The Kids and Me

A tradition my family does on Thanksgiving weekend is to take family photos. Love these cuties.

Trinity-6 years old
Joey- 3.5 years old
Eric- 10 months old

6 Months

He is growing up so fast, I almost can't believe my nephew is already 6 months. He is such a joy and I blessed greatly that God has brought him into our lives and family. Amy and Eric are good parents.

Junior Giants

I'm a little late with the pictures of Trin and Joey playing in their little t-ball and hit, run, catch and throw baseball league they were in this year. They both were placed on Giant's teams. Very fitting for our family this past year with the Giant's winning the World Series!

Jen and I had to laugh seriously at the ball caps the league gave the kids. They are like some truck drivers hats from the 1980's or something Jen and I wore when we played on the elementary baseball league at our school.












Joe Joe was a crack up. He loved watching his sister play chanting, "Go Giants Go!" and "Here we go Giant's, here we go!" It was adorable to watch. He was pretty good with the orange and black pom pom.

What was super cute was watching a bunch of 3 year olds (but Joe Joe was only 2.10 yrs. old at this game) attempting to play the game of baseball. Most of the kids were watching the butterflies float on by, when running ran the wrong way to no base, and at the same time each thought they had the whole game down and that they were pro's. Hilarious!



























Our little Junior Giant is baby Eric. He is such a cutie and loves to laugh. I really love his one-zie that Amy put him in, "My Auntie is #1".

Jen does this little gig and dance to baby Eric and he giggles and giggles. It is pretty cute to see him giggle. I can get him to giggle a little but not with the gig and dance Jen does. I try but he looks at me like, "nice try Auntie, you can't dance!"

Good One Girls!

Great job Mom, Jen and Amy on pulling off this wonderful surprise for my dad's birthday. We did it good this time! Wonderful surprise. Three cheers for the women in my family!

My friend Nathan (thanks Nathan!) owns a plane and he was gracious to take my dad up for a ride for his birthday and it was a complete surprise for my Dad.

From the pictures you can see that we took off from a local airport, flew over the Carquinez Straight, over the San Francisco Bay, the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, and up to Somona Valley to the Charles Shultz Airport. Nathan allowed my dad to fly the plane. What a thrill for my Dad. He flew the plane like a pro! Fun time. Amazing to see God's creation from 3,000 feet up.

Way to go girls with this wonderful surprise for Dad's birthday!

Small World

Sorry in advance that I don't have a picture, it is on a few Facebook accounts somewhere (but currently I'm not on Facebook). Last night my dad and I went to a Giant's baseball game at AT&T Park. My mom told me before we left that her cousin Kerry and husband would be there and for me to look for her. I chuckled and told her, "might be close to impossible to run into her, but with God all things are possible". Little side note here, if you don't follow Giant's baseball, every game at AT&T Park has been sold out this year which is around 42,000 + people at each game.

The deal with my dad and I going to a ball game is that I purchase the tickets and he pays for the food and fun. Usually (I would say 9 out 10 times), we go to the Irish Pub and get fish and chips. Neither of us last night wanted fish and chips, so we headed out to the center field arcade for something different. On our way to check out food (and it was an hour and half before game time!) my dad says, "I don't think I will recognize Kerry", I said, "I am pretty sure that I will recognize her if I see her but I think it will be close to impossible to run into them here". Not but 30 seconds later I see Kerry and her husband Steve and I call out to her. We had a nice chat for 10 minutes and then were on our way. All of us were amazed that we were able to run into each other, especially since none of us knew where the other were sitting.

Small world, all things possible with God!

BTW- Giants beat the Dodgers 5-0!

It's All Worth It!

My pool is such a hassle. Hassle is an understatement too. My pool needs constant love, care and so much time. Chemicals, brushing, filter cleaning, skimming, vacuuming, and the list goes on. I hate dealing with the surprise that it is green and cloudy. At some moments in time I have thought that I would like to be done with it and fill it in.
UNTIL, I have family or friends over and they truly are enjoying the pool. This past week was such and example. Jen and the kids were up this week and we were in the pool for 4 or 5 days straight. The kids seem to just love being in the pool. This past week, everyone was in the pool. My mom, Jen, Trin Trin, Joe Joe, baby Eric, Amy, my cousin Cheryl, Olivia, Angie and I have all been in the pool. What fun we all had. Today is the first day in 6 days that I have not been in. Think I will pull the cover back and get in (after the Giant's game).

So, even though the pool is a complete hassle and uses up a good amount of my time, when people I love and care about enjoy my pool, it is all worth it.

