So much to report

So, I realize that I haven't posted a real posting in almost a month but I have some really great excuses. The greatest of those being laziness :) Yes, so I don't always crave to blog when I am sitting here at the computer doing other things. And while I have had the time, I just don't have the drive.

I guess I can say that I've been in sort of a "funk" lately. The kind of funk that makes you tired, less than enthusiastic, and feeling kind of down. April just seemed to be sad and full of worry for some reason. I think my energy was so focused on the negative things happening to the people around me that I found it hard to focus on my own joy during their trials. Illness, accidents, deaths, divorce, impurity... the world seemed to engulf the ones I know and love. But the sun always shines after the rain, and I've found May to be full of sunny days.

After a few weeks, I finally felt more like myself. And having a birthday on the 2nd day of May seemed to help the month off to a more brilliant start. My handsome hubby and I were able to escape to the beach for two full days, BY OURSELVES! It was a wonderful way to celebrate my turning 26 and sharing some alone time with my love. I have to admit though, leaving Evan for the first time (in 2 years) was both exciting and heart-wrenching at the same time. And I'm still not convinced it was a good thing that he never asked where we were or seemed to notice we were gone, lol. I think he was just too busy having a good time with his Nana. but it was a great time for us nonetheless... walking on the pier, shopping, bowling, eating, going to the movies, eating clam chowder, gazing at Morro Rock, etc. etc. etc. I'm so blessed to have such a loving husband who knows how to make me feel special. I fall more deeply in love with him every day.

May has many more adventures in store as well. Mother's Day is this weekend, the annual Swedish Festival in Kingsburg is next weekend, Memorial Day weekend is fast approaching, and then June is knocking at our door. For those of you that don't know, we are FINALLY getting to take a two-week family vacation to the Seattle area to visit with Bryan's sister and her family. Maybe not such a big deal to some, but please realize that Danielle and her family have yet to meet Evan. He's two years old and just now getting to meet his Uncle Josh, Aunt Danielle, Anaise, Olyvea, Tate, and Emory. Something he is getting more and more excited about lately. We show him pictures and he knows all of their names. We can't wait to see his expression when he realizes that these are real people! It's going to be SO fun! We're anxious to see our nieces and nephew and how they've grown. We know this will be such a memorable trip for us all. Bryan and I will also be celebrating our 3rd anniversary while there.

So as you can see from my ramblings, we have a ton of things ahead and I won't bore you with all we had in April. Okay... except one... we're having another NEPHEW in September!!! David (Bryan's brother) and his wife, Ginger, are expecting a little boy and we are just thrilled for them. Little Dawson should make his arrival in mid-September and we'll be the proud Aunt and Uncle to 12... YES 12... nieces and nephews, all under the age of 9!!! Evan's definitely not hurting for cousins :)

Anyhoo, if you've stuck through long enough to read this jumbled mess, I pray that you have a wonderful week and enjoy the lovely weather that May has to offer. Please keep us in your prayers as Bryan finishes up work for 6 weeks and we'll be able to spend some wonderful quality time as a family.

Love you all!

Handsome

Evan's First Pets

Evan got his first pets today! Two sweet little mice named Mohawk and Speckles. Mohawk is blond with a perfect white stripe down center of his head and back. Speckles is a strawberry color with black and brown speckles on his back. Evan loves them and likes to touch them. After seeing how much he enjoyed the hamsters at Uncle David's house, we decided he was big enough to have his own pets. Here's a few pictures of Daddy and Evan getting them situated in their new home in the playroom.

Easter Bunny, I love you.

Yes, Evan is infatuated with the Easter Bunny. He would not leave the poor thing alone at the egg hunt. Every time he had something to show, something to say, something to ask, or a high-five to give, he ran straight to the Easter Bunny. He cried when we left so Mommy said the bunny was sleeping. A week later, Evan STILL says, "MY bunny is sleeping".

He also cuddles and took with him to church today his little stuffed bunny. But the funniest moment of all was when Evan saw me uploading the Easter pictures and said, "Hi Bunny... high-five" and hit the computer screen as if reuniting with a long lost pal of his.

