Disneyworld Pictures Cont.

Ok so here are a few more pictures from Disneyworld. I took about 1,000 pics really and of course I'm not going to post them all on here, I'll post a few. Most likely I'll put them in an online album and post the link on here so you can see the pictures.

Below you will see our Home Hotel Cooked Meals









Here are some pictures of our resort. We didn't get to walk most of our resort. It's 55 acres and I think we only seen 4 buildings worth. Beautiful property.







Thats all for now folks! Once I figure out what online album to put them in I'll post the link :P

<3
Mrsbefons

Disneyworld Pictures

Here are some pictures from our trip..... Enjoy!



















There will be more to come!

<3
Mrsbefons

Immediate Prayer Request

Around Thanksgiving my 22yr old cousin was admitted to the hospital. For a little bit of background he has cerebral palsy (spelling). He has been stricken to a wheelchair since he was little. He doesn't know how to walk or talk. He is the size of maybe a 10 yr old. His limbs are curled in upright positions. All in all he is a kid of "special needs". He was born like this. When I was away for vacation he is still in the hospital. I find out now that I'm home there is a chance he will not make it. It makes me so upset to hear this because he did not deserve anything he was bound with. The reason he is like this is because tweeker parents couldn't get theie act together and the environment he was brought into. Luckily my cousin had beat the odds for most that have his condition so it is a blessing we have him this long but I'm reaching out to the Lord to bless us again for a longer time with him. He is the light in the family. You can't walk in the room without him knowing and you can see he is trying to talk and he smiles at you and you can't help but to smile back. The joy that he lets out of his eyes. Looking at him you know that there is hope in life.

Please Lord, Please Lord, Please Lord may you bless our family with the light you gave us 22 yrs ago. May we continue to have my cousin in our lives as he gives hope to the family. Lord please keep your guiding hands on him and guide him to a recovery. Lord please forgive the family of the wrongs Lord and may this be our right that you bless us with. Lord our God my faith is in you. Amen

<3
Mrsbefons

Disneyworld

Our family took a vacation as a pre-birthday celebration for Bri'elle to Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. It ended up being Me, Jay, Bri'elle, Corey (my brother), Jojo (one of my little sisters), and Kimi (my little cousin). We all had so much fun. Bri'elle did extremely good on the plane ride. On the way there it was split into two flights and on the way back it was one long full shot to California. She slept pretty much the whole flight.
Jay and I used some of our timeshare for the trip and stayed in one of the newest resorts down there. Our resort was so nice. Since our timeshare is for "live-in" vacations we have a fully stocked kitchen, washer/dryer, and the works. You couldn't ask for more. We made breakfast, lunch, and dinner in our hotel for the most part since food at the park and just going out would be more expensive. It was so cute, we all sat at the dining room table like one big happy family. We stayed from Nov 30th - Dec 6th and since everyone didn't have a lot of money we did a 3 day park with a one day mini park pass. We didn't get to do one park but to really do everything you have to stay literally probably 10 days. And you would be completely exhausted. We wanted little or no stress. Bri'elle was so excited at the parks. She recognized some stuff from TV which was surprising. She loved the lights and decorations. She even learned out to say Mickey/Minnie Mouse. Its the cutest little thing. We all had an awesome time down there. Jay and I plan to go back every over year or so depending on the timing and what other stuff we'd like to do. I'll post some pictures in a separate blog so it doesn't get too long.

<3
Mrsbefons

Our First Thanksgiving

There is so much to be thankful for this year. I'm personally thankful that God has presented me with so much this year. He has blessed my family with more than I could ask for. Although Jay is out of work and we have pretty much ran out of any extra money and then some I just thank God that we are where we are at because things could be worse. I have so much faith in God that soon things will turn around. He has always been there for me and I know he will be there for my family. Thanksgiving is a really emotional holiday for me. With all the medical issues I have been through it is a reminder that I'm soooooo lucky to be pretty much living and I have so much to be thankful for. I honor that there is a day for everyone and everything I'm thankful for. As for my family, we are thankful to have each other this year. Jay and I are extremely thankful (more than words could express) for our daughter that we have been blessed with. She is our miracle girl and our angel. 0:)

Every year since I've been 18 I've always walked really early in the morning around my area. Usually its to the high school and back. Since I've been with Jay we've kept this tradition except last year we didn't walk as far because I was pregnant. We didn't want any unexpected cause of early labor. And this year we got to continue it with our little Bri'elle. She was so excited.