A complete side note here about the pool: on Tuesday Amy brought over baby Eric to get him used to the pool. He cried and cried just getting the tips of his toes in. The next day, Amy had him in on her legs, he fussed a little. On Thursday (and Friday and Saturday too) he got completely in the pool. He so enjoyed himself. He laughed at his cousins and did not mind a little splash on his face.

I thank God for the blessing of a pool and to use it for His glory!

image taken from google images

Spring Break (Easter Break)

Easter break always refreshes my soul, attitude, body, and God allows me to take a new look at what Christ did on my behalf on the cross. My precious Savior died the most horrific and painful death and took the full wrath of God for me, ME, my sins. Hallelujah what a Savior!

People ask me, "So, are you going anywhere on break" and the response I love saying, "Thankfully, I am just staying home and getting some things done and spending time with my family. Love Easter break!"

The week has flown on by and thankfully I have been able to accomplish a few things on my "to do list". My pool is looking incredible, the weeds are all almost pulled (weeds never end though), the ground is tilled and amended, and the summer vegetables are bought and awaiting to be planted. Cleaning my bedroom closet remains on the list to be done. Next vacation.

The end of my break has been spent with my family. All 3 of my "loves" are at Nana and Papa's house. Jen and Amy surprised Nana and took to her have the grand kids pictures taken.

Baby Eric is figuring out his smile (and oh is he a charmer) and can mimic your tongue movements.

Trinity and Joey are so adorable and love to play with their Aunties. Trin Trin and I would have been bossom buddies if we grew up together. She has collected all the slugs and rollie pollies in Nana's yard, she loves being outdoors and running around and she scored many goals with me playing goalie. Joe Joe is a love bug and is so funny. He loves running around outside and playing football.

Love these kiddos. Praying they will one day understand all that Christ did on the cross and that God will break their heart with His love and that they would call Him Savior.

My Loves

Here are my cutie pies! The picture is about a month old and baby Eric has changed so much already. There might be a new picture taken this weekend as we all will be together. I think I will bring my camera this time. Love these blessings that God has given me.
Eric 3 months, Trinity almost 5 1/2 years, Joey almost 3 years.

My Home's New Look

My parents and my grandma decided that I needed a serious update of my sofas. The old sofas served their purpose and I got 8 1/2 good years out of them and that was 8 1/2 years longer after my sister had them for a time and her college roommate had them before that. The pictures don't really put the new look in the best light, I took them early this morning before I went to church. They are so beautiful and completely change the look of my great room. I am so very blessed. Thank you Mom, Dad and Grandma, I love them!

Baby F!

Wow, can't believe that Baby Eric Walter will be 2 weeks old tomorrow. Poor Amy had a hard delivery, 39 hours. Thankfully, she only had to push for 18 minutes. Baby Eric (I might end up calling him Ric Ric love- like Trin Trin love and Joe Joe love) is named after his daddy and Walter is after my grandfather on my mom's side. His name is real special for me. So, here are the details: Eric Walter, 6 pounds 6 ounces, 19 1/2" long, full head of dark handsome hair and so cute. What a honor to be present for the delivery. I don't think Amy even knows this, one of the items on my bucket list was to be in the delivery room for the birth of a baby of my family. Thanks Amy- check. I praise the LORD for the blessing of being an auntie again. My prayer is that I will be able to share the love of Jesus with him.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

"For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. " Psalm 139:13-16


Baby F is due in about 5 weeks. In December I was able to go to a few appointments with her. His little heart beat sounds like a horse trotting. The ultrasound images were incredible. I clearly was able to see all of his fingers, toes, spine, eyes, the 4 chambers of his heart beating and squeezing, the division between his right and left side of his brain, his femur bone and so many other incredible features.

Trin Trin and Joe Joe are up at Nana and Papa's for some time after Christmas. What is so adorable is to see them come up to Amy and give her tummy a big hug and how they talk to baby F. They even picked out some baby toys for him for Christmas.

I am so reminded of the text above when I think of what a miracle God performs each and every time a life is formed in a mother's womb. Soon and very soon we will be able to meet Baby F and find out his name that has been picked out for him.

I'm Around-Just Busy

Posting has once again taken a back seat to my busy life and lack of energy to do so. Would love to say that posting has stopped because of the Giant championship that came to San Francisco that I mentioned on my last post but it truly has been busy. The blog will not go silent, it will resume soon. When I have trouble getting my clean laundry folded and put away and not spending as much time reading my Bible and praying, that is when I know I have no time for blogging.

