PROMISE Found in Humble Structures...STAIRS

Jacob had a dream in which he saw a stairway...with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.  There above it stood the LORD, and He said, "I am the LORD...I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go...I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." ~Genesis 28:12, 13, 15

Davis Symphony Hall

Office Depot on Geary

Tanforan's Back Lot (inspired by Ann Graf)

Escape Route

Civic Center BART

BART Station

Uptown Oakland Station

I dare you, that when flights of stairs are before you, to take them. Ignore the escalator. Abandon the elevator.  Savor every step reminding yourself that you will never be forsaken; that God, not just any god but the Almighty One, knows your every care and every need.  I dare you. To believe.

YES, YOU CAN!

Sutro Trails Forever

FELIZ NAVIDAD...

Wishing everyone a Happy Christmas from our Family to Yours! May the TRUE meaning of Christmas dwell in your hearts not only during this time but throughout the year and beyond. 

These images of the season (some recently taken, some in the past years), I share with you with the intention of sending hope in spite of whatever we are all going through.  Be blessed.

Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.  ~Jude 1:12

Illustration by my 13 year-old - not a photograph but you can see me in the reflection with my camera taking a shot.

She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. ~Luke 2:7

The Manger Ship: my 8 year-old son's version of the manger scene with Clones as guardian angels.

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and they will call Him Immanuel which means, 'God with us'. ~Matthew 1:23

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ~Luke 2:16

There has been only one Christmas - the rest are anniversaries.  ~W.J. Cameron

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Decorating a gingerbread house is magical... the smell... the taste... the creativity and freedom you feel while building your own, colorful dream home! There's nothing like it for getting "visions of sugar-plums" dancing around in your head! Building and decorating a gingerbread house is a wonderful tradition for kids to grow up with. Best of all, it let us adults rekindle that magic for a little while!

Homeschool Co-Op Christmas Party

Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself...
~Norman Wesley Brooks, 
"Let Every Day Be Christmas," 1976

Christmas is for children.  But it is for grown-ups too.  Even if it is a headache, a chore, and nightmare, it is a period of necessary defrosting of chill and hide-bound hearts.  ~Lenora Mattingly Weber

  
Tree-trimming at the Murphys

A Christmas candle is a lovely thing;
It makes no noise at all,
But softly gives itself away.
~Eva Logue

Candlelight Service @ Cornerstone

JILL

An Advocate for Human Trafficking

Together, we can end slavery in our lifetime. 

~The Not For Sale Campaign

JILL CHRISTINE
age: 43 
Born & raised: San Jose, Aptos (California)
Married to Sung for 13 years
Children: 2 girls (11 & 8)

My passion: My family 

What I do: I get to do what I am most passionate about which is to raise my daughters to be compassionate and loving people

I realized I had turned into my mother when I looked in the mirror after she passed away.

 
What are you expert at: Cuddling
The last time my children made me laugh: 

Yesterday when they were spelling their names with their rear ends (like a dance of sorts)
What advise would you give to young moms: 

It gets easier every 6 months
When I have 30 minutes to myself: 

I check messages and return calls
The last book I read to my children: 

One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham
My favorite outdoor activity to do with my children: 

sledding, walking, swimming - depending on the season

 
The most noticeable way parenting has changed me: 

I'm more patient, understanding and child-like myself
What surprises me the most about being a parent: 

My capacity to LOVE

 
When I "grow up" I would like to read stories to my grandchildren.

Ocean Love {one}

The SEA hath  NO KING but GOD ALONE.

~Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The White Ship

For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an awareness of the Glory of the Lord. ~Habakkuk 2:14

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. ~Mother Theresa

I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. ~Genesis 22:17

These photos were taken at different times at several venues (Bakers Beach, Ocean Beach, Batanes Islands, Boracay, Camp Pendleton).


I, the Lord, define the ocean's sandy shoreline as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross.  The waves may toss and roar, but they cannot pass the boundaries I set. ~Jeremiah 5:22

Narnian Portraits

"I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. 
I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia." ~Puddleglum, The Silver Chair (The Chronicles of Narnia)

Playdate 2005

THERAPEUTIC THURSDAYS WITH THIRD GRADERS

The difference between school and life? In school you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson. ~Tom Bodett

Children have to be educated, but they have also to be left to educate themselves. ~Abbé Dimnet, Art of Thinking, 1928

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young. ~Henry Ford

I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught. ~Winston Churchill

To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is 

spelled out is a spark. ~Victor Hugo

If you read a lot of books you are considered well read. But if you watch a lot of TV, you're not considered well viewed. ~Lily Tomlin

A checked-off list makes me feel I accomplished something, even with small insignificant jobs. (Can't get any simpler than this list.)

My parents told me, "Finish your dinner. People in China and India are starving." I tell my children, "Finish your homework. People in India and China are starving for your job." ~Thomas L. Friedman

(lego + pasta = boy's favorite meal)