Christmas time, come and gone. Just wanted to put up a few highlights of my Christmas time this year. Went up to my mom's house on Saturday. Actually I went up Friday night after doing a worship set for a Set Free ministry in Escondido. Spent the day shopping with my mom and helping prepare the dinner. It was so much fun. Kinda miss doing that with her now that I live an 1 1/2 away. Jeff took the boys around to see his side of the family. Their first visit was to their Papa Danny (Jeff's dad). They had a nice time there.

Then onto seeing Uncle David and Auntie Rachael and Morgan. IT was so cute cause my boys got these toys from Mc Donald’s that were for girls and thought that Morgan would just love them and they wrapped them up to give to her. They were right, she loved them. I think cause she knew it was from their hearts as well. Oh, and they wrapped a tooth brush for her as well. I don't know, again, it was just from their heart.

Then Jeff took them over to see Uncle Darren and Aunt Nadyne. However, she was out shopping with her mom (as I was also at the time) :) but they saw their Uncle Darren. It was a nice time there (they got to play with Peanut, their toy poodle).

After all that we all met back at my mom's house for a wonderful dinner. My brother was very late but there none the less. We all exchanged gifts and everyone enjoyed each others presence. My mom got me gift cards to Ulta (hair and makeup Mecca) and to Starbucks (Mmmmm Chai Latte). I was surprised to get anything really cause a few weeks before she paid for me to get my hair done. That was totally awesome cause it was so long over do and, I love the new "do" we created as well. Trying to grow my hair out hasn't been easy. That will be a while another blog. :) It's so good to spend time with my mom and dad. Kinda miss having them near by.

Christmas Eve was spent at church as we had great time of fellowship. Had a candle lighting service where Christy and I led worship and sand Christmas songs. Then we ate tamales with our Spanish speaking brothers and sisters at our church. Then went back to our house and opened gifts from each other. Got some really AWESOME stuff. Jeff got me $100 in spa certificates and Christy got me a watch, a beautiful picture that I wanted for my house (which I went to go get and mysteriously it was already bought...never even thought that Christy got it.) and Pooky. I'll take pictures tonight and upload them tomorrow. Oh, and she also gave my entire family the gift of seeing the Nutcracker Suite. Her mom Ully got me something cool too - a DVD on massage therapy. That's a gift that keeps on giving (to all those around me) :)

Christmas day was awesome as well. It felt so good to bless my kids with gifts. I have never been a real big fan of the whole Santa thing with my boys. Just kinda got started with the first one (family and all) and it was hard to keep it from the second. Jeff and I decided that we are no longer going to be living this Christmas lie and wanted to get the holiday back to it's original purpose - to celebrate Jesus' birth. So, we told our youngest son Garret that there's no such thing as Santa, but that long ago there was a man who would give toys to children but he died many years ago. But, there's one that still lives that we need to celebrate this season...and we shared with him the birth of Jesus and the importance of His sacrifice. He took it well and now we can leave the lie behind us all. :)

I got so many wonderful things and I want to thank everyone. I hope all of you that read this had a wonderful Christmas this year.

Just wanted to wish everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! Please remember its not about the gifts given or received, or even about the ham or turkey you left in the oven too long...but this is the time we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus. Without His sacrifice, we all wouldn't have any hope.

Hello to you all! Sorry I've been slacking on writing here. I always wonder who's reading this anyways...maybe I'm just babbling on about nothing to myself...who knows.

Anyhow, I wanted to just share a bit about my last weekend. Totally meant to put this up yesterday. I got a Christmas present early. Don't you love it when you get those! I was just minding my own business this last Sunday, waiting for my best friend Christy to come over and help me wrap presents (I had to hurry and wrap hers up before she got there - wouldn't be too good if I had her help me wrap that one huh). I had boxes, paper, gifts, EVERYTHING laid out all over my bed. Looked like Christmas threw up all over. Then, there's a knock at my bedroom door. I asked who is it (thinking it's my kids and I don't want them to see the presents all over) my friends voice came through "It's me". I got excited cause I really needed help with all the Christmas that threw up all over the bed. So I threw open the bedroom door to see my Christy, standing there all dressed up nice with pretty earrings in her ears and her hair up and pretty and she smelled good too (not that you normally don't my friend). I was surprised by her wrapping attire and asked "Umm, you're dressed really nice to help me wrap". That's when with a big smile she handed me a card and yelled "Merry Christmas!" I opened the card and it told me to get ready NOW cause at 5:30pm (only a few hours away) my whole family was being taken to see the Nutcracker Suite and the San Diego Civic auditorium. YAY!!!!! I jumped for joy and quickly got my dirty little boys all cleaned up and handsome and threw some stuff on my self (got to wear my pearls, it was fun!)

