The story of today

Brianna got up earlier than usual today, excited out of her mind to have her party. She asked to eat cake and fruit first and asked when she'd be meeting all her friends. Right before 11 am we were at "The Little Gym" ready to welcome people. As families trickled in, Brianna made sure she greeted each child and was smiling from ear to ear as more kids showed up.

During playtime with "Tia Bridgett" Brianna sang her own happy birthday song, participated in all the games and run around with this huge smile. She just loved every minute of her party! (And yes, kept asking for cake). She prayed a beautiful prayer to bless the food and when the time for singing happy birthday came about, she lead everyone in singing and was very impatient to blow the candles from both cakes. She also had a lot of fun opening presents, though in a couple of weeks we'll be taking most of them to the Children's Hospital in Fresno. She'll be "helping ouie kids" by visiting them and bringing them a new toy.

The most beautiful flower in our family garden!!! We're so proud of Bri! She's growing and maturing every day into a beautiful child of God.

What a happy, happy, day!

Ampee & Amee gave Bri a Drum set for her to practice her rhythm. Yesterday she had to be forcefully separated from her drum to take her nap. She is having so much fun marching around drumming.

Two cuties!

As we stated in Bri's invitation, we preferred to donate all gifts to the Fresno Children's Hospital Cancer Ward. We're striving to instill in Brianna a desire to give back on her birthday and also to honor Mary Belle's memory. Some parents, however, requested very specifically that their gifts be given to Brianna. Case in point, our closest friends, Victor and Suzana, gave our musical princess a beautiful piano she absolutely loves already!

Happy 3rd birthday, Brianna!!!

Today we had a great time at Bri's birthday party at "The Little Gym"
Here's the setup ready for cake and strawberries after playtime!

Brianna jumping on the air mattress. All the kids loved it!

Finally, time for cake and fruit! Most kids ate all their strawberries first and then their slice of ice-cream cake. They took a balloon and a water bottle home as favors. After all that running around and playing, many were sweaty, hungry and ready for a nap (= happy parents!)

Mommy and Daddy made a vegan ice-cream cake (think wheat-free, dairy-free, no sugar) and we also brought a TCBY Ice-cream cake for those who preferred dairy.

Our awesome pastor's ordination

Pr. Chad and wife Christina Stuart were ordained today, Sabbath. It was a wonderful celebration for our entire church. Pr. Dwight Nelson flew over from Michigan for this very special occasion and we really enjoyed his messages as well. Precious baby Dayton was also dedicated on Sabbath afternoon. A spiritual feast for us all!

Starting the birthday celebrations early

Brianna's birthday is coming up next week. Her birthday party will be this coming Sunday. However, she's been asking Mommy for "chipas," everyday for about two weeks. So tonight was the night! We made chipas together, a week before her actual birthday, to "kick off" the celebrations.

Brianna is a great little helper and she helped every step of the way, including rolling her own tiny "chipas." These are traditional Paraguayan and Argentinian cheese balls made with tapioca flour. We make them with vegan cheese and they are still super delicious!
Especially in the winter time, Bibi's Mom used to make "chipas" from scratch and serve them with hot chocolate. The fragrance of fresh cheese bread and chocolate proved irresistible to Bibi from a very young age. It's always evoked the warmth of good family times while it's cold out. Guess Brianna has captured this family tradition too! It's exciting!

Painting Project - Kiara's room

Last week we stripped the old wallpaper and this week we're putting in a coat of white paint to cover the flowers before the sage green goes in! Jeremy is working hard after work and is very meticulous and detailed! Brianna is also "helping," though more white paint ends up on her body than on the wall itself =)

This is (approximately) what Kiara's room will look like when it's finished. This is the bedspread and color scheme we chose for her. We'll only be waiting for a beautiful bundle of joy!

More project updates & pictures to come!

Our best wishes for 2009

Here are a few photos out of the amazing photo shoot we had this year with Schaap Studios (www.schaapstudios.com)

All four of us excited about our journey together

May all the ups and downs this year will bring, give all the glory to God

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. You are in ours!

A visit from Murray & Elaine!

We were honored to have Murray & Elaine Sankey over for dinner on Sunday evening. We had a great time visiting and also enjoying the jacuzzi. Ampee & Amee, their hosts, came along and loved playing with Brianna too.

Brianna was very affectionate with Uncle & Auntie. She made the rounds giving kisses to everyone, especially our guests! The hot jacuzzi was enjoyed by everyone on a cold evening.

We very much look forward to seeing Sankeys again soon!

Clarks and Castros come to Visalia

One of our most favorite group of people came to visit us in Visalia this past wekeend. Jorge & Edith Castro came from Argentina to visit their daughter Gisel, husband Joel and beautiful granddaughter Isabella.
We had a great time catching up, eating good food and enjoying the jacuzzi with the girls.

Isabella and Abu Jorge

Dancing queen I

Dancing Queen II

We can't wait to get together again soon!!

We're back!

We've had some computer problems lately and couldn't post for a while ... but we were busy nonetheless! All three of us made our first cake of 2009, a Vegan Blueberry Coffee Cheesecake. Brianna loved helping out!

Top chefs

The finished product ... super delicious!