What's next.....

Well, Christmas has come and gone and so has my company, my Mom. I have been pouting all day, ever since she boarded that mean plane that took her away.So it is time for me to get ready for what is next and that is Baja, Mexico. Ok--let me say that again with a little more excitement, BAJA MEXICO!!!
We have been packing and planning every moment of the day, and trying to take down Christmas decorations, and take care of the baby, and go to urgent care so I can hopefully get better and .... and .... and. The list goes on and on.
We are taking off tomorrow, so I thought that I should post my New Years Resolutions before I go. Maybe that way I will actually feel required to accomplish them!

1. Actually loose some weight in 2008. I said that I was going to loose the weight right after Kai was born. As of today he is 14 months old and I am still bigger than i would like to be. We are headed to Hawaii in Feburary, so I am going to try to push myself to push of the pounds.
2. Live in the Moments more-- not thinking of to-do lists, or people I need to call. I want to live in the moment! Drink it in, be staurated by it and then when it is time to get to my To-Do list, I will put my whole self into it getting done.
3. Less stress. Same life but I want to learn a way to handle the stress differently. For example, when I lay down at night it takes me at least 10 minutes to un-tense myself. I walk around all day all coiled up--but I realize that it is not going to get done, I am not going to meet everyone's expectations all the time and in 10 years the stress of the day is probably going to be forgotten.
4. I want to dress more like a woman and less like a Mommy. Don't get me wrong, I am proud to be a Mommy, I just don't ALWAYS want to look like one. Plus if I loose some weight it is a gr8 excuse to buy new fun clothes.
5. Talk less -- more action! That one should speak for itself!

I think that is enough for me to work on for now, maybe I will add more to the list when we get to the half way point in June. Alright, I have put it out there, I am hoping that people will encourage me to get it done and maybe even do some of it with me. Everything is more fun when you get to do it with someone else....even laundry! :)
Here is a picture of what the scene was like at my house on Christmas day. Kai was so cute opening presents, he was a trip. I can't imagine what we are in for next year.

!!!Happy New Year!!!

We went to Disneyland!!!

Christmas lights, fun parades and my Mom there to share it with us. We went to Disneyland and Kai had a ball. Here we are at the entrance to California Adventure.



Here is a picture of Mom and I by the GIANT Christmas tree.



This is Kai and Grandma watching the parade.




Kai snuggling with his Daddy during the parade. It was getting close to bedtime.





A Family picture, don't you love Kai with his ears on. :)





It was a good time and a good night. It is just hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone already...man, time flies!

Christmas Day!!! Yipppeeeee

What a special Christmas we had this year. Kai was sooooo fun and having Mom here made it even more special. We had a sweet morning of spending time together and opening presents. Well, Kai opened most of the presents..he was thrilled to be able to tear at the paper.



Godfather Sean and Auntie Rena gave Kai his first rock climbing harness! I don't know who was more excited, Kai or his Daddy!

She's Here!!! She's Here!!

The countdown has ended...My Mom is FINALLY HERE!!! I am thrilled and it has been so nice having her close. She had a long trip that was complicated by Chicago's weather but it wasn't able to stop her and she still made it in to LAX. Yippeeee

Since she got her we have went to the park,





enjoyed Chrismas Eve service which my little boy got dressed up for :)




and enjoyed time at the beach! (and all this has been possible because of dream dinners! Because I haven't had to slave in the kitchen making everything from scratch and they are still REALLY YUMMY!:)

Gr*8phul this Christmas

Man, this time of year can be busy...busy...busy, but no matter how fast paced things get I constantly find myself with reasons to be gr8phul. When I look at my precious 14 month old or snuggle in at night to my sweet hearted husband, or any other number of heart warming moments each day--I am reminded of how much I have to be gr8phul for. And it's not a grattitude that is fleeting, I am talking about a grattitude that rocks me to the core of who I am.

Today I learned about a little 14 month old boy named Hunter and his fight with cancer. I can't imagine what he must be thinking of or all that is going on in his little world, and my heart breaks for his parents and what they are facing. At our house we have chosen to take Hunter's story personally, to not just let it be forgotten like all the other stories that are constantly coming in and out of view. We are praying for Hunter and all things related to his care, personally.

There is a line in the movie Hotel Rwanda that still haunts me. When a reporter says that people will respond and something will be done once the story of the genocide gets out, the other reporter says that people will hear the story and then go on with their lives... forgetting. Uggggggg!!! Why is it until something is personal we don't move to action? That challenges me and pushes me to want to be a person of action and prayer.