This was such an awesome present on so many levels. I was able to see the Nutcracker (that I haven't seen since Jr High and it's just my most favorite too!) with my family. I had been wanting my boys to see it just forever and give them a great experience. They so enjoyed it which made me enjoy it even more.

Thank you again my dear friend Christy. This early gift was a total surprise and very thoughtfully planned out. You gave from your heart and it will be a memory that I will carry forever, and so will my family. :)

Oh my goodness I had so much fun yesterday. We went to a women's tea thingy that I totally didn't want to go to but my best friend talked me into it. I'm so glad she did. We spend Tuesday night shopping for awful dresses to wear and get all silly fancy. I think we did a good job accomplishing that. :) We had tea and cute little finger foods that were almost too pretty to eat (notice I said almost...they were yummy!)

Here's a few pic's from the event.

Hello and happy Tuesday to you all! I actually got thru the Thanksgiving holiday unscathed. :) It actually was a wonderful time at my mother in laws house in Arizona. My boys had such a great time just being boys out there. They rode their bikes, shot their BB guns and just had fun. Jeff and I had a great time too getting up at 3am to get to all those great holiday deals the day after Thanksgiving. We actually got some REALLY great ones. One of my favorite buys was a Casio EXILIM digital camera- it's super nice. I've included a few pic's from the camera here in my blog. We also got the boys some great stuff as well. I would put it on here but on the off chance my oldest figures out this blog and sees it, it would be hazardous. :)

My mother in law has this cute puppy too named Midge. She's about 6 months old. She's a chihuahua mix with something else. She kinda looks like a miniature German Sheppard.

Well, looking forward to Christmas now. The next month's blogs will probably be all about the holiday's and all the craziness that will take place in my house. Enjoy!

Well, it's almost Thanksgiving. This is really my favorite holiday. Kinda feel bad for it cause it gets skipped over so many times. The retail world jumps from Halloween straight to Christmas without giving our little Turkey friend a second thought. But really, this is an amazing time to reflect all that we are thankful for. So in this blog, I would like to share my thankfulness.
I'm thankful so much for my beautiful children - Ethan and Garret. Althought this is hard to write at the moment cause they've stomped on my very last nerve today however, maybe this is the best time to get my heart and mind back into perspective. I love them so much. Ethan has a heart of gold and he prays every night for the people in South Africa for their hearts to be open to the gospel of Christ when he comes to share it with them. Garret's laugh will make anyone's heart joyful. His blue eyes melt you and his hugs warm you all up. I'm thankful that God has blessed me with these wonderful boys.

I'm very thankful for my best friend Christy Edge. She means so much to me. I can't ever imagine picking anyone better to be that person to me in my life. Not that she's always nice and let's me have my ay but because she's open and honest enough to point out those dark places in my heart that God's needs to refine. And she doesn't do it in an arrogant way, but a loving way that leads me closer to Jesus. She doesn't come up under me, but stands beside me in all situations, still allowing the Lord to lead into he way He want's me to go. She's helped me see who God created me to be and to learn to love that person inside. She's cried with me, laughed with me and even hurt with me. Thank you Lord for sending me Christy to share your light and to encourage me in this life.

And I would also like to say I'm thankful for Jeff, my husband. Although over the past year I would say it's been difficult but, I'm thankful. He's really changed over the last year. He's a wonderful father to my boys. They have "Man Night" every Tuesday and just to see how they look forward to that encourages me. He's become a great provider for this family. Just recently got a great city job and it's really filled that financial gaps. And he's learned to listen to me more and to help where he can. I know he's starting to see the Franny God created and is trying to get to know and love her the way God intends.
I'm also thankful for my mom and dad. They have helped me so much in life. I can't even list all the things they've done for me, it would be a huge list. However, I do want to mention one thing - they have always believed in me. No matter what new venture I was on, they stood with me believing I could do anything. They have bought me so many instruments and such that have really helped me get musically where I am today. Thank you so much for believing in me mom and dad.

