So apparently my good buddy Tim thinks he can hit Olympic Softball players like Cat Osterman and Jennie Finch.  I told him that I’d give him THREE at bats and he couldn’t even put a single ball in fair play.  Watch this video (fast forward to about 1:30), then post below how insane Tim really is for thinking he can hit Jennie Finch or Cat Osterman.

(from Gia)

BELL IS ONE TODAY!!! Just thought I would shout that out into CyberMyFaceSpace

10am:
At this time last year I was finally getting checked into the hospital experiencing the joys of 10 cm dilation with no pain meds. Woo Who! I would do it a million times over for her.

4:53pm:
After two hours of pushing the most amazing thing happened. A BABY came out of me. She was gooey and perfect. She looked at me and I said “Hi Bella. I’m your mama. Do you think you could have made me push any longer?” She had brand new rosy skin and the nurses were all insisting that she was the prettiest baby they had EVER seen. They told Brian and I over and over: “No really *serious face* she is the most beautiful baby we have helped birth in this hospital. Brian and i weren’t disagreeing with them.

11pm:
The visitors had finally cleared out. Brian was resting for the first time in 18 hrs. Bella and me finally got our first Mom and Daughter moment. I will treasure that moment for the rest of my life. We stared at each other for a while then I kissed her lips. She reached up and put her little mittened hand on my check. I talked into the night with her about stuff: the world, her dad and how he won’t let her wear Giants apparel or bikinis, really great food she’s gonna love: (icecream, hotdogs, garlic fries) her family and about commitment. To God to people and to what is right. She fell asleep.

It was so good though because I had a break through after blabbing away for an hour. :)It is this: there is no way i am going to repeat the cycle my mother left for me of abandonment and abuse. That instead of living my life with the “inconvenience” of children I had died to myself to live for my daughter. Isabella deserves that. All kids do. She transformed the day I met her and continues to daily.

Now:
Brian and I have turned into bonefide parents!!. I’m so proud of her and she doesn’t even win scholarships or cheer competitions or MVP’s. May I remember that when she is in her teens-yikes! NEway… She is our little treasure from heaven and we celebrate her today. Love you my Bella D.

I like the olympics. The athletes are amazing. I’m wondering if there is any chance in the world I could beat the best athletes in the world… albeit with a little help. So, with your help, in my quest to be an Olympic champion, I need to know what’s more likely:

A.) I could swim faster than Michael Phelps… with flippers.

B.) I could hit a Cat Osterman fastball… if she threw overhand.

C.) I could beat Tyson Gay… on my scooter.

Post your votes below!

(p.s. forgive the tardiness of this post; I’ll post the reason soon)

Bella’s first beach trip.  She LOVED the sand.  More pics to come…

Mom went to the movies. We made a LEGO® Robot. I’m sure the ponies and princesses will come someday, but for now…

Then the Robot faced Bella’s wrath…

The end.

Well, friends, it’s been a good 3 1/2 year run. I’ll never see my 5th year at MortgageDocs.com, nor will I see SignSTAT v.3.0 that has been in the works since I got hired. I’ll miss my friends, my paycheck, and most importantly, grandslamderby.com. Go ahead, create a team.  And if you happen to see ‘briandavis4′ logged in as well, challenge him! And make sure your people are there to see it!  Cause you might get embarrassed.

Oh the memories…  kitty cannon… double wires… cat with a bow…  and lest I forget, LINE RIDER. Good times.

On to bigger and better things… like going to the coast next week and staying home with Isabella!

I feel like I have to highlight the new links on my blogroll because these blogs are so good.

First, the White Pages. Randy and Tina White have been mentors, heroes and friends to Gia and I for the past 5 years or so. I’m sure most of you who read this blog know who they are, but Randy and Tina live in the Lowell Neighborhood, which, although there has been great progress, is still one of Fresno’s lowest income communities. Randy and Tina have given the past 15 years of their lives to help empower the people in Lowell, as well as motivate, equip and encourage others to do the same. So far Randy’s journey has led him from pastor to IV staff worker to Director of IV’s Urban Projects nationwide, and now, he’s taking an assignment with Bakke Graduate University, effectively taking over for one of his mentors and heroes, Ray Bakke. I share in Randy’s joy to teach at BGU, and also his grief for passing the Wise Old Owl torch to another. I’ll never forget the joy on Tina’s face when I told her Gia was pregnant–in fact, Tina could see the joy on my face and proclaimed, “you’re pregnant!!” before I could even get the entire sentence out of my mouth. So READ the White Pages and keep up on the lives of Randy and Tina.

Now go read the personal blog of Scott Bessenecker. Scott is Director of Global Projects for IV and author of The New Friars, which is also the name of his blog. I first met Scott at the Pink House when he and other IV workers were touring inner-city ministries in Fresno with Randy. My 2nd interaction with him came through email when I was begging and pleading with him to ignore that my application to the Global Urban Trek was late and allow me to go with one of the teams heading overseas. He graciously accepted my plea and sent my application to the Calcutta directors, which in turn completely altered the course of my life. I recently found out Scott is blogging and am very excited when he writes a new post. He has an incredible gift to take what may seem like the most mundane everyday task or encounter (such as spousal miscommunication or a hair cut) and find incredible biblical insight and application.

You’ll now find the White Pages and The New Friars on the Trio’s blogroll. Read them and be glad. Whenever you visit my blog make sure to give them some love, or better yet, add their subscriptions to Google Reader.

A few people have been asking me how my quest for a free iphone is going, so I figured it’s time to give a quick update. My initial post on how to get an iphone (that it is NOT some sort of scam) through yourfreeiphone.com has continued to drive traffic my way through search engines. Maybe I should be writing more posts on SEO optimization.

Last update, I only had three people who had signed up through my referral. Today? ELEVEN! That’s the good news, but the bad news is not a single referral has filled out an offer yet. So I guess this is testament to the fact that people will sign up using your referral link, but it’s probably going to take even more time than I thought to get the iPhone. BUT, considering how much time (a few minutes) and effort (very little) I’ve put into this so far, I’d probably say it’s worth it.

In other news, the iPhone will now be sold for as little as $199 now. Since the price of the iPhone has gone down, the number of referrals needed should also, but I signed up for the cash reward for 11 referrals through yourfreeiphone.com anyway.

SIGN UP HERE to start on your!

If you’re thinking about getting a scooter, DO IT. I bought this beast for $1,000 straight up. It’s going to save me $40 a month in insurance and probably about $60 a month in gas. So if it have this for 10 months it will pay for itself, not to mention the cash I’ll get from selling my car. Boom. Anyone interested in a ‘97 Honda Accord?

I’ll just leave it up to Jose Canseco to prove for me. From an interview with the highly prestigious Inside Edition — on the foreclosure of his home:

“You know my life, this financial thing, is a very complicated issue. Obviously, when you make all that money, people think, ‘OK, let’s assume it is $35 million.’ People have to understand that $35 million, you’re paying the government 41 percent. That leaves you with about $17 or $18 million, not even. Then you’re taking care of your whole family.”

Taking care of your entire family with only $17 or $18 million must be rough.