Will you be my friend?

Living in a new state with a completely different culture can be difficult.
After living 18 years in the southern hospitality hub and everyone being extremely friendly....it can be difficult.
Being 23 with a toddler and no social outlet such as a job with other young people or daycare or sports or anything...can be difficult.

I read a blog by Motherlode about mommy dating.
  Was this my new life?
  Was I going to have to enter the dating pool of moms?

Lets keep in mind this isn't Dallas, they aren't extremely friendly and they have one thing in common...they like to excersize and be outside. I come from the land down south where it's too hot to be outside and so you make up indoor activities.. working out is for people who have time and money.

I have neither of those things.


I've gone to parks and smiled at every passing mom hoping one of them would strike a conversation.

But unfortunately..I'm noticing i'm not 6 years old anymore, I can't walk up and say 'wanna be my friend?!" because that's weird.. and you can't just be friends with just 'anyone' right? Because now that we're adults we have to actually have things in common! I don't know if having a child the same age is in 'common' enough.

So the nerd that I am..I turned to the internet.

Meetup.com is my new best friend. (i know it's lame)

I have joined 3 meetup groups. At first I was solely focused on 'moms' because then I could take Julien with me everywhere since..you know.. I do that.
But then I thought 'Moms are weird and I don't want to be stuck with them as my only options and not have any friends for the rest of my life.' (I love you mamas)

So I have joined 2 that have nothing to do with moms and granted they're weird too. But i'm trying right?
I have yet to actually go to any of these Meetups..but....

I know I must sound crazy but my family has instilled this 'social, can't be alone for very long' characteristic in me and i'm just handling it the best way I can.


Stay tuned for my mommy date stories!

Not for the easily offended..

There comes a time when all the crap you read from your friends on facebook really starts to get to you. You so badly want to confront their ridiculous ideas and the fact that they try to force them on their 325 friends on Facebook.
So here is my rebuttal..


Dear people..I let my child watch TV. I know..I'm a horrible mother. I don't believe that his imagination is based solely on wether or not he watches a cartoon or not.
He loves Mickey mouse, Spongebob (oh my gosh) and Spider Man. I know watching tv turns your 'brain into mush' but my siblings and I were all TV heads when we were little...Attention: I do not have mush for a brain! It's amazing right? Because even though Julien watches these tv shows, when the tv is off he's jumping from couches to chairs to bean bags making spiderman noises. When we go to the park his imagination comes to life from the things he's watched on tv. So I honestly don't have a problem with it.

And yes I let my child jump on our furniture. I understand you may not want him jumping on your furniture and thats fine. That is where my parenting for boundaries comes in and  I think i'm doing a pretty good job.
I know so and so's kid broke an arm jumping off of something somewhere but why be afraid of life?! People also hurt themselves driving, falling out of bed, sitting in a chair..are you going to stop doing those things too?!


Now, here is the big one. I know I will get backlash for this.
Genesis 17:9-11 ⁹ Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. ¹⁰ This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹ You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.

Now, if you're not a Christian and you have not made a heart covenant with the Lord to follow him, by all means do what you wanna do. 
For those who are Christians I understand that you might want to come back with a lot of scripture saying that it is not 'necessary' for us to do this anymore etc etc.
But I HIGHLY disagree, because as a christian we believe God is the same Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow therefore this detail of His requirements wouldn't have changed. 
It's not about humans not being able to 'clean themselves' or be 'happy' because my son who is circumcised IS happy and it's almost...offensive for you to say that he isn't because he has had a procedure. I understand your debate when it comes to 'letting people make their own decisions' etc. but I believe it is my job to raise up my child in the way that he should go, it is my duty until he is of age to make sure he is given to the Lord and is making that covenant with him. When he is older and i've done all that he can do he can make his decisions. 
For you to say my Child isn't happy, respected, healthy or secure is offensive. You wouldn't say any of those things to a child that had to undergo a c-section or any other type of surgery that might alter their mind or appearance. SO how dare you say something like that to a child whose parents decided to do a circumcision?! 
I understand that it is personal choice and if you choose to not do this for your child I will respect your decisions, so please..respect mine and stop judging me and every other mother out there who has decided on this publicly.