Most of all I have to thank Jesus for the sacrifice He made for me. That even when I was yet a sinner, he died for me. His love has no comparison and no boundaries. I am thankful for His unending grace and mercy that I seem to need on a daily basis yet, it never runs out. God, you truly amaze me in all that You are. That you created the universe and named every start yet, formed me in my mother's womb and gave me a purpose and a plan, for good and not evil. Thank you Lord for giving me hope in this life. You are truly amazing.

Oh my gosh!!! I just totally came across the funniest website today. Check it out at http://www.mistupid.com/people/page027.htm I'll be adding it to my fav blog/websites as soon as I figure out that feature on this blog. But for now, log on and check it. These are bad metaphors that college students used in their essays. Wonder where these kids are working now.... Microsoft? Hmmmmmmm, who knows. :)

Ok, I've been trying all morning to get the pictures I took of the new stuff I got Riley however, it just wouldn't work. So frustrating. I was able to get this picture off the web. This is the new toy I got for him but it doesn't have the rope attached to it. Just the stick part but that's what it looks like. I so wish I could get the picture up of his Padres collar - it's hip happenin'. Oh well. About to go get him in a few minutes. YAY for Christy!

Christy, never, NEVER do this to Riley!!!!!! (previously known as Duke) Don't make him go through this kind of agony ever again...poor puppy. What kind of people do this kind of horid thing to their beloved four legged friends anyways! (If you are one of them, I'm sorry but really, does it look like he's enjoying this?) Don't get me wrong though, there are some dogs that have little hair and live in cold climates and need some assistance but this, this is pure crulity! He didn't enjoy this at all. Bad owners...bad!

I'm so excited though. Today is the day to go pick him up from his previous family. We got a new name for him (as shown above). RILEY! Duke didn't really fit ya know. Actually, his full name will be Riley Scout Edge. I liked Scout and that almost was his name however, the consensus from most was Riley. I'm grateful that Christy still honored me by using Scout as a middle name.

I went out last night and bought my new "nephew" a few things. I got him a Padres Dog collar and a cool squeaky toy that's shaped like a stick (cause his previous family mentioned he likes sticks, not really balls). We are about to pick him up in about 3 hours.

I am soooo excited to get him. For a lot of different reasons. You see, my best friend Christy is totally amazing. Any of you that has had her for a friend knows she's one in a million. I have heard so many storied about her last dog Ashton and how much she loved her and how it was such an amazing dog to Christy. I wanted so bad for her to have that again. I feel she deserves the best and a loyal companion to be by her side always, to have someone to tell all her stuff to at 3am if she wanted to (although Christy, I am still available then if you want human feed back) :)

Congrats my best friend, I pray that he's everything you want and that he become your faithful companion. :)

YAY! Here's some more pictures of Duke. One is him at Christmas time last year in Texas (where he was born) and the other is him in the travel trailer of his first family. He traveled a lot with them, he even went kyaking! Crazy! So excited to meet my new nephew this Friday. :)

Wow, went WAY too long between blogs. Went to Ecuador and got out of my groove. Just wanted to take a moment today and congratulate my bestest friend in the whole wide world on getting a puppy!!! Well, he's 3 years old but, a puppy to her. He's so cute. His name is Duke. He's a German Shepard mix and he's the cutest thing. We went and looked at him on Saturday and got to know him a bit. He's going to be just perfect for her. We were originals looking for a small dog but Duke is more of a medium dog but he just "fits". He's very obedient and very trainable. He plays dead when you go "Bang Bang" and he gives high fives. I'm so excited cause it's kinda like I'm getting a new nephew and I hope he comes over often to play. Congrats Christy on Duke...or whatever you change his name to...if you decide to. :)

Ok, this picture goes with the Ecuador blog. :)

I have been trying to get pictures up here on my blog of Ecuador however, it's just not working. I will continue to try so please, be patient. Hopefully my words will be captivating enough. :)

My best friend Christy is in Nashville right now. She flew up there yesterday to spend time with a dear friend just before she goes in for serious back surgery. We all pray that the surgery goes well as Jennifer has just been in so much pain. Praying for you Jennifer, I know God's hands will guide the surgeons. Love you.