This year to celebrate our first Thanksgiving as a family. My parents had Thanksgiving at their house. My dad comes from a large family of 10 so I guess what I'm trying to say is we had a full house. And I absolutely loved it! It was nice having everyone over. Some family members came that don't usually come to the Thanksgiving dinner so it was nice to spend it with them. We had good food and good family time.




After Thanksgiving dinner and all the guests left I prepared for my night time "early bird" shopping extravaganza for Black Friday. I began at around 8:30pm and arrived at my friends house 10 minutes later to head off to ToysRus with 5 other girls (including my friends sister). We all carpooled. It was soooo much fun. All of us planning out our shopping trip and giving each other lookout items. I wasn't really shopping for anything in particular. With Jay not on any other income and mine is decreased since I've been on PFL we are very limited in our spending. Another reason I didn't want to splurge is because Bri'elles bday is in 2 weeks (from Thanksgiving) and I want to wait to see what she gets. We stood in line for about 45 minutes and then the fiasco would be begin. I saw so many things that I would love to get for Bri'elle but I had to hold back the calling. I did buy her a babydoll. I just couldn't help it. What kind of mom would I be? lol. I did buy a couple of things I thought were a great deal. I'm sure they would make perfect gifts for a niece or nephew and if not it will be a return or a resale. All of us girls were crazy in there. We had 3 cart fulls. Who does that? If I was planning on shopping (usually I use Black Friday as my Christmas shopping and finish everyone up) I would have added to that. After shopping with the girls, I headed home to catch some shut eye until the next stop.

Once I got home I showed Jay and my mom the stuff I got and then off to bed I went. At about 2:30 we (Jay, me, my brother Corey, cousin Kyle, and cousin Cody) woke up and set off to JcPennys. I stayed in the car while the guys stood in line for 15 mins. About one minute before the store opened I got in line with them. Sorry guys! Jay found luggage they were selling for $38.00 for a 5 piece set. This is a great price and considering we love to travel and don't have a set besides one that Jay got awhile back we got it. We walked around the store and found a few stocking stuffer gifts. After that we journeyed through the mall. Anchor Blue was passing out gift cards from $5-$500 for the first hundred guests so we stood in line. No purchase required and it is good until Dec. 3rd. Jay and I both got $5.00 gift cards. We decided to give them to my sister who watched Bri'elle for us while we shopped. Next stop was Target and then back to ToysRus. Yes, back to ToysRus. I forgot about a few birthday gifts I needed to grab. After that we headed home, but my journey wasn't over yet. Later I discovered something I had bought was not one of the items displayed so I had to return it. Boo!

And that was our Thanksgiving. Well only the leftovers..lol

<3
Mrsbefons

Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

Since Thanksgiving was at our house this year we got to prepare more dishes than usual. The tradition is potluck style and everyone gets to bring a dish or two. I really like the way we do the dinner, one person doesn't have to be responsible for the whole dinner and it allows everyone to share a little something special. This year we decided not to cook some of the usual things we bring and did some different food types.

This is what we shared:

Roasted Butternut Squash Mix


Broccoli Casserole


Cran-Apple Sausage Cornbread Stuffing


Cherry Cola Ham (I call it Easter Ham) this is my specialty. I didn't get to serve it the way I usually do because I wasn't the one who cut it.


