Baby Ty

how precious is he?!

I am writing you to tell you about a loving family that stepping into a new inning in life and needs our help! Rick and Michelle {Team Erickson}  have been blessed with 3 boys and are adding a very precious 4th to the team.  His name is Ty and he has special needs.  Rick and Michelle’s other boys all have medical issues of their own.  Matthew is 11 and has Diabetes.  Caleb is 9 and has Down Syndrome, Diabetes, and other multiple health issues including Celiac Disease.  Joshua is 6 and has Celiac Disease (an autoimmune disease).  They step up to the plate every single day, loving these boys with all they've got!  A new inning began when a friend of the family had a child born with special needs.  Over the past 10 months, that family felt they could not provide Ty with the love and care he needed and deserved.  They made a very difficult decision and decided that it would be in Ty's best interest to give him up for adoption.  Michelle, walking down a similar road before and being familiar with special needs children, stepped in to help her friend in need.  She tried to encourage the family to embrace Ty and love him for the special gift that he is; Ty was born with Down Syndrome.  Through this, the family chose the Erickson family to adopt Ty.  Although the Erickson family didn't think they were ready to bring in another child, their hearts told them this was the right thing to do.  All of the boys were VERY excited about this opportunity and have embraced Ty as their brother.  This is a true act of stepping out in faith.  Because this is all so sudden and unexpected, the Erickson family has not had time to prepare for what Ty needs.  He came with a crib and a few diapers and formula, as well as his infant seat.  He has grown out of his infant seat already and is in need of a full size car seat.  They also need all baby essentials, including a stroller, high chair and clothing (size 12-18 months).  If you feel led to blessing this sweet family and can assist with covering these expenses financially, please help in outfitting Ty!  They are starting from square one and need help.  This is such a cool opportunity for us to to bless this family as they are blessing sweet little Ty and taking him in as one of their very own.  If you would like to help, please email my mom, Joanne Carli, at jjcarli@aol.com.  Please feel free to pass this along to your friends and family.. let's get the word out there!
Thanks!

whatta wonderful weekend

what a weekend!!  it was a fun, crazy, busy, non-stop, celebratory, relaxing, fall weekend that i got to spend with my sweet husband.
on saturday we went to a wedding out in the sticks in Ramona and celebrated the marriage of Teale & Justin.. now known as Mr. & Mrs. Gunter!!  It was absolutely beautiful.  they spent so much time on making sure every last little detail was perfect and everything was homemade.  i was blown away.  there were paper lanterns, and lights strung in the trees, burlap everywhere, a dainty chandelier hanging over the dance floor, vintage trunks and dressers.. all outdoors in the country.  can you say ROMANTIC?!  i love going to weddings.  i love watching friends promise their lives to another and enter into the most incredible journey of marriage.  i love sitting next to nick, holding his hand, and feeling so blessed that i am married to my best friend.  i love being in love and the beauty of marriage and knowing all that the couple at the altar is about to experience.  i get so giddy and excited for them.. ahh, i just LOVE love.

I was introduced to Teale a few years ago and was just drawn to her.  she loves people so recklessly, her heart for ministry is incredible, and her love for the Lord is amazing.  she is an incredibly talented photographer and we were so honored for her to capture our wedding.  Nick and Teale have been friends for about ten years and we quickly became like sisters and people actually thought we were so we just call each other sis.  it must be the blonde hair and blue eyes or something :)  Meeting Justin was so much fun because we are from the same place and it turns out that we knew so many of the same people.  His love for God, his heart for ministry and missions couldn't align more with Teale's.  They are an incredible team for the Kingdom of God and I'm so excited to see how He is going to use them.  They are taking off to move to Tennessee to start their lives together and their ministry.
I loved celebrating the two of them because i love them both and they are beyond perfect for each other. i'm so thrilled that the Lord brought them together.. especially the way He did.  They have such a cool and unique story and if you love sweet love stories, especially the kind that give you goosebumps at the way God works, go here and read it --> Justin + Teale's Story


sunday morning was gloomy.. just the way i like it!! seeing as it's the middle of october and technically fall, it should be gloomy with crisp cool air outside.  the kind of weather you can dress cute and pull out the boots and scarves and drink pumpkin spice lattes.  so that is exactly what i did.  unfortuantely in san diego, the weather just likes to trick you and very shortly heats up to 80 degrees.  outfit fail.  anyways, we had an amazing morning at church.  we have been going to the father's house in san marcos.  it's a little bit of a drive but completely worth it.  we have felt so loved and welcome there and more importantly the spirit of God is alive and present in that church.. His presence is so evident and the people are diligently seeking the heart of God.  We love it and we're so thankful to finally be at a church like this one.
after church we decided to spend the afternoon in Julian.. because it's beautiful up there and seemed like a very "fall" thing to do.  we planned on eating apple pie and picking out pumpkins.  neither of which we did.  we shared a carmel apple, ate lunch and were way too stuffed to eat their famous apple pie.. and the line was two streets long.  and as for the pumpkins.. it was so hot up there and i decided that to pick out pumpkins it had to be colder.  so until the temperature drops below 80 degrees, the hitches aren't going to be buying pumpkins.


before heading home, i wanted to go to a japanese market to pick up a few things for dinner this week.  i have been wanting to make homemade real miso soup, because those instant packets just don't cut it.  we had to go to the actual japanese market because henrys and vons don't carry miso paste.  walking into this store was unreal and i felt like i was back in tokyo  and okinawa again!! nothing in the store is in english and the employees barely spoke any english.  we had no idea what to look for, where it was, or how to know when we found it!!  so this sweet japanese lady who didn't even work there walked up to us and said, "uhh hi, do you know what you're looking for or where to look?"  i guess it was obvious that we were totally lost, hahaha.  she took us around to get all the things we needed and explained so much to us.  she was the sweetest little thing and told us that she was from osaka, japan and married a man from wisconsin and now lives here.  Thank God for that adorable lady or we would probably still be wandering the aisles!!