WOW! Just got back from Ecuador. What an amazing trip. God truly showed His power in so many different ways. I would like to post a few stories here of God's amazing power and His faithfulness to divine appointments.

We did our prayer walk over the community on Sunday. As we were in the streets praying, a few people came out to ask what we were doing. In the crowd was a woman who's house I had just prayed over. We shared the gospel with each one of them but still, this lady just stuck out to me and I felt the Lord leading me to pray with her more. After the crowd dispersed, I asked if I could speak with her for a bit. Turns out she was rededicating her life at that moment. At one time she was always evangelizing to all her friends about the true love of Christ. She had gotten busy as she got older and life had overtaken her. I met with her for the several days after and equipped her again to evangelize the community there in Coca. By the time I left she and her husband made contact with the pastor there and had committed to being a strong foundation for the church.

Another amazing story is about a young man named Edgar. On our second day there in Coca, we had actually begun going door to door with our translators and nationals (those that actually lived there and attended the church in Coca). I had prayed with a young man at one of the homes. I went back the next day to disciple him but he wasn't where I could locate him. On our trip up the river in canoes (yes, CANOES) he was one of the young men helping us and translating from Spanish to the native language there. Turns out that he went the next day to a friends house that was being discipled by another team mate. This young man was so on fire for God he was soaking up all he could! He had already committed to the pastor and the church to do whatever he could to reach his community in Coca for Christ. It was then I realized I'm not the main ingredient, God is and when He makes an appointment, its always met no matter who is or isn't involved.

Ok, one more. :)
Satan tried so many ways to stop what God was wanting to do there in Ecuador. One of the many schemes he tried to pull was during one of our evening rallys where we were showing Narnia is Spanish. Our goal was to take the relation of Aslan to Christ and share the gospel in that fashion. About half way thru the Police showed up and wanted to arrest us all. Our leaders were able to talk them into just taking them down to the station along with all our passports for questioning. The rest of us that remained began to pray that the Lord's will be accomplished. Shortly after we prayed, a hot wind blew from no where and took the sheet/screen we were using and blew it all around. We grabbed it quicdidn'tand didn't skip a beat. Then, as the movie drew to a close, our leadeweren'till weren't back to bring it all together to explain the correlation between the movie and the sacrifice God made for us thru His son. No one there really knew how to bring it all together. Thank the Lord that my dad had read these books to me all my life. The Lord equipped me on the words to say and by God's grace 3/4 of the crowd (about 75 people) excepted Jesus! Just shortly after, all our leaders returned. God truly is AMAZING!


I know this is a long blog however, there's just so much God did while I was there I want to share it with everyone, to know God's greatness and I pray that these stories encourage you, uplift YOUR faith and trust in our Almighty God.

Look for ways today to allow God to work mightly in or through you. When all hope looks lost, know that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Sometimes He allows us to be in situations to stretch our faith and to grow in Him. He will never let you go anywhere, do anything without His ultimate hand knows He know's your coming and goings and will always have His hand on you. Trust Him this day, and those there after. :)

Craziness craziness!! I'm trying to get everything ready for Ecuador and it's been such craziness! I have to say though I'm so thank full God has already done such amazing things! With the promises of funds coming in, I now have enough for my trip! Yeah baby, I'm on my way to Ecuador!!!! WOO HOO!!!

But yet, in all the excitement, there's still so much to accomplish here. I actually work at the organization that I'm going with to Ecuador and I have 2 other trips leaving around the same time. So as I'm preparing personally for the trip, I'm having to prepare 3 other teams (my own included) to go overseas. It's such an honor and pleasure to be a part of this amazing organization however, little crazy at the moment.

So as you all think about me this week, please pray for my team and others as we're about to set out. Pray the the ground in which we travel will be ready to receive God's truth. Pray for safe travels as well. Love you all!

Ecuador!

I'm so excited. About 3 weeks ago God laid it on my heart to go to Ecuador. Jim (the leader for this trip) happened to mention it to me one day about praying if I should go. It started something in my heart and I prayed, God said Go, I obeyed. so here I am, a week and a half away from leaving. Some of you probably don't know but I work for a missions organization called e3 Partners. My job is I handle the logistics of sending different teams out on short term missions to work with the nationals and help build up the church body in different countries. I have been here since January of this year and have helped numerous teams and helped team leaders get these trips up and going. Now, God has finally called me by name and told me to go.

