Nash Family Journey

Change

2010-04-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

Right now I finally decided to sit and write on here for the first time in 6 months. I am sitting outside in the beautiful Chico weather. Jay and Jadon are at a paintball retreat, Valor is working, Ethan is on a bike ride with a friend and Breandan is playing outside with the neighbor kids and I am getting a chance to relax! Right now we are in the middle of baseball season so this is a rare moment to enjoy! Life this past 6 months has been busy, changing, difficult, happy, and probably anything else that you can think of! So much has changed and is changing.

I think Change sums up our last 6 months.

Kids grow up so fast!! Two of them are now taller then me :-(. There is something surreal about when your kids get taller then you. Now don't get me wrong with having all boys I hope they are one day all taller then me! It just happened so fast. And they love to tell me over and over.

Most of our changes have been for Valor. He is graduating Jr. High and we signed him up for his High School classes, he got his first job (umpiring), he is getting to go to the National young leaders state conference next week and fly to Irvine by himself. Wow time goes so fast! He is very independent but yet so much still a kid. It is neat to see him becoming a man.

I feel like as the baby or toddler stage of our parenting is over, and even though we enjoyed that, we are loving our whole new adventure. Of course there are hard times and trials, but watching our kids make their own decisions, some good and some that we need to walk them through, has been awesome. Even though our kids can give us hard times at home I think the real test is how they act when we are not around and they are with other people. We are very proud of who they are and who they are becoming. We do miss the babies though and have to borrow to get our baby fix sometimes!!

Well those are just my thoughts for now hopefully I will get or take moments like this more often and post on here more regularly.

Animoto.com

2009-10-27T08:55:00.001-07:00

Love Chico Sunday

2009-10-19T12:48:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday 19 churches in our area didn't have services. Instead we went out into our community to serve, together. We had what was called "Love Chico". There were over 90 projects including schools, non-profits, parks, nursing homes etc. and almost 3,000 volunteers. The project we gardening, cleaning, painting, construction, really anything that needed help getting done. This was a great way to unite the Body of Christ and serve in our community. We had a great time serving as a family with others from other churches. We went to Chico Eastside Little League to clean up and help on projects. After the last storm we had there were lots of downed branches so we cleaned that up, we painted and just did general cleanup. We figured this was a great place to go considering we practically live there in the Spring. We worked from 8:45 to about noon. Then everyone met at the Downtown plaza for worship and testimonies

Happy Birthday Valor!!!

2009-10-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

We survived the first teenage year! Valor is 14!!!! We can't believe it, it has gone so fast. We are so proud of him and the young man that he is becoming! Valor has grown in so many ways this past year. It is so much fun to have "adult" conversations with him about world, social and religious issues. This past year he played baseball, indoor soccer and roller hockey. He also continues to play is bass guitar and write songs. He has continued to lead the bible study at school, with his friend Joe, at lunch time. In school he is doing great in 8th grade and is taking geometry on line for math. We are looking forward to more "adventures" this year. Love you Valor!!

Ethan is another year older 12!!!!

2009-09-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

Wow I can't believe another year has flown by. It is going so fast I need to take more time to just sit and watch them grow up, if only they would slow down!!! Ethan is turning 12 today! Last year before a teenager (but actually he acts that way already). We are so proud of him and the young man that he is becoming. He is growing spiritually (he went up to the 6th grade in Jr high because he wanted "something more") and physically (he is now the tallest in his class and will catch up to me very soon and he is almost stronger) and maturity (well not too much yet :-) ). Love you Ethan Have a great year!!!

First day of school!!!

2009-08-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

So summer is over and school started Aug. 19th! What ever happened to starting school after Labor Day?? This is the one and only year we will have all four boys in the same school, their charter school is K-8th grades (well preschool is there also but they are a little bit separated) Here are a few pics from the first day of school. Of course there are more of Breandan because he is starting Kindergarten!! (and he is the only one that will allow me to take pictures of him at school!!)

Breandan - Kindergarten

Jadon - 4th grade

Ethan - 6th grade

Valor - 8th grade

The rest of summer!!

2009-08-14T16:20:00.000-07:00

Well here is the rest of the highlights from our summer. This summer was a stay home summer for us because of different circumstances. We still had some visitors and had some adventures. School starts this next week (Aug 18th) then our busy times start. School, 2 in hockey, 2 in soccer, band ,church etc.The boys (and Mom) enjoyed the time at home and around town (mostly we did do one trip).

I went on my first scrapbook weekend. There were 8 ladies and we laid all our stuff out on Friday in the conference room and spent the night at the hotel. We packed up to go home on Sunday!! I only knew one of the ladies there but it was a great time of fellowship and meeting new friends.

Valor and Ethan were in All stars until the about the first week of July.

Jadon took Jay out on his Father's Day outing. Fishing at Horseshoe lake in Bidwell park.

The Kovacs' and us went to my parents house in Live Oak where you can still do your own fireworks for the 4th of July

Jadon played Upwards flag football. It is so cool they do a devotional at half time for the teams. Caesar was leading the devotionals and he had Jadon help with a illustration. This is an outreach of the Evangelical Free Church.

This was our one trip for the summer and of course it revolved around sports. That seems to be the season of our life that we are in right now. Brannan Island is in the Sacramento Deltas.
Ethan had a mini tournament for Butte United travel soccer in Elk Grove near Sac. so we decided to make a weekend out of it. We went to the games swam in the river and picked our own fruit.

The last four weeks of summer we had two Korean teachers stay with us. They were taking English classes at Chico State. We had a great time with them. Learning more about Korea and teaching them more about America. This is through the college but the families they place them with are Christians (a Christian home stay program). We have an awesome opportunity to share the gospel but more importantly just to show them God's love through our everyday life and to build relationships that will last, to continue to pour Christ into their lives. This is our mission field along with Matthew's cafe. Every time we have students or teachers stay with us they become family. So now we have an international family and lots of people to visit in Korea and Japan hopefully some day. We look forward to each time we can have students with us. The teachers we had this summer were Cho and Kang. They teach Elementary and Middle school in Cheongju, Korea

We finally put up the pool that Royal and Denise gave us (Jay couldn't because of his leg) It is a lot of fun and a great way to cool off. Thank you Uncle Royal and Aunt Denise!!!

They made us a very yummy Korean dinner. Jadon is now a pro at chopsticks! Nanna Kovacs' (that is what we still call her) was up visiting the Kovacs' from Kansas so she joined us on a few adventures. It was so good to see her. She has always been Jay's second Mom.

We go swimming at Bear hole in upper park every summer. The boys love jumping off the rock and this year Jadon even did it!! This pic is of Valor jumping and Ethan standing below.

June Highlights so far!

2009-06-22T22:02:00.001-07:00

Last day of school June 4Th: Valor is now going into 8Th grade, Ethan 6Th, Jadon 4Th and Breandan K.

Jay and I drove out to Vegas for Aunt Becky's wedding, Jay officiated it. We had a good time, we stayed in a suite at the Venetian (beautiful place), which is also where the wedding was. It was good to see family.

Me, Jay and his Mom

Doug, Becky and the kids
The reception was at an Irish Pub called Henesey's

Valor made the 13-14 All Star team. Games start the 27Th.

Ethan made the Major 11-12 Team. Games start the 27Th.

Jadon started flag football through Upwards

Breandan lost his first tooth. He couldn't find it when it fell out so he drew a picture and wrote a note for the tooth fairy.

Father's Day we went to Mom and Dad's for lunch. Then we went to the water park.

Praise!!! Jay's leg and foot are getting much better. He has the boot off and he is walking on it, though it still gets pretty sore. He still has a limp and it is still weak but that will get better in time. Thank you all for praying.

And the month is still going......

Updates!

2009-06-01T11:38:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy May.

Our So. Cal trip was good. We spent a lot of time with family. Grandma's celebration was good. We were so blessed to have her in our lives.

A trip to the beach!!

