50 Years of Wedded Bliss

Last week marked 50 years of marriage for my in-laws, Jean and Roger. Fifty years of marriage certainly deserved a great celebration (especially since their marriage was able to survive 4 children, 4 rambunctious children I might add). Jean and Roger were introduced to each other in November 1959 by their close friends Paul and Carol. At the time, Jean was living a carefree life with some girlfriends on Coronado Island, working at a bank in the morning and hitting the beach, just a block from her house, in the afternoon. Roger was a young engineer working in San Diego. They were married March 25, 1960 attended by their best friends Paul and Carol. The Moore Girls

As a family, we decided the best way to celebrate their anniversary was a weekend trip to Coronado Island. Roger's brother, John, and his wife, Barbara, flew in from Oakland to join us on this trip. Sixteen of us in all stayed at the Hotel Del Coronado, probably the most beautiful hotel in the United States. We had such a great time exploring the island, playing on the beach, shopping and a whole lot of eating. We even walked by the house Jean lived in when she met Roger. A special treat included meeting Carol (aka "Aunt Carol") for the best pizza ever in Little Italy in San Diego. On Saturday evening, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the ocean. We were seated against a window with an incredible view. The restaurant manager even had special menus made that said "Roger & Jean, Happy 50th Anniversary."

I'm so proud to be a part of the Moore family. They are such a fun, tight-knit family and it's such an honor and blessing to call them my family. Although the trip went way too quickly, it was an amazing trip and the memories of it will last forever. God bless you Jean and Roger and I pray we will be back in Coronado in 10 years to celebrate 60 years of marriage!

40 Looks Good on John

It may be a couple of weeks early, but due to my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary trip and Easter, John’s 40th birthday got celebrated early. John, not one for surprises or much attention at all, I knew that if I wanted him to ever talk to me again, a surprise party was out of the question. Instead, I convinced him that turning 40 did warrant some sort of gathering. He agreed to celebrating with family, then I added that he should have his closest friends there (I had to ease him into the whole party idea). So, on March 20th, our family and friends (50 of them, we do have a lot of family) gathered at John’s brother’s house for John’s 40th birthday bash. His brother, Bob, kept busy at the wood burning pizza oven making all kinds of yummy pizzas, our friend, Rick, manned the bbq with hamburgers and hotdogs, my mother, of course, played anyone she could get her hands on at ping pong, there were kids in the pool, teenagers playing Wii in the pool house and friends gathered around the pool table and the bbq/bar area. We also feasted on a delicious white cake with cheesecake filling that was decorated with a “capatilla” (you have to be from CCV to understand the humor with that). What a blast! It was such a treat to visit with close friends from all different stages of John’s life, some that we hadn’t seen in quite awhile. There were PLENTY of fun gifts: hair color, creams for all kinds of “old people” ailments, a “40 Sucks” sucker and many more. There were also special gifts, like the traditional poem that my father writes for all our birthdays. It was SO APPROPRIATE that John is still healing from knee surgery and was on a crutch for his 40th birthday (he graduated to 1 crutch instead of 2) and I decorated it with black ribbon. I also made a picture collage that included photos from many of the special moments in his life and put them in a large matted frame for everyone to write a message for John. It was a special day that we will remember for many, many years to come.

My Baby Girl is Growing Up

"Train a child in the way she should go, and when she is old she will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

Kiley is my first born and in what seems like a blink of my eye, she has grown from the precious little baby I held in my arms to a "preteen." I can hardly say her age without feeling the sadness of the rapidly passing time. Just a few months ago, she turned 12! Next year she will officially be a teenager and I will send her off to, dare I say it, Junior High.

I remember well when I found out I was pregnant with her. It was February 14, 1997....Valentines Day! After several days of being suspicious that I might be pregnant after trying just a short time, I took a pregnancy test. Positive! I was teaching elementary school at the time and it just so happened to be "Grandparents Day" at the school. I didn't want to tell John about the positive pregnancy test until after school, so I had to go to work and act like all was normal. Then it happened, one of the grandmothers of one of my students looked at me and walked over to me, grabbed my hand and told me I was glowing. "Are you pregnant?" I know my smile gave away my little secret. I made it through the work day and stopped at the Hallmark store on my way home. I purchased a Valentines card for a child to her father and I signed it "baby." We still have that card and I still remember the joy on John's face when he opened it and realized what it meant. We were overjoyed! God gave us the child that we had prayed for.