I have at times questioned if I heard the Lord and all. I mean, he only gave me 3 weeks to raise support (it costs a bit to go on these trips - airfare can be costly) and I knew that within my own means I couldn't afford it. I am almost there now in my fundraising - only a few hundred to go. :) This has been a real test of faith for me. I sometimes have issues trusting, yes, even trusting in my Almighty God. But I have to take rest in the Lord and know that if He told me to go (which I know He did) that he will make the way.

So, when you all think of me or Ecuador, please pray. I'm leaving my 2 beautiful boys and my husband behind for 8 days. Keep us all in prayer. Thanks!

There's so much in this life I don't understand. I don't deal with death too much. Actually I haven't in awhile. But this last Friday night I got a frantic call from one of my precious kids (I was a youth pastor for 5 years) and she was crying saying her mom was gone. At first I thought maybe she had run away or been kidnapped...but then she cried, "She's dead". I was speechless. I knew her mom. I loved her mom.

But, then she asked me the question, "Where is she at now?" How do I answer? I know she didn't attend church. I knew she wasn't faithful to the Christian faith...but I knew her heart. I knew she knew God was real, and that He loved her. But had she accepted Him into her life? I personally never knew but...who only knows really but God. So I told her "I can't answer that question. I can't say really if she's in heaven or hell. God truly knows the heart and it's not for ANY person here on earth to put her in either place. Have hope that the light you showed her rang true in her heart and that maybe at the last moments, she excepted and will meet you in heaven". I just kept telling her to have hope. I also encouraged her not to let anyone put her in hell...No one knows but God (I said that cause there's a few people who might have contact with her that might try to tell her that bologna!)

Candace if you're reading this, I love you. Have hope that you will see your mom again. She was a precious soul and she will be missed. I will miss her. Have hope in your God. Although we don't always know why or understand (which I certainly don't at the moment), I know our God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He has sent you a comforter, the Holy Spirit. Lean on Him and surround yourself with those of like minds. Let Logan comfort you and be he arms of strength you need. Call me with anything, I will do as I can. If anything, I will just cry with you. I love ya girl.

Finally got the Ipod to work.. Actually, Christy got the thing to work. I was Mike Garcia til today, now... my Ipod knows me by name... FRANNY. It was so awesome to finally see my name on the screen. And to have my songs in there as well. YAY!! Turns out the silly docking station I bought doesn't work. The Geek Squad at Best Buys were awesome in helping me out with everything yesterday. I didn't even buy it from them and they still helped. Yay Geek Squad!

All is well now in the land of Ipod. Peace and tranquility.....

So frustrating. Can't get this Ipod to work. It was used but still, was promised to work. I'm pretty sure it's the docking station. I plug it all in but it's not registering on my laptop that anything is there to HotSync. And it won't charge either. I'm pretty techy and this all should be easy but I've had such a hard time with it all. I'm starting to feel very very lame. If any of you all have words of encouragement or advise, that would be great. (sigh)

Check it out! This aired last night on the TV show Deal or No Deal. My .5 seconds of fame!!! YAY!

Ok, a little about me...

Yeah, that's about it. Just kidding. Thought I would post a picture here since I can't figure out how to on my profile. I play guitar and drums. I love music, playing it, hearing it, surrounding myself in it. I currently play on the worship team at my church but I have also played at different outreaches here around San Diego. Just was offered last weekend to do some coffee house gigs at a place up in Orange County (oh yeaaaaah, the OC)

There's a lot more to me but, you'll just have to read all the blogs to get to know it all...well, not it all cause I do run deep but, at least it's a start. :)

Today is the first blog I have created here. And what a great day too. My bestest friend Christy Edge's birthday! YAY! Happy Birthday Ukmud!

I totally surprised her yesterday and kidnapped her for her birthday present. I got approval from our work and everything to take the day off and I took her out all day. We had so much fun. I also thru her a surprise birthday the week before. What's funny on that one is that she helped plan it. She thought it was a girls night out thingy... Hehehehehehehehe.

Well, hope you all enjoy this blog. I'll try and keep it hoppin... Just hang on for the ride!