We went to church with Will and Annalisa then we took lunch to the park and Becky met us there. It was so good to see everyone!

Then we went to Will and Annalisa's for a BBQ and got to see more friends, the Jacobs and the Emory's!

Breandan and Alyssa were decorating cookies

That night we went to Mel's house to hang out and make S'mores!! Melanie came to hang out also.

We spent the weekend at Royal and Denise's new house in Corona.

After we got back from our trip Breandan graduated from preschool and he got his first trophy from t-ball.

5Th Sunday at church the kids led the service. The Youth group did worship. Robert (guitar), Valor (bass), JP (drums) and Joe and Melissa sang. They sounded really good. The video is a little fuzzy though. The preschoolers sang a song and the K-5Th grade did a skit, bible verse and showed how they were learning to pray. It was great to show all the adults what they are learning.

Donya (Walling) and David's Wedding

2009-06-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

Donya Walling got married this weekend. Breandan was blessed to be in it as the ring bearer. It was a perfect day and a lot of fun. It was great to see you Tammy also even though it was so short!

Grandma

2009-05-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday morning Grandma/Nana went home to be with the Lord. She was 87 years old. She has been telling us for years, since Grandpa died eight years ago, that she was ready to go home. So in the midst of our sorrow we know that she is rejoicing with Jesus today. She loved the Lord with all her heart and was such a prayer warrior for us. We are so glad we got to go down at Christmas and spend some time with her. The last day we saw her, back in Jan., we took her to the beach ,which was her favorite place to go, she called it "her"ocean. We have some great memories to hold on to. The boys are doing OK. This is the first time they are old enough to realize they have lost someone they are close to. Death became "real" to them. We will be traveling down south later this week for the funeral. Thank you for all your prayers!

A good friend of mine just emailed me this verse I thought it was perfect. 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. Thanks Andrea.

Christmas 2008

July 2008

She came up to Chico for a visit

Good News/Bad News

2009-04-23T17:26:00.000-07:00

OK so the bad news first, we did not even see this coming! Jay went in to the Orthopedic surgeon and he does have a fracture in his ankle, but the worse news is that he also broke his fibula bone. His leg has been sore as well as his ankle but we thought it was just from the bruising and favoring his ankle. The fibula which is the small bone in the shin is broken straight through. Also the tendons are torn and separated from the bone. SSOO he is going to have surgery next Thursday the 30th to put a pin in his leg, to hold the tendon next to his bone until the tendon heals (about 2 months). He is to put no pressure on it for that entire time, crutches and down time. Then in two months he will have another surgery to take the pin out. Please pray for him, the doctor said this is very painful recovery.

OK so now the good news. Valor's leg is probably just a strain on the Achilles. They are going to do an MRI next Friday, the 1st, just to make sure it is not worse. He should be moving around better soon if the MRI doesn't show anything else.

Thank you all for your prayers we know God is faithful and will take care of us. Many prayer requests here, God know them all. Jay will not be able to drive for many months and needs to stay down as much as possible so he is pretty bummed. Someday I hope we will be able to look back and laugh and see the things that we know God will show us through this.

And one more thing!!

2009-04-20T23:27:00.000-07:00

OK so in the last post I went through a lot of the stuff that was going on this month and as of tonight I have to add one more thing! I spent 2 hours in Prompt Care with Valor tonight. He possibly tore his Achilles tendon during his baseball game. It is wrapped in a boot like cast and we need to go to a orthopedic surgeon to get an MRI done to see how bad he hurt it. SO now I have two on crutches around the house. So if you could please pray for him and Jay (and Mom too) Thanks. Well this takes away a few baseball games a week now because he will probably be out for the season depending on how bad the tear is. :-(

Busy Times!!

2009-04-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

This month has been a lot busier then usual for us. On top of baseball, which is about 8 games plus practices a week, we have had a lot of other things going on this month. Kite day, Acquire the Fire, Air soft wars, going to two services at church, a big injury, new braces, a new family member. And the month is not even over yet!! Here are a few pics of our adventures!

Please pray for Jay, he was the one with the big injury. While playing air soft with the boys he stepped on a rock and rolled his ankle and while trying to catch himself he rolled it the other way also. This happened two weeks ago and he can still not put any pressure on it and it is very swollen and bruised up to his knee. There is a possible fracture, he goes back in on Wed. to find out. He is still in a lot of pain and very uncomfortable. It is his right ankle so he cannot drive so I'm sure you can imagine what that does to our schedule!!! Remember the 8 games plus practices mentioned above! But God is faithful and it has all worked out so far.

Chico has a kite day once a year and people come out and pack the park to fly kites, have a picnic, listen to music and have fun hanging out with friends. This year was very windy, almost too windy to fly kites.

Valor won tickets a few weeks ago to the Newsboys concert on Air 1, well this time Ethan won tickets to Acquire the Fire. It is a two day youth conference in Sacramento at Arco Arena. TFK, Building 429, Group 1 Crew, Phil Joel did worship and the had different sessions on teen issues. Jay took the boys and they all had a great time.

The Kovacs' had an air soft war, BBQ, and bon fire on their property. There were about 20 people there.

Ethan now has joined his brother in getting braces! He also needs to get a few teeth pulled to make more room. No fun.

Easter Sunday!! After church we went to Mom and Dads for lunch and an egg hunt.

The newest member of our family, Kylo. He is a German Shepherd/ Collie mix. We got him from the Butte Humane Society. He is 5 years old and very well behaved. Gabby needed a friend while we are gone so much. They get along great.

15 Years!

2009-03-26T08:57:00.001-07:00

I can't believe we have been married for 15 years. It is awesome to realize that I have known Jay for more of my life then I didn't know him (if that makes since). We met when we were 16 and 17 and married at 20 and 21 It has been so awesome to see everything God has placed before us in the past 15 years, good and bad, and to see our relationship growing stronger everyday. Thank you Lord for a wonderful husband.

Last weekend we went away, not very far only 20 min, for 4 days. We had the opportunity to go to Richardson Springs which is a YWAM base. We had our own little apartment like place. It was nice to just relax and go hiking and hang out just the two of us. Life gets so busy right now it was great to spend this time together with out kids and responsibilities. Mema and Papa played Mom and Dad for the weekend and the boys kept them busy.

The place we stayed

A hike up to the water falls.

Baseball time!!

2009-03-23T10:25:00.000-07:00

So we are finally there. The day that we were wondering about for years. "How are we going to do it?" All four boys are playing baseball. Valor 13 in Juniors (Crushers), Ethan 11 in Majors, (Padres), Jadon 9 in minors (Dodgers yeah!)and Breandan 5 in T-ball (Astros). God knew this would be CRAZY for us, so he blessed us with a league where all the different divisions play at the same park at least Yeah!!! We will just rotate between fields. Jay and I missed most of opening day because we were gone for our anniversary (I will post that later) so Mema and Papa got to have all the fun. Four sets of pictures and 4 games all before 12:30. We didn't go very far away on our trip so we had to come back just to see Breandan's very first baseball game. We also caught the end of Jadon's game.

One of Those Moments

2009-03-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

So many times as parents we talk and talk and talk to our kids and hope that they are listening and thinking about what we say. Then, they do something that makes us look at each other and say "He really was listening". We had that moment yesterday with Valor. He is a typical teenager that thinks alot about himself and what he needs and what he wants, etc. We have just been talking to him a lot about serving others and thinking of others. He has actually been doing pretty good, but we were just so blown away yesterday we just have to share.

He won 2 tickets to the Newsboys concert on Air1. He loves music and listening to the radio so we were so excited for him when we got the message. Valor was at school, so we saved it for him. He listened to it when he got home. Now what we expected was total excitement that he gets to go but the first thing he said was "Now Ethan can go to the concert!" WHAT! We were so shocked. You see Newsboys is one of Ethan's favorite bands and Valor, knowing that, entered to help Ethan get tickets!!! None of us knew he was doing this, not even Ethan, so he could have just taken the tickets himself, but he didn't. We were floored. We can't even explain how we felt, it was just one of those moments! So of course we just had to call the station and asked if we could buy a third ticket so he could go too, and they said yes, so both boys are going.