My "loves" are in town this week and my time is spent playing, pushing swings, pretending I am the puppy vet, reading books, and so much more, all good fun!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends celebrating the birth of Christ, the Savior!

Here are a few family holiday photos.

Papa's Birthday Weekend

For the last 4 year's, since there have been grandkids, Papa's birthday has been celebrated over a weekend with the entire family. There is a BBQ swim party at my house and Dad takes all of us to a Giant's ball game(this year there were 10 of us, 11 if you count Baby F., from my 95 year old grandma to my 2 year old nephew). Papa had a great time in the kids lot helping Joey bat, run the bases and play the outfield with the kids. Dad really enjoyed himself. I love the first picture, Trinity has her hand on his leg for security. Joey a little bit later had to play right where the outfielder is on the painted wall. It was pretty cute. When my sister passes along a photo of all of us, I will post it up.

At the swimming party, Trinity showed off her new skill of swimming and jumping off the diving board. Actually, we could not keep her off the diving board, she was so excited to jump off my diving board. Mom, grandma, Amy and Jen cooked up some yummy food for the party. Yumahuh food indeed! In my family, yumahuh and good times go hand in hand.

Before the game got started we were able to go down to field level right by the Giant's dugout and look around and take some pictures. Me and my loves!

The only thing missing was a win. Funny has it, everytime we have all gone, the G's have not won. This time we should have won but the ump blew a call in the bottom of the 9th. We'll try again next year.

The Kids

I have not updated pictures of my "loves" recently. Trinity is 4 3/4 and Joey is 2! They grow up so fast. I love them so much . Children are a blessing from the Lord.

















I already love this little "love". Baby F is due on Feb 2, 2011. I'm going to call this embryo "little scoop". At almost 10 weeks, it has a strong heart beat, and 10 toes! God is amazing!



Trin Trin played on a little "hit, catch and run" team in her home town. Guess what team she was put on? You got it, the Giants!
















Joe Joe loves his doggy Harley Jean.

Kids, water and fountains. There is something that is so fascinating to them.

Having fun at the zoo!

Bucket List- check

CHECK

One of the items I was able to check as completed on my "Bucket List", was Opening Day with the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Everything lined up this year for me to attend, I was on spring break from work, I actually was able to purchase tickets the first day tickets went on sale (part of checking off this item on my list), they were not expensive and my dad was able to go with me.

What a beautiful day in the city. The weather was perfect, perfect baseball weather. There was something special in the air this day, the Giant's won!

Dad and I took BART in and walked by the waterway to the ballpark.

It was pretty incredible to see the huge American flag at the start of the game.

Dad loves his fish and chips and tradition has it about 9/10 that we get fish and chips from the Irish Pub on the 3rd level. We walked out to the seats to hear the national anthem and to see the fly over. From our vantage point, we saw the fighter jets come in through the Golden Gate Bridge and under the Bay Bridge.

Something special about the feel at the yard on Opening Day.

On an exciting side note, my mom has really taken to the Giant's this year. She has enjoyed the Giant's but she is really getting into the games this year. She listens to all the games and is following how well the individual players are doing. On a regular basis she either calls me or I call her to talk about something that just happened in the game or to talk about the game afterwards. Both of us are on a first name basis with the players. By far, without a blink of an eye, her favorite player is Andres Torres. He is "her boy" and the best player on the whole team. The "boys" are even getting nicknames in her book, and mine too, there's Huff Daddy, Buster Boy, UuuuuRibe, Whitey, Eye Candy, Panda, Ichy, Freddy Boy, and Boch. I'm having fun talking baseball, mostly Giant's baseball with my mom. Love her dearly.

Next weekend we are celebrating my dads birthday and he is taking the whole family to the game. We have done this for the last 4 years. Fun time.

And For the Exciting News

Amy, my sister, is 9 weeks pregnant! Amy and Eric are going to have their 1st baby and making me an Auntie for the 3rd time. We are excited for a new baby and this little one is already in my prayers.

Fun Busy Days

My sweet "Loves" have been in town since the day after Christmas and my days have been a fun filled busy. Together we have turned over every rock, stone and wood stepping stone in Nana and Papa's yard several times and discovered many cool bugs and salamanders. Many books have been read through while sitting on a comfy sofa, with both snuggled close to listen. The kids were the best for a family party I hosted yesterday, playing happily in the empty room down the hall with the bucket of kids toys I keep on hand. We even went and saw Alvin and the Chipmunks (and the Chipette's, my niece would want to include). Today, we are going to try ice skating, hope my bum bum and knees survive. There is something special about a child reaching their tiny hand, or it feels tiny in my hand, up into your hand to be held. My heart melts when Trin Trin says, reverting back to when she was a wee little one like Joe Joe, "Shaw, Shaw" or when Joe Joe says, clear as a bell, "Shel". My response always, "Yes Love".