One more thing..  again for the christians.. STOP COMPROMISING! You're driving me nuts! Everytime you wave the trendy flag to support something that if you knew what it was really about you probably wouldn't really support it, it makes me want to delete you from my facebook, email list, cell phone and mind. 
It's not just for christians..i take that back it's for everyone. Be yourself, be who you are and stop compromising your personality, ideas, beliefs and way of life just because everyone else on Facebook, twitter, instagram and Tumblr are doing it! 


Ok i'm done. Hopefully all of you will stop writing such ridiculous stuff so I won't have to do this again! 

Moving up, moving forward and moving on

I lived in Texas for 18 years.
I found and lost 3 best friends.
I met my first boyfriend, my first love, who became my Husband.
I built a friendship with someone that lasted more than 12 years (and going strong).
I married.
I had my son.
I became who I am Today.

It had been 18 years since I had moved states.  I was 4 at the time and all I really remember about it was our going away/birthday party for Corin at a park (in LA) before moving, the fact that I got sick on the way and that I lost a roller skate.

This move was obviously different, I was moving my Husband and young child with me, the logistics of it were driving me crazy. Pack up the entire house until literally 4 hours before pulling out of Dallas, plus pack a suitcase with a months worth of clothes because who knows when we'll get our own homes.
45 minutes into the drive My Mom and I got lost..yes before we could even leave Dallas, we ended up in Denton vs. Decatur..easy mistake. :)

Ahead of us was a 3 day trip...1st get out of Texas and into New Mexico, then get out of New Mexico into Colorado, Colorado into Wyoming ultimately to drive through the wind into Utah.

Welcome to the snow covered hills and a whole family (church) waiting for us with banners saying "Welcome home Aguirre family' and ready to help us unload our trucks.
Such a nice warm welcoming party.
Unfortunately our unloading didn't work out as planned, our storage units were too small and it was Sunday we couldn't get a hold of anyone to change our units. So we had to wait a day..which was Presidents day so again the storage office was closed.
A family from the church came to our rescue with their 3 car garage and told us to store our stuff there. :)

Hunter, Julien and I hopped host homes for 3 weeks until we found the perfect 2 bed 2 bath Condo 6 minutes from our church that we attend twice a week and I work at 2-3 times a week. It was necessary to be so close :).
Just a week after we moved in and months of looking for a house for the rest of my family they found the ultimate house. 10 minutes south of me and 15 minutes south of the church, 5 bedrooms, 5,000 sq ft looking over the Heber Valley. BEAUTIFUL views from every window.

It's amazing what God can do with patience, willingness and faith.
Living in a new city is scary, lonely and 100% worth it.

It's a LOT harder to make friends when you're 23 vs. being 4. That whole 'Hi! Lets be friends!" thing..doesn't work anymore, having 1 thing in common doesn't work anymore either.
We're keeping ourselves busy for sure though!
Hunter is working in SLC at H&M and we are also over the Children's and Youth Ministry at the church, which is really fun and I'm having a blast coming up with lessons.
We also are regulars on the worship team, as well as working with Hospitality and the basic runnings of the church.
It's safe to say we're really thriving here, it's exciting to be using the gifts God has given us in practical ways.

Stay tuned for my passover blog which will hopefully come in a timely manner.

Raising a Boy.

First-- I am incredibly blessed to have a little boy, and he's everything I hope and prayed for.
Now.

Raising a boy.

When I found out I was pregnant I 'knew' I was having a girl. So much so that I put money on it! I was SURE that I was having a girl. I always wanted to have a boy first so that all of my children would have that older brother to look up to, to guide and protect them etc. But I just had this feeling...

So when we found out we were having a boy I was....THRILLED!

At the time I was a Nanny of 2 little boys so I thought I could handle it..I was prepared.

But, low and behold my child is the average boy I wasn't quite expecting. Though he takes after me in his taste of music, dance style and wild hair...there are some things in his personality I am a little shocked by.

For example his LOVE of sports (what?!) where did that come from? He can throw a ball and hit his target PERFECTLY from 15-20 feet away. (he's 2)
Left handed and right handed, he's a diamond in the ruff.
Now, I know nothing about sports so as soon as he hits the age to put him in soccer, tball or basketball I'll be learning right along side him. I honestly don't know the difference from a touch down, home run or whatever you get in basketball.

He is also extremely interested in lizards, frogs, snakes and the likes. I'm sure you all think this is completely normal for a little boy (which it is) it's just catching me off guard.
He LOVES animals which I am proud of, I've always loved the zoo too but he takes it to another level. I took him to the zoo last week and he's been talking about it non-stop. I mean he remembers the exact routes we took to see what animals (what!? who is this kid!?).

