choose, horse rides/petting zoo, a corn maze, bounce houses (not my favorite), ATV rides, hay rides, and a hay castle. It just feels like fall when you go there. I bought Addie a tiny pumpkin and I got another small pumpkin for our house. Next year will be lot's of fun and Addie will be able to pick out her own pumpkin. Enjoy the pictures!

If you want an update on Addie you can click here.

Burning Ring of Fire...

Yesterday marked my first call to 911 and hopefully my last call. At about 4:45 yesterday afternoon I turned on my oven to preheat it for our dinner. When I saw that the oven was ready for the food I walked over to it and saw flames inside. I opened it up and looked to see that some oil that had spilled (from a previous dinner) was on fire. The flames weren't horribly big so I thought that maybe I could blow on them (I know I'm dumb... I was fanning the flame). This obviously made them bigger and I closed the oven. The flames went down a bit because of the lack of oxygen, but I thought I better call 911 to have the fire department come out and check on it. The 911 operator was very nice and stayed on the phone with me until the fire trucks arrived. He was very nice and we carried on some polite conversation. The fire trucks arrived a few minutes later. First a smaller "pickup" size truck came down, then the big fire truck and then on the main street next to mine was another one. They told the third one to leave when the saw my entire house was not burning down. My first initial thought when they arrived was that my house was messy and I looked like a mess. :-) They went in and I guess put it out. I didn't see since I was in the front room with Addie. They brought out a fan and some fire deodorizing spray and were gone within 20 minutes.

I am very grateful to the Riverside Fire Department. They were very nice and super cool about everything. Needless to say, I going out today and buying a small fire extinguisher. Oh yeah... and I'm scrubbing out my oven. :-)

Today is my Birthday...

28 years ago today my mom gave birth to me. Thank you mom for going through labor. I now have a better understanding of what hard work that is. :-) Last year around this time I made a list of 27 things to do before I turned 27. Here is that list and what I did and did not accomplish:

1. Read 27 Books (Fiction & Non Fiction)
I'm pretty sure I met this goal. I forgot to count. But I did finally finish Blue Like Jazz. I really liked it a lot and now I am making a goal to read a book I got at Christmas last year by Donald Miller called Through Painted Deserts.
2. Be a better leader
I'm working on this everyday, I hope that I have been able to lead students in a better way
3. Visit at least one new state
This one was shot down when I got pregnant
4. Run a half marathon
Same as above.
5. Write an article for a youth journal or something similar
I have many thoughts but nothing yet on paper
6. Write at least 10 scripts for youth ministry
I think I wrote one and I have this other idea that keeps floating around in my head and it's actually a musical of sorts.
7. Take at least 4 more graphic design classes
I have taken 1 and a half (I had to go on modified bed rest during my spring class). I will begin taking classes again this Spring
8. Work out three times a week
I was until I went on modified bed rest during my pregnancy
9. Play the keyboard/piano more
I don't think I played once this year.
10. Finish my wedding and college scrapbooks
Nope, but I did start on my London scrapbook.
11. Be an awesome wife
I strive to do this one everyday. Some days are good, some days are not so good. :-)
12. Buy my first house
Possibly starting this process soon.
13. Take a cooking class
Nope
14. Start a discipleship group with teenage girls
Nope
15. Buy a Mac computer
Nope
16. Be an awesome aunt
Trying.. I don't get to see my nephew that often though... so sad. 17. See a TV show taping in L.A.
Nope
18. Go back to London
Nope, not this year, maybe next year.
19. Go camping
Nope
20. Go on a week long vacation with my husband
Went on vacation to San Diego, not a week long but it was still nice.
21. Start designing stuff for people & churches
Nope
22. Eat healthier
Pregnancy helped this. Having my daughter did not. I'd say I did good about 3/4 of the year
23. Volunteer somewhere other than at church
Nope, but I would like to do this when Addie gets a little older and I can leave her for a little longer
24. Connect better with friends
Somewhat... I'm not the best friend. I'm super forgetful and a bit of a procrastinator when it comes to calling and emailing people back
25. Work on being less stressed
I think I did the best with this... I still get stressed about things, but I think I am doing better everyday
26. Ride Space Mountain at Disneyland
Pregnancy kind of shot this one down too.
27. Be more faithful in my quiet times with God
I did well with this until I had a baby... now I need to make more of an effort to find time to spend with God.

Overall, I didn't meet many of my goals from last year so I am not making a list for this next year. I am going to try to accomplish some goals without writing them down. I did have a baby thoguh and that was a long term goal so I think that can take over and count for like half of the goals I made last year. :-)

Brilliant Bows...

I have tried to put bows and headbands in Addie's hair from day one. At first all I had were some headbands from Target, but then I was introduced to Brilliant Bows. A girl I went to college with started this business and I love that she did. Thanks to someone giving us a gift certificate to the website we now have a whole lot more bows. If you have a daughter or know someone who does and they like to wear bows in their hair check out this website. They have all different types of bows and they are specially designed to fit either an infant or toddler. They are also great for infant girls who don't have much hair. She made sure of that. Check it out!

Addie loves wearing her bows:

My daughter likes shoes like her mom...

Some Addie Pics...

There is an update and some pics on Addie's website. Non-Addie post coming soon.

Addie...

To get an update on Addison you can go here.

If I had been born just a little earlier...

