Sisters...

Today, I took some of my nieces out for a photo shoot. They are drop dead gorgeous, so it was seriously fun to photograph them:)

Which one is your favorite...

I actually have about 35 others that I am in love with,

but I tried to narrow it down for you:)

We <3 the Moores...

We had the Moores over for dinner last night.
We love their family, and it is always a blessing to spend some time with them.
I got some fun pictures of the littlest Moore too!

We also had the pleasure of having a sweet kitty follow us around :)

Today...

The Girls got back from camp...

We met our friends' sweet newborn boy.

Beautiful but Annoying...

Peacocks are so beautiful...well, the male peacocks are, at least, so why do they have to be so dang obnoxious. By far, I can argue that the peacock is the most annoying animal ever, aside from Brian's parent's next door neighbor's rooster (follow that?) :) They are loud and sound like dying, baby cows...the peacocks that is.

The End.

Letters to My Daddies...

I apologize that I didn't post these yesterday, but yesterday turned out to be a little crazy.

Dear Daddy (Cooper),

You are the daddy that has known me the longest. You were the first man to hold me in your arms and the first to whisper I love you. Some of my fondest memories in my childhood are those of you tucking me in, tickling me until I cried, bouncing me on your knee, laughing with you until my belly hurts, hugs where I thought I was going to explode from your love for me, and watching you watch me. You have watched me grow up, and you continue to watch me grow.

You have always been the one to challenge me...You push me towards greater things, accomplishing things greater than myself. You challenge me to step down when I get too high strong. You challenge me to give my best in all that I do...never half doing anything. You challenge me to persevere even when it hurts, hang tight when the waves of life are crashing around.

You've always believed in me. Believed I was capable of more than I often thought myself to be capable of. Applauded when I accomplished something, and say," I knew you'd do it." You caught me when I have fallen under the weight and pressures of this world, and you have had great mercy and kindness for me in the midst of those times.

Most importantly, you've given me Jesus. You have followed the Lord with great integrity. Being similar in personality and character traits, you have helped me see the Lord's hand in shaping me and molding in those areas where you have already seen the Lord shape you.

You showed me how a man should love a woman, so I could know how to choose this for a husband. You love mom passionately, deeply, and without swaying. Your marriage is an example of a marriage done God's way. It is one to be treasured and thankful for.

You will be the grand-daddy to my babies, and I am so thankful for this. You are the best grand-daddy, and I know this because I know how much you love me, my sister, my brother, Brian, and the grand-daughter that is here already. You have a generous heart that hurts when you can't give more. Thank you for all that you have given for us. Thank you for all your sacrifice. You have always given us the best, and led us along a road of excellence. I love you to the moon and back, and I am eternally thankful that my earthly daddy is such an example of my heavenly daddy.

<3 you...Jen

Daddy (Dean),

Marriage is a blessing for many reasons, and one of those reasons is you. I get another daddy in my life. Thank you for welcoming me into your family with open arms... Your first daughter (a whole new ball game;). Thank you for raising Brian so well. He is the incredible man that he is because of you. You two really are two peas in a pod. I love seeing you together. One of the reasons I fell in love with Brian was because I watched his interaction with you. You two have an incredible relationship.

You are a man of great character and perseverance. You show me how to make lemonade out of lemons. You a very humble man, and you are always quick to recognize your own weaknesses and lean more heavily into Jesus when you see them. You are a servant, giving all that you have to those around you. I know that the Lord is molding you and shaping you, and daily, you are becoming more like your savior.

I always look forward to your arms when I arrive in LA. You always give me a warm, long hug and a bit wet kiss on my cheek, when I arrive. I love how your face lights up when we walk in the door. It makes me feel special. I love that you always have a project waiting for Brian because he gets excited about doing projects with you.

Thank you for all that you do and all that you are. I love you, and I am so thankful that I am blessed to have you as my second daddy.

<3>

The Apple doesn't Fall Far...

...From the tree...

Happy Poppa's Day to my Daddies!
I will write tomorrow,
as we have been driving
and running around all day.

If you know me well or even don't know me well,
you can look at the picture below and understand me a bit better.

You see...
The Apple most definitely does not fall far from my Poppa's tree. I am most definitely my father's daughter. I attempted to get a "normal" picture with my dad this weekend. I am not sure that such a thing exists.

I tried to cover his mouth...much to no avail. Nothing worked. He kept being a goofus.

