Song on my heart

Today is Kaelyn's First Birthday and I hope that she will learn to sing this song too!

It is an OLDIE but a GOODIE.....Heard it this morning and found it to say what is on my heart.

IN CHRIST ALONE

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

This Cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease 

My Comforter, my All in All

Here in the love of Christ I stand

 

In Christ alone, who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones He came to save

'Till on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied 

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live

 

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain 

Then bursting forth in glorious Day

Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost it's grip on me

For I am His and He is mine

Brought with the precious blood of Christ

 

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life's first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand

'Till He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

MOOOORE BASEBALL!!!??

Well, I have to post these pics.....

On July 31, Gary and Hillary invited us to enjoy the Biale Winery season ticket seats!!

We enjoyed dinner at our new Mexican restaurant - Tres Agave -  The Margaritas are EXCELLENT and they offer an abundant supply of  tequilla as you can see in the pic!!  It is located at Townsend and 2nd - same block as the parking garage that we use! I cannot believe we never stopped in!! Having dinner before the game was CLUTCH! Waaaaay better!! Yea, the dogs are good and fun at the park, but....

Our view!!! Yes, 'Visitors' Dugout is to the left but 3 rows from First Base? We'll take it!! Sweeeeeeet!!! Good times and always a pleasure to hang with the Swiggetts!!

No zoom here! Sorry, didn't pay much attention to the camera -

 tooooo busy watching for foul balls!!! 

Then.....Gary gave us 4 tickets to the Giants vs Dodgers game - SAME LOCATION!!!! 

So, we invited the BIGGEST Dodger fan we know - David Nash - to use the 4th ticket!! 

At our row!!

Taylor and I like to go to the Giants dugout before the game. 

This game? Pitcher Joe Martinez!! SIGNED!

After getting the ball signed, a young Spanish speaking boy walked up with another English speaking boy and asked Joe to send out Bengie Molina - that this Spanish speaking boy was his cousin Yada! They waited for awhile next to us. Shortly thereafter, here comes Bengie!! He motioned over and these two kids RAN where the pitchers warm up. Taylor told me to follow them, but the security guy was telling us NOT to jump the rail. So, unfortunately, we did not follow until the security guy wasn't looking, then we jumped it.  Benjie talked to these boys for awhile, signed some items - not ours - and the excitement was over.  Yea, we should have followed those boys, they KNEW to go to this area to talk to Bengie. Got a nice pic though!! :)

Happy Dodger!

Had to take a picture of Manny WITHOUT his hat!! 

No, we are not Dodger 'FANS' 

I really wish that we Giant fans would have this much fun when EVERY team comes to town. The chants of, "What's the matter with Manny?" and we would answer, "He's a BUM!" LOL!!! The "BEAT LA" chants were awesome - the kind that you can feel the stadium voice in your chest!! Yea, there were some really bad umpire calls AGAINST the Giants!! It was really bad. We were all yelling at Umpire 29 - mustache boy - because of his bad calls.

Giants lost this Monday night game. But, WOW, what a game! Lots of fun!! 

Animal Assisted Therapy Class

I went to the first information meeting on Monday, August 10. Ten of us were at the meeting. It all sounds very interesting and I am excited to start!! Gabby and I must take a 4 week - 1 hour of training beginning September 17th. They suggest other 'trainers' in the house also attend the training so everyone is on the same page - so Dick will join in this part.

 

The first class will train her on the command - "Leave It" - she must be able to understand this command very well in case medications were to drop on the floor or what have you. 

The second class will focus on touching/manhandling - that is of Gabby, not me - LOL! Anyway, she needs to be somewhat comfortable with touching her feet, hind, tail and face. 

The third class will introduce hospital equipment. Sometimes animals are fearful of wheelchairs and especially crutches. 

The last class we must pass all of the tests and we go into the field. 

I will make a once a month commitment for 6 months and then evaluate, see if Gabby enjoys it and if all is well.  Every month will more than likely be a different location i.e., hospital, retirement homes, shut-ins, and AIDS facilities.  The program serves 250 - 275 visits PER MONTH! They have over 100 companies participating in SF that request the service. 

Some volunteers go more than once a month, depending.  The program is 20 years old and they have it down like a SCIENCE!! They also offer other programs to 'merge' into after you've been established - if needed.