i'm so thankful for such a great weekend.. time to rest up for another week!!

banana nut bread

i wish i could say that it was a gloomy fall morning with rain pouring outside so i decided to bake some banana bread.. but unfortunately that is absolutely NOT the case.  instead, it is one of the hottest days we have had all year, reaching over 100 degrees! insane.  so the real reason i baked this morning is because i had some really brown bananas.  it's terrible that i'm complaining about such beautiful weather because a lot of people would trade the cold in a second.. but i'm dying for some cool fall weather, gloomy skies, and raindrops.

my sweet mother in law gave me her recipe and since i have made it a few times.. you can try it for yourself, but i think it's bomb.  but beware!  this recipe yields two loaves- you gotta remember this lovely woman had 8 kids to make this for!! so either prepare for a lot and to have people over for coffee and a treat, or cut it in half.. or i guess you could eat all of it :)

ingredients

1/2 cup of butter

2 eggs

2 cups of sugar

3 ripe bananas

1/2 teaspoon of salt

3 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

2 cups of milk

walnuts

instructions

preheat oven to 325 degrees

cream together the butter, eggs & sugar

add mushy bananas

combine salt and flour and add alternately with milk

add baking soda

pour in walnuts depending on how nutty you like it

(i use about 2 cups)

coat your loaf dish with non-stick spray

and pour half of the batter in!

(or cut the recipe in half and pour it all in)

bake for an hour.. depending on how powerful for you oven is

i usually have to let it bake for an hour and a half

and after the long wait, enjoy a hot piece with butter and a cup of coffee

hume lake

this past weekend i got to smell the crisp mountain air.. there is truly nothing like being up at hume.  since brooke is in joshua and had this weekend off (and i haven't seen her since june) and my parents just got back from italy & greece, we decided that we would meet up on the mountain and spend some sweet time together.  i must really love my family to drive 14 hours round trip to be together for less than 48 hours!  being up there where i have spent so much of my life, with family, was so good for my soul and even though we left so tired, we were so refreshed.

i loved getting to spend time with my sister and seeing her life up on the hill and in the building where i spent the same nine intense months.  we got to meet her friends and i am so excited about the community of solid kids she has around her. 

when we left on sunday it was so weird to me that we were leaving and she was staying there.  something about it still doesn't seem right.. she's the baby!  i don't think it's hit me yet that she doesn't live at home anymore.  baby girl is growing up!  spending time with my family isn't what it used to be.  i have always loved being with my family but as we get older the time we have together is so much more precious.  as brooke and i have gotten older my relationship with her has changed and the same with my parents.. and i love it.  i love that my sister, who for most of my life was annoying to me, is now one of my very best friends and is actually cooler than me.  how does that happen? haha.  and my parents who used to be my authority, not my friends, are suddenly my best friends.
i have been blessed with one incredible family.  and as family is always evolving and changing, i am so thankful for the little family i have with nick.

Gods presence at hume is evident and indescribable.
He is good and you can guarantee that He will meet you there.

amen.

heavy hearted

this post is a few weeks late but i haven't really known what to say so i figure that it's better late than never.  two weeks ago today my friend Nadyne had a tragic fall and passed away.  she was (it doesn't seem right talking about her in past tense) such an amazing girl that i have been blessed to call my friend for so many years.  Nadyne and I went to elementary school, junior high, and high school together.  we grew up in the same church and went to youth group together and were in the same small group.  we went to winter camp and summer camp every year and shared so many memories.  we went on mission trips to mexico and worked at mary's pizza shack together.  i loved that little peanut.


i was so sad that i wasn't able to make it up to vacaville for her memorial service but so thankful that they had the service live online to watch and be a part of.  it was such an incredible service.  it was more of a celebration of her life.  the amount of people she touched in her short 23 years is unreal.  the things people said about her and the stories they told of how she shined and how she served and loved people like Jesus.. it was amazing.  it was everything you hope people would say about you.


since we're still here on earth we are so sad that we have to go on without her bright spirit and vibrant life.. and that is hard.  the beauty on the other side is that she is now with Jesus.  she is not in any pain.  she gets to walk the streets of Heaven.  i thought of the song "i can only imagine" by mercyme.. Nadyne isn't imagining anymore, she is there seeing it all!
it still doesn't seem real.. and i think that is why i haven't really known what to say.  it was and still is so shocking.  i think, she can't REALLY by gone. she was such a precious girl that would brighten any room.  she wouldn't take anyone's crap and would shoot things straight.  you don't meet people like her everyday.. she was a precious girl and is desperately missed by everyone who has ever known her.


In the midst of all of this sadness, the thing that I have clung to is the hope we have in Jesus.  
God gives us this unexplainable peace that is beyond anything we could ever understand.  and He is sovereign and good.
Nadyne left the earth and went Home while doing what she loved.  She was working at a camp, serving Jesus and loving people.. and that is beautiful.


Life is short and precious and in an instant it can be taken.  Live your life with purpose and don't take any moment for granted.  If there is something on your heart you want to tell someone or do for someone.. don't wait. do it.

i am so thankful to have known Nadyne.  I love her and miss her.. and one day I will see her in Heaven.

Nadyne Janette Qirreh

1988-2011