the. ripple. effect.

fact: 27 cents a day can prevent a child from suffering from severe malnutrition.

wondering how such a small donation can make such a dramatic effect?

small donations create big impacts through their rippling benefits. When a single child gets enough to eat, she is likelier to stay well and stay in school. Because she is well, her parents can go to work, the family's income is stable and they avoid medical costs. Which in turn leads to a stable family life which in turn leads to a prospering family who can then help contribute to a thriving community. Thriving communities help build strong and more peaceful nations.

That is what 27 cents a day can do for a child. a family. a community. a nation.

If you are looking to make a small donation to a worthy cause: Click here

my. birthday.

today is my 35th birthday. part of me can't believe it...35 years? really..? where has it gone? every year passes faster then the last. so today amongst the hustle and bustle of things I take a moment and pause to reflect on what I'm most grateful for at 35 years of age:

my relationship with god.

my parents. I love my parents with all of my heart.

my loving and sexy husband.

my crazy adorable Jack.

cheesecake with fresh strawberries (mind you - I ate an entire cheesecake this week)

my health. (maybe I shouldn't of listed cheesecake right before my health)

the smell of Spring.

the laughter of Jack vibrating through the house.

the quietness of being alone.

receiving so many phone calls today from friends and family to wish me happy birthday, just to hear their voices made me smile.

being inspired.

the morning walks I take with Jack and Mike.

fresh flowers in the house.

the awe inspiring miracle it is to be pregnant and feel this baby

move inside of me everyday.

the happiness I feel on this next journey of my life and all the wonderful and beautiful things that await us, our family.

meet. max.

meet baby max.

jack is obsessed with baby max.

jack takes baby max to the grocery store.

to school.

in the car.

on walks.

bicycle rides.

feeds him.

takes him to bed.

baby max goes e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e

I wonder if the obsession of baby max has something to do with the impending arrival of a new baby. hmm.

big. and. bigger.

31 weeks pregnant or 1 week shy of being 8 months pregnant. but boy do I feel H.U.G.E!

I had my Dr appointment last week and Dr Yamashiro said "well, erin you are measuring on the large side of normal." What the hell does that mean, I thought? Large side of normal??? So I asked him and in layman's terms he told me that a woman who is 31 weeks pregnant normally measures anywhere from 28-32 cm and I am measuring right at 32. So not out of the normal, just the "large" side of normal. is that suppose to make me feel better??

and lately I have begun to feel it. I feel great but boy do I feel like my stomach sticks straight out, it isn't even a basketball shape, Mike said it looks like an egg. These photos I took don't do it justice, it sticks straight out like a brick. Nonetheless, I just pray every night that it won't be a 10 lb baby. When I was born I was over 10 lbs so it could happen. Lord help me if this child is that big. Help me. Help me. Help me.

san francisco. part II

back to our trip home: we went to my nephew Nate's 4Th birthday party in San Francisco. Nate loves pirates so the theme was pirates! Aye matey!! They had it at this great place that had a fabulous indoor and outdoor play area with a fantastic playground! My brother and his cute wife - Cory and Steph - hired a pirate guy to come and entertain the kids, it was a blast! Nate and Jack are like two peas in a pod when they are together and they especially had fun dressing up as pirates and running around together! All the kids had so much fun!

After seeing all the kids dressed up as pirates, we decided we needed to as well!

Steph, Cory, myself and Mike

Nate and Jack running around playing swords together!

They were so enthralled with the pirate guy!

There were so many fun and cute kids there.

One of the most precious pictures of the day: Jack with his arm around Nate

Nate was the cutest little birthday boy pirate.

My adorable niece Abby as a little pirate princess.

Jack is eating cake here, but what I love about this photo is his little pirate earring in his ear.

After the party, we came back to Cory and Steph's to hang out and this was the cutest picture of the whole day!

Two best pirate buddies!

Always so sad to leave San Francisco, truly my favorite city. If you have never been it's really a must, one of those "have to go" places before you die.

eye.candy.

I came across these adorable kid lunch boxes, aren't they awesome? Jack doesn't need one right now but eventually. I think they are so great because they come in compartments and have their own storage containers so no more sandwich bags! Plus you can change the front covers out. They are from yubo and you can find them here!

exhausted. big changes.

exhausted is an understatement. but that is the only word that comes to my mind. for those of you who don't know, I returned to work full time till the baby comes....I'm in my second week and to say it's been an adjustment is putting it to lightly. to be honest, I have cried more days then I haven't cried. it's been a huge struggle for me to adjust to this. on top of everything else I am still owning and running my photography business as well. those sessions have been moved to weekends now but I am feeling stretched to the limits and emotionally and physically spent. I have spent countless hours wondering what I can cut back on but everything I am doing either has to be done - i.e. cleaning the house, working full time and the flip side is everything else is my heart and soul and what I live for. i.e. my family, taking care of Jack, my photography. I simply can't give one up for the other. so hence the lack of blogging. so enough of the pity party - I keep telling myself I can do this for another 10 weeks till the baby comes and I can. I know I can. one day at a time. right? lots of deep breathes and lots of praying.

and since I don't want to end a post as a "debbie downer", this photo brings a smile to my face.

this is how we found Jack sleeping one night, I think it was around 10pm at night, we always go into check on him before we go to bed ourselves and look how we found him. picture courtesy of daddy.