From the Mouths of Babes

If you place all your confidence as a person in your appearence or possessions, I would highly recommend not having children (or even hanging out with children) :)

Just last week, I picked up a fun little bracelet with the different color variations of coral, brown, dark and light mossy greens, and accented with larger stones of ivory, pink, and greens. I was all excited and wore it the next day with a nice coordinating outfit. In walked my children...

Seth: "Mom! Your new bracelet looks so dirty!!!"
Abby chimes in: " Yeah... it looks like you just fished it out of the ocean... it's so ugly!"
Isaac: "Look at that big rock, it looks like it has moss or that slimy stuff we have in our front yard."
Abby: "Well, I like the pink one. I think they painted it so that it would look pretty. Oh, and that little tiny green one that is all clean and pretty..."

Hmmmph... you gotta love their honesty! I still like the bracelet, although I may not wear it around children :)

Boys' Weekend

The BOYS had a fun adventure this last weekend!!! Matthew took Isaac and Seth out to Colorado to watch the Dodgers take on the Rockies at Coors Field. Isaac and Seth has been counting down to "Christmas" for the last few weeks :)

Ready to go???

LAX in the dark!

Friday morning at 4:45, we (all 5 blurry eyed Holbrooks) packed up the car and drove the boys out to LAX to catch their flight out to Denver! The boys couldn't have been more excited :) They were determined to not check any bags so that they are able to get on and off the plane quickly. So... Isaac and Seth both had huge backpacks filled with all of their stuff. They were SOOO BIG that (I was told) at the airport, Seth kept falling over :)

The boys not only got to see all three games - Friday through Sunday - they also got to see their favorite pitchers!!! On Friday night, Chad Billingsley led them to a 7 - 2 victory. Saturday night, Clayton Kershaw (the 20-year-old with the nasty curveball) secured the 5 - 1 win. Sunday afternoon, the veteran Greg Maddux drew the 0 - 1 loss in the 10th inning. Abby and I stayed home and watched parts of the games on TV and rooted for the Dodgers and looked for Daddy, Isaac and Seth... we never found them :(



Some of the highlights (according to Isaac and Seth) were:

1. Breakfast buffet at the hotel!!!

2. Tour at Coors Field on Saturday.

3. Saturday night's game - when they had high winds and rain!!!

4. Coming back from breakfast and seeing that all the beds were all made and perfect!

5. Having Bible Study and Church with Daddy.

6. Missing school on Friday and half of Monday :)

7. Dinner at the stadium (popcorn, lemonade, and ice cream... hmmm)


The only drama that the boys encountered was on the flight home. The flight was delayed for almost 2 hours. They sat on the runway the whole time, waiting for a hydraulic pump to be repaired. So, instead of getting picked up by Mom only, they got picked up by Mom, Ezekiel and Rebekah!!! What a fun surprise :)

Matthew, what a fun idea for you to take the boys on a little get-away! I know that the boys will always remember this cool trip with you and continue to label you as the "Fun Parent"! Thank you for putting things in perspective for me... especially when every Chinese bone in my body screams "NO!!! The kids should never miss school to have fun!!!". This experience is so much bigger than missing a little school... especially when they are not struggling to keep up with school work! I love that you always want to do fun things with the kids and that you seek to create memories with each one of them! You are the best, Babe!!! I am grateful that God has given you to our kids to be their father!

Thanks for a great weekend, Dad! We LOVED it!!!

Girls' Weekend

Abby and I had a wonderful weekend together "at home"... just the girls! On Friday night, Abby got to pick out our dinner... fresh fruit, yogurt and yummy Hawaiian rolls! We had a lovely picnic dinner in our family room, enjoying each other's comany and watching Back to the Secrete Garden. After bathtime, we had a little craft time and made cute ponytail holders for school :)

On Saturday, Abby and I took the train from Fullerton to San Juan Capistrano for the day! We had a lovely time having tea and going to see the little petting zoo. We even made time to wander around and look at many of the shops and displays of the local artists! On the way home, Abby would tell you, we got on the wrong train! Only a tiny little "oops!" :) We did end up at the right place. We got on the Amtrak rather than the Metrolink... oh well, common mistake, right?!? On the way home, the conductor was announcing stops over the intercome, "Next stop, Santa Ana in 7 minutes..." Abby immediately looked at me and said, "Did she say Santa? Well... we don't believe in Santa and we don't celebrate Halloween!" I tried hard not to laugh. It's just too funny the things that are constantly coursing through these little ones' brains!!!

See our beautiful teapots and heart shaped scones?!?

Silly goats... don't eat me!!!

After we got home and got cleaned up, we had a light dinner, and both crawled into "Mommy's bed" (not sure why it's never Daddy's bed...) and cuddled and read before lights out! Note: Since all three of our children are BED HOGS (Really!!! I mean like taking up the whole CalKing bed by sleeping diagonally and spreading out like a giant star fish!), this was a very very special treat for Abigail :)

Sunday was the first time that Abby was out of the Preschool program at church. She sat through the service with me like a pro. We sat in the first row... because Abby wanted to make sure that she could see everything :). After church, we went to Costco and had our "snacking lunch". This little girl loves samples! She was spotting them left and right, making sure that this mama didn't miss anything :). I don't usually go to Costco on the weekends because I don't like fighting the crowd, but I have to say, this was one fun Costco run with my hungry (or greedy???) daughter!

Abby, thank you for such a fun weekend! I love spending girly time with you... even if I'm not very good at it sometimes. I pray that you will remember our times together and that God will bring us many many more occasions to build memories as Mother and Daughter. I love when you get that little look when you wrinkle up your little nose, point your finger back and forth between you and me, and say in a whisper "Girls, girls, girls, girls..." and get all excited and dance around that we are going to have "girl time" :). I pray that you will treasure these times with me as much as I treasure them in my heart! I love you, little Abster!

Thank you, Ms. Jacque!!!

Today marked another milestone in the lives of our family. Abby officially graduated out of the Preschool program at our church.

Thank you, Ms. Jacque, for your love, heart, energy, and time that you have poured into the lives of all three of our children! Your creative talent, coupled with your passion for the children to learn God's truth is truly a testament to God's faithful work in your life! Thank you for your service of love to our little ones throughout these years! You made going to church such a special time for all the little preschoolers at our church! Everyone loves you... and for good reason :) You are a dynamite lady... we will miss having you as a teacher!

May the Lord continue to bless you and allow you to see great fruit in the lives of the children that you have poured yourself into!!! We love you, Ms. Jacque!!!