It is just the best thing ever to see God working in our kids lives. To see the change and we praise Him for it. We know he is still a typical teenager and we will still have our issues, but it is nice to know his true heart and that God is working in him.

Valor - 30 Hour Famine

2009-03-08T14:43:00.000-07:00

Hey guys it's VALOR,

I’m doing a fundraiser called “30 hour famine”, where me and my youth group at church don't eat for 30 hours to see what people in Africa go through every day. We don’t actually start the famine yet, but the first part is fundraising to give the money to feed kids in Africa. The famine starts April 24th at 12:00 pm and ends April 25th at 6:00pm. Please also be praying for me during this time. $30 will feed a child for a month. . It doesn't matter if you donate a $1 or $50. I would appreciate it. Donations are Tax Deductible! My goal is to raise $480 which will feed 2 kids for 8 months. So if you can please, donate =)!! If you have any question please contact me about this, by putting a comment on here with your email and I will email you back.

Here's more information about World Vision and the 30 Hour Famine program:
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.

Motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ, World Vision serves alongside the poor and oppressed as a demonstration of God's unconditional love for all people.
World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.
World Vision's 30 Hour Famine is an international youth movement to fight hunger. Students typically fast for 30 hours to spread awareness and raise funds to help provide food and care for children worldwide, including here in the US. Every $30 raised helps provide food and care for a child for a month (worldwide average).

For Fiscal year 2007, World Vision's overhead rate was 14%, meaning that 86% of total revenue went directly to our efforts in the field. For more information about World Vision's financials and stewardship, visit World Vision's web site at http://www.worldvision.org/.

To support my efforts to help feed and care for more children, please click on the link below and visit my fundraising page. Every $30 I raise will help provide food and care for a child for a month.

Click here to visit my personal fundraising page:http://www.30hourfamine.org/portal/onlinegiving/donate/102696956-001

Praise and Prayer

2009-03-05T12:12:00.001-08:00

I have a praise and a prayer request. First the praise part, Valor and Joseph Kovacs have started a bible study at school. They are in the 7th grade and they have started meeting at lunch time. They approached us parents and said that they wanted to do this. So Jay and Cameron have encouraged them to lead it on their own. They are reading through a few verses a week and getting together to talk about it. The Dads take turns going to show them support. I have gotten great feedback from other parents that the kids are really enjoying it.

Well now for the prayer. The school is questioning the legality of it and just wants to know the laws. I think this is a great opportunity for the boys to learn what their rights are and to stand up for what they believe. We have been looking stuff up on line to get all the info together. Our next step is to meet with the principal with all of our information. The school is not wanting a fight just more info because they have not had this situation before. So please pray that the situation will be resolved and that the boys and us will come away from this knowing more about what our rights are as Christians in the public school. And what a great experience and example of living out our faith for these boys. They are excited about this chance.

Storms

2009-02-24T12:54:00.000-08:00

I thought these pictures were beautiful so I thought I would share. This is the Lindo Channel right by our house. The first pic is the kids playing air soft there Feb 8th and the other pics I took yesterday after some pretty good storms.

Our baby is 5 today!!

2009-02-16T21:33:00.001-08:00

We can't believe we don't have a baby, infant or toddler anymore. Our baby is 5 years old today. Breandan is so excited for today, he has been talking about it since Jadon's birthday knowing his is next. Jay told him he had to stop growing because he is getting too big and too old. He told Jay that he couldn't because it was God who made him do it. Sooo cute!

He is definitely the baby of the family. His brothers help him a lot and give him "special rules" Like, he can shoot others but no one can shoot him when they play air soft. We told him though that that was going to change soon now that he is a big boy.

Breandan loves to be silly and copy everything his big bros do. He was so excited to go to preschool this year, because he got to go to school like his brothers. He is starting his first season of baseball soon, and he has played indoor soccer.

We love you Breandan you make our life so fun

Love you,

Dad, Mom, Valor, Ethan and Jadon

Just home from the hospital, yes he was a big baby!

4 months

6 months

1 year old!

Uncle Neil and Aunt Holly's wedding 15 months

20 months

2 years

2 1/2 years

3 years

4 years

4 1/2 years

10 days before turning 5

Happy 9th Birthday Jadon!

2009-02-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

Jadon is turning 9 today, February 7, 2009. Last year of single digits. Is it really 2009 already?Wow time goes fast.

Jadon is our adventurer and outdoors men. He loves to hike in the park and jump off cliffs into the creek. He loves to climb trees and make forts. He is very much in touch with the earth. Actually, the earth is very much in touch with him; he is always dirty. So pictures on here that I chose were rare moments. He loves to go off on his own and explore. There is always (and we mean always) a stick in his hand. Usually a very large one for hiking that will, from time to time, serve as some imaginary weapon. He also collects everything. Rocks are his favorite collection. Mom finds them in the wash all the time.

Jadon is our dare devil. The boy has no fear. He started riding a bike (training wheel free) at 3 yrs. Ever sense then, when he saw his older brothers do a trick or a jump off the bike ramp, he showed them how to do it faster, higher, father or cooler! He amazes us with his nature ability to do stunts with out getting hurt, usually. He has a ton of energy. Many teachers and parents encouraged us to get him into gymnastics. So we did. The instructors were surprised by his ability to do the events they were teaching him on the first day.

He is also starting to show a creative side. He has been taking our camera and taking some really great photos (he got a camera for his birthday).

Jadon, we love your sense of adventure and that you love to try new things. You make us proud in so many ways. Son, we love you and are so glad God gave you to us.

Ps 23: 15-16: "My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice! Everything in me will celebrate when you speak what is right."

Happy Birthday Jadon!

Love Dad,Mom, Valor,Ethan and Breandan

Feb 2000

6 Months old

1 years old

Jadon 2 years, Ethan 4 years & Valor 6 years

2 years, at Knotts Berry Farm

Jadon 3 years, Ethan 5, Valor 7

4th Birthday

5th Birthday

Uncle Neil and Aunt Holly's wedding 5 years old

6th Birthday

Uncle Royal and Aunt Denise's wedding 6 years old.

7th Birthday

Will and Annalisa's Wedding 7 years old

Dec 2008 almost 9 (self portrait)

Super Bowl Party

2009-02-02T10:28:00.000-08:00

GGGOOOO STEELERS!!! We had a Super Bowl party at our house for the Jr. High and High school group from church. It was a lot of fun, we had about 25 people. Two of the youth leaders cheered for the Cardinals to make it a fun competition. We did a football pool with candy prizes, tons of food, ping pong, basketball, trampoline and of course the football game for those that wanted to watch LOL. Here are some pics.

Before the Game!

After the Game

Meghan, Melissa, Jacob and Ethan

Chloe and Caitlyn

Robert and Zach

Melissa, Joe, Ethan and Jacob

Breandan and Phoebe

Kelsy, Cassie, Angela, Nancy, Robert and Zach

Watching the 3D commerical

Johnny and Breandan

Front: Joe, Meghan, Melissa, Back: Andrea, Caitlyn, Jay

Jay, Jadon, Valor, Nancy

Great Weather for January

2009-01-26T09:09:00.000-08:00

It has been very good weather up here, and we knew the rain was coming, so we had to take advantage of it. I took the boys, and dog, to Horseshoe Lake in the morning, then when Dad got home he took the up to Monkey Face rock. It was a great day of hiking and exploring.

Rainbow

2009-01-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

In between rain showers we were treated to this! It was a full rainbow but I could only get half at a time. It was beautiful. These pictures don't even show how bright the colors were.