My pregnancy wasn't difficult, but it certainly wasn't easy. Kiley was insistent on arriving early. Thanks to modern medication and bed rest, she didn't make her arrival until God's perfect timing. It was a very difficult delivery, in fact the doctor predicted she, me or both of us would not have survived that delivery just 10 years earlier. She was our miracle. She wasn't an easy baby either. One word says it all: COLIC! Once she hit about 4 1/2 month, the colic began to disappear and the sweet, happy Kiley emerged. She was such a good baby once we got beyond the "C" word. Due to the difficult delivery, I was quite ill for a couple of months, which required extra help from Daddy. However, I don't think that would have made a difference, once she was stable after delivery, she gazed into her daddy's eyes and they were smitten with each other. Kiley warmed our hearts as we watched her grow from a baby to a toddler, then to a little girl and now into the young woman that she is. She is shy, fearful to take risks and loves to be close to her family. Her innocence and inner beauty are among the many reasons that we love her so much.

Along with her shyness comes difficulty in feeling comfortable in a group and please don't ever put all the attention on her. We know that this is just how she is and don't see it as a problem, but we still encourage her to take risks and step out of her comfort zone. She did that twice this month in just 1 week apart. First, she played the piano along side her friend playing the violin for the school's Talent Show. Then the following week, she stood in front of all the kids in her class and gave a 4 minute speech on Helen Keller. This may not sound like much to a parent of an extroverted child, but for Kiley, it's like conquering the Iron Man! We are so proud of her and love her willingness to try new things. On top of these 2 big milestones, she has also called and made visits to many of our friends and families to sell Girl Scout Cookies. Gone are the days of us making the calls and going to doors as she hides behind us. Our little baby is growing up and we couldn't be more proud of her. She is God's gift to us and we treasure every moment with her!

Adventures in Traveling

I've just returned home from a trip that took me to Ohio, then Indiana and back to Ohio again. This trip might even be called the "2nd Annual Shawna-Time Trip." I went to Ohio last year in February to visit my aunts, uncle, cousins and their families. That trip was a trip of discovery for me. I took it about 6 months after a difficult period in my life. It was during that trip that I was able to return to my childhood and spend time with my family in Ohio reminiscing on old memories, laugh-out-loud moments and catch up on life in general. I've been back to Ohio several times as an adult, mostly for funerals, weddings and reunions, but last year was the first time going as an adult by myself for no other reason than to visit. I came home last year feeling renewed and reminded that even though I now go by my married name, I am still a Stuter and my sarcastic humor, fun loving, compassionate personality came from my Stuter family. That trip also reminded me that no matter what happens in life, that I need to allow God to pick me back up and jump right back in again with a new lesson learned and a positive attitude that God is in control and there's still a lot of enjoying life to do. All that said, I had no doubt I wanted to take the trip again this year.

I started my trip in Canal Winchester, just outside of Columbus, staying with my aunt (my dad's sister). I enjoyed time antiquing with my aunt, a big dinner with all my cousins and their spouseand kids, which includes 2 sets of twins and all around the same ages as my girls. It made me miss my family and wish they were with me. We also ate out a lot....my aunt doesn't cook.

Some of my cousins' kids

New to this year's trip, I added in a side trip to Indiana to visit my nephew, Ryely, at college. He is a freshman at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT), one of the top engineering colleges in the world. RHIT is also known as "Rich Husbands In Training." :) Since I was a college student once, and I remember the dorms well, I made the wise choice to stay in a hotel rather than the dorms. It's a beautiful campus and I enjoyed looking out Ryely's dorm window to the view of a frozen over lake and beautiful chapel. I had so much fun with Ryely! Although we spent some time in serious conversation, there was a whole lot of laughter. With a boy to girl ratio of 4 to 1 at RHIT, I stood out on campus. I was also treated to the hilarious adventures of college boys away from home for the first time. Two of Ryely's friends even went to the local Goodwill to get clothes and dress up as Mario and Luigi. Did I mention one of them was wearing maternity overalls? We pondered duct taping one of the small guys onto the bare wall of Ryely's dorm room. We also pondered painting a meaningless mural on the wall. Instead we settled on writing on the underside of the top bunk so that each time Ryely wakes up he can look up and remind himself of the fun time we had when I came to visit.

