2008 In Review ...

2008 was certainly an interesting year. Without a doubt we know that God has totally blessed us. From selling our house, starting a new job, moving 1700 miles and readjusting to a different area - it required very little effort. We know that we couldn't have done it without Him... We have so much more than we need and we're incredibly thankful for all HE has done in our marriage. In the past 7 months in California, we have a great group of friends, an awesome church and family right around the corner (literally). Everything has fallen into place. He has more than provided for us.

We finally found decent East Coast style pizza in Gilroy, CA and frequent the shop about 1 - 2 times a month. Gilroy has become one of our new favorite places. The pizza is great, but so is the drive.

Joshua is walking like a pro. He alternates between walking and crawling - nods, claps, and says the word "yeah, mamamama, dadadadada etc..." baby talk.

BIG NEWS !! Joshua is now going to be a big brother !!! The new addition to our family is a few months in the making and is due at the end of July / beginning of August time frame. We're pretty excited and look forward to welcoming the new life into the world.

We spent 2 solid weeks with my family and had a great time in Delaware. Meme couldn't keep her hands off of the little guy.



Not only are Tiffany and I expecting, but Amy and Nitan are as well. My parents have a double dose of grandchildren headed their way next summer ! Congrats Amy and Nitan !



Joshua and Kaitlyn definetely bonded. They spent a ton of time together - Katie has definitely taken on the role as the older cousin.



Aunt Becca was also AWESOME as usual. She treated me to Margharitas Pizza in Newark, and spent plenty of time with Josh and Katie.



Christmas Day was great. Amy and Nitan just finished building their beautiful new house, and we spent the day at their place opening presents and just hanging out. Nitan's parents flew in from Englad to celebrate the day with us.



Later in the trip, we spent some time with friends we hadn't seen in years. Great seeing all of you. Tiff and I had a wonderful time at Smithers - Yueng's and wings.. Luke and I also we're able to get some time playing guitar hero - truth is, Tiffany killed all of us at that game.





When we got back into Monterey, we had Christmas #2. Nana and Tanya came in to visit for several days and we celebrated Christmas after the New Year !




Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year.

Mike Tiff Josh

VACATION !!!

Woo hoo !!! Off to Delaware to see MeMe and PopPop.. Josh has no idea how many people want to get their hands on him :)

Not only that, but Mom and Dad get to visit friends, kick back, relax and enjoy the next 2 weeks off.

East Coast here we come !

We have a guest speaker today...

My buddy Pat from Texas made a great post on his blog. He's not only a great computer go-to guy, but he's also a great brother and has definitely helped me through some hurdles. You can visit his blog @ http://patnolen.blogspot.com/

Just Do You
"Who are you? Better yet do you know who you are? I’m not talking about knowing your name or where you live but who you are deep on the inside. Do you know who you are? Many people go throughout life not knowing the answer to this question. They waddle around trying to be like other people. Not just trying to keep up with The Jones’ but rather trying TO BE The Jones’. Stop and just Do You. Not sure who you are? That’s ok. Being honest about it is a start. Wanna know who you are? Ask God. In Matthew 5:14 He helped a few fishing buddies find their identity. He did so with the first two words, “You Are”. Take a look around. Today there are too many people front-n. Too many people trying to pattern their life after hip hop artists and movie stars. Just going through life trying to be something their not meant to be. Life is more fulfilling when you stop the charade. However, it’s costly to just Be You. Paul Tillich said that it takes “Courage To Be”. So stop. Be honest. Ask God. Then just DO YOU!" - Pat Nolen

Pat you rock !


In other news, McDonald's is taking a "jab" at Starbucks for selling overpriced coffee. While Starbucks does have a few good items on their menu, they are hardly worth the price paid. If you own stock in Starbucks, I'd bail. THIS IS AWESOME !

Christmas Time !

So we made cookies with Debbie... I'm sure you can tell who made which ones... :)

What's new?

It's December !!! And we're still wearing flip flops 99% of the time. Sometimes even shorts !!

We had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends - and then woke up at 3:45am for black friday sales.. Have to say, it was a crazy, caffeine fueled morning !!

Totally looking forward to our visit to the East Coast mid-December. We'll be out that way for 2 weeks. List of places to eat: Margarita's Pizza, Giacomo's Pizza, Thrashers Fries, Friendly's etc.. We might even hit up Long Island so Tiff can check out Time Square and the sights of NYC.

So we're settling in for the night. We just got back from a nice 3 miles walk and made killer brownie sundaes. Off to movie land.