And don't get me started on the jumping, climbing you think he's about to break a leg jumping that high stuff he's into.  he jumps from couch to couch, off the beds, all while running and making sound effects with his mouth. (I love this kid!)

Another Julien trait....he hates mud. If it's raining outside he doesn't want to walk to the car because of the mud, and if I make him anyways because it's not muddy he has to check his shoes as soon as he gets in the car and wipe them off, (hah!) he gets that from his Auntie Xaundelle. 

Raising a boy is SO much fun! He is definitely not the boy I thought he would be but he is SO much more! I couldn't have imagined a better kid!

The Nelsons have big news...

We’re leaving Texas and moving to Park City Utah!

In 1994 we (Aguirre’s) were living in Burbank, CA. My Dad (Allan) was going on a 3 month tour and my siblings (Xaundelle and Corin), My Mom and I were going to stay in Waxahachie TX with my Grandparents during that time. Texas not being our favorite place we were hoping it was just temporary.

In early 1994 my Mom (Cristina) received a vision of a white structure. The Lord showed her this structure in both winter and summer and told her that this is where we would live. As my Dad traveled he kept an eye out for this place that she had described. He would call and describe a place that might’ve fit the description only to have her say it wasn’t it.

When my Dad came through Dallas to ‘pick us up’ he stayed a few days and the Lord asked him ‘Where are you going?” my dad said “back home”. The Lord said “you are home..” And proceeded to tell him how he was to build a life for himself in Dallas. After 5 hours of struggling with the Lord he submitted. 2 days later God also spoke to my Mom (Cristina) and convinced her of the same thing.

Around the same time our Pastors from California were Lenny and Linda Perata. They married my Parents and walked with them through some of the hardest times.  They also married Hunter and I in 2009! Around the time we decided to stay in Dallas they were moving to Park City Utah, where they had previously pastored a church.  We always had a desire to serve along side of them and they invited my Parents to visit in October of 1995.

As they turned off the main highway from Salt Lake City and started entering into Park City, My Mom (Cristina) shouted out, “There it is!” My Dad knew exactly what she was talking about and without looking out the window asked her, “Are you sure?” “Yes”, she said, “I’m absolutely sure”.
They pulled over and proceeded to look at it from every possible way. They asked Lenny “what is this place?’ Lenny told them this was a historical landmark that represented Park City, UT. They continued to tell him about the vision my Mom had in 1994.

As my Parents were leaving Park City Lenny gave them some of the best advice, He told them to ‘Live there.’ in Dallas and not to ‘live here’ emotionally or psychologically. If the Lord was in the vision and if He wanted us to live in Park City, He would see it through.

 Over the years us kids grew to know the desire my parents had for Utah, it was something we all would start to pray for. We would visit and continuously pray over the city for the right timing, we would see how the church would grow and shrink, increase and decrease, good times and bad.

We’ve led worship in the church, preached and ministered over the years. It has become a part of our family and ultimately our community.
In August 2012 my parents went on a 3-week speaking tour. Park City UT was their last stop. This visit seemed ‘different’ than so many of the ones before. They described this time as being ‘real’. As my Mom stepped out onto Park City soil she felt as if ‘it was time.’

 During their visit Lenny and Linda expressed their desire for our community to come and serve with them.
When my parents returned from their trip they shared with our community (bible study and Shabbat group) how their desire for Utah has grown even more, they shared all the things God spoke to them during that week, how they felt like now was the time, and asked us all to pray with them about timing for any if not all of us to go with them.

Over the next 3 months we were praying for this move, they weren’t just asking for direction for them as a couple (Allan and Cristina) but as a community, which would include Ian and Elysa Hellermann, Xaundelle and Corin, and Hunter, Julien and I.
During this time some of our community members felt a sudden desire to go to Utah. Jacob Dolph, Asa Low and Sarahjane Gribbin started to pray for direction for themselves as well.

Hunter and I spent many days praying and asking the Lord what his desire was for US as a little family. I personally have always seen myself there since this is something I’ve prayed about almost my whole life. Only one thing was keeping all of us from agreeing to go. Our local church we all felt called to and committed to.