It was soon time for the next part of my trip, which entailed a 6 hour drive back to Ohio to a town called Orrville, near Akron. Have you ever driven 6 hours by yourself? It's impossible to stay awake. How do truckers do it? Caffeine became my buddy, which caused me to get dehydrated with a bad headache and sick to my stomach. By the time I made it to my aunt and uncle's house, I felt like death, even though I was greeted with open arms by all my cousins and their families. They were all ready to have fun and all I was ready for was a good nights sleep. My cousin's daughter insisted on tucking me into bed and by morning I felt much better. I spent a few days with that side of the family and as always, it was an adventure! They live in an area heavily populated by the Amish so driving is always interesting. You really have to watch out for Amish buggies while driving. There was one funny moment where I wanted to get a picture of a buggy and so did one of my cousins. I would have been content just taking a picture as we passed by one, but my uncle had the nerve to embarrass us all and stop right next to one on the road and roll down the window. I quickly took the picture while we all kind of ducked our heads and yelled at my uncle to drive. I even got to be with my cousin, Cindy, as she decided to get another tattoo, the scripture from Philippians, "I can do all things through Christ..." on her wrist.












The trip was so much fun and before I knew it, it was time to return home, which proved to be quite a challenge. While I was freezing through winter on the east coast, Southern California experienced some of its worst storms ever. There were even tornado warnings....in So Cal! After 4 canceled flights, being rerouted to Las Vegas, where I was stuck in the airport for well over 8 hours, and 17 hours of travel, I finally made it home, although I had to fly into LA rather than Ontario. My luggage made it the next day to Ontario and I picked it up only to find it soaking wet. Luckily, all that was ruined was a pair of shoes. It was definitely a trip to remember! I'm ready for next year, but I want John and the girls to join me.

Closing out 2009

For many people, New Year's Eve is a celebration of closing out a difficult year. I can understand that. I couldn't have been more happy to say goodbye to 2008, one of my most difficult years. However, 2009 was one of the best years of my life! Don't get me wrong, there were some hard times, but overall, it was such an amazing year and that's an understatement! At the start of the year, we were only a few months into attending our new church, CCV. God has used this church to TRANSFORM our lives in so many incredible ways! This year, all four of us have grown closer to the Lord more than any other single year. God showed us what it's truly like to live in Christian community with other people. He connected us to an awesome small group where we feel so loved and open to share our lives. The worship team there is beyond anything I've ever experienced in my life! They rock that church and help bring us into the presence of the Holy Spirit. Our senior pastor, Jeff Vines, has truly been touched by the Hand of God with the gift of teaching. CCV is the most amazing place and community to be a part of, again, that's an understatement! God is my everything, the center of my life and I know he brought my family to CCV to teach, show and help me put every single aspect of my life in His precious Hands.

John and I started 2009 by answering the call to baptism. It was an amazing moment, unplanned, that I've already blogged about, so I won't repeat myself, just look back in my blog to January 2009. I just want to add that we were baptized by Pastor David Sill, who we didn't really know then, but now call him "friend" and he's also in our small group.

In February, I turned another year older and also took a little trip that was more like a trip of redemption rather than a physical trip. With only about 2 weeks of planning, I traveled to Ohio to visit family. It was the first time, since my childhood that I had gone there by myself. I spent some unbelievable time with my aunts, uncles and cousins, some of which I hadn't seen in over 5 years. It was during that trip, that I finally felt at peace with myself and my role in my family. I don't know how to explain it, but God transformed me on that trip and now I'm looking forward to going again in just 2 short weeks.

Friendships! God brought me some incredible new friends in 2009. Jackie and Christina, you both are amazing women of God and I'm so, so blessed to know you. I'm a better person because of you. God also took friendships I already had and grew them into even more incredible friendships. Suzi, I've know you for a very long time, but your gift of friendship is so special to me and I'm so glad we've come to know each other so much better. The same is true for Stephanie. We've walked our kids to and from school together for 7 years now and you have TRULY been there for me through so much! I love you lots. I'm also so grateful for all the friendships I've reconnected with through Facebook. I also attended a women's retreat through church where I met some of the greatest women I'll ever know. Katrine, I still want to "wrap you up and bring you home with me." My swim team family also became such a big part of my life this year. I don't just think of them as "people at the pool" but as friends. There's just way too many to list, but you all know who you are. Finally, Derek and Christiana, our relationship has grown so much in 2009 and I'm so proud of the ministry you are doing in San Diego and I'm so happy to be a part of it. I thank God for the way He's carried me through 2009 with my friends!