Second week of Christmas

2009-01-05T11:14:00.000-08:00

Well like I said we had a "Memories" Christmas. So the fun continues. We were so happy to see lots of friends and family and sad that there were some that we missed, but we will catch them next time. Thank you friends and family for a great Christmas. Here are some more Pics.

Sunday: We went to church at Calvary Chapel East Anaheim then to the park to let the kids run around. Mel Nowak joined us. Then we changed places we were staying, we went to Mel's for the next few nights. That night we played games with Herb, Polly, Tony, Melanie and Shelli and Mel

Monday : Knotts Berry Farm. This is where me and Jay met 18 1/2 years ago. We were both working here in 1990. It is neat to see where God has taken us, good and bad, in those 18 1/2 years. I am excited for the rest of our adventures. We were really impressed with Knotts and the fact that they did not need to keep Christ out of Christmas. This awesome nativity set was right when you walk in the doors. And in the Snoopy ice show they share the "real meaning" of Christmas and they actually call it that. It was also neat to hear the cheers from the audience when the "Story" was over, definite approval. There were also lots of people taking pictures here with the Nativity.
One of Scout and Breandan's Favorite rides :-)

Tuesday: We met up with some family on Tuesday night for dinner. Aunt Laura, Aunt Becky, Leah, Becky's fiancee Doug and his kids (sorry I can't remember their names, we just met them). We went to Chuck E Cheese to play then to Red Robin to eat LOL. It was great to see everyone.

Wednesday: We started staying at Vance and Priscella's house for the rest of our trip. They have a New Years Eve party every year. We have spent New years with them for the past 13 years only missing one (last year). They even came up here one year. It was great to spend time with them.
Shelli and Mel: This years theme was to make up a game for everyone to play
Me, Mel and Priscella

Thursday: New Years Day : We went and spent part of the day with Will and Annalisa. It was so good to see them. Then we went to Medieval Times thanks to Mema and Papa Nash for our Christmas present. Mema and Papa Lord, Uncle Royal, Aunt Denise and Becky also joined us. The boys were so into it, it was hard to get them to eat.

Becky Drake with the boys

Our Knight, the red one, won. That was even more exciting for the boys.

Friday: Right before our drive home we went and picked up Nana and went to the beach. Nana loves the beach and calls it "Her Ocean" It was the perfect end to our vacation.

The drive home was long but uneventfull. It was really hard to come home and back to reality from so much fun. But, we are back in the swing of things now with school, work and soccer.

Christmas Week

2009-01-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

We had a great vacation. We went down to So. Cal. for two weeks to have Christmas with family. Instead of presents this year we decided to have a "Memories" Christmas. We had so much fun and we were really busy. I will post our first week today and our second week later. It was so good to see lots of family and friends.

Really our adventures started the day before we left. Our new exchange student came from Korea his name is Scout and he is 13. And we had a visit from another one of our students, Mari, who is from Japan. It was so good to see her. She is graduating from San Francisco State and going back to Japan. We will definitely keep in touch with her as she is part of the family. Then for the drive, it took us 8 1/2 hours, not bad with 5 kids. Check out the pics below for the rest of the week of fun. We always said, because we used to live down in So Cal., that we would never do the "tourist" thing, especially since we used to work at Knotts and Disney, but we did. It was a lot of fun with the boys.

Mari Our exchange student from Japan

We stayed in a timeshare with my parents in Anaheim

Monday: Mema and Papa Lord took us Ice Skating for Christmas. We went to Anaheim Ice. The boys had no problem staying up, even Breandan. Roller Hockey really helped.

Tuesday: One of our presents to the boys was Disneyland. We had a great time. Breandan is now big enough to go on everything except Indiana Jones.

Breandan was one of the kids chosen to do the Jedi training. We got to learn the light saber fight then fought Darth Vader. He was so excited.

This is Snow Whites wishing well, this is where we got engaged 16 years ago. Now look at our family!

Wednesday, Christmas Eve: DownTown Disney.

Ready for bed Christmas Eve!

Thursday, Christmas Day: We always start our morning with our last advent. It is a great time of focusing on Christ on His Birthday

Santa and his Elf

Mema and Papa also took us to the movies. We went to the movies in the afternoon and saw "The Tale of Despereaux"

Christmas Night we went to Uncle Royal and Aunt Denise's house

Friday: We visited our friend Chrissy and got to meet her new baby Alexander. Her other son Troy was sick so we missed him and Patrick, her husband.

Saturday: To end the first week we went to see Becky (who came up to Chico for school and lived with us for about a year) and her Mom and Dad. Then we went to have our big family Christmas with my Grandma, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins

We had a very busy and fun week.

Christmas Letter

2008-12-17T09:25:00.000-08:00

I didn't have time to type up a Christmas letter this year before the cards went out, so I thought I would write one here. Some of you that have been on our blog have already heard a lot of this but to those of you that are new, Welcome. So here goes.

This year flew by as it seems to do with the kids getting older. We went on a few small trips and had some visitors this year. We had two exchange students stay with us for short periods and we are expecting one more over the Holidays. David, a 14 yr old from Korea, was here for 4 weeks during the summer. Kichi, a college guy from Japan, was here for 2 weeks at the beginning of school. We love having students stay with us to teach them about our culture and get to learn about theirs. These students come over with a Christian organization and this is our chance to share our faith with those from other countries.

Valor became a teenager this year. Yes 13! I cannot believe we have a teenager. He is in 7th grade and loving school. He is taking Algebra 1 this year (usually taken in 8th grade) and so far he loves the challenge. He played his last year of "Little League." Ethan and he got to be on the same team. He made the All Stars again so it was a pretty long season, but a fun one. We took a break in the fall this year from sports and I don't think he liked that very much. He did get to run in a 5K on Thanksgiving and did it in 27 min. He is looking forward to indoor soccer after the 1st of the year. He is still playing bass guitar and this year he has decided to take up the trumpet. He is doing great except for the fact that he just got braces and that is making it a little hard to play the trumpet. He was baptized this year and continues to stand up for his beliefs in the classroom and with his friends. It is awesome to see him mature in his faith.

Ethan is 11 now and in the 5th grade. He is now one of the tallest in his class! He has grown the most this year. He played baseball on the same team as Valor (the only 10 year old in majors!). He also made All Stars. That took us to the middle of July as games were postpone due to all the fires we had. He wasn't too happy about the break from sports in the fall either. He is now playing indoor soccer and loves it. He plays goalie and has no fear in there. He just dives for the ball no matter who is about to kick it and has gotten kicked quite a few times. The boy is tough. He ran the 5k also in 26 min. He got to go on his father/son trip this year that he has been saving up for. They went to AZ for Angels Spring Training. I have never seen him more excited. He also was baptized this year and it was so neat to see Dad baptize his boys. It is also great to see Ethan grow more in his faith on his own.

Jadon is 8, (9 in Feb), and in the 3rd grade. He continues to scare us as he has no fear either. His love for reading is really growing. He played baseball this year and still loves doing cart wheels and playing in the dirt on the field! I think it is a little slow for him. He started playing indoor soccer also and I think that is more at his speed: fast! He also ran the 5K his time was 44 min. He didn't mind the break from sports it gave him more time to play outside with sticks, digging, finding bugs etc. He is definitely our outdoor kid. He also got baptized this year.

Breandan is 4 (5 in Feb.). He started preschool this year. He only goes 2 days a week for 3 hours and he loves it. He needed to get some interaction with kids his age as he is so used to the big kids. The preschool is at the other boys school so they all get to go together. He loves that. He is in the Brave Bears class and he has wonderful teachers and lots of parents involvement. He is so excited to start his sports this year. He can't wait, literally, he keeps asking. He did play indoor soccer last Jan., and he loved it.

Jay went back to work at Norfield last November. They have laid off more the 100 people but he is still there Praise God. He is also really busy with Matthew's Cafe. We finally found a home for the church in Feb. and it is going good. He got to go to Angels Spring Training this year for Ethan's father/son trip and I don't know who was more excited, they had a great time. He also ran the 5K, he ran with Jadon, 44 min.

