Hint received...

Okay, I know there are a lot of cute babies out there, but c'mon isn't Miss June the absolute cutest!?! :) I can't believe she is already two months old...what an incredible gift from the Lord!

Love and prayers to you Onaindia family!!

Let the planning begin...

As you know, Dillon is graduating from High School and we are having an Open House in a couple of weeks which involves a lot of fun planning! :) Yesterday my mom came down and we had a craft day here at the ranch. We made graduation marble magnets - 64 to be exact! :)

I think they turned out great or as my mom would say, "They're precious!"

Here they are displayed on my magnetic board in the mudroom by the door (wow, that sentence was loaded with prepositional phrases, ha!) Anyhoo, my objective for the marble magnets is for each guest to take one as a reminder to pray for Dillon or any graduates they know :)

My prayer for Dillon and all his friends graduating is "that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." ~colossians 1:10

To poof or not to poof...

A couple of days ago I got my hair done by my dear friend who has returned to work at the local salon here in Acton. She is also my favorite neighbor :) She asked if I wanted the 'poof or bump' in the back and I said sure. It's hard to really see it from the pictures but what do you think? I have mixed opinions in this house of boys...one likes it, one has no comment, and the oldest one replied, "Um, you have something sticking up in the back!"

Either way it was fun and relaxing to have a day at the salon, head massaged, hair played with and great conversation - thanks, Nicole! You did a great job :)

The last game...

This is the only picture taken at Dalton's last baseball game in Apple Valley.

It was hot, hot, hot!

When someone offered me their umbrella, I jumped at the opportunity. As you can see by the text on my lap, I was multi-tasking...reading for Child Development class in between baseball plays. Derek must have thought I was struggling to do all three things at once (hold umbrella, read, watch the game) and he decided to hold the umbrella for me :) Sweet, huh? However, when he saw that someone was taking a picture he said, "I refuse to pose!" He got quite the 'ribbing' from all the other husbands (in a fun way, of course).

Baseball was fun and Dalton had a great time learning the game but boy, am I glad it's over!! Two games a week about did me in! Now he has started spring/summer Football practice...like I mentioned in my very first post - Dalton is our energizer bunny! Aahhh, to be young again :)

Updates...

Remember my 'come back from the dead' plant? Well, look at what has happened :)
Ta Da!! And it seems to be growing more and more each day...joy!

Here are the buds that will become bright purple flowers...can't wait!

Here is an Axel update: my dad just sent this photo to me entitled, "Axel's daily after lunch nap." Geez ~ the life of a puppy...how cute is he!?! He's getting so big and we wish we could see him more...

I do believe that the only thing missing from this 'update' post would be recent pictures of

Miss Junie Bug...hint, hint :)

Sufficient...

Well, things around here are winding down - baseball, over...Awana, over... and as I reflect, I am certain of this one thing:

Jesus said, "My grace is sufficient for you, My strength is made perfect in weakness." I Corinthians 12:9

Even though we are up to our eyeballs in school and finals, I continue to trust in His strength and am thankful that His grace is indeed sufficient!

Are My Feathers Showing?...

On Monday night, Dillon was rewarded the ultimate achievement in Awana. He received his Citation Award! This award means that he completed a minimum of 10 bible based curriculum books and learned over 700 bible verses. Dillon started Awana when he was 3-years-old at Santa Clarita Baptist Church and when we moved to Acton, he continued Awana at our present church - Crown Valley Community Church, finishing at 17-years-old.
At the Awards Dinner there was a 'senior table' where the clubbers could bring anything commemorating their years in Awana. Here are some pictures of Dillon's 14 years in Awana. I love what Dillon said to me when it was finished, "Thanks for doing this Mom - I like it because it is so simple!" :) No problem, son!

This is one of Dillon's favorite verses that he chose for the picture board.