2009 brought about the start of my new mural business with my best friend, Janet, AKA "Bestie." We work so well together and she is such a gift from God. I love creating rooms with her! Check out our website at http://www.muralyourroom.com/. We are so fortunate to have supportive husbands that want to see our business succeed and are willing to chip in and help when needed.

This was also the year that our friendship with the O'Malleys grounded us in our faith both in God and people. We had closed 2008 with hurt caused by several hard experiences, including hurt caused by people we called friends. The O'Malleys have been with us every step of the way and have been there for us at the drop of a hat. We camp together, worship God together, live life together.... They are great people and we love calling them "family" and together we've become the "Mooralleys."

Healing happened in 2009. God healed us of the pain left behind from 2008, He healed us spiritually and physically. After 2 years of diabetes, I finally tested negative! What a miracle! Although John still feels the physical pain from his injury in the accident, God healed him and gave him peace in his attitude towards the pain. He's learned a lot through the Apostle Paul and the thorn in his side. John's pain keeps him looking towards God.

There's so much I could say about the beauty of 2009, but I'll condense the rest to this list:

* We watched our nephew graduate from high school and go off to college.

* We've seen our beautiful daughter, Kiley, blossom into a sweet young lady.

* We've learned determination from Makenna's drive to be the best swimmer she can be.

* Despite my reservations, I competed AND completed the LaJolla Rough Water Swim for the second year in a row!

* I saw John find that joy in his job again after several years of unhappiness of where it left him after his accident.

* The healing of a relationship with my mother. PRAISE GOD!

I know there's so much that I'm forgetting, but it's time to end this blog and enjoy the last few hours of 2009 with my family. Goodbye 2009, you were a great year and I pray 2010 is just as wonderful!

The Best of Christmas

There's so much to say about our Christmas, where do I begin? I'll just give the basics: we did our normal routine of Christmas Eve with John's side of the family, Christmas day at home and the day after Christmas with my side of the family. Then the day after that, Dec. 27th, was Makenna's 10th birthday. Yes, my baby turned double digits! This was by far the most difficult birthday for me. It was the end of an era of having children with single digit ages.

Favorite Gifts: Kiley's favorites were a hockey stick signed by her favorite Ducks goalie, JS Giguerre and a tennis ball hopper (it picks up tennis balls on the court and holds them nicely inside). Makenna's favorites were a hockey stick signed by her favorite Ducks player, Corey Perry, a new tennis racket and new pink kick board for swimming. John's favorite was glass seats for a Ducks game and mine was an Amazon Kindle (my new favorite gadget for downloading books and reading). The greatest family gift, the new tether ball in the backyard.

I'll let this video I made & posted to youtube tell the rest about our Christmas:
http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=a54rvBIZ2_8

Seussical the Musical!

It's amazing how quickly events can come and go. Before you know it, all the planning and hard work that goes into an event is suddenly over. In our family, that event was "Seussical the Musical." Makenna rehearsed for this show for over four months, two hour rehearsals, twice a week. The final week before the show had more rehearsals, lasting 3-4 hours a night. This brought about endless trips to and from the church for me! I did use some of the rehearsals as my "quiet time." I would curl up in the car with a book or work on swim team treasury paperwork. I can't complain too much, I did benefit from the time a little. M was cast in the show as a "Jungle Citizen" and she chose to be a tarantula (I think she chose this to freak out her spider-hating sister). This meant lots of sewing on my part to create this costume WITHOUT a pattern. I was fortunate enough to come across a lady's blog from the east coast whose son was a tarantula for Halloween. I felt like I was stalking her blog as I would keep looking at it to see the costume until I finally just printed the picture of her son in the costume. I worked endless hours on that costume, finishing just 1 hour before the first dress rehearsal. Needless to say, I insist that she is a tarantula for Halloween next year.

Finally, it was show time. Her first show was Dec. 22nd and final show the next night on Dec. 23rd. M did a great job! She knew all her songs, dance moves, everything! We were so proud!
The show itself was BEYOND AMAZING! Briana, the shows producer, did such a great job managing 42 kids for a first class performance. The scenery, the choreography, lighting, everything was at the level of a Broadway show. M did a great job and we were all so proud that her grandparents, friends and other family were either able to attend or watch the live feed of the show on the internet. Great job Makenna and thank you Lord that it's over!

On stage performing

M with her sister, aunt, uncle, cousins and me, of course!

Great costume mom!

M and producer, Briana