Loving these fun filled busy days.

I Agree with Joey

My Joe-Joe Love does not care for Santa too much, me either. O, I love my Loves!

Unto Us A Child Is Born! 2009 Christmas Letter

O HOLY NIGHT!

O Holy Night! Composed by Adolphe Adam 1847

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of Our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world In sin and error pining,
'Til He appear'd And the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope The weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks A new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O, hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts By His cradle we stand.
So led by light of A star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men From Orient land.
The King of Kings Lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials Born to be our friend.
He knows our need, To our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us To love one another;
His law is love And His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break For the slave is our brother;
And in His name All oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy In grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us Praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory Evermore proclaim.
His power and glory Evermore proclaim.

O Holy Night is one of my favorite Christmas Carols, the words so precisely explain why Christ was born. Listen here to Josh Groban singing O Holy Night!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas to you and your family! Christ the Savior is born! The Isaiah 9:6 verse in the picture above foretells the true meaning of Christmas and why Christ came to earth. God came in human flesh, born as babe because He would one day die and rise from the dead to restore the relationship between man and God. God paid the penalty of our guiltiness. Because of what Christ has done, we can go to Him and repent of our guiltiness of sin and put our hope and trust in Him alone. My hope and prayer is that the true meaning of Christmas will come true to your heart. If you would like to know more specifically about a personal relationship with Christ you can click here .

BLOG CHRISTMAS LETTER

Thank you for stopping in and reading my Christmas letter on the world wide web. This year I am trying a virtual Christmas letter. Some of you received an email directing you to this blog post, some simply read my blog and other's received a post card because I don't have an email address for you. If I don't yet have your email address you can leave a comment at the end of this post and include in your comment your email address or you can email me at firstnameunderscoremylastname@yahoo.com (I try to keep my last name and email address hidden from this blog, but if you know me, you will know these details so it's shelly_. . .). If you would prefer not to have your email address posted in the comment, I can just not publish your comment.

My goal is to save a little money on postage, conserve on paper and to display better pictures than what my printer prints on paper. Doing a letter this way might also help me to get out my letter every year instead of every other year. Sorry, I just get so busy before Christmas that getting out my Christmas cards each year is just so hard.

My blog exists to share with my dear family and friends who are located across the globe some of the happenings of my life and how God is working in my life. Sometimes, I am able to post on a somewhat regular basis and other times my busy life takes over and there are no posts. If you want to check out past posts on my blog, you can click on the title of my blog Shells on the Seashore or go to http://www.shellsonline.blogspot.com/.

THE BRIEF LOW-DOWN ON ME

In the grand scheme of life, nothing significant has changed with me. I'm another year older and hopefully a little wiser. Two birthdays ago, I gracefully slipped into my 40's, oh my, I still can't believe it. Time just flies on by. This year is my 16th year of teaching, 11 years at my present school. What a joy and delight to teach our youth about physical activity and being outdoors breathing fresh air and watching the clouds roll on by.

Gardening, farmer's markets and home preserving all seem to go together for me. God has given me a palate for fresh and wholesome food. I absolutely love making meals out of my "goodies" and when a meal turns out really yummy, it's called "yumahah!" (if you say it is almost, "It's yummy huh?" and is said like the motorcycle). To give my excess fruit and vegetables away to my family, friends and neighbors allows the yum to be spread around. Here is a sampling of some of the yummies from my little garden. I am convinced that anyone can grow a garden with a simple plot of land or even pots and planter boxes.

Here is my current winter garden: broccoli, celery, kale, Swiss chard, various kinds of lettuce, flava beans, onions and carrots. Thus far I've been eating from my kale, Swiss chard and lettuce.

The summer of '08 I had a prolific crop of apricots and plums. A dear friend taught me how to fresh preserve and can my first jams . Since then I have learned to fresh preserve many other foods. The beneficial aspect of canning your own food is you know exactly what you are getting and precisely what is in each jar. There is a wonderful freshness to something that has been preserved. When you work with a friend while canning, you can have a delightful time of fellowship and get a smooth running assembly line going. If anyone would like to come over to learn how to fresh preserve, give me a call and I would love to teach you.