Sheri (me) is still staying home with Breandan most of the time, but I am looking to go back to work part time now that they will all be in school. Not sure where yet, but God will show me. Now that Breandan is in school two days a week I have more free time (Yeah, right). One of the days I work in Jadon and Breandan's classrooms and the other I usually end up at the grocery store with no kids. Wow! It has been thirteen years since I could say that. I am still leading Children's Ministry at church and having a lot of fun with it.

Well we hope that you have all had a great year. The good times where we can rest at his feet and the tough times where we can lean on Him and allow Him to carry us (those are the times we grow). We pray that you will have a great 2009 and hope to see you all some time this year!

Love,

The Nash's

Jay, Sheri, Valor, Ethan, Jadon, and Breandan

Update on Valor

2008-12-16T10:28:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all your prayers. He is doing great, he is acting as though nothing happened. By Friday he was ready to be done with the crutches and to run again. It is so hard to keep him down! So thanks again! Praise God for quick healing!

Prayer for Valor

2008-12-08T20:10:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to ask for prayer for healing for Valor. He was playing football at school today and fell on top of some kids and another kid fell on top of him. He couldn't move his legs with out them hurting A LOT. So the school decided to call an ambulance. I get this call from Jay ,who got a call from school, that Valor can bearly move his legs and they are going to take him to the hospital by ambulance. OK talk about freak out time for a Mom and Dad. Jay made it to school and went in the ambulance with Valor and I met them at the hospital. Well three hours later we found out nothing is broken!!! Praise God. He does have multiple contusions and strained ligaments in both legs his left more then his right. He is on crutches and needs to stay off his feet. Please pray for healing and comfort! Thank you! Thank you also to all those who helped with the other kids and stuff while we were at the hospital.

Thank you Lord for my husband!

2008-12-03T10:14:00.000-08:00

OK well I am posting two today because I have so much to say. On Monday Jay and I drove to Stanford (about 3 1/2 hours from here) for his cancer check up. I am very glad to say he is still cancer free!!! It has actually been a while since he has gone in so we thought it was time. He had some x rays and blood work done then saw the Dr. The x rays were clear and all looked good. We don't know the blood work yet but everything else is good. I can't believe it has been 2 1/2 years since he finished treatments and has been cancer free. Praise God! Thinking back to that time and the blur of it, it seems like another lifetime. But we will always remember the things that God showed us and did in our life at that time. We had a great day spending time just the two of us, on the drive, going out to eat and we got to go to Ikea also! Thank you Lord for this good news and for my husband!

June 2006 while Jay was going through chemo. American Cancer Society's Relay for life in Chico.

Christmas Tree Hunting

2008-12-03T09:14:00.000-08:00

We have a new tradition now since we moved up to Chico. Evey year we go up to Lassen National Forest and cut down our own Christmas tree. We have to buy a permit for $10.00 and find the marked areas that they allow cutting, and we get to pick out our own tree. The Kovacs' and the Peltiers and us set out on Sunday to find the perfect Christmas trees. We have a great time searching and hanging out with our friends. Some years are easier then others because of the weather. Every year we go, there is at least some snow but this year there was none. We didn't even really need our jackets. We found a few trees, some easy to get to and others not so easy. Of course the boys wanted the tree that was not so easy, so we went for it (well Jay did). He had to cut through a lot of manzanita bush to get to our tree. We measured the tree when we got home and it was 12 feet tall! We cut off the top 7 feet to decorate and we will burn the rest. We are going to decorate it tonight along with our advent.

Breandan wanted this tree to take home. But we took a picture instead and let it live for another year.

Not a very good picture but just to show how big the tree was.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T09:12:00.001-08:00

We started our Thanksgiving Morning by working up an appetite. Jay ,Valor, Ethan and Jadon participated in a 5K run. The Run/Walk was to benefit the Jesus Center in Chico. The Jesus Center serves the homeless in the name of Jesus. It was a great cause and something really neat to do as a family. We have so much to be thankful for it was great to give back to others. We had a great time. Breandan was a little to young, he wouldn't have made it all the way. So I stayed with Breandan and waited at the finish line to cheer everyone on. We saw lots of people from church, school, sports etc. It was great to see everyone come together. Ethan finished in 26 min, Valor in 27 min, and Jay and Jadon in 44 min.

After the run we went to my parents house for dinner and "sleep". Mom cooked a great dinner as usual. We had a great day.

We are so thankful for all of our family and friends. God has really blessed us. We hope you had a great Thanksgiving also.

A Visit From The So. Cal. Crew

2008-11-25T11:39:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to downloading the pictures Mel took on their visit up to Chico. Will, Annalisa and Mel came up for their annual Chico visit in October. We love spending time with them and getting to catch up. This time the Book Family Farm was closed so we found some new things to do. We played disc golf, went to Bear Hole, went to the Kovacs' for game night, went to the Root Beer Shop and walked around down town. We are so blessed by great friends and fun times whenever they visit. Thanks guys for coming up to see us.

Way to go Valor!

2008-11-07T08:32:00.000-08:00

OK so I have not been here in a while and I have been tagged twice, I am working on that. But I have some other news.

Valor was nominated by a teacher and invited to the Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington D.C.. Ten kids in 6th and 7th grade from his school were invited. We are very proud of him. The letter he got said. " You were selected for this honor based on your maturity, academic success and leadership potential"

Their web site says:

"Junior National Young Leaders Conference (JrNYLC) offers mature, high-achieving middle school students the opportunity to learn about leadership by studying the leaders of the past and by focusing on social advocacy to make a positive impact in their homes and communities. Through an examination of both different historical time periods and characteristics of leadership, students will gain a better understanding of what it takes to become an effective leader.
www.cylc.org/jrNYLC

So he would get to go to D.C. for six days and have conferences and go on tours and hang out with kids his age from all over the country. We don't know if he is going yet, we are looking into it more. We are also waiting to hear what other kids from his school may be going. But even if he doesn't go what an honor to be nominated and invited!!

Thinking of Donna

2008-10-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

Well I have made the hard decision that I cannot go down for Donna's memorial, so I wanted to post here and let you know that I am praying for everyone. I pray that the service will be a celebration of life and that there will be joy and laughter along with the grief when remembering her life. In the time that I served with her in Children's ministry she was such an encouragement and so much fun to be with at Koinonia. My heart is with all of you even though I can't be there. Love and miss you all.

VALOR is a TEENAGER!!!!!!!!

2008-10-13T09:12:00.000-07:00

Wow. Can't believe we have a teenager. We don't feel old enough :-) Not only is it Valor's 13th birthday but it is also his golden birthday, 13 on the 13th. Big day. While I was looking back at these pictures, it seems like another life time. I put so many pictures on here so I will try to make the words short.

We are so proud of Valor and the young man that he is becoming. He loves the Lord and is not afraid to share Him with anyone. He is our evangelist at school and with his friends. He stands up for what he believes in the classroom and is not afraid to speak out. He loves going to Youth Group Bible Study at Matthew's Cafe and Calvary Chapel .

He loves sports: soccer, baseball, hockey, etc. He would try just about any sport. When he is not playing sports, he loves hanging out with his friends. He has a great group of friends. He has been playing the bass guitar at school for three years now. He is also our book worm. We can't keep enough books in this house for him to read. He is a great student and loves school.

We used to jokingly pray for the Lord to come back before we had teenagers, but we are actually looking forward to this phase (most of it). We love being able to have "adult" conversations with him about politics, religion, and just everyday life. This is the age that they start making more "life" decisions for themselves and it is exciting and scary all at the same time.

