2012 Highlights

Hello and welcome to the 2012 edition of Padilla Family Highlights!

January 2012

Mo takes boys for a weekend in San Diego ~ Shayley continues her piano lessons ~ Ama participates in a Hip Hop dance class and after-school soccer team ~ Rebekah continues to be a Docent for Hands On Art program at Ascension Lutheran School

February

Mo & Bekah take a trip to Arizona for some R&R ~ Bekah takes the girls to San Francisco for some sight-seeing ~ Family Dinner Dance at Journey of Faith ~ Bekah dresses up for the annual Oscar Party with her girlfriends 

March

Mo & Bekah attend a marriage conference at Journey of Faith ~ Jonathan turns 5 with a Spiderman party ~ A family celebration as Bekah's sister, Lindsey, marries John Fraumeni ~ Bekah continues to work for New Health Consultants as a nutrition consultant doing private consultations, grocery tours, food demonstrations and health fairs ~ Bekah celebrates 40 with her girlfriends in Santa Barbara

April

Ama, Shayley and Reece participate in the Easter choir at Mira Costa HS ~ Ama turns 13 ~ Bekah hanglides over Dockweiler Beach ~ Family trip to Hume Lake ~ trip to The Grove to visit the American Girl Doll store

May

Mo competes in the Wildflower Triathlon ~ Reece is baptized at Journey of Faith ~ we continue to recycle cans & bottles to help raise money for a new orphanage in Ghana ~ Shayley, Ama and Reece perform in the musical Living Inside Out in an Upside Down World

June

Jonathan graduates from preschool ~ Shayley graduates to Junior High School ~ Shayley turns 11 with a girls sleepover ~ Family trip to Palm Desert ~ Beach days begin

July

Ghana families reunite at Hermosa Beach pier ~ BBQ with friends ~ swim lessons at The Plunge ~ Celebrating our 17th Anniversary ~ Whale watching cruise ~ attended the weddings of Nate & Maryn Carpenter and Adam & Courtney Sloey

August

 Ama & Shayley go to junior high camp at Hume Lake ~ pool days at the Fraumeni house ~ Reece turns 8 ~ family trip to Disneyland (free tix!) ~ beach days at Hermosa pier ~ boys participate in Vacation Bible School at Ascension Lutheran

September

Bike N Skate Party at Ascension Lutheran School ~ School starts (Ama 7th, Shayley 6th, Reece 2nd, Jonathan Kindergarten) ~ picnic & softball game with Mo's company, Tecolote Research ~ Ama and Shayley start Broadway Jazz dance class ~ family trip to the bowling alley ~ pool day with the Miller family

October

Bekah coordinates Hands On Art program as School Chair at Ascension Lutheran ~ Celebration for Mo's birthday ~ Ama and Shayley participate in after-school volleyball team ~ Halloween festivities ~ Bekah attends Beth Moore Conference

November

Shayley and Reece start practice on musical Race To Win ~ Hume Lake with Grama Richman ~ Ama & Shayley's Jazz Dance Show (Feeling Good, M.Buble) ~ House of Blues with Anders Royal ~ family outing to the USS IOWA battleship in San Pedro on Veterans Day

December

Family participates in 1,000 Points of Light Christmas caroling at Galleria Mall ~ Christmas party with Stitch in Time girls ~ Christmas Dinner and Tree Trimming at Ascension Lutheran School ~ Tecolote Research Christmas Party ~ Fireworks in MB ~ Santa visits our street ~ S'mores with friends ~ Shayley and Ama have speaking and vocal parts in the school Christmas play ~ Hume Lake for New Years with Grama and the Fraumeni Family

We hope you had great memories in 2012 as well and we wish you all the very best in 2013!
As this Christmas season comes upon us I found this quote from Max Lucado that I love - "God became a man so we could trust him, became a sacrifice so we could know him, & defeated death so we could follow him."  May these words touch your heart in a deep and meaningful way this season as we celebrate our Savior's birth and His blessings in our lives.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Love always,
The Padilla Family

~ 2011 Highlights ~

From our family to yours...

*Merry Christmas & Happy New Year*

Looking back, 2011 was full of some great memories that we'd like to share with you.

January~

~Reunited with our SoCal Ghana families for some laughs, stories and playing~Adopted a new puppy, Coco, to join Tux, our older pup~Reece, Ama, and Shayley start Hip Hop classes~Reece continues piano classes with Mr.Ellis & daddy as his midweek tutor~ Mo attends a SDSU basketball game with his AGO bros(after 20 yrs!)