Roasted Garlic Basted Turkey








The dinner turned out so yummy. I was very satisfied with the choices. I love getting up early and cooking on the holidays so I had a lot of fun making these dishes. :P

<3
Mrsbefons

The Eve to Giving Thanks

Today has been one hectic day and considering I was so tired because last night when Bri'elle was sleeping with us she kicked me in the face and I was woken up by a bloody taste in my mouth and a spout of blood coming out of my nose. This wasn't the first time but man she must have kicked me hard, my nose wouldn't stop bleeding. And it bled so much. So now the poor thing is going to have to really sleep in her bed the whole night or on daddy's side of the bed, with some exceptions. I feel really bad but because I have a high risk of a pulmonary embolism I just can't afford for that to happen on a constant basis. :(
The rest of the day went pretty smoothly. My mom and I went grocery shopping for our dishes we picked out for the Thanksgiving dinner. This year its at our house and we are all excited. My parents have been remodeling the house and it's almost done! It needs a few other things but it looks great. After shopping me pretty much have been cleaning the remainder of the time. Tonight there was a Thanksgiving Service at our church. All of us went; my mom, Jay, me, Bri'elle, Corey, Haley, Marty (Jay's dad), DeAnna, Chris, Shelly, and Andrew. It was neat. They asked that each family bring a dessert. When you arrived at the beginning of the service you dropped off the dessert to the kitchen then you headed inside. Once inside they had the band play the opening/welcome songs. Once of the leaders spoke for a few minutes giving the outline of the night and then for about 15 minutes you were given time to grab a dessert that was now placed on tables inside and visit with your fellow churchmates. After 15 minutes elapsed a video came on about the new series "Getting Uncomfortable" and showing how we can make survival kits for a village in South Africa. The video finished and then the youth pastor Linda was the speaker for the service. She spoke for roughly 10 minutes. Her message was comical and really hit home. Stuffing 101 was the topic. It was pretty cool how she started off. She showed a video clip of how to stuff a turkey. And then she began to talk about what each of us are stuffed with. We need to fill ourselves with the love of God and stuff ourselves with the right kind of stuffing. It was so cool how she linked Thanksgiving stuffing into a biblical sense. I love messages like this. It was nice to have everyone together and to share the Thanksgiving service with everyone. This was our first time participating in an outside service with our church and I don't think it will be our last :) Another thing that touched me tonight at church was that our series "Getting Uncomfortable" has really got a hold of me and Jay. We've participated a lot with the tests the pastor has given us. Last week they showed how Bay Hills raised enough money for a village in a third world country (I think it was Africa but I could be wrong) to have a well of fresh drinking water. In honor of the money raised the village put a plaque up showing our church name on it. It was truly an honor to see that and to know that you are a part of something so great. Last week the pastor said lets see if we can get more wells. The church set up a bunch of bottled water with a collection box at each table. They asked for a donation and the ideal donation would be $10.00. Once you place your donation in the box you got to take your water. I total wanted to do it. Why not? The only cash we had was $5.00 so in the box it went and I got my water. At tonight's service they announced just from the water fundraiser $3,441.60 was raised. Wow! That would let us build about 3-4 wells or a whole drinking eco system can be built in a span of area. Isn't that amazing. You really can make a difference in someones life. So far this has been a "Thanks"giving.

To end the night my mom and I along with a little bit of help from others in the house prepared some of our dishes early so we will just need to cook them before the guest arrive. I will be posting the menu tomorrow with pictures. Upon requests I'll put the recipes up. :D

I hope everyone the best Thanksgiving. This will be a remarkable one for us. We have a lot to be thankful for even though we aren't in the best positions.

Goodnight and God Bless.