Well Valor, happy birthday. We are very proud of the young man you are becoming. The verse we have chosen for you is:

I Timothy 4:12 "Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

Love you,

Mom, Dad, Ethan, Jadon, Breandan

2 Months old

8 months old

2 years old

Valor 4 years old, Ethan 2 years

4 years old

Daddy and Valor 5 years old

First day of kindergarten

Valor 6th Birthday, Joey Kovacs 5 years old

7 years old Space Camp

8 years old

Valor 9 years old, Jadon 4 years old

10 years old (Uncle Neil & Aunt Holly's wedding)

Valor 10, Breandan 1 1/2

Mommy and Valor (1o)

Valor 11 years old

Jumping off the rocks at Bear Hole - 12 years old
12 years old

Playing cards with Mema 12 years old

Valor and Joey 12 years old

Back Again finally

2008-10-06T12:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has taken me so long to post again. We have had some crazy weeks. Anyways, thanks for the responses about "Quality people". Lots of good things to think about. God showed me a lot in it but to make it short I think, the main thing is how do I see people. Do I look at people and and find them less quality then myself?, Do I compare them to me (or others) or do I compare myself to others and Do I look for quality in myself based on others or on Christ. Well I know where my flesh wants to go with this one but I know I need to guard myself against that. Christ should be our measurement for quality of ourselves (we are not to judge others) and as long as we strive to be like him (though we will not make it in this life) we are on the right track.

There are a few Casting Crowns songs that talk about the church, that this really made me think about. Some of the songs off their first album "Casting Crowns" talks about the church and what is the "church" really doing to reach people. Are we looking for comfort in where we are (or what church we go to)? Or are we reaching out to those that the world sees as less "Quality", the ones that might make us uncomfortable, the ones that need Christ just as much as those that are considered to have "Quality" in the world. Christ hung out with the people that were not considered quality in his day, very few times was he with the "Religious Leaders" and when he was it was not usually good. I guess where we are at is going to depend on our maturity in Christ and where we are in our walks with him. All of our needs are different and they are different at different times of our lives.

OK so I went a couple of different directions here and it was not exactly short. I hope this all makes sense, to you as I try to explain here what God was showing me with this.

"Qaulity People"

2008-09-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

So I went out to a game night last night with some ladies, I only knew a few people most of them went to another church. We started talking about different churches and them being grounded in the Word, which is the most important thing in a church, Then I was thrown for a loop when one of the ladies mentioned other Churches and said they have "Quality People". Wow that got my wheels turning. I didn't say anything because I was new but I really started thinking. Is that what we look for in a church "Quality People". Quality people in whose eyes? Aren't we all in Jesus'. I'll stop there. I have so many thoughts on this and wanted to throw it out there, in blog world, and get your feedback before I spill everything that God showed me with this. It actually made me sad to think about. Any thoughts???

I need to add this point because of some other thoughts. I was/am in no way judging this person who said this. It just sparked something in me to think about and discus. And since I didn't ask what she meant by it I cannot judge, but what do I (and you) think about it.

Happy 11th Birthday Ethan!!!

2008-09-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

Wow I cannot believe how fast time goes by. Ethan turns 11 today Sept. 15th. Looking back at all these old pictures definitely took me down memory lane. So much has changed in these last 11 years. I had some trouble with the pics because we didn't have a digital camera back then so I had to scan some in so they are fuzzy and a lot of good ones are in my scrapbooks .

Ethan makes us laugh (he is just the funniest kid) and makes us cry (we won't even go there) Just kidding. But seriously, we are so proud of the young man he is becoming. He makes us laugh everyday with his jokes and his funny voices and his actions. His sense of humor and the songs he makes up are incredible (for those of you who remember the songs Jay always made up, yeah well, that is where he gets it from) . We are amazed at his kind heart to others (well maybe not to his brothers :-) )and his willingness to help others even when it is a lot of work. He has definitely become Breandan's big buddy from the beginning wanting to take care of him. The love between those two is amazing. I love to see him worship and really get into the songs of his favorite artists Kutless, Jeremy Camp, etc.

He is our all around athlete, He can play, and play well, almost any sport he tries. His favorites are baseball of course, hockey, and indoor soccer. While most kids don't like running laps at school he says "bring it on." He loves it. He does great in school, with math being his favorite subject. We are so excited to see what God has planned for him through out this year.

WE LOVE YOU ETHAN, HAVE A GREAT BIRTHDAY AND WE PRAY THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO MOLD YOU INTO THE MAN THAT HE HAS PLANNED YOU TO BE!! EPH 2:10 - For [you, Ethan] are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

LOVE MOM, DAD, VALOR, JADON AND BREANDAN

Ethan 13 days old with Robert and Melissa Kovacs

2 months (yes he was a big baby)

8 months

Ethan (1 1/2) and Valor (3 1/2)

3 1/2

Ethan (4), Jadon (2)

Jacob K, Timothy R, Ethan (5 1/2)

Ethan (6 1/2) loving Breandan when he was born
being silly 7 years
8Th birthdayPictures by Donya Oct. 06 - 9 years old

playing hockey 10 years old The days of wearing his hat side ways and wearing it everyday.
Ethan's father/son trip 10 years oldSwitching places?? Ethan and Becky

Baseball player or dancer??
His baptism

First day of 5Th grade!!

Lots of fun!

2008-09-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

OK so I haven't posted in a while. We have had a lot going on around here but whats new. Since school started I feel like I can't get anything done. Here are some things that are going on.

Since I posted last Jay and I celebrated our birthdays, we both had great days. For my birthday since it was on a Sat. we went and hung out at the creek with the Kovacs'. And for Jay's it was on a Thursday so he had to work. But after work he took the kids to bear hole to swim and then Becky was in town so she came over for dinner.

We also had Church in the park and a church picnic after because it was the 5Th Sunday (We always do something a little different for the 5Th Sunday service).

We have another exchange student with us. His name is Kichisuke he is 23 and from Japan. He will only be here for about 3 weeks. He is not going to school here but he is here on vacation. We are really enjoying having him hang out with our family. He will be here until the 19Th of Sept.

We also were able to do another family trip this time to the Russian River. My parents treated it like our birthday weekend so we didn't have to cook or anything it was very nice. We had a great time.

I had to put this picture on here we dog sat for some friends. This is how we found the dogs asleep. Best Buds, So cute!

Church Picnic

A time of Worship and sharing what God has been doing.

The Jr highers and High schoolers cooked the hot dogs for us.

Three legged race.

Kishisuke - our exchange studentKichisuke brought these kimonos for us from Japan they are very beautiful.

The Russian River

Nature hike at the Russian River

Kichisuke's first time on a kayak

I can't believe how big he is getting.

We tubed and kayaked for about a mile down the river. There were some rapids which made it both fun and challenging. It was supposed to take us about 1 1/2 hours but it took us a bit longer. Breandan even went with us and he flipped twice in the kayak with Jay. What a trooper though.

Jadon trying out the kayak.

Ethan loved it now he wants to buy one!

Valor looked so grown up doing this. He loved it

Jay really wants to buy one (but he has for a while now)

Playing at the beach when we got back Breandan was a little tired!

Our camp site. It was very pretty but very hot!

Pre-school

2008-08-22T16:56:00.000-07:00

Breandan started Pre-school yesterday!! His is in the 4 year old class the "Brave Bears" He has been wanting to go to school for 2 years now. It is so hard to hear all the fun things his brothers are doing. So we decided to let him go two times a week for three hours. We didn't go through this with the other boys because they always had each other to play with at home but with him being 4 years younger then Jadon he needed to have some playmates his age. And just with our luck he is one of only 4 boys in the class (that's just the way it worked out). Our school has a lot of girls!! But this is good i guess considering he doesn't have any sisters and so he doesn't get to see how the girls play. Oh and the pre school is on the same campus as his brothers so they are all together he loves that idea. They come by the room and say hi on their recess. So what is Mom going to do now that she has some free time you ask :-) On Tuesdays while he is there I will be working in all the other kids classes, doing things for the teacher, working with the kids etc. I like to stay very involved even at the Jr High level, even if it is just doing photo copies for the teachers. This works out good since they are all at the same school. Thursdays, well that is my day to have three hours totally to myself uncommitted to do what ever I want!!! Well or do laundry, clean the house etc. We will see what happens. My baby is getting so big :-(

Oh and the first morning Jay had to make a run to Walmart ( it is 24 hours) because we couldn't find Breandan's shoes anywhere. So the morning didn't go quite as planned. But we made it!! Tough first week of school trying to get back on a schedule.