They described the 'perfect dog' for this situation is a dog that pulls at the leash when the trainer is approaching because the dog is THAT eager to meet someone new. PERFECT!! That is GABBY!!! 

Part II - Taylor's Summer Vacation

LOTS of BASEBALL this season - it's a good thing!

Aug. 1 - Started the second half of Taylor's summer. We kicked it off by going to a Giants Baseball game with lots of GREAT friends and family! But, before the game, we took a walk with the Singer Family!  Paul was surprised with the size of our garage and asked if we ever see anyone towing a boat through the neighborhood....um, that would be a NO..... We laughed about that, can you imagine? In these streets? But, on our walk, we turn the first corner, and lo and behold!!!! Someone backing in their boat - and a MALIBU nonetheless!!! We could not believe our eyes!! We chatted with the owners, laughed about our story and gave them a few pointers on how to get that boat in the garage! Paul, did you ever send him a Malibu t-shirt?

The 25 of us had our usual seats - yup, the birds-eye-view.....but good times were had and Giants beat Phillies! Thanks to all for coming up!! (I have to show you the view cuz it gets BETTER!)

On Monday, August 3 we hopped on a plane headed for beautiful, sunny San Diego!! Yup, home of the PADRES! Yes, and that was the first stop too!! First, we checked out Piper Nash's place - she is living down there while going through Nursing School - then twisted her arm to join us for Padres vs. Braves game. GREAT seats, pretty quiet fans - kind of strange, yummy ice cream cones and a PADRES WIN!!

Told you the seats got better!

I like how they kept the old Supply building and used as part of the park!! 

Tuesday was the BUSIEST day of them all with the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Mission AND SeaWorld!! All were a good time with LOTS of walking! One of the many highlights thus far was riding the Journey to Atlantis in SeaWorld with Taylor - Dick is not a fan of roller coaster rides. It has a pretty steep/angle drop - a water log type ride! Pretty fun!! I think I was screaming louder than Taylor!!

The other highlight of that day was a somber one. We went to the Mission because Taylor just finished 4th grade and spent a lot of time studying them last year. Also, it being the FIRST of the missions was pretty cool! Well, while sitting in the church admiring all of the work and feeling the presence of years past, in walks a young teenaged boy, with his arm around another teenaged boy. The second boy appeared to be mentally challenged along with being physically challenged. I believe that God puts us in places with people at certain times for a reason. The friend/brother helping the other was showing so much love and affection to the inured boy, it was touching. The healthy boy lowered the kneelers, he bowed his head and prayed for awhile. I sat wondering what he could be praying for and thought that his prayers were needing to be met waaaaay more than mine. After praying, he rubbed his friends head lovingly and kissed it. It really touched my heart and I had to sit, pray and think for awhile......

Wednesday was BEACH DAY!!! YEAH!!!! Yes, since moving to SF fulltime, I have been complaining a little about the LACK of sun in July!! I LOVE the sun and miss it sooooo much. There were days in July when we would drive 10 miles north, just so I could sit in the sunshine. My daughter, Amy drove down from Huntington Beach and we all enjoyed the afternoon catching up and boogie boarding!! We caught some AMAZING waves!!! Dick even played in the water - showing us his boogie boarding skills!! Taylor and I love the beach and go boogie boarding every chance we get but we have to rent the wetsuits in our northern california beaches. Down in SoCal, the water is warm and it was spectacular!!! We count our blessings daily!!

Thursday we traveled about 40 minutes north of SD to LegoLand. This was going to be a first for all of us! It was pretty cool to see the 'cities' built of Legos - pretty amazing actually.... the rides were pretty weak with very long lines. We walked the entire park - and stayed for about 5 hours!! A really fun place for 5-7 year olds.

I zoomed in to show the detail!!

All made out of LEGOS!!! 

On Friday we met up with Piper for breakfast before our plane departed this beautiful vacation spot for many and HOME for the lucky ones!! ;)

The Half!

Yup, another Half Marathon under our belts! WOOT WOOT!!! 

We run to eat and eat to run!

San Francisco had their annual Half and Full Marathon on Sunday, July 26th. SIX years ago, Dick and I ran this event but only did the 5K - that it was Dick's very first race EVER! We also consider this our 'Dating Anniversary'. Thankfully, six years later, we still enjoy running!