Evan's Actual Birthday

We spent the day of Evan's actual birthday with his Nana Reich in Santa Cruz. We were already in town visiting Gramps and G.G. so Nana was thrilled to treat Evan to a train ride at Roaring Camp. Evan's fear of trains seemed to be outweighed with the intrigue of it all. We had a nice ride through the redwoods before feeding the ducks and then heading off to lunch. Evan got his favorite meal of chicken and fries at Burger King before we took him to the theater to see "Horton Hears A Who". He was less than interested in sitting through a movie after an already eventful day, but found enjoyment in playing with Nana's cup and straw the entire time. It was a wonderful day to remember.

The funny part is... we tried breaking his fear of trains (especially the loud blowing of the horns since we live near tracks). Well, he still jumps a bit when he hears the train and gets a bit scared, but the hilarity comes in him trying to convince himself by saying repeatedly, "Choo-Choo's fun, Choo-Choo's fun". It's quite amusing :)

Happy 2nd Birthday!

We had Evan's birthday party on the 15th, a week early. The weather decided to get a bit chilly, but that didn't put a damper on the festivities. We had about 40 people show up to our home and decide to huddle inside for the most part. Evan loved the attention, all the kids to play with, and especially the "cupcakes"! He's been asking for cupcakes on a regular basis now. All in all, it was a very fun and successful Blue's Clues party. I decided to make the paw print cakes myself and Bryan made it home from work in time to BBQ some hot dogs for everyone. We feel so blessed to have such a sweet, happy, well-behaved two-year-old who loves life.

Happy Birthday, Evan!!!

House Happenings Update

Well, we've continued work on the house recently after an almost 2-month break. We decided to finish painting the interior and do some yard work outside. Here's a few photos.

Our beautiful home and yard



Hall before... white!



Hall after... "Indian Painting"



Entry before... white!


Entry after



Accent wall before... white (with a little test spot, lol)



Accent wall after... "Cinnamon Cherry"! LOVE IT!



Our living room... COMPLETE!!!



Last room to paint... the playroom. more pics to come!

Gettin' Big

Evan will be two next week and it's making Mommy sad. Why do they have to grow up so fast and get so big? My little baby isn't crawling, he's running! He's so smart and has so much heart. I just love him. Here's some of his last 1-year-old smiles.



Cheesy...



Daddy and Evan found a frog while working in the yard... Evan kept saying
"Put him on my leg".



"Bye froggy!"



Jammies and milk

Success!

I have completed my first full month of my new PartyLite business and found much pleasure in turning in my last show yesterday for February.

PartyLite offers a program for new consultants called the "Brite Start" program. It's awesome and helps one set great goals for building the business, meeting new contacts, reaching a monthly bonus, etc. Well, I am happy to say that I met all the goals for this month and therefore received the PartyLite traveling case for all of my supplies, a $100 product certificate to buy more stuff for my display, a 7% bonus for February, AND a 7% bonus on ALL my sales in March!

It's all very exciting and I look forward to a great start in March and reaching the "Brite Start" goals once again. If I can get the same results this month, I'm guaranteed to make 38% of all sales in April! And I'm having FUN doing it!

If you're ever interested in holding a show or purchasing anything, please visit my website! The link is at the right side of our blog!

Rascal Flatts... Here We Come!!!

I got online right at 10:00 am this morning and swiped up an awesome pair of tickets to Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift at the Savemart Center in Fresno on April 9th. We are SO excited, as last time they were here we were in Texas :( Makes it a bit difficult to attend, right!?! So as my early birthday present, my hubby and I will get to see one of our favorite groups ever! YAY!

Laughter Burns Calories

And after watching this... I think I lost 10 pounds!!! How cute is this?

"Excuse Me"

Evan has become quite an expert at saying "excuse me" after little burps, etc... but I thought it was a little excessive when he said it after every hiccup this afternoon!

A video of Evan

Many of you don't get to see or hear Evan on a regular basis, so here's a quick video of him doing what he does best... making a mess with yogurt :) He says hello too and it's super cute. Enjoy!