February Ama & Jonathan become U.S. citizens at the Certificate of Citizenship Ceremony in L.A.~Bekah celebrates Oscar Night with her girlfriends~Our first family trip to Santa Monica pier for rides, food and pictures~Bekah continues to be a Hands On Art Docent in the kids' classes~

March

~ Jonathan turns the Big *4* ~Shayley receives award for Speech Contest competition ~Family night at the Clipper game (with time on the court shooting baskets after the game!) ~Family hike in Malibu with Journey Outdoor Enthusiasts (waterfalls, climbing rocks, and bears, oh my! kidding on the bears part) ~

April

Ama & Rebekah celebrate birthdays (Ama...12 Mommy...21) ~Trip to Hume Lake with Grama, beautiful springtime ~Rebekah continues to lead Women's Bible Study morning worship with her songbirds(tweet!) ~Go-kart racing at Journey of Faith Vrrooooooooom ~

May

Mother-Daughter trip to San Luis Obispo and the Strawberry Festival in Arroyo Grande~ Father-Son trip to San Diego and Sea World~Ama and Shayley perform in the Spring Musical Promise U at Journey of Faith~Mom, Ama & Shayley sing with the Mother's Day Choir, both girls had solos! ~

June Shayley celebrates her 10th birthday~Family trip to Orlando,FL (Kennedy Space Center, Disneyworld, Gatorland...and lots of relaxing by the pool)~Recycling continues as we raise support for the children in Ghana, Africa (over $1300 to date!)


July

We celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary by planting a Japanese Cherry Tree together in the backyard~Kids start daily swim lessons at The Torrance Plunge~Bekah starts her first Zummmba class(fun!)~Beach Dayz in Hermosa~AGO Fraternity Reunion with Mo's (aka Ozzie) bros and families~A quiet weekend for Bekah in Palm Springs~S'mores & bonfire with friends~

August
Mo swims the 2-mile Pier to Pier event (HB to MB), in just over 1 hour~Ama involved with junior high Beach n Bible Study, Hume Lake Camp and Beach Days~ Reece celebrates his 7th birthday~Hume Lake with the Cusick family (rowing to the cove, playing at the pool, hikes, games, good food & garden stones)~

September

School starts for all four kids at Ascension Lutheran School~Shayley & Reece start gymnastic classes~Shayley starts piano lessons~Mo does Century Bike Ride from Irvine to San Diego~Ama starts volleyball games at school~Family Bike & Skate party at school~Reece attends his first baseball game (Angels) with his buddy Elijah~Mo & Bekah take a trip to San Clemente for some R&R&R (Rest, Relaxation...and Romance)

October

Shayley goes to camp (1st time!) with her 5th grade class to Forest Home~Ama continues to participate in Super Servant Saturdays with her church junior high group, Ignite~Mo celebrates his birthday at Pirate Adventure Dinner Theatre~Ama and Daddy have a date night at K-1 Speed, vroooooom~Mo and Bekah getaway to SLO for bike rides, dinner dates, Jazz Fest in Paso Robles~pumpkin carving, costumes and trick or treating

November
Family concert with the Watoto children's choir from Uganda~Reece & Shayley start Kids Choir at Journey of Faith with daddy as their choir leader~Mo and Bekah getaway to Palm Desert for a couple days~Ama attends the Purity Event with her Ignite group~Attend neighbor Shane & Van's wedding in Palos Verdes~celebrate Thanksgiving with family at Auntie Lindsey's house

December

Ama starts playing soccer for school~Santa visits our street during our family/friends s'mores night~Winter Wonderland at Journey of Faith (20 tons of snow!)~Christmas parties & teas, Hoedown and Tree Trimming at Ascension Lutheran School~Family trip to Hume Lake with Grama for New Years

We *celebrate* the birth of our Savior this season, so thankful for God's faithfulness and perfect grace in our lives,

The Padilla Family

*Padilla familia 2010 at-a-glance*

Happy New Year from our family to yours!! So much for getting this out with our Christmas cards last month. But, better late than never, right? So here we go, 2010 highlights at-a-glance...