Our Half Marathon Record:

Visalia Half Marathon - May 2004 - Time: 2:33

Huntington Beach Half Marathon - February 2008 - Dick Time: 2:26 My Time: 2:31 (Dick broke away the last 2 miles)

San Francisco Half Marathon - July 2009 - Dick Time: 1:59 My Time:2:16

Upon waiting for the start, Dick saw the 1:50 sign and wanted to run with that pacer to finish under 2 hours. So, he kept up with them until mile 4. Then, he just wanted to keep in front of the 2 hour pacer and succeeded!! An old coach told me a long time ago, "On race day, you forget your training partner and give the race everything you have to see what your Personal Best could be!" He decided to give that a try and did GREAT!! Here he is with a BIG smile crossing the FINISH line - with his thumbs UP!!! 

I started the race running along with Amy and having every intention of running the majority of the race with her. But, something happened around mile 3. I got in a zone and just felt the rhythm and felt I could do better. I ran up ahead of her. I felt bad, but at the same time was enjoying the run, the park, the music and anticipation of FINISHING!! So, I went on ahead. All was well until mile 9.9. I had to take a 3 minute potty break and gather myself back together. At this point, I just wanted the race to be over. I finished in 2:13 - one of my better times. I ran the Nike Women's Half in 2:09 two year ago.

It was a misty, foggy morning until the last 2 miles when the sun came out, which actually made for a very pleasant temperature for running. When I saw the camera men I made sure they saw ME!!! LOL

Where is the next run? Well, they offer a beautiful medal of California if you finish the SF, Long Beach and Huntington Beach races! So...yup, the next one is Long Beach in October. I am fully committed but Dick is still deciding. Amy is running it too along with her friend Jelena and her husband. Should be fun and FLAT!!! YEAH!!!

So the training continues. This next race I will be better trained. These past few months have been really busy with moving and some trips so I was not able to run some 10 milers before race day - which I think helps a lot!

Dick's niece and her husband - aka Lindsay and Jeff - trained for the FULL Marathon and did really well!! Their goal was 4:15 and finished in 4:14!!! YEAH!!! It was Jeff's first marathon and Lindsay's second. Waaaaaaaay to go!!!

A Crab FEAST!

Jane, Bill and David Nash came to SF so our friends David and Vasi wanted to make them dinner.... A CRAB FEAST of a dinner!

Beautiful!! David cleaned it and placed it in the body for us!

SHELLS! All gone!

After dinner, we played an old family game of PASSWORD that was a hoot!

Here is Jane telling Bill the secret word.

Lookin' good!

Especially during this visit, I treasured noticing the 'core', 'original' family togetherness and how blessed the four of them are to have the opportunity to spend time with each other. I know when my kids can come together, it does my heart good.  I think about other families that do not or cannot and it saddens me.  

Birthday Celebration

Janet and Dave Hawkin's Family that includes sister Marsha and bro-in-law Doug, sister Jeanne, brother Richard and son Mitch have been spending a week in Cayucos for the past 27 summers! They have always invited 'Uncle Dick' during this special family time and we always feel so honored to be included. 

This year, as part of the weeks fun, we all went to the Melodrama in Oceano - next to Pismo Beach. If you are ever in the area, look it up, a guaranteed fun, entertaining evening. The house is always PACKED - get your tickets early. The skits are so cleverly created and performed! Everyone had a hoot of a time and it is for the young and the old alike.

Since it was sooooooo hot in the valley, we had fog every morning but it would eventually burn off and we had sunny afternoons. We ran every morning and the clean ocean air was GREAT for the lungs and soul!

I had heard that my former boss from my banking days had moved to Cambria.  We emailed each other and arranged to reconnect while we were in the area. She creates beautiful oil paintings and never took a lesson. She is a cancer survivor and during that ordeal, she discovered her hidden talent. She quite her 30 year banking career, sold their home in Merced and opened an art gallery in Cambria, living 5 - 10 minutes away. We hugged each other tightly, reminisced about the 'old days' and were able to share stories from our hearts.  She remembered Dick from trying to gain Malibu's business at one time.  It was a great little reunion and we are glad we made the time for each other.  Art From The Heart is the name of her gallery. On the website you can view her story and her art.