Fresh canned peaches in a light syrup.

Homemade "smooth" applesauce with no sugar added. Yummy!

The house has seen a couple of significant home improvements over the last year and half. The front yard was landscaped minus the grass. The Bay Area, the entire state of California too, has been in drought conditions for the last few years, so I have held off on putting in the grass. Last summer my pool went through a major project of re-surfacing the plaster. The pool looks outstanding now and my whole backyard is improved because of the project. If you want to see the process you can look back in past blog posts and see the entire day to day improvements.

MY FAMILY

Many of you may not know, since I did not get out a letter last year, we have had a wonderful blessing added to our family, Joseph Charles. One of my greatest joys in life is being an Auntie to my sweet niece Trinity (4 years) and my sweet nephew Joey (1 1/2 years). I fondly call them "Love" or Trin Trin and Joe Joe. I so love them and cherish any opportunity to spend time with them. Whenever we are together, Auntie is everything.

A huge praise to the Lord, each of my family members are doing well at the present time. I am so thankful to God for each of them, they are so very special to me and I love them dearly. There is a deep bond between all of us. Here are a few photos of my dear family.

My Mom and Dad last weekend for my birthday.

The entire clan for our annual Christmas family picture.


HOLIDAY EXERCISE ADVICE

The holidays bring on a huge amount of busyness and extra calories. If you are going to enjoy some of the yummy food around you, make sure you get out and get some exercise. Exercise in a way that raises your heart rate significantly for at least, at the bare minimum, 10 minutes. Even better would be to set aside 30-60 of exercise at least 5 days a week. Your exercise does not need to be anything big or grand, just a walk around your neighborhood will do.

The tip I am sharing with my students this year involves working the core of your body (studies are starting to show that along with regular cardiovascular workouts we need to work our core muscles- abs, lower back, gluts, quads and hams to get the best benefits of exercise that will have the most observable longterm results. The tip I shared with my students is to use idol time in front of the t.v. or in between X-Box games to do a round of curl ups, crunches, push ups, planks, lunges or stretches. The commercials last for 2 minutes at the hour or half hour times and is the perfect amount of time to get a set of core exercises in.

For example during my hour CSI show, at 9:00 when the show starts I can do 30 curl ups (takes about 1 minute to do 30) and a set of as many as I can do of crunches in one minute. At 9:30 I can do 3 sets of 10 modified push ups (on my knees, keeping my back perfectly flat, takes about 1 minute) and immediately transfer to 3 sets of 20 seconds each of planks. When the show is over and I am waiting to hear the brief news prior to the 10:00 news, I can do a set of lunges, 10 on each side and repeat 3 times. My basic core workout for the day is done and it only took 6 minutes of my time while I was already not doing much of anything.

HOLIDAY RECIPE

During the holidays there are always parties to go to and often times you need to bring some fun festive food. I found a great recipe from the 2009 December Sunset Magazine that has been a big hit both times I have brought it to a party. It is called Roasted Pears with Almonds, Cranberries and White Chocolate Drizzle by McCormick & Co., Inc. Here is the recipe taken from the McCormick web site. Enjoy!

Roasted Pears with Almonds, Cranberries and White Chocolate Drizzle

Ingredients
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons McCormick® Gourmet Collection Cinnamon, Saigon
1 teaspoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection Nutmeg, Ground
1/4 teaspoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection Cloves, Ground
4 firm ripe pears, such as Bosc or Anjou, halved and cored
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/3 cup heavy cream
4 ounces white baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/2 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in small bowl. Place pear halves, cut-side up, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with no stick cooking spray. Drizzle with melted butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture.
2. Bake 30 minutes or until pears are tender, spooning brown sugar mixture over pears halfway through baking. Cool slightly.
3. Bring cream just to boil in small saucepan on medium heat. Remove from heat. Add white chocolate; stir until chocolate is melted and sauce is smooth.
4. To serve, place a pear half on each of 8 dessert plates. Stir brown sugar mixture in baking dish. Spoon over pear halves. Sprinkle with almonds and cranberries. Drizzle generously with white chocolate sauce. Serve immediately.
Tips
Test Kitchen Tip: Stir 1/4 teaspoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection Saigon Cinnamon into the white chocolate sauce.This recipe was created by Cat Cora, Bon Appétit Executive Chef, for the McCormick® Gourmet Collection.

Glory to God in the Highest!

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!


With much love and care,

Shelly