Congratulations to my husband!

Today has been an amazing day for my husband, A.J. and as a result, for me as well. Today is the day that he is DONE with graduate school. This afternoon at 1 PM he defended his thesis and at about 2:30 it was declared that he had completed.

I was overwhelmed with joy when members of his committee came out with their thumb's up! Even as I sit here, knowing that this day is coming to a close and a season of our life is over, I can't fathom that it's actually over.

So here is my husband, who woke up today at Mr. and will end the day as a Dr.
(A.J. outside of Nelson Auditorium at UCI)

The Ph.D. has been awarded. A million congratulations babe! I love you! I look forward to seeing what God has in store for us now.

Does anyone what a dog?

One of my good friends, Tanya is a missionary in Mexico. She currently has an apartment but she will be moving to "The Ranch" which is operated by YUGO next week. Since she is moving and she can't take her adorable dog with her, he needs a home.

His name is Aslan and he is a Golden mix. He has been fixed and has had all of his shots. He will be 1 in November, so he is still a puppy and he needs someone to walk and play with him and most of all to love him. He is very good and knows some commands but he is super smart and should be easy to train.

Email me for more info and please pass this on - he needs a home next week.

Chris and Janine - Save-the-date Card

Here is the Save-the-Date card that I put together for Chris and Janine. I just finished their invitations and I am looking forward to posting them as soon as they send them out!

My husband lost his wedding ring!

I have to post this because it is just soooo weird. Last Wednesday night, while at our home group, A.J. lost his ring. We were all sitting around talking and I wasn't paying attention when Jenny noticed that A.J. was looking all of the ground for something and she asked him what he was doing. He said, "I dropped my wedding ring".

So we all started looking for it: Karen, Jenny, Christina, Jeremy, Tammy, Nancy, Jim, A.J. and myself. The girls were going through our purses and a bag that A.J. had brought with him (and I have to mention here that these were gone through several times by several different people), the guys were moving the couches, we removed and went through everything on the coffee table - photo albums, piano books, etc. Someone checked the lamps, we moved the side table in their house, had A.J. check every one of his pockets, we checked the bowl of chips on the table and the dips.

It was basically insane and we stopped to pray several times during the search.
Finally, Jeremy was convinced that A.J. had left it at home and that we would find it when we got home. So after 1 1/2 hours of looking for this ring, we stopped.

When we got home, I immediately checked to see if A.J. had left it in the "ring box" and it wasn't there, so I knew for sure he had it with him and he must have lost it somewhere in their house. Just as A.J. is calling Jeremy to tell him we don't have it and I was logging on to the computer, I notice the ring.

Now this is the unbelievable part. It was on the outside of the bag that A.J. had with him. On the outside! Here's a picture of the bag with the ring on it on our messy table:

Okay at any point after we left Jim and Karen's, A.J. could have lost the ring - it was on the OUTSIDE of the bag. Leaving their house, walking down the stairs outside their house, tossing the bag in the car, parking in the garage and carrying the bag from the garage into our house through the complex. God really answered our prayers on this one. Not that it couldn't have been replaced, but that it would have driven everyone crazy trying to figure out where it went to.

Thanks to all of you who helped us look and prayed with us!

The Three "J's"

Justin ~ Josephine ~ Jacob

Last Friday I had the opportunity to hang out with the three of them and grab some pictures. Jacob is adorable and was such a happy baby, despite the heat and the strong sun. Jacob is 8 months old and is just a dear.

By the way, Justin and Josephine are optometrists and own their own business in Lake Forest - South County Eye Care. If you need to have your eyes checked, give them a call - you might even see some of my work on their walls :)!

Here are some favorites from the day:

CLICK HERE FOR THE SLIDESHOW!

Jimmy & Katie - ENGAGED!

Jimmy and Katie met 6 years ago through his brother Adam. At first they were just friends, until 2 years later when they first started dating. They dated for nine months, however, it was just not the right time. Over the next 4 years, they remained friends and talked frequently about life's ups and downs. Jimmy moved several times over the years, each time finding his way back to California. They continued to hang out and talk on the phone. As the friendship grew, so too did the possibility that they would become more than friends.

Finally, last December, after 6 years of dancing around with the idea of a romantic relationship, Katie and Jimmy decided to start dating again and Jimmy asked Katie to go with him to his company Christmas party. It took Katie just a little while to realize that this time, the timing was right. In July, while in New York, Jimmy proposed to Katie on Liberty Island with a ring designed with her grandma's wedding diamond and diamonds from her mother. The wedding is set for April 11, 2009 and they are so comfortable and so loving to each other that we know their love will continue to grow and grow and grow!

Jimmy and Katie, you two were made for each other!

Jimmy and Katie, you guys were an awesome and we had a blast with you! We can't wait until your wedding!

Click here for the Slideshow!

Peter & Collene - MARRIED!

Quote of the Day: When Peter first saw Collene I heard him say, "You look so beautiful" and though she said, "Oh, stop", she was beaming. In fact she beamed the whole day.

There were only 14 people present for the ceremony (except for the pastor marrying them, Nigel) and dinner afterwards - their children and grandchildren. As they were blending two families they had chosen to have only family present and no friends. It was a lovely, short ceremony in the lobby of our church followed by pictures at a local park and dinner.

Fun Moment: During dinner a little boy, maybe about 3 went running for the wedding cake. His mom went running after him and was trying to trap him to catch him. She eventually did and apologized over and over to me.

Thank you for letting us be a part of your special day, Peter and Collene and congratulations on your marriage!

Click here for the Slideshow!

One big family praying together for Peter and Collene's marriage.

Click here for the Slideshow!

Chris and Janine - Slideshow

Here is the slideshow of Chris and Janine's engagement session:

Click here for the Slideshow!

Chris & Janine - ENGAGED!

A.J. and I have known Janine for several years and we've seen each other through some of the good and some of the bad. And though we knew Janine, we had never met Chris until the day of their engagement session. Here are a few preview images:

Chris, being the loving and patient guy that he is, didn't even mind when Janine initially spelled his name incorrectly:

Chris and Janine, we're so glad you two found each other. We are so thrilled to be a part of your lives. Congratulations on your engagement. Much love to you both!

Personal Post - Olivia

A couple of weeks ago A.J. and I made a trip up the the L.A. area to visit my in-laws and then we went to visit his best man, Nathan and his wife, Diana and their baby, Olivia. We hadn't seen them in almost a year so we hadn't even met Olivia yet. She is adorable with a fabulous personality. Here are a couple of pictures from our day:


Being Cute Is A Full Time Job
I love this picture with Olivia's face in the hands of her loving mom.
I love this picture. She looks hilarious!

Thanks for having us up guys! We had such a nice time and we hope we don't go another 11 months without seeing you again.

Announcing Grace

Here are a couple of pictures of the baby announcements that I put together for Jake and Kim:

The front:
Mom, Grace and Dad,


This is the inside,and this is the back.

Grace is born

This is Jake and Kim's baby girl - their first. She is adorable.

Meet Grace....

Kim's dad is a chiropractor in Long Beach and when I hurt my back and couple of years ago I went to him. In this particular picture (above) with her eyes shut tight, I think she looks a lot like her Grandpa.Congratulations Kim and Jake on your precious baby girl!