New Business Website

To all of you that may be interested in what I am doing these days... here's a link to my new PartyLite business website.

www.partylite.biz/christinareich

Let me know if you have any questions or you're interested in any of our products!

PartyLite-My New Business

As some of you may know, I have just began my new business as a PartyLite Consultant. PartyLite is one of the biggest companies of independent consultants that sell top quality candles, lotions, oils, etc.

I recently quit my part-time job with Curves to look for something more flexible and fun. With PartyLite, I can make my own hours and never miss special events with my family, including vacations. I'm really looking forward to all of the people I will meet and the opportunities this new venture presents. My sister-in-law, Ginger, just started and got me interested. I'm really looking forward to doing this along side of her!

I will soon have my own website up, so please feel free to look through the catalog, shop, and see the wonderful specials we have for hosts and guests too. Who knows... maybe you'll consider trying PartyLite as your own business!

I'd love to have you book a show and let me come in to your homes to share PartyLite's new Winter/Spring 2008 catalog. If you are interested about PartyLite or booking a show, please contact me at my business email. It is CMReich@yahoo.com

Thanks for all of your love and support. I look forward to sharing more about this exciting new adventure later. Have a great week!

House Happenings #4

More progress is being made. We've painted the dining room/kitchen and are currently working on the guest bath. Here are some more pictures of the finished master bedroom, Evan's room, the kitchen/dining area, and the guest bedroom. We'll have more later!

Happy New Year!

Well, it seems unreal that yet another year is gone and we are already almost done with Day #2 of 2008, doesn't it?

In reflecting on 2007 and how faithful God has been to our little family, I can't help but be overwhelmed by emotion and greatly humbled. A year that had began in such sadness, lonliness, and desire to be "home" had life hard to bear at times. Little did we know that a dear life-long friend of mine would find a job posting, care to email it one day in January, and it would end up being that little ray of hope that in the end brought us HOME. (Thanks, Ash!) And again in December, we were blessed with our first home. God is SO good!

There are so many other wonderful things that happened in 2007 and we look ahead with eyes wide open to what God has in store for 2008.

May each of you be richly blessed and find joy in every day. We love you all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas 2007

Christmas 2007 was as much fun as ever, and probably more! We were able to see family and friends from Monday the 17th through Christmas Day. While our heater decided to go out on the 21st and would be off an entire week, we managed to survive the cold and enjoy the Holidays. We escaped to the homes of others as often as possible!

Ginger made it up with Andria for a day visit and got to see our new place, let the kids open their gifts, and share lunch before heading home. It's so wonderful to see Evan interact with family that he hadn't had much time with before. We love our day visits!


My good friend, Kate, came down the evening of the 21st to exchange gifts, go out to dinner, and hang out awhile.

Bryan's best friends, James and Derek, came from Santa Cruz for the weekend of 22nd and 23rd. They spent their time hanging out on the slopes of Sierra Summit, snowboarding and trying out some new gear. They had a blast; so much in fact that they are on their way now to ring in the New Year with us!

Christmas Eve we spent with my extended family. Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, etc. got to eat together, visit, and enjoy the laughter of having a white elephant gift exchange and then playing "Mafia". Not necessarily the most Christmas friendly game, but it was fun! LOL. We made it home in the extreme fog (very scary) and spent time with Evan around the Christmas tree as we read "The Night Before Christmas" and he opened his ornament for 2007. It was a clock because Evan has been nearly obsessed with clocks this year.





Christmas Day we woke up, opened gifts as a family in our pajamas, and just reflected on how our lives have been so blessed this year and why it is that we as Christians celebrate such a glorious day. Later, we met up at my sister's house for more gifts with our immediate family and Christmas lunch.



Overall, it was a most memorable day. Evan was REALLY in to the whole gift thing and LOVED ripping the paper off of things. In fact, he wasn't quite sure how to react to the one gift bag he received. He took the tissue out first, then proceeded to turn it upside down and dump his gift onto Bryan's lap. But, as smart as Evan is... he then began refilling the perfect-sized bag with all of his new puzzles! Clever!





We hope that each of you had a wonderful day rejoicing in the birth of our Lord and Savior. Merry Christmas!