<3
Mrsbefons

Have A Nice Trip - See You Next Fall

I thought I would share this because I still can't believe it happened. This past Friday Bri'elle and I had us a nice little trip..down the stairs! Ahhh! It happened so fast its like I can't even remember which might be a good thing. Jay was getting the rest of the laundry from downstairs and I was with Bri'elle upstairs getting us both ready so the three of us can grab some breakfast. Our room is about 3 steps from the top of the stairs. There's a little area that Bri'elle likes to sit and play with some of her toys in front of our door. Its not that close to the stairs, but when she does play there we are always right at her side. On Friday she was sitting in her usual spot playing when she either got bored or wanted to roam around, she decides to get up. I noticed that she had a change of plans and started to go towards her. She was holding on to the railing when I called out, "Bri'elle get over here." She noticed my tone of voice and when she went to walk to me, it looked like she tripped or something and her foot missed the ground and slipped down the stairs. As soon as I seen her lose her balance I went dashing over there pretty much throwing myself out on the stairs to land in front of her in hopes to catch her fall. The way she fell was as if she was laying on her side and someone pushed her. I'm guessing she didn't get a lot of wind when she was falling because she fell about 5 maybe six steps down (a little less than halfway). When I flung myself down the stairs I really wasn't watching how I was "flying" and ended up tumbling all the way down the stairs luckily when I seen everything go down (literally) I yelled for Jay. I landed on top of my head at the end of a roll. My front teeth had hit a stair and railing, both of my arms twisted different ways when I landed, and the rest of my body was in shock. Jay ran to me and I just yelled, "GET THE BABY!!!!". And then he noticed what had happened. Jay went to Bri'elle and picked her up. As he was trying to comfort her, he also asked me if I was okay. From what he said it looked like I had broken my neck. I assured him several times that I was okay but little did I know. After about 3-5 mins of crying, we put Bri'elle in a nice bubble bath to soothe her. Both of us took turns looking her over making sure we didn't miss any bruises or anything that looked out of the ordinary. She looked fine. No bruises, no bumps, just a little shaken up. I was so scared to let her take a nap. I pretty much watched her the whole {about} 2 hours she slept. It was so scary. I just couldn't believe I let something like that happen. Later that night my left arm really started to hurt. Really. I've broken both of my arms before so I knew I probably flared up anything that would pose a possible threat for an injury. Around dinnertime I headed off to my friends jewelry party. We were all having so much fun, I hardly noticed the pain besides a few times when I would move my arms a certain way. When I returned home Jay said Bri'elle woke up once crying but other than that she was sleeping peacefully. The next day, I think we both payed for it. Well, at least I did. I stayed in PJ's the whole day. I didn't want to get up for anything. Bri'elle slept awhile too. When it was her nap, I napped. I loved how that worked out. My body was in so much pain. I managed to hop in the shower at some point and noticed many bruises all over my body. It was horrible. My tailbone hurt so bad. And my poor arms. Ugh. The next day, Sunday, I was still sore but not as sore. It seemed as if the pain was subsiding. Bri'elle didn't sleep well last night so were not sure if she is sore too or just not wanting to sleep. Poor thing, I hope its because she wanted to stay up longer. Today, I felt fine except I painted my parents living room and my arm felt like I had broken it. I even whined which I only do when something really hurts. I kind of wanted to go to the doctor so they could check it out. Instead I stopped painting and gave my arm a rest. I just keep thinking back and if could have been A LOT worse. I'm so lucky it wasn't worse for me or Bri'elle. Friday was definitely one of the scariest days of my life. The life of a parent of an 11 month old and many more to go. I'm preparing myself now. A lesson learned! I'm so glad our baby girl wasn't really affected. And what do you know she still wants to go on the stairs. SMH! LOL!!!!

11 Months and More

11 months old!

Bri'elle had her on Monday the 8th. The doctor said everything looked great with her. She is developing well. It wasn't surprising but Bri'elle showed off all her new things she learned recently to the doctor. Miss show off! The doctor was very impressed with her learning skills. She really does know a lot for a baby her age. At this check-up she didn't have to get any immunizations besides the Flu Shot. She did extremely well when she received the shot in her right thigh. I was holding her on my lap. At the Pinole office the "shot" nurse comes in the exam room. This makes it so much easier then having to travel around the Kaiser trying to find the correct place and this way the baby is already settled in. I think Bri'elle was so interested in what the lady had to really pay attention to what she was really doing. Next thing you know the needle went in and out, Bri'elle reached for the lady as she began to pack up her stuff, she was kicking her legs (in a playful manner), and then noticed the bandage in which she tried to pull off. She just really sat there and watched the nurse give her the shot and as the nurse pulled away she wanted what she was holding and to play. No crying! We were all amazed. At the appointment Bri'elle weighed in 24 lbs & 9ozs and about 32 inches long.

