Jastef

Today is my parent's 30th wedding anniversary.
God bless you both in the next 30 :)
We hope you have a wonderful time away together and pray that the Lord will draw you closer to each other and closer to him in the years to come.
We love you guys,
J,S,E&R

We had a very nice weekend! Friday night we had three of our favorite families over for dinner and fellowship; Bettis, Combs and Kempers. We had a great time hanging out with all of them. Every month, one of the 4 families hosts a get together and this month was our turn.
Saturday was a fun day too. I went to get my hair cut in the morning with Rachel and my Mom. We go to San Ramon so it took up the 1st part of the day, but we had such a nice time.
Saturday around 3pm Jason and I painted Ethan's bedroom. Its almost finished; I need to hang some more stuff on the walls and then we need to set up his big boy bed for him.
Today (Sunday) Went to church here in Brentwood and had such a nice time. It was strange only driving 10 minutes to church. We met some very nice people and heard an excellent sermon on The Incredible Walk: Walking With the Identity of Christ.
Jason and I were so encouraged to meet some like minded brothers and sisters here in Brentwood.
After church we went to my parent's house for lunch and Dad made the most delicious shrimp pasta *yum*
He's very good at creating his own dinners and this one is at the top of my list.
Jason and Ethan rode bikes in the front yard for a while when we got home, but its getting pretty cold out there now.
We're going to light a fire and enjoy the evening with each other.
Maybe even go to bed slightly early tonight. :)
Hope you're all doing well.
-Stef

We've had a pretty slow week, since Ethan is sick. I think Rachel might have what Ethan has, but I don't know for sure. When she does cough, it doesn't sound good, but she doesn't cough too often, so who knows.
The weather has been nice around here, so we've taken lots of walks with Nana, gone on walks and to the park as a family and enjoyed just laying low here at home. Ethan has been a very good boy all week. I was telling Jason, its either because he's sick or he's just growing up and out of his naughty faze, but he seems so different! He responds quicker, says "Yes Mommy" and listens so much better. I'd like to think its just over all improvements, but who knows. :)
Rachel is doing well. I realized earlier this week that she needs bottle supplements during the day. She's not getting enough milk from me and so she was fussier and hungry all the time. I gave her a bottle last night and she was SO happy and slept all night long.
I had this same problem with Ethan, so it wasn't really a surprise to me, but it was still hard to deal with. I don't know why nursing is such an emotional thing, but for me at least, it is. :)
I'm happy to know that she is happy and that's all that matters.

We have an exciting month ahead of us! Next weekend the Thomases (my sister and her family) are coming to town! We haven't seen them in so long, or at least it feels like it. Caleb and Trish are going on a cruise and my Mom and I are taking care of their kids for 10 days. Ethan is going to be so excited when he sees them and I've heard the Thomas kids can't wait to meet their cousin Rachel.
While they're here we're going to try and go to the Disney on Ice show in Oakland (we're for sure going and hopefully they can come too) and hopefully the weather will be nice so we can go to the park and go on walks.
Anyway, I'll be posting lots of pictures and probably blogging a lot during their visit.
-S

I got up this morning at 5:30 to feed Rachel and Jason gets up at 5:50, so we got to actually see and talk to each other before he headed off to work. Well, talk to each other when we're both coherent. :)
I realized just how crazy people are who get up super early... its still dark outside!! The moon is up, the birds are sleeping, the kids are sleeping... why would anyone want to get up then?! Oh yeah... to take care of their families. :)
Thank you, baby! I appreciate your hard work. I know it goes against every grain in your body to wake up before the sun does.

Happy Tuesday to you all,
Stef

We had a very full, but enjoyable weekend. Saturday morning we went to my parent's house and enjoyed a delicious omelet breakfast, from Dad. Mom and Emily were at the Women's Retreat in Walnut Creek, with our church, so we spent the 1st half of the day with Dad.
Ethan took his nap at my parent's house, while Jason, Rachel and I went and did some much needed grocery shopping at WinCO. We picked my van up from the shop (getting the front breaks replaced) and then went back to my parent's house for a pizza dinner and hung out there until around 8pm.
Sunday was a very nice day... I have been tired all day though. Rachel slept horribly Saturday night, so I got about two hours of sleep (from 5am-7am) and so I am kind of running on adrenaline right now. :)
We had fellowship lunch at church this afternoon and then went back into the Sanctuary at 2pm to hear three testimonies of people applying for membership. What a blessing! I really enjoyed hearing the testimonies and hearing how God has been so gracious to each person and truly blessed them in their walk with Him.
After the 2 o'clock "service" we came home and had a bunch of people over for the evening; my family, Jason's family and the Stevenson family. We had such a nice time! Ate leftovers, played some games, talked a lot and just enjoyed each other's company. All in all it was such a great evening.
Anyway, we also took some pictures. I will get those uploaded asap.
-Stef