The Overnight Job at the Hyatt

This is the story of a man, a dumptruck, and a seemingly impossible project.

This man gathered four other gallant men to join him on his quest.

To climb great heights and remove shriveled bushes, pigeon-soiled stones, feathers, nests, eggs, and a wing (yes, a single, unaccompanied bird wing) from a second story window-box ledge at the Hyatt Regency in downtown San Francisco.

They encountered many adversities, such as removing several tons of soiled stone from the ledge and replacing it with fresh stone, preventing the scissor lifts from tipping on uneven surfaces, and convincing drunk passersby not to get too close to the job site.

They were ultimately successful though. Around 6:00am, our brave knight called it a night...when he noticed one of his cohorts looking rather sleepy while aloft a scissor lift. And he finally returned home to his princess, who was sound asleep in bed.

Lazy Sunday

Dolce likes to hang out with Daddy and watch basketball on TV.

Some fierce orange and hot pink roses, courtesy of our landlord's green thumb.

Julia's Bridal Shower

Francis's cousin Julia is getting married in June. She met an amazing guy on Match.com and now they're getting hitched. They could be on the commercial.

Absolutely horrendous photo of me and Julia.

Even more horrendous photo of me and Aunt Cathie.


The bridal shower and fun and low key. Julia has an eclectic group of girlfriends that I had fun getting to know. Looking forward to the wedding on June 20.

Meeting Miss Sophia

We drove down to Bakersfield late on Thursday night to meet our new niece. As expected, she was scrumptiously cute and delicately soft. Angelic when asleep and heart-breaking when upset. Equal parts poopy, hungry, and sleepy. Sporting a full head of sweet-smelling hair. Driving her parents wild with love. Even at midnight, and 2 a.m., and 4 a.m., and 6 a.m.

Someday, Sophia will be graduating from high school. She will be pretty, smart, and ambitious, just like her mom. I will look back at this photo and feel very old. But I will certainly enjoy watching my "niece nugget" grow up.

Baptism on Easter Sunday

The idea of baptism has an important place in the Christian faith. First of all, it is one of the only "works", or actions, that is requested of a person who has decided to believe in and follow Jesus. Christians generally eschew rituals and rites. They place more emphasis on the inward shaping of their heart than the outward display of religion. On Easter Sunday, I joined a long line of Christians leading back to Jesus himself who have participated in the sacrament of baptism as a way to outwardly show an inward decision. The cleansing in water is meant to symbolize the cleansing of my heart by Jesus, who has absorbed all the dirt of my selfishness and cruelty. Though I have to admit that His cleansing is much more thorough than the water I stepped into that day. There may or may not have been a glimmering sheen of oil on top of the water, glistening in the sun.

Here I am with Darcy, a church staff member and friend. She interviewed me in front of a small crowd of church members.

She asked me to briefly explain when I decided to believe in Jesus, once and for all. (It was while I was driving on the 101 at 5:00am in November 2007.)

I got to have two studly men hold my hands at the same time. And to think I didn't want to get baptized at first! That's Rob, our church's high school pastor, on the right and Justin, our Twenties pastor on the left.

At the very moment this photo was taken, I was extremely worried about water going up my nose. It did, in fact, go up my nose.

Justin gave me a post-dunk hug.

And so did my proud husband. :) He is risen, and He can do anything! I am living proof.

Sleepy family

Twenties Community Group Home Meeting

On the first Thursday of every month, Francis and I host the fifteen members of the Bible study we lead in our tiny living room.

We eat dinner together, discuss God, update each other on what's going on in our lives, and just generally hang out. I particularly enjoy the short commute home.

Jane wowed us with her Smore pie. Melty marshmallow, graham cracker, and chocolate. I did not enjoy the marshmallow superglued to my plates the next morning. But it was worth it!