Order of Events...May 11, 2009

Dillon prepared a speech which was great! I know he was nervous but he said that once he made the people laugh, he was fine. :) In case you're wondering, NO, I did not break down - I just sat and enjoyed the moment. I was as proud as a peacock!! It was strange to think that something that has been such a big part of our lives is now over for Dillon - I guess it's the reality of him really growing up and moving forward.

Dillon's wonderful leaders and our good friends, Anthony and Michele Mawhorter. Thanks you two for being such an incredible godly example for both our boys! We thank God for you and your ministry :) Michele, a special thanks for the awards dinner - as always you left no detail out and made it a very special night for all of us. Thank you, dear friend!

Dillon and the two peacocks :)

Thanks for coming Brooke - it was very special having you there!

I love this boy!

As Seen on TV...

Yep, we actually bought the PediPaws nail trimming product and it actually works, however, when the nails are as long as our hounds, it takes forever! I must say though I prefer this method over the traditional nail clippers anyday...

Bogey ~ looking actually quite relaxed.

Karl's turn ~ not looking so relaxed :( He's looking at me as if I should do something to stop this maddness...ha! Sandie was outta there!!

Just hangin'...

A lazy night at the ranch... :)

Guess Who?...

Are you ready?...this is DEREK when he was a sophomore in high school! In these pictures he is the exact age of Dalton now. When Maxine gave me these I could not believe how much Dalton resembles his Dad - and I thought he looked like me!...not anymore!!

It's the little things...

This last December, Acton had the most unusual, unexpected, yet fabulous snow storm!! Yep, here in SoCal, high desert...the experience confirmed that I never want to live in a place that has snow on a regular basis!

Can you see the snow covered plant next to the tall juniper shrub on the right? It was a beautiful bright green plant with brilliant purple blooms and for the life of me, do not know its name! I planted it YEARS ago, probably not expecting it to live but it had just flourished there. Anyhoo, after the snow storm and 4 days with snow...eegads! - my beloved plant appeared to be dead. Since I could not fully accept its death, I decided to just trim it waaayyyy back. It looked pathetic for the longest time, however, over the past few weeks look what has happened...

It still has a long way to go but its growth multiplies each day and I even saw some budding blooms :o) It's the little things that make my day!!

Baseball, Baptism, and Blessings...

On Saturday Dalton had a double-header in Victorville at Victor Valley Christian School...it was a beautiful day, however, we lost both games...sigh! Dalton swings and...
makes it to first base...

stealing his way to second...

whew!...made it :)

I was so thrilled that Derek was able to come watch Dalton play ~ with all the games being during the week, he has only been able to see one! Check out the seat he made for himself - he is so resourceful :) He is sitting as close as he can to the dugout - he is naturally a coach and the boys love him. When the parents saw Derek they exclaimed, "Oh, great you're here! Are you going to help out with the boys?" If only...Derek just doesn't have the time...double sigh!

Remember Josey and Nathan from our Sunday School class? These two young precious boys were baptized on Sunday (by their fathers). We loved hearing their testimonies and are excited to see what the Lord has in store for them. They are such blessings to us in our class :)

After the service we had an Awana theme potluck (no pics, bummer!) but I assure you, it was very cute with tablecloths in the four Awana colors and the centerpieces were the game pins, bean bags, and relay sticks :)

After lunch, Awana games were played with the adults and kids. Here is Derek running around the circle balancing a bean bag on his head...so funny!

Here is Derek's team...the 'green' team

Some of Dillon's team...the 'blue' team

Some of our youth getting ready for the 'sparky train'...I wish I could have video taped this game ~ it was hilarious :)

Our Sunday ended with dinner and fellowship at the Lindeman's (Brooke's family). We had a great time and Connie made the most delicious meal...thanks guys for your hospitality, it was great catching up! Here are all the kids (Dillon, Brooke, Dalton, Luke, Hannah) on the 'love sac' with Bear, their rottweiler!...yep, they love rotties too :)

Meet Bear...I think he and Karl would be great buddies ~ they have very similar temperaments. Maybe Connie and I will be brave enough one day to have a 'play day' for the hounds...ha!