July 26, 2011 It never fails. At least once a day while playing with my sons or putting them to sleep – I think about the moment I brought Christian home for the very first time. He was sleeping and swaddled in a green blanket while I placed him softly on our bed. I remember staring at him in complete awe that this small human being was now in this world and in my responsibility. I could still smell his…
Becoming passionately challenged.
July 14, 2011July 13, 2011 I’ve been feeling incredibly restless lately. My stepdaughters left last week and since then it feels like a tornado swept through our lives for a month and then suddenly left. While visiting I hosted two pool parties, two birthday parties and helped organize white water rafting, bowling and more. Every day the house was a busy wreck where I was constantly packing bags, going through to do lists and rushing out the house to make it tardily…
Resonating with the world..
June 16, 2011
June 15, 2011 When I met Emily ten years ago as a new trainer at 24 hour fitness we rarely interacted with each other. In fact, I can’t recall exchanging two sentences with her. It was by fate that I ran into her around 9am two years ago at the same gym we first became trainers. We exchanged numbers and I hired her as my coordinator for Fitness without Border’s middle school fitness program. Since then, we’ve developed a friendship…
Parental Sacrifice
June 8, 2011June 7, 2011 It’s an amazing experience to watch a childhood friend become ordained as a Catholic priest. I’ve know Father Brian Soliven since attending fifth grade with him at Franklin Elementary. Not only was he a friend of my brother, but he was also someone I fondly remember swooning over when I was a little girl. It’s interesting that we continued our paths to the same junior high school, the same high school and even the same college. While…
Power of prayer
June 2, 2011June 1 , 2011 I’ve been inconsistent about updating this site. No surprise since my entire life for the past couple months have been marred with inconsistencies. I don’t exercise regularly, my eating is sporadic, my schedule is volatile and my emotions are unpredictable. While I naturally despise a routine-life’ it is in fact my small routines that keep me sane on a daily basis. An Acupuncturist treated my chronic back pain today. When I say chronic, I mean it’s…
“I am”
May 17, 2011May 16, 2011 Last Sunday, on Mother’s Day, David gifted me with four books and a date to watch I am at the movies. Besides taking my mother out for lunch, most of my day was spent reading in bed. I’ve already finished nearly two books now! I’m not a big fan of television or movies, but I enjoy documentaries especially ones that inspire, motivate and promote positive change. I am is a movie about Tom Shadyac, a comedy director…
Seeking a natural high
April 5, 2011April 4, 2011 When I close my eyes and think about what I miss most in my youth, I think about swimming. Today while I lay in the sun in the backyard, I reminisced swimming with my girlfriends in junior high school tumbling and talking about boys. When we first moved to Sacramento, I swam so much that if I were to post a fifth grade picture, you wouldn’t recognize me because I was so dark. Swimming was cathartic for…
The Quality of our lives
March 3, 2011March 3, 2011 Someone asked David and I what we rated our vacation on a scale from 1-10. Simultaneously we said 11! We explored ancient cities, dined on ethnic cuisines, relaxed in our mini-suite and enjoyed our special alone time together. The morning we left there was an energetic giddiness that surrounded us. After all, we have never been without the kids for more than two days or traveled to distant lands in a long time. There we were, hand…
A parents gift…
February 12, 2011February 11, 2011 David and I are leaving for Europe today. In approximately eight hours we will be flying to Spain where we will spend the next couple of weeks traveling to Italy, Greece, Turkey and more. It will be an amazing adventure with my husband, a welcomed vacation from the very busy life we exist in every day. My mother-in-law has flown in to help my mom watch the boys. I already emailed a detailed itinerary of our travel…
Your character is your destiny
January 28, 2011January 27, 2011 When I was in high school, I used to have quotes written on my binder for me to read and reflect upon whenever I felt lost, lonely or unmotivated. One of those quotes read, Your character is your destiny. I didn’t understand the depth of those five words at the time, all I knew is that I didn’t know what I wanted I just knew that if I was a person of high character, that God would…