Holden Family Happenings

Easter and Friends

Friday, Tammy, Sophia, and Ashley came up and visited. We had fun going to lunch, waiting forever at Home Depot, and watching Miss Sophia walking. Her funny faces are a crack up. Thank you for driving up for the day...I love us!

Joanna and James welcomed their sweet baby- Tyler James on Wed. He was actually born on his due date! We had fun stopping by the hospital to get a chance to hold him. What a joy!

Rechelle, Claire, and I had a blast taking a stroll to a new restaurant and eating yummy frozen yogurt. Delish! The best part of the day was watching Claire eat a lemon. Her face was too cute!

Jake made me an Easter basket and hid it so I had to find it. He knows I love any fun surprise that's interactive. Thank you, Husband!

I love my sister-in-law!

Doesn't Jake look handsome in his tie?

Connie, Jake, and Jenny

Fixing, painting, and yes, moving in!

So it's been 4 weeks of fixing up the new place, packing, and moving in. Before we moved, with the help of our family and friends, we painted every room in the house (even the baseboards thanks to my mom). Every color turned out great except for our bathroom. Apparently "Calming Retreat" is pseudo for light pink. Since I'm over painting at the moment, it's going to stay for the time being. Thanks to our amazing family and friends we are settling into our new home and getting used to the neighborhood. We appreciate everyone's help SO much! Thank you!

Before the 30 trips to Home Depot, hours of painting, pipes breaking, cleaning, packing, moving, and settling in. We're so thankful... and still are. :)

I love my husband..he is a cute dork!

What a happy little painter (or maybe a messy one)!

I think the shirt says it all.

This was the end of weekend 1- yes, we're still smiling.

Before we painted, we primed the walls.

Here we are on weekend 2. Jake had tunnel vision most of the time, but once in a while I got a laugh out of him.

Jenny painted the bathroom, spare room, and the kitchen. She was amazing!

Connie did an awesome job on the kitchen!

Painting the living room with Gary and Jake.

I decided to paint the fire place a deep brown. However, I think it turned out too close to "poop" brown. As we get furniture in, I think it might look a little better. Any feedback would be appreciated. :)

Weekend 3: Moving in! Here are the girls taking time out for a spontaneous dance party!

Jordan of course took a picture of himself. He looks well rested and ready for more work!

Homeowners!

Welcome to our new condo located in Lake Forest in the Foothill Ranch area. We are giving Jesus all the glory and praise for making this gift possible. He lead and guided us to this cozy condo and made it happen in perfect timing. We are overwhelmingly blessed by Him and by all of our family and dear friends' prayers and support. Thank you! You are welcome to our new home any time and for any reason!

This is our amazing realtor Don Hall (http://www.firstteam.com/OfficeDetails.aspx?ofc=185). He is a wonderful man with great wisdom, patience, and compassion. We are indebted to him for helping make this condo a reality. If you need a realtor, he truly is a great man and fellow believer. Thank you Don!

Soaking up the moment.

The sliding glass door leads out to the back porch.

Our one of a kind gas fire place. Ooohhh, ahhhh...We are thinking since the living room is small, we'll mount a flatscreen above it. We'll see how far the budget stretches. :) On a side note the gray paint has got to go.

The kitchen is the first area you see when you walk in the door- after looking at a lot of short sales I am excited about these cabinets. They aren't too bad at all.

This is our main living room/dining room area which extends to a cement back porch. Of course we have an amazing, one of a kind view of the parking lot:). We are keeping the floors since they are in such good condition, but hopefully re-tiling the kitchen and bathrooms. Again, we'll wait and see how far our savings for repairs goes. The two bedrooms and bathrooms are nothing special, but perfect for our needs. Right now we have a one bedroom place, so the extra bedroom is a treat. It will also be home to the infamous blue recliner. Sorry Jake, you can recline in the office.

Cupcake Apron Party

So my friend Tammi and I are really into hostess aprons and have been looking for a reason to wear our fun aprons from sommer designs: http://www.sommerdesigns.com/. For an excuse to show them off, we hosted a cupcake party for our Bible Study girls and had fun decorating while wearing our adorable aprons. I know most men will never understand, but at least my husband supports my antics (as long as he got to eat a cupcake he was happy). :)

Morning Hunt

One of my favorite pastimes is duck hunting. Sitting in the marsh under the pre-dawn light before shooting time brings both peace and excitement. The air gets colder just before the sun rises, which is a phenomenon that probably has a scientific explanation, but why ruin the mystery. Being out in the duck blind filters out worries and creates space for life's more important thoughts. The pictures you see were from a recent hunt with my dad to an area called San Jacinto. It was a beautiful day with the icy wind blowing off the snow-capped mountains. I love being outdoors and look forward to many more days in the field.

A Tale of Christmas

This Christmas Jake and I hit the road for a Family Christmas marathon. We drove up to my mom's house in Santa Maria and spent Christmas Eve eating a special breakfast, opening gifts, having my extended family over for dinner, and then seeing a movie. Then we woke up on Christmas said our good byes and got on the road for San Diego. We arrived safely (thank you God) in the rain storm and headed with Jake's family to his grandma and grandpa's house. We enjoyed the evening eating a delicious roast dinner and being entertained by Jake's cousin's daughter who is a little over a year old. Her dancing was the hit of the night! Finally, the next day we celebrated Christmas with Jake's mom, dad, and sister. Having a special breakfast, opening gifts, and enjoying the day together. After all the fun, I became stir crazy, so Jake and I took his dog Shasta for a walk and then went to my favorite store: Target. We had a wonderful Christmas and are overwhelmingly blessed by our families. Thank you to everyone for making Christmas so special! Here are some pics of Christmas 2008!

Jake was kind enough to hold up each tree for me as I picked the best one. Finally, I was satisfied enough to make a decision. That of course made Mr. Holden very happy. :)

Hosing it off before bringing it inside.

The finished product. Tada!

The only picture Jake and I took together during the Christmas season. I failed as the picture taker this year.

Jordan snuggling with his gift.

Noel, looking cute on Christmas Eve after opening gifts.

Hostess aprons! Taryn got my mom the cute vintage green apron, and my mom got me the polka dot, pink apron for Christmas. I love it!

So if you didn't already know, Jake's new hobby (much to my detriment) is smoking pipes. He is all into it. I on the other hand, I hate the idea. But as marriage is about compromise, I am learning to accept it. So, here is my husband looking like Old Man River, smoking his pipe on Christmas Eve.

Brother bonding time. My brother Jordan unfortunately encourages Jake's new hobby.

And of course, my mom had to get in on the action as well. She laughed so hard she inhaled the smoke and then proceeded to have a coughing fit. Oh, mom.

This is Jake's cousin's daughter, Shayla. She delighted us on Christmas with her joy, and especially her dancing. What a cutie!

Jake with his sister's cat Harley. We bought him an antler hat which of course he loved.

This is Jake's family dog- Shasta. She is so cute! And yes, I know I look like I'm choking her, but I am not. She wanted to continue on our walk and not stop for pictures. :)

What if this Christmas...

Tammi's B-day Prom Dress Extravaganza!

Tammi's b-day inspired a night out with the girls to re-wear an old prom dress or bridesmaid dress and go bowling. We had a fun time freezing in our strapless dresses and trying to bowl with full length skirts. It was definitely a fun night to remember. Happy birthday, Tam!