There is this website circulating around the internet right now called Yearbook Yourself. You should go check it out. This is what I would have looked like if I had graduated in 1974, which is when my parents did. I am putting a picture of me and then my mom in 1974 up and you can see the eerie resemblance. Well at least the hair. :-)

Sorry mom to post your picture. I think you look pretty though.

God Loves You...

God loves us no matter what, but how come we can't always wrap our brains around this? If you are a parent you love your child no matter what they do. Right? God loves us the same way, yet I think we just get into the daily routine of life and forget this (I know I'm generalizing and this isn't everyone). God loves us in a completely unconditional way. This means under any circumstance that we may encounter he loves us. This means that no matter how much we think we've sinned he still loves us. I try communicating this to my students all the time: No matter what you do God will always love you even if you feel like you have the crappiest life and it seems like no one is there. I write this because I know that there is a lot of hurting people out there and a lot of people who think they have to do it on their own.

So... remember today when you think you are all alone or you may have done something stupid that God loves you for who you are, flaws and all.

Check It Out...

My friend Sarah just started a blog. She's a pretty awesome person and amazing youth worker. Go check it out!

A Video

I figured out how to post videos on youtube and below is my first Addison video. I know I have now officially entered the mommy world when you can hear me talking in a higher pitched voice than usual on the video.



I hope you enjoyed this little video. I'm sure there are a lot more to come.

Some New Pics...

I have a few moments while my daughter is happily sitting in her bouncer to post a few new pictures of Addison. She is now 5 weeks old and still doesn't have her nights and days figured out, but hopefully she will figure it out soon. Enjoy the pics...

Introducing Addison Rose Lovato...

We Did It!

Addie has finally arrived! She came into this world on Wednesday, July 23rd at 5:28am. She was 20 inches long and 9 pounds 13 ounces. If you would like to see pictures of her you can check out her blog here.

Once I get the hang of this parenting thing :-) I will post more blogs.

I've got hobbit feet and I'm ready for some action...

My feet are pretty much swollen all the time right now unless I don't walk on them all day. When I do elevate my feet though the swelling goes down pretty much to nothing. I'm hoping that Addie will come any day now (actually any minute would be even better).

People keep telling me that "the first one always comes late." Not true. I came a week early and I was the first one. None of my moms kids came late. I'm pretty much set out to prove all those people wrong so I'm hoping this girl gets here within the next week. Even the nurses at my NST appointment saw that I was scheduled to come in this morning and they said they actually checked to see if I'd already had the baby. One of the nurses said that I've been coming in so long that she thought surely by now I've popped this baby out. Obviously not the case when they saw me.

I will be 39 weeks on Monday. Pregnancy is sooooo long the last few weeks.

In my family both my sister and I are born on our grandma and grandpas birthdays, my brothers birthday is the day before my other grandmas birthday. So, my moms birthday is Tuesday. I 'm thinking that Addie is just waiting to come out and share her birthday with her grandma.

Let's just hope she comes out soon, like tonight... or maybe tomorrow... because tonight would be too quick and I'm gonna need that epidural!

Kaiser must think I'm a single mom...

On Tuesday night I had signed up for a class at Kaiser. This class was all about teaching you to breastfeed your baby (sorry for the explicitness) :-) ! Mike and I had decided a while ago that he didn't need to come, after all he's not going to be the one feeding the baby so what would he really need to know. Apparently I didn't get the memo that said you should bring your husband because out of the 15 people that were there I was the only one without a significant other. It's a bit awkward to simulate feeding a baby with 7 other men in the room. (This coming from me and I'm not super shy about things). The nurse kept shooting me these sad looks every time she would say something about your spouse bringing you the baby at night, etc. I thought it was a little bit rude, but mostly funny. One of the other nurses had to be my partner to show me what it will be like when my spouse hands me the baby at night. This nurse preceded to ask me if my husband wasn't here because he was working. I said that he sort of was (he was supposed to be working on his message for Wednesday night). I told her he was a pastor and working on his message and she asked me, "Wow! How did you snag a minister?" I was a little caught off guard and told her we just happened to meet in college. After this we didn't talk again, so I didn't have to explain anything more to her. Overall, the class was pretty informative, but it's a bit hard to simulate feeding a doll as opposed to a baby that actually moves. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully soon! :-)

A website for our daughter...

I set up a blog to post pictures of Addie and to update people on her life once she arrives. You can check it out here. Enjoy!

Any day now...

Addison has three more weeks till she is supposed to arrive but I'm okay with her coming any day now. Everything is pretty much as ready as it can be for her to come. I'm excited for her to get here so we can see what she looks like. Above are some pictures of her room. All we have left is to get a mattress, but she won't need that for another month or so. All my tests have been looking good, so we just have to wait and see how everything goes when she finally gets here. Thank you for all you prayers and encouragement during this time. We truly appreciate it!

An Update on Addison Rose...

I'm sorry for those who read my blog that I haven't updated in a while. It's been a crazy few weeks. I have seven more weeks to go and everything aches. My back, my belly, my feet, my back, my sides. Did I mention my back? :-) I have to go in twice a week for non stress tests and every two weeks to a special doctor. They found some extra fluid by Addie's heart, so please be praying that she comes out healthy. The one great thing about going to the "special" doctor every two weeks is that we get to have new ultrasound pics of our daughter all the time. I'll post them below so you can see how cool they are and they also did those creepy 3D pics, but ours look pretty awesome and we didn't have to pay any money for them.