January-Returned from our very snowy trip to Hume Lake, ready to start fresh * Girls have sewing sessions with Aunti Ali (my sis) and made some cute doll outfits * Classes continue: piano for Reece, hip hop for girls and Sylvan tutoring for Ama*

February - fun trip to San Luis Obispo with Ama & Shayley, visiting the SLO Mission, bubblegum alley and Apple Farm * Mo and Bekah continue to serve on worship team at church (vocals, keys) * Ghana families from SoCal meet in San Diego for some fun & grub* Bekah starts leading worship time for Womens Bible Study*

March - Bekah continues to be Hands On Art docent in the 3 older kids classes * Jonathan turns 3 with a Race Car birthday party * Shayley enters Speech Contest and receives a ribbon* Shayley gets her braces on * Bekah presents nutrition class at ECE Conference*

April - Trip to Hume Lake during Easter break, more snow * Ama starts volleyball * Ama turns 11 with a trip to the American Girl store*

May - Girls perform in the stomp musical Joseph, From the Pit to the Palace * Bekah heads up to Hume to help Grama get ready for summer renters, clean, clean, clean * Bekah assists with makeup in Journey Show at church *

June - Celebration of Grami & Papi's 50th Wedding Anniversary with friends and family * Shayley turns 9 with a party at Color Me Mine art studio * Date nights with kids continue (ice-skating, bowling, movies) *

July - Celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary in San Francisco while the kids stayed with Grama Richman & Grami Padilla * Beach Days * Pool Days* 4th of July party * Swim lessons start * campout in the backyard *summer reading program at the library * piano & dance classes * museums, puppet shows * Bekah continues to work on Saturdays teaching nutrition at Clinica Medica Hispana *

August - Reece turns 6 with a visit to Medieval Times * Recycling cans/bottles for supporting Christ Outreach Orphange in Ghana begins * Labor Day weekend trip to Hume Lake, sunshine *

September - Mo does the Century bike ride and finishes! * School starts; Ama enters 5th, Shayley enters 4th, Reece enters Kindergarten, and Jonathan starts preschool *

October - Bekah attends 20 year high school reunion * Mo takes kids to first Galaxy soccer game * Pumpkin carving * Harvest party at Ascension Lutheran * First donation to Ghana orphange buys textbooks *

November - Amaleah & Jonathan become U.S. Citizens * Ama accepts Jesus as her personal Savior * Trip to SLO town with college friends * Girls Dance Show * Hume Lake with Valladares Family (first snow!) *

December - Ama gets her hair braided * Re-Adoption Day for Padilla fam December 23 * Christmas! * 2nd donation to orphanage buys food supplies & a goat for Christmas dinner * The Grove in Santa Monica with 4 kids & their AG dolls * Ethiopian food for the first time * NY Eve Party with friends*

Wishing you lots of special memories & God's indescribable peace in 2011*

Rice, oil, water and .... a goat!!

We have an exciting update* Since late August we've been able to raise over $550 by recycling cans and bottles, with the help of our recycling team (neighbors, family, school, work). We posted awhile back (Oct) that we were able to help Christ Outreach Orphanage in Ghana buy textbooks for their school. Recently, our recycling fund contributed to some much needed groceries that the orphanage requested: rice, tomatoes, minerals, oil, pasta, salt, a goat, and water. Here is a picture of some of the people at the orphanage with their goods. What an incredible blessing to have so many people on board with us in this endeavor, we are truly grateful for their support. And for our kids to know that their family is being supported (and fed!) in Ghana is just priceless, such a beautiful gift. In November, our kid's school, Ascension Lutheran, had a can/bottle drive to bring in as many recycleables as possible in order to help us raise money for the orphanage. They managed to bring in over 3,200 bottles/cans which raised over $200, great job for a very small private school :-) We posted a pic here of what our garage looked like after bringing all those bags home.

Psalm 10:17-18 You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

During our church service last month our family was featured in the Giving Thanks video. We're so grateful for this opportunity to share our story with our church family and now YOU! We had some fun making the video too with the media guys and felt like moviestars for about an hour as the bright lights and camera equipment circled around our living room. Enjoy!

A Christmas Gift - 7 hours in the making*

A dear friend from the kid's school offered to pay to have her friend, Lydia, braid Ama's hair last weekend, as a Christmas gift to her. Ama, to say the least, was very excited about this :-) So after about seven hours of braiding (and sitting for Ama!) she had a full head of beautiful braids! What a thoughtful and generous gift, thank you Mrs.Madu and Ms.Lydia!!

BOOOOOO!!

(slideshow below) We had lots of fun carving pumpkins the day before halloween!! We all dressed up on halloween to do a little 'neighborly' trick or treating and then off to Ascension Lutheran School for the Fall Festival. Lots of fun games, a bounce house, food, cake walks, costume parade and trunk or treating. We dressed up our car with a luau theme for T&T'ing...our version of a little bit of paradise :) and WON 2nd place!