In November our Church announced that they would be merging with another local church and would no longer be. Therefore if you felt called to that specific congregation that will be ‘no more’ than you were free to be released.
This was HUGE confirmation for our entire community. At this time Ian and Elysa Hellermann, Jacob Dolph, Asa Low, Sarahjane Gribbin, Hunter, Julien and I committed to go to Utah. This was the final confirmation we needed to make this decision!

My Parents met with our pastors on behalf of our community and we have been released with their blessing to move forward with this move.

We feel the prompting of the Lord to downsize our lives .We are going through each room of the house and deciding what we should sell, giveaway, take, or discard. My Parents didn’t have a car to get to Utah or that was even capable of driving in Utah and on Monday (December 10th) the perfect 4WD vehicle was GIVEN to them! Even MORE confirmation!

We are focusing all our efforts — spiritually, physically and monetarily — on relocating to Park City, UT.

My parents will be leaving for Park City UT, on December 23rd for a job interview my Mom has on December 27th.

Hunter and I currently don’t have a set time we will be leaving, but we all believe we should be there by March 2013.


Our Role:
Hunter and I have a passion for discipleship and for the youth of this generation, we hope to be able to serve the youth group, children’s ministry and the local youth in Park City Utah.

Thank you all for your prayers and support, we are hoping to make this an easy transition.
As you may know moving is not cheap especially to another state. If you feel ever so inclined to help us with our moving costs and would like to make a donation you may do so here.
 http://menastreeswalking.net/donate

Thank you!

-The Nelsons

Coping with my 2 year old...

My name is Saphraine Nelson and I have a 2 year old...

My 2 year old is the prize of my life, I honestly wouldn't be complete without him. I am one of those girls that has wanted children my entire life, I had names picked out for them since I can remember!

I have nannied for numerous families, worked in nurserys since I was like 6 years old..I have ALWAYS wanted children.

But no one prepares you for 2's. They tell you how terrible they are or how great it is because 3 is worst.

I hit rock bottom today.

We aren't 'scheduled' people, we don't have set bedtimes, naptimes, eating times, etc. but lately Julien has been watching 1 episode of super why, dinosaur train, or Sesame street every morning.

This particular morning I let him watch 2 episodes of Go Diego Go (big mistake). When TV time was over and we turned it off he had a complete meltdown.

Coping with my 2 year old..

We distracted him with Voyage of the Dawn Treader (book), that lasted 5 minutes, we tried to take him outside...impossible, we tried to play hide and seek..didn't work..

Coping with my 2 year old...

Finally Sabba to the rescue...
He is finally calm, cool and collected reading a David Bowie book aka looking at picture of David Bowie.

Disagree all you want but around here our kids listen, watch and love David Bowie!


Coping with my 2 year old....

48 hrs with no baby

This past weekend (10/12-14) Hunter and I went to West Texas (San Angelo) for a friend's wedding.
We have been planning this trip for some time and thought since it's right around our 3rd Wedding Anniversary we should go without Julien.

We didn't talk much about it after deciding and even RSVP'd for 2 adults.

The closer it got to the date the more it started weighing on me. This would be my first weekend without Julien, my first weekend without seeing his sweet face, feeding him, running after him, consoling him....what will I do!

Even though I am very attached to my Son I knew I shouldn't back down, I WILL go on this anniversary trip without him and I WILL enjoy my time with my Husband!!

We had planned to leave early Friday morning (the 12th) while Julien was still sleeping, I am not a fan of 'sneaking out' on your children because I think that can cause fear and anxiety. So I explained to him Thursday night that when he woke up Abba and Ima would be 'bye bye' for the weekend''. He burst into tears saying 'bye bye Ima!!' I then had to explain to him that it wasn't until tomorrow and I settled him down to go to sleep.

I woke up super early to drive my brother and sister to the airport, ran errands, came to the house to pick up hunter and low and behold the clutch was going out on his car (the car we were planning on taking).
So I tried to transfer all of our stuff from his car to my car, explain to my parents what was going on and get out of there all before Julien woke up because I knew...If I had to say goodbye to that sweet face I wouldn't have the willpower to leave him.

We made it out just in time!

The first 12 hours were fine, we were having a blast! But when it was time to go to sleep without kissing Julien goodnight and singing him to sleep I got a little sad.

But, no worries, it turned out to be a great weekend for us! We got to talk to Julien first thing Saturday morning and within that 24 hour separation he started to say "yes!" when answering questions (big step for a 2 yr old). We came back Sunday afternoon and he was safe and sound with Sabba and Kiki.

Overall a successful weekend!