We said our goodbyes and thanked the Hawkins Family for their love and kindness.

Next stop - Santa Barbara!

We stayed at The Harbor View Inn and WHAT A TREAT it was! We met David and Vasi 

in the evening and the birthday celebration began! Vasi's birthday was Friday, mine on Saturday. We went to The Palace in Santa Barbara - a favorite restaurant and met up with Mitch! We twisted his arm to come join us for an amazing bread pudding dessert. Was nice to see him again!

On Friday, Vasi and I had a massage while the boys were pool side. In the evening we went to Santa Barbara's annual wine tasting event of reserve wines, amazing food, cheeses and desserts! The BIG event was scheduled for Saturday (2500 - 3500 people) but the event we chose had only 300 - 400 people attend and was very very nice!  BBQ lamb chops, crab stuffed tomatoes, live jazz music on a sunset beach with the one you love calls for an unforgettable evening.

On Saturday, we wanted to do a mini "Sideways" tour. Funny movie! Our first stop was of course, The Hitching Post! It was closed so we continued on to Solvang where we walked the streets of shops, had lunch and enjoyed the sunshine.

David and Vasi's son went to a private boarding school in the area so we took a drive in the hills.  Across the street was Michael Jackson's Neverland so we had to stop and take a few pics.

We headed back to HP where we had a few tastings of Santa Barbara wines, appetizers and laughs before dinner.

The owner/winemaker/head chef hung out with us for a bit. 

We talked to the bartenders about the movie and enjoyed our time.

We went to dinner at Trattoria Grappola in Santa Ynez. A restaurant that D and V would enjoy when in the area. We did too!! What a special birthday dinner, week, well MONTH, well, YEAR! 

We returned home on Sunday after picking Gabby up from spending the week with The Carlstrom's!  She was a good girl and became Friends For Life with Cali and Maddy!  

Being ever so thankful for the love we share and continue to grow in His glory. 

Reflecting

Yup, another year older on Saturday. But, it is all good! I have so many blessings coming my way.  I am truly thankful and could not be any happier!  Bring on another year!!  I am ready!!

2009 Top Ten Things I am Thankful for!

A loving, caring, funny friend and husband, walking on the same page of life together 

Children that are my best friends

A step son I cherish

A grand daughter that steals my heart when she is near, like NO OTHER!

Having an amazing stepfather to my children

A Mom I can count on anytime, anywhere, with her husband that prays for me

In-Laws that tell me I am an answer to their prayers for their son

Family and Friends that love me for who I am

Flowers blooming in my garden

A beautiful home where friends and family join us and know they are loved and treasured

A dog that doesn't have to do much to receive my affection

I reflect about my life often, but of course there are those BIGGER occasions - and for me the birthday is one of them when I survey the year.  A few questions I ask myself:

What could I have done better? 

Did I greet each day with enthusiasm as if it were my last? 

Do my loved ones REALLY know I love them with all of my heart and soul? 

What can I do to improve myself? 

What can I do for others?

Am I using my time wisely? 

After careful analysis, I can then begin to CELEBRATE!!!

This year, honestly it is difficult to tell when the celebration really started! Each day is special in its own way and such a TREAT!! 

Actually, Dick has planned another AMAZING birthday adventure!!  On Monday, we leave for Cayucus for 3 nights. David and Janet Hawkins rent a beautiful beach house each summer and  invites us to spend a few days. Then, we'll travel down to Santa Barbara, meet up with David and Vasi, stay at a beautiful resort, get another massage, run on the beach, lay by the pool, enjoy their annual wine tasting event and do the 'Sideways' tour! We'll return on Sunday afternoon.

Yea, I don't really mind turning another year older when it is celebrated with so much love, pizaz, and making great memories!

Here is to another blessed year.  May the next continue to fill my heart with good health, joy and laughter!

PART 1 Continuation of Taylor's Summer Vacation

We had a GREAT 15 days with Taylor - now 1o years old and going into the 5th grade this next school year. Not sure if it was because we did not have any pressures of 'work' or he is older now, but it was a really nice vacation!! He is such a good travel buddy! We kept busy the ENTIRE time and never once was there a complaint, issue or break down on ANY of us!! hahahaha

First stop - Visalia!