What's the old saying? If you can't beat them? Join them?
Yep...this apple fell pretty darn close to this tree :p

Finally, Us both being "normal"

Two handsome men...

I look forward to writing more tomorrow...
Be ready!
It will be good!

In Palos Verdes...

We are in Palos Verdes for the weekend. This is where Brian grew up and where we met. It is a beautiful city, and it is always a blessing seeing the family. Tomorrow, we get to celebrate our god-daughter's graduation, and my parents will also be joining us. It will be exciting to have so many people we love in the same room...celebrating. Today, we went to the cliffs and walked around a bit...Rubio's for lunch...Geese, I wish they had one of those in SLO.

Later, I am going on a peacock hunt...hunting for pictures. Rolling Hills Estates is famous for them. They are beautiful this time of year but seriously obnoxious.

This is the neighbor girl. She came over and hung out for a bit today. As we were hanging out she randomly leaned over, wrapped her arms around me, and said, "I just love you." I melted right there...oey gooeyness all over the driveway. I couldn't help but take a picture of her.

More pictures to come as the weekend progresses :)

Faces...

I have been thinking about faces lately...
Thinking about the unfathomable creativity of God.
It's mind blowing to think that he never runs out of ideas...
Everyone is different.
There is no one in the world that is like me...

There is no one in the world who will ever be like my children.
As we move forward towards adoption, I have been thinking about my children's faces.
What will they look like?

Really...
The sky is the limit.
At least when you have biological children,
you have some guesses of whose traits they will inherit.
Me...Well, we have no idea.

So...I am praying fun things for my children.
Just because they may not come from our bodies
does not mean that they cannot look like us...Right?
God is their creator.
My kids could have blond hair...
SURE!
Green Eyes with long eyelashes
Why Not?!
Tall Skinny build
You betcha!
Big Lips...
Check!

It has been neat to really look at people...
Look into their faces.
See a piece of my children in each of them.
See a piece of God in each of them.

One prayer on the top of the list... Our children must be able to make funny faces.
It's a Dean Requirement.
I mean...Just look at us.
Oh Dear.
Those are some faces.

P.S Photos by the amazing Jessica

Another Monday...

We spent our Mon. at the beach...I am out of words, so pictures will have to do.Silly Girlie

We played in the sand...

Played with a friend...

Played with our siblings...

Splashed A LOT!

and Jumped!

It was a rather overcast day,
but we made the most of it.
Ran around a lot...
Enjoyed what sun was there
and most of all
enjoyed each other.

Brought to My Knees...

The strength of a woman...
I have always thought of myself as a pretty strong woman...what do they call it?
Oh Yes! Someone who can roll with the punches.
No matter how hard things get I will remain standing.
No Matter how much crud is thrown in my face I will wipe it off and continue moving forward.

The Lord has been gently speaking to me about this area of my life.
You see...like I said in my earlier post...I want to be seen as a woman of great strength.
Yet, the strength I often stand is my own.
I bare down, grit my teeth and barrel forward.
I think a part of it has to do with my choleric temperament :p

The Lord has been showing me that this is not strength...
In fact, it is my weakest area.
Trying to move forward in my own strength...
Trying to show that I can handle it.
Have a stiff upper lip (Isn't that another of the sayings?)

The truth is that I may look like it on the outside.
I may look like I have it all together.
I may be the poster child for enduring difficult circumstances,
BUT I do it proudly...
with a proud heart.

The Lord is humbling me.
Not forcing me to my knees.
But through my circumstances...
Beckoning me.
Gently guiding me to a very humble place.

You see that the Lord exalts the humble.
The person that realizes that they can do nothing apart from God.
God made me very capable...
able to endure a lot on my own,
but he allows these circumstances so I might surrender...
realize I cannot do this on my own.
This is a weight, a burden I was never meant to carry.
These circumstances have literally brought me to my knees.

Not because I have to,
but because I am willing to bow down.
Let the Lord be my strength.
I am surrendering the control.
Surrendering the need to see the end result.
Surrendering the heavy responsibility.
Surrendering the financial burden.
Instead I am allowing the Lord to gently bring me to my knees
and take it all.

Beautiful...

Today, I did a photo shoot for one of my friends. She is gorgeous, so it was easy to take pictures of her. Which one is your favorite? BTW, these are unedited. I am too lazy at the moment to edit them, so I may post edited pictures later :p

Is this not a beautiful lady?
Who needs to edit pictures, when are taking pictures of someone like this :)
<3>