First day of school
He was so ready for us to leave so he could go play!!
The "Brave Bears"
His teacher Mrs. Kerri

The first day of school.

2008-08-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

Yes the boys started school today. Wow I have a preschooler and a Jr higher and two in between. Breandan actually starts on Thursday but he wanted to take pictures, unlike the rest where it is the dreaded first day of school pictures. At least Mom doesn't take pictures at school around their friends!! They all love school and were very excited to start. For those of you that don't know they go to a Charter school that we absolutely love and it is preschool to 8th grade so they all go together. There are 3 classes in each of the grades K-3rd and two in 4th-7th and one in 8th (that will be two classes next year). They use the ITI teaching method which is Integrated Thematic Instruction. It is very hands on and they go on at least one but most of the time many more field trips a month. For example they don't just learn about the gold rush they actually go pan for gold, They learn about agriculture and they go to a farm etc. Anyways we are excited about another school year!!

Valor in 7th grade
Ethan in 5th grade
Jadon in 3rd grade
I will post Breandan's picture on Thursday when he gets to go to school. He is so excited. He will go Tuesday and Thursday mornings for three hours.

Last day of Summer Vacation!!!

2008-08-18T16:56:00.000-07:00

Well school starts tomorrow so today was officially the last day of summer vacation for us. Jay took the day off so we did a few things. First we had a school picnic, we got to talk to the kids teachers and to see friends that we didn't see over the summer and some that we did. Then we decided to take our tubes to the creek and just relax. We went to the creek off of Honey Run. It was a great way to end our summer vacation. Back to our busy schedule with school!! I can't believe we have a Jr. Higher!!!

After the Sleep Over

2008-08-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

So after their friends went home and they wanted to "watch" the Olympics, this is how I found them. About 2:00pm. I don't think they "slept" much at the "sleep" over. "But Mom I'm not tired..."

Sleep Over

2008-08-12T10:22:00.000-07:00

Well just a short post. We switched some kids with the Kovacs' last night. Valor spent the night with them and Jacob and Johnny spent the night over here. The kids (Ethan, Jacob, Jadon, Johnny, and Breandan) decided to spend the night on the trampoline. They had fun but they were pretty loud considering they kept sinking to the middle all night. They kept each other warm :-) though. They were up at first light so for Mom's sake maybe we won't do this very often.

Finally a Family Vacation

2008-08-05T14:47:00.001-07:00

Well we finally got to go on a family trip this summer, even though summer is almost over!! Between baseball and visitors we have not been able to go anywhere this summer (but that's OK because we love baseball and visitors). We went only about 1 1/2 hours from here to Lake of the Springs it is a Thousand Trails campground. My parents have a membership so we went with them. The boys (5 because we have an exchange student with us) and I went up on Thursday morning and met my parents there. Jay had to work so he joined us Friday evening after work. We had a very busy and fun time let me list all we did. Paddle boat races, swim in the lake at the beach, air hockey, ping pong, miniature golf, family Bingo, pool swimming, tennis, kickball, water volleyball, sand castle building, Wii competition (yes even when camping), shuffle board, riding bikes, Jay rented a kayak, we all rented a canoe, fishing, card games, pool table, play ground. We were having so much fun but Jay had to teach on Sun. (I did to for Sunday school) so we went home on Sat night. Valor and Ethan stayed with Mema and Papa. We decided to go back Sunday afternoon and stay until Mon. night. Now we are home and very tired but we had a great time. Here are some pics.

We stayed in tents and my parents motor home. Guess who stayed where. That's right adults in the motor home kids in tents!!

Breandan got his first hole in one.

Breandan had fun on the playground

Paddle boat races. Jadon was on a winning team every time!

Just relaxing in the water. It was great.

All the dear on the baseball field.

My two sand castle builders

Jay kayaking

My two fisherman

Our canoe ride.

Baptism

2008-07-29T17:47:00.001-07:00

I am going to post two posts today we have had a lot going on around here. We have some exciting news. Valor , Ethan and Jadon all got baptized this weekend!!! Valor and Ethan have been waiting for this for a while. Jadon just decided he was ready. Our church had a baptism, potluck and pool party at one of the city pools. 8 people got baptized. It is so neat to see your kids proclaiming their beliefs and love for the Lord. Here are some pics. Both Jay's Mom and my parents got to be there.

Jadon

Ethan

Valor

More visiting family

2008-07-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

We had more family visit this weekend. This time it was from Jay's side. His Mom (Vicky), Sister-in-law (Holly), nephew (Troy), Niece (Amy), Cousin (Kim) and her two boys (Michel and Noah). Yeah that's a lot of people. We had a good time. We showed them around Chico and went swimming a lot. This is the first time the 6 cousins (Jay's brothers kids) have all been together. We met Amy about 5-6 years ago when her mom called Jay's parents looking for Troy (Jay's brother). She did not know that Troy had passed away. So Troy never knew he had a daughter. She was spending some time with her grandparents (Jay's parents) in Idaho this summer so Mom decided to bring her down to meet her cousins. She is 12 just 6 months younger then Valor. They all had a great time together Sheri, Troy, Holly, Jadon and Ethan at the Root Beer Shop.
Amy and Valor
All the cousins - Troy (22 mon), Amy (12), Valor (12), Ethan (10), Jadon (8) , Breandan (4), Michel (11), Noah (3 mon)
One Mile pool in Bidwell Park

Kim and Noah

Family Fun

2008-07-22T12:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some more fun things we did when my cousin and Grandma were here. David is adjusting. He is used to it being quieter and they have no free time since they go to school so much and study. He didn't like the creek swimming very much. Since it was so last minute to have him here we don't have many things planned outside of Chico. We have people coming to visit though. This week we have Jay's mom, Amy (our niece we have not really met yet, I'll explain later), Holly (our sister -in-law) and Troy (our nephew). Kim (Jays cousin), her son's Noah and Michel. I'll Show pic's from that later.The Honey Run covered bridge is 114 years old. Above: the kids under the bridge. Below: Nana and Breandan on the bridge.
Bear Hole swimming area in Upper Bidwell park in Chico

Day Camp swimming area in upper Bidwell Park - Teresa and Madison and Jacob. We had fish swimming all around us the kids were feeding them their sandwiches. It was pretty cool especially for boys.

More video game of course - Ethan and David

This is a park in Yuba City about 1 hour from us by my parents house. It was a lot of fun and it is only $3 to get in. for 3 hours, not bad. We had a lot of fun.

Nana and 6 of her great- grand kids. Notice only one girl. She is the only one of 9 great- grand kids.

Our exchange student

2008-07-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

We just found out last week that they needed another host family for a 13 year old boy from Korea for 4 weeks. We jumped at the chance to have him. We were just praying and talking about having another college exchange student for the school year when we got the phone call for this (no kidding within 10 min). Valor is actually the host because he is closest in age and can relate more to him. Valor is sharing a room with him and he is the main communicator. This is a great opportunity for Valor to get the share the gospel and his love for Christ. Valor is very excited about it. We love having the students here and it is a great learning experience for us and the boys. Two years ago we had Mari from Japan and she was with us for almost a year. We still keep in contact with her. David is his American name Dong Huyn Lee is his Korean name. This is a Christian organization and on the American end the goal of it is to teach these kids about Christ trough everyday life. A majority of Koreans know nothing about Christ. On the Korean end they are coming over for education. They know they are being placed in American Christian homes. This is a great opportunity for us to minister, since we are not in a position in our lives to go anywhere as missionaries we can bring people here and show them Christ's love. We are so excited to have the opportunity to do this. We are having a great time showing him around Chico and the "American" lifestyle. Please Pray that we are able to share the gospel with him and that he is open to learning. The organization is also going to show the students the Jesus Film in Korean. So Pray Pray Pray please. They are hoping to make a difference in the kids so they can take it back to Korea and share with their family and friends.
Also my cousin Teresa and her two kids, Jacob and Madison, and my Grandma came to visit for a few days. Here are some pics of them and David. More pics to follow.
Madison, Breandan, David, Jadon, Ethan, Valor and Jacob at the creek
Of course a common bond Video Games!!!!