The picture below is little Hunter. Also here is a link to the site Healing Hunter where you can learn more about his story and make a donation if you would like. Even just leave an encouraging word for his parents.

http://healinghunter.blogspot.com/

Dennae's Quick Trip

She was only out of the airport for a few hours before she had to return and complete her travels to New Zealand. My 15 year old cousin Dennae spent a fun few hours with us in Manhattan Beach and it was great to see her. Here are a few pictures from my P&S



By the way--she made it to New Zealand safe and sound and is enjoying her visit.

Power of Love

I am singing the songs, making the yummy foods, and wrapping my fair share of presents and getting so excited that I can barely handle it! Christmas will officially start on Sunday when my ****MOM*** arrives!! After that plane touches down it is time to party. I thought that I could never match the anticipation I had for Christmas as a kid, but God has magically made the inner most parts of my heart absolutely twitterpatted at the thought of what is to come.

My Mom is coming in from North Carolina and I couldn't be more thrilled! It will be good to see her but it is also going to be so special having her here with us for Christmas. We are going to be doing some fun stuff, so I am sure that I will have plenty to blog about. (When did I become such a "blogger"?)

I am in awe this Christmas. He is God, he could have done world domaination easily but instead he came in the form of a little baby. That is just one more thing about God that leaves my jaw hanging down. He is forever loving and humble, what an amazing example of the POWER of Love!

Fireworks and an ER trip

We finished up an AWESOME weekend with friends watching the Manhattan Beach Christmas fireworks. I have to admit, I live here and knew nothing about it, but Matt and Brooke Rillos in town from Colorado told me about it. I guess I am still not a local (but I do shop at Trader Joes :)





Then Sunday was followed by a Monday........
We had a great day, Kai and I had fun playing and going to the park, with no incidents. But while I was making dinner he took a header into the stone fireplace and got a bad cut above his eye. I can't even type that without pouting. I am so sad that it happened, that there aren't words. Trav rushed home and we headed to the Emergency Room. We just wanted to play it safe.

Well... (I am going to try to restrain myself) The Doctor said that either way it was going to leave a scar but if we had him go thru the trama of stitches it might be less noticeable. He then went onto to say that we were vain if we decided to put him through the trama. Hmmmm--- I don't know that makes us vain. If he were a girl would we even question it? We were trying to make the best possible decision for Kai...and the Doctor pretty much shamed us away from making a cosmetic choice. I don't know what to make of that. (Maybe that is why I am blogging about it at 11:30pm) It kinda bugged me, what do you think?

A Run-in with the Rillos'

I was blessed to be able to spend time with Matt and Brooke yesterday, I was tremendously personally blessed. This couple has been together for 8 years and they still have a flame that runs high and a passion that runs hot. They are best friends and so connected that it is electric but they don't make it about them, they make it about those around them. They have three gorgeous little boys and together they have made a beautiful family. Yesterday was however was not family time it was about the 2people that started their family. Watching through the lense was a pleasure and a joy! They truly are two amazing individuals that make an amazing couple.

Thanks guys for spending such a special day with me. It meant a lot and had a big impact on my heart!

If you are interested in seeing more pictures, please visit my other blog. http://www.katwillcoxphotography.blogspot.com/

The Miller Family

The other day I went with the Millers and did some Christmas pictures. They are such a fun family. I enjoyed my time with them and I love playing with there kids. They are my kinda people and it really was fun hanging out with them.

Down and Out

We have been sleeping on floors, doing LOTS of laundry and trying to get the little dude to drink Pedialyte. It has been a rough couple of days at our house. We thought that we had rounded the corner and were back on our way to health, but we have had a set back and Kai is not feeling good. :( It is so sad when he is sick and doesn't understand what is going on and why. Hopefully we will be back in the land of the healthy, but till then we are on house arrest. Boo hiss.I got this picture last Thursday night. After throwing up every hour on the hour, all Kai wanted was his Daddy. And he wasn't going to sleep away from him, so Trav and I pulled up pillows and slept on the floor. I couldn't resist taking this picture. It is true unconditional love :) I love my husband and he is a SUPER SWEET DADDY!

Adventure Anyone?

Trav spend most of his Saturday working on homework for his Masters, so when he was FINALLY done...we headed to Adventure Plex to burn off a little energy. I have to say that we had a lot of Fun! Kai was cracking us up and Trav was teaching Kai how to be a monkey and (surprise, surprise) I took pictures. :) We really do Thank God for our little boy!

He's a Pier Walker

I miss Bailey so much, that I find myself looking at the pictures when she was here. How has a week gone by already? And it dawned on me that I hadn't posted anything from our fun night on the Pier. Our little dude is a new member to the walking club and we thought that we would celebrate with a stroll on the Pier (Cali style). So we grabbed his little walker and hit it.

He is just like his Daddy. He is into extreme sports (for babies) and it seems pier walking it is. :) He made lots of friends and totally loved being part of the action. And, of course his Lola Bailey and Mom took pictures the whole time.