This girl sure is growing...and quickly. Now that she has reached 11 months she can now walk. Really walking. I just can't believe it. She evens tries to run when we pretend were going to get her or if she is really excited. A few more words added to her vocab: "o"=No, "Wuh"=Woof, "Pa""Pi"=Pappi. A few things she says sounds like bigger words and there correct meanings but were not sure if she is really saying it or not so I'll wait to hear them a few times. She has partly upgraded us to Mommy and daddy. This melts my heart even more which I thought wasn't possible.
TODAY we noticed she has her first tooth and another one on its way. I'm not sure how long the tooth has been there but it is there. Yesterday she was gnawing on my shoulder and I kept thinking that the unusual sharpness was just her gums getting stronger. Today when Jay was tickling her as she was laying down playing with us I noticed a little white nod in her mouth. Its really funny because we know she has been teething lately but we thought it was her bottom teeth so we haven't been checking her tops. Haha. What do you know?! Its was there all along.

Bri'elle is really starting to get her toddler personality. I'm not sure if we would start considering her a toddler but she really has been acting like it. Her interest lately is the movie The Princess and the Frog. She will sit there and pretty much watch the whole movie without being bothered. If you try to get her attention or step in her way she will literally move herself so she can watch the movie in comfort. Jay even bought the soundtrack to the movie and we've had some good car rides. Hehe.

I will post some more pictures. I'm going to try to take some more tomorrow and play around with them. I hope you like my "scrap blog"!

Click on the image to enlarge it for clearer viewing. :)

<3
Mrsbefons

New Hobby

Since I've been on leave and spending so much time with the hubby and baby girl I have been taking ALOT of pictures. As you all might know (and if not well you will) I LOVE photography & everything about it. Well, as much as I know about it. Since I was little I have always had a passion for the camera. To be either the one taking pictures or to be the one in the picture. Usually if there is an event you will find me with my camera in hand, if not there is seriously something wrong :(.
For our anniversary Jay got me a Nikon SLR. As a birthday present I got the 200m zoom with a camera bag and a few necessities needed along with a photo/video editing program. I haven't a chance to really use the program because I really want to put all my photography on one computer and right now (well will be soon) my desktop computer is being upgraded and replenished for that purpose.
I'm hoping with some of the time I have I will be able to use the program and at least try it out. I've been learning a lot with some of the other programs. Jay and I put together Bri'elles invitation for her birthday party. It turned out pretty good for not being professionally done. The best part about it is that it costs just as much as to go to the store and buy a pack of invitations for what $5.99 for 8. To me it was totally worth it.
This is definitely something I'm hoping to pursue in the future (and right now if possible). I've been trying to promote myself to family and friends by offering to do pictures for different occasions. I know that I'm not a professional but the pictures still come out good. This way it will help build my portfolio. This next semester I'm going to take a couple of photography related classes.
Along with photography are the different ways to present it like scrap booking. I've started to get into scrap "blogging". This will come in handy if I happen to make picture greeting cards for somebody or even doing someones invites for a party.

Following this posting will be my first scrap blog post. :)

<3
Mrsbefons

Mommy's Vacation

Yes, I said it, "Mommy's Vacation"!

On Tuesday I left for Las Vegas with my best friend Sherin. We went for her birthday (which was Tuesday). The hotel we stayed at was the Hilton Grand Vacations at the Flamingo. It was such a nice vacation. At times I thought about my family at home and how much I really wanted to be with them, but then I thought how much I deserved to have a break and let loose. Throughout our two day vacation we browsed different sites of the Strip, show the Holly Madison Peepshow (it was off the hook), got pampered, ate a buffet in the Wynn, went shopping, went to the Ghost Bar, and gambled (well Sherin did). Of course there were a lot of little in between stuff that filled our day. We arrived back home on Thursday around 1:00. Jason and Bri'elle were at bart to pick us and last minute we all went to lunch at a diner in Walnut Creek.

I had such a great time with Sherin on vacation. It was definitely a vacation worth it. Us two girls away for not too long doing whatever we wanted. Great memories with a great person. Can't wait for our next one!