We started out on Father's Day and landed ourselves from SF to Visalia and dinner with Dick's father, mother, brother and sis-in-law. A BBQ evening at the Visalia Country Club for dinner made for a special evening. The rest of the week broke down like this:

Monday - Depart Visalia (and leave Gabby with her grandparents!!) and head to Huntington Beach. We took Amy to dinner at a hot spot in Belmont Shores - the BEST ribs around!! Always nice to stay with her and get lots of hugs!!

I thought that this was so cute - we had our own personal photographer!! aka TAYLOR!

We were just leaving Amy's workplace when he took this one.

Are his legs more thin than mine? DOH!

Tuesday - La Brea Tar Pits, Hollywood (Michael Jackson's star before it was chaotic!) Bel-Air Country Club - where Dick played while attending the semester at UCLA - ending with an Angel's vs. Rockies baseball game with sister Brenda and her two girls!! WOW! I have to tell you, Angels' fans are waaaaaaaaay better than the Giants' fans!! We had the wave go THREE times around - in a row!!! It was sooooooo great!! Very exciting!!

Taylor and Amy after the WIN of Angels! Rally Monkey did it again!!

Nice jersey!! All kids received a jersey at the gate! Sweet!

Wednesday - A haircut with my/Amy's lady then off to DISNEYLAND til midnight! No more to say about that! hahaha

Thursday - All day in DISNEYLAND! The lines weren't bad!! Only a 20 minute wait for most! Yes, the bigger, faster rides were longer, but with the invention of FAST PASSES, they were manageable! Crowds were LESS and all was GREAT! We were able to get the perfect seats for the fireworks. WOW! If you have not been to Disneyland in the last 5 years, this is a MUST!!! No other show like it! 

Friday - Head over to Pismo Beach.  Meet up with Gabby, Dick's parents, and the Carlstrom's!! Nice time catching up and leaving Gabby with The Carlstrom's (and their two dogs Cali and Maddy) for the weekend.

Saturday - Dick's cousins wedding at the San Luis Obispo Mission! What a special day!! Mature people, lovely families, perfect weather, AWESOME food, fun music, lots of love in the air = MEMORABLE wedding!!!

Beautiful bride Adrianne and cousin Chris the groom!

Nice father and son shot!

Dick's parents and Taylor!

Sunday - Rent boogie boards and wetsuits.....A MUST when at the coast with Taylor - I think I created a monster!!! LOL!!! Thankfully, I LOVE to boogie board too (I could win a gold medal if it were an Olympic event!!) so we have a GREAT time! Highlight? A SEAL was about 25 yards in front of us!! YIKES!! It was beautiful! We all looked at each other, a wave came and it was gone. Poof!  After a few hours of FUN, we picked Gabby up from The Carlstrom's and headed over to San Miguel Mission - (the one Taylor did his 4th grade California Mission project on). It was only 102 degrees!!! UUGGHH!! Pretty cool for him to actually SEE the mission he worked so hard on! We arrived back in SF after dinner.

Monday - Andrew, Erika and Kaelyn arrived in time to go and watch the Oakland A's play the Detroit Tigers - with Dusty Ryan (new catcher)! Remember, this is the guy Amy dated while in high school for 2 years? He was brought up a few weeks ago. Thought we'd head over and give it a watch. We were able to congratulate his parents who were sitting in the stands, get a ball signed by Dusty and he even had time to give a WAVE from the field! We had GREAT seats, and enjoyed the game - eventhough Detroit lost.

Me and my little sunshine!

She took a tumble and has a booboo on her forehead....probably the first of many!

But that SMILE!!

Her lucky/blessed parents at the A's game!

Tuesday - Sad Day - Taylor left around 5:30 p.m. and thus the end of Part 1 Vacation.  We will see him again on July 10 for the weekend.  Summer is a little odd of a schedule but we'll survive. He is a happy boy that loves his mom so that makes our hearts happy too.

Yes, we were DRAINED after Taylor left! We actually slept for 10 1/2 hours straight!!! But, we are feeling great now. We have some projects planned for the next few days, the three Reed girls are arriving on Saturday for (hopefully) some fireworks from Pier 39! 

Each and every day we feel so blessed to be able to enjoy each other, our families and life to its fullest! We take nothing for granted and thank God for it all! God Bless you and yours!