Cafe de Valentine

there are two families that i have been following for sometime. one of which i know i've shared quite a bit about here on this blog for two reasons. one, because i actually knew this family when they lived in fresno and they were a huge part of our church. two, because my heart ached for a young woman, not much older than myself, suffering & fighting for her life with a husband and small son at home. the second family are complete strangers yet good friends through the blogging world. their small daughter was born premature and weighed just 1lb and 1oz at birth. she is now 11months old and declared brain dead after the last surgery where something went wrong and cut off oxygen to her brain. both lost their battles on monday of this week and were called home to heaven. monica leaving behind her husband, almost three year old son, parents, two sisters, in-laws, and many many heart broken friends. she was a fantastic woman of God and we all have a peace knowing that she is in God...

i feel the need to share a quick story with you before heading to bed for the night. i know there aren't many that read my little blog, but those that do i'm sure could help pray for this family. sol and monica rodriquez are a couple that i met years ago at our church. sol played in the worship band and monica was a quiet sweet spirit that helped out frequently. they both held youth events at their house and were a huge part of the well community. they moved down to the LA area a few years ago for a job and for sol's band etc. they have a son named kai that i believe will be 3 years old this summer and he's DARLING! monica was diagnosed with breast cancer back in sept of 2007 and has been in the battle of her life ever since. she was very early pregnant when they found out and they told her if she didn't terminate the pregnancy that she wouldn't live long enough for the baby to make it full term. it was a very aggressive tumor so they started chemo before oppera...

we've been up to a few things... some decor, some major structure... some just plain fun. we invested in a new kitchen table. we got a killer deal on it and we LOVE it. we can actually have more than four people sitting at the table now. the table will actually open bigger than that! we love the guy who we bought it from, he is local and he does bar stools and dining tables. "Lou Rodman's Barstools and Dining Tables" is the name of his place and we would HIGHLY recommend it if you're in the market for either of the above. tell him the valentine's sent you. a week or so again we had dinner/dessert/game time with some great friends and it was the first time we had visited their new home and ry & both commented on nicely it was decorated it. we both asked where they got a few cute decor items and they shared they came from DD's discounts. i had heard of the store (kind of a ross type place) but i had never been there and i had no clue they had such cute h...

how do you handle hardship? how do you handle the news of hardship? i have realized that a lot of different people handle this differently. how should we handle it? is there a right and wrong? over the last few months i feel as though i've become aware of many heartaches around the world. some are close to me and some are completely unrelated. there was a week back in january (i had a post about it awhile back) where i was a little scared to answer the phone. i knew it wasn't going to be good news. i finally just got to the point where i would "grin and bare it". I've recently discovered that the blog world is often used for those going through "tough times" to update those around them with their status and ask for prayers and support. i have begun following MANY blogs of people are enduring great hardship. i feel like there are days when i finish making my blog rounds and i feel heavy hearted and rather "depressed". then i realize how thankful...

i promise that i have some fun posts coming up soon, but for right now i'm feeling a little heavy hearted and figured what better way to vent. the end of december was a bit rough for us valentine's with the economy the way it is and tulare county (my husband's employer) making massive cut backs and mass lay off's r has been on edge each day hoping that he has a job to return to. we got a phone call dec 15th from jill's mom (my friend who's wedding i was in the last sept) saying that her new husband had been hurt at work. he has lost both hands and is currently home trying to recuperate. four days after the initial injury and multiple surgeries they found out jill is pregnant with their first. they are both incredibly excited and while this could be just the motivation and distraction they needed, jill is still a bit overwhelmed being newly pregnant and helping her new husband make a full recovery. last sunday the 28th of dec my grandma judy was taken into the ...