Baseballs over!!!!

2008-07-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

Ok so baseball is finally over!!!!! Ethan lost the championship game so they are out of it. He is OK with it now he says he can have a summer but it was fun while it lasted. Jay and about 10 other people went to the Angel's vs. A's game in Oakland yesterday. I stayed home to go to Ethan's game. Jay also wanted to go to Ethan's game but we already had this all planned out and other people going. Ethan's team was not supposed to play Sunday but because of all the postponed games they had to. So here are some pics of the game in Oakland.

Jay and Valor. Yes Valor has braces and an expander on the top so his teeth are splitting apart!! Just for a short time.
The gang that went - Jay, Becky, Valor, Andy, Micah, Breandan, Caitlyn, Jadon, Curtis, Dan and Doug

They had fun in their red amongst all the green.

Angels won 4-3

ANOTHER All Star update

2008-07-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

OK so here is an update on all stars again. I feel like this has been going on forever, well maybe because it has. With all the postponed games etc. we are living baseball around here. Well Ethan played Friday night against the other undefeated team and they lost, but Ethan could not have had a better game he got a double with an RBI, then he hit one out of the park and got another RBI plus himself, it was pretty cool. This was his second home run for the year. He was playing one of his best friends teams so even though they lost he had "bragging" rights. So because they lost Fri. they played on Sat. and they won. In that game he hit a double and a single, walked and grounded out. He also had the game winning catch, so he got the player of the game award. Needless to say he has had a great weekend. So now it continues, because they won they play the team they lost to on Fri. night tomorrow. It should be a tough game. And what was really cool is that his Uncle Royal and Aunt Denise were up here and got to see both of the games. Wow what a weekend.

You know something else pretty cool all during all stars they have to say the Little League pledge and the first line of that pledge for those of you that don't know it is "I trust in God" Now that is cool. Would that be there if the pledge was written today, I don't know but probably not. The people who wrote it thought that it was not just important enough to be in the pledge but to say it first. Now I know the kids have to say that but do we say that because we believe it and because we want to say it? Do we say that first when we are up against a "tough competition"? I don't know that I always do like I should. Do you? Just a thought started by baseball.

Ethan and his home run ball

Ethan getting player of the game for his team.

Please Pray!!

2008-07-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I am writing about the fires again. It has been a very tough summer up here. We drove up to Paradise last night to help some friends of ours from Church evacuate their home and get their cars and stuff down to Chico. The smoke was so bad yesterday and it was raining ash down in Chico that they postponed All Stars again. It is not only the smoke but is the heat it is supposed to be 113 degrees today. They were evacuating a hospital in Paradise this morning. We have seen fires almost non stop since June 11. Chico is fine but smokey. So far our friends house and Paradise is fine. Please pray for the people having to evacuate, the fire fighters who have to work the fire lines in this heat and they are saying they are doing 24 hour shifts (we have seen crews from all over Cal. including down south), and anyone who is having trouble with the smoke. Thanks for your prayers.

By the way we are snake sitting for our friends that were evacuated. Boys are loving it Mom not so much!! It better stay in that cage or else!! (Mom will move out)

All Stars

2008-07-06T14:20:00.000-07:00

So here is the updates on All Stars. Valors team lost both of their games so they are out. Ethan's team has played two games and not lost yet so they play on Tues. against the other team that has not lost yet. It should be a great game. Here are some pics. We also found a cool park by Valor's games in Willows (about 40 min from Chico) the ground was pieces of old tire crumbled up and painted blue and the structure was very cool.

A little fun with our car

Valor caught and played right field he is #99

Ethan also catches and plays 2nd base. He is #7

Finally a day outside

2008-07-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

OK so it was the last day of June and finally the smoky air was getting better so we decided to go down town and get some ice cream and go run around in the fountain. The air has been "Very unhealthy" for almost a week. There have been so many fires up here from lightning strikes the weekend before. We decided to stay indoors for the most part over this past week (besides baseball practice). Not very much fun for four boys with lots of energy, but it went pretty good considering. We had lots of friends over to play board games and video games! They even postponed the All Star tournaments that were supposed to start over the weekend. Well the air is a little better and we needed to get out and run!! And by the way the All Star games start up today yeah!!! We will keep you posted on how their teams do.

Matthew's Cafe Community Church

2008-06-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

I thought I would post some pictures of Matthew's Cafe. We have been in our new building for about 4 months. As many of you know our Church had a fire April 13, 2007 and it destroyed everything. We were meeting on Sat. nights at another church for almost a year. It was neat to see the body come together and get through this difficult time of change and uncertainty. The building is still a work in progress and we are watching it change every week. It is neat to see the work God is doing in the church building as well as in the people. We are excited to see what God will continue to do and what direction he is going to take us. What really spoke to us as a church is when a Chico paper listed the top ten things in 2007 that impacted the community, the fire at our church was on the list. That showed us that what we are doing at Matthew's Cafe is impacting the community, which is exactly what we want to do as believers.

ALL-STARS

2008-06-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

And baseball season continues. We have two all stars Ethan is on the 9-10 year old team, and Valor is on the 11-12 Year old team.

Fires in Butte County

2008-06-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

Please be praying to families in Paradise and Chico. Many are evacuated and some have lost their homes from the fires that are happening right now. The fire dept. is getting it under control but not without much distruction and heartache. This has been burning for 4 days now.

Summer Fun

2008-06-14T12:32:00.000-07:00

Becky was in town again for a few days so we went to the "Bear hole" swimming area in Upper Bidwell park. We took our puppy Gabby too!

Our family

2008-06-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

This picture was from Easter. In front of our house.

2008-06-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

For some reason it wouldn't get me back to the page to put this picture on the side with the rest of them (I'm still learning) so here is Jadon

2008-06-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

OK well I have decided to try to figure this blog thing out. I am getting the hang of it (I think). This is going to be a great way of keeping in touch with family and friends that we have moved away from or ones that are close. This one will be the longest blog I promise.
I cannot believe we have been gone from So. Cal for almost four years (This July 31, 2008). Wow how time flies. So much has happened in just four years. I will sum it all up hopefully in a few sentences. We move up to Chico to partner with the Wallings and Matthews Cafe, to start a college age bible study, and did for about 1 1/2 years. Then God had other plans he moved Jay into the leadership team at Matthews Cafe and now He and Terry are co-pastors at the church. God works in ways we never expect. About 1 1/2 years after moving up here we found out Jay had Hodgkin's disease. That is a praise and a long story in its self, how God worked through that and the amazing blessings that came from that. The amazing stories we have of God's blessings and miracles. He is still cancer free 2 years later!! Praise God. Our boys have grown so much we almost have a teenager. Valor will be 13 in Oct., Ethan will be 11 in Sept., Jadon was 8 in Feb., and Breandan was 4 in Feb. Sheri is still staying home with Breandan but he will be in preschool next year. We have found the most amazing Charter school. It is the best public school that we could hope for for our boys. It is K-8th, so all kids will actually be there at the same time.
There are so many more blessings and hard times (we never want to forget those "learning experiences") so hopefully I will be able to share the new ones as they come and we know they both will. As long as I can keep up with this blog. I hope to connect with lots of friends also old and new. For now we pray that everyone is doing great and living a life full of his blessings.