In the meantime I'm making up for lost time with the fam so I'm not in any hurry :)

Here's a few pics below of us:

Us at Holly Madison's Peepshow

On our way out on the Strip

The Flamingo Hotel - We stayed in the HGVC Suites


<3
Mrsbefons

Our Love Shoot

Today's Date: 11-4-10

We were given a great opportunity today. A month or so ago I entered the two of us in a wedding shoot. Jay and I both thought it would be fun and a reward since we didn't have professional photos done for our wedding. My cousin knows the lady who has the photography studio. The lady was looking for a few couples to photograph to use for her portfolio. Luckily enough we were one of those couples. A few requirements were that you were responsible for your attire (dress, shoes, hair, makeup, nails, tux, etc). In return you are given the chance to be a part of the experience at the destination location and the edited photos. Sign us up! You can't beat that.
Today was the DAY!!!! Our location she selected was at the Palace of Fine Arts. A beautiful place. The water pond and backdrop of the dome was gorgeous. As it turns out, today was a really good weather day too. Our photographer was so awesome. Sharon had a good personality and you could tell she knew what she was doing. To top it off she had good humor which is always important especially since Jay like to kid around a lot. I think we meshed well with her. She had tons of ideas. Posing us here, taking pics from there. It was so cool. A little bit into the shoot a lot of tourists came "Asian tourists" at that. At first one of them came over and started taking pictures. I didn't really know what to think. He didn't ask or anything, but lone and behold we let him take a few snapshots and be on his way. After that some more started taking pictures. I'm a really photogenic person and I love the camera but this kind of make me uncomfortable. Here we are posing for our photographer having a good 'ol time and then snap..snap..snap. They even tried to be sneaking and put there cameras down by there waist and take a few as we were walking to a different area. I felt kind of bad for Sharon also. She put all her time and effort into setting this up and then you have these people who think they can rain on her parade and steal some shots. There should have totally been some photography police there to fine them. At one point Sharon asked one of the men who were snapping some photos if they had asked us for permission to take the pictures. The guy hurried himself along mumbling something. I don't think he spoke English. After that we weren't bothered again.
The photo shoot was amazing. I'm so glad we got this chance again. It was like our wedding day minus the stress. And it was just US. To top off our afternoon, we left the photo shoot and decided to go to dinner. Yes, we were still in our photo shoot attire! As we drove through Larkspur we couldn't help ourselves and had to stop at our fave restaurant The Melting Pot. We got there literally as they opened the doors. The hostess immediately asked if we had just got married. Oh how we couldn't help it but say YES. She told us to pick any table in the restaurant. Of course we chose Lovers Lane. Once we were seated we were greeted by the manager with complimentary champagne. The hostess took our picture with the champagne, printed it, and gave us the picture in a melting pot frame. It was so nice to get special treatment. Next were our drinks. The manager brought us a citrus cooler (Jay's choice) and creme brulee martini (my choice). We ordered the Big Night Out in France (right now for the menu selection is French inspired). Everything was delicious as usual. For dessert we were giving a platter written in chocolate "Congrats on your special day" with a lot of hearts and strawberry decoration. This concluded our day of wedding festivities. An amazing experience! <3

With Love,

Mrsbefons

Bonding Time

Last week I started leave from work for bonding with Bri'elle for PFL. Let me tell you, it has been so nice. Since I've been home Bri'elle has been a total mommy's girl. You can tell she isn't used to it so she clings to me every chance she gets. It's a remarkable feeling. For the past week I've been trying to get the most out of it as I can because I know 6 weeks will be here before I know it. We planned so much for us to do as a family and of course it allows me and Brillo to have some mommy and daughter time. Our plan is to use this time to our advantage, Jay has been applying to jobs off the hook and already passed his first round with EBMUD. The past few weeks have been really tough for us. Unemployment is on hold for the last extension (for everybody) because of a bill that is being "reviewed" to pass that will no longer give those on unemployment any extensions. A lot of cutbacks have been made which I don't mind because it allows us to do alternative things with the family and with Bri'elle.

Uh-Oh

Bri'elle has been on a roll lately. She is learning so much and doing so much its almost to hard to keep up with. I thought I would share this new word she learned. Uh-oh!!! It is so cute when she says it. She tries so hard to say it exactly the way we say it. I videod her last night saying it for the first time. I'm going to try and re-reocrd it and post it because there is a lot of background noise and she got irritated after we were having her repeat it 100 times because we were so excited and wanted everyone in the house to say it.


<3

Bri'elle is 10months!

Pumpkin patch 10-10-10

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.3