Our first post from San Francisco!

Wow, so much has happened since the last post, get your Slurpee and sit down for a long one! =) (I couldn't resist mentioning the Slurpee since they are my most favorite drink ever, and I've been deprived of them since we moved from Bend in 2003!!)

So, where to begin. The boys had their 1st birthday on May 8th!! We had an awesome party for them the weekend before we moved. We had an incredible outdoor party planned at the park, but the only day of the year that it rains in Durango of course happened on that day so we moved the festivities inside. We setup a bounce house and had a great time. Some of our closest friends came and made it such a special time! As you can see from the pictures, the boys enjoyed their cake and were blessed by so many people who love them.

Then, May 4th, we made the move to San Francisco!! It has proved to be exciting, stressful, exhilarating, tiring, joyful, adventurous, and every other emotion you can imagine all at once! The last week in Durango, it really hit me that not only were we getting ready to take on the most incredible adventure of our lives, but we were also leaving the most incredible friendships you could ever imagine. We are so humbled to be able to have experienced the outpouring of love we received from our dear friends in Durango. They are sorely missed already, but we can't wait to host them for a visit in San Francisco! As you can see from the pictures taken when we were packing the moving truck, there was an incredible group of people sending us off!

Since we have been in San Francisco, our days have been jam packed with activity getting ready for the church launch on June 28th. Seth has been working so hard and I am so proud of him! The kids are adjusting more each day.

The boys have become little people now and are much more active. They are walking all over with the help of their walker. Levi seems to be more in to books and hanging out with mommy while Ian is very physical and loves playing with Ella. Just the other day I was in the kitchen and heard the dreadful high pitched scream. I frantically ran out to the living room to find that Ian had pinned Levi down on all fours, and both were engaged in the battle of the ages over a toy. I had front row seats to a WWF match between my one year olds! Sad, but I have to admit was quite comical when I realized that it was only a preview of the rest of their childhood! =)

Ella loves being a big sister and is a great third and fourth pair of eyes. I never have to wonder if the boys are getting in to mischief as she is always quick to report any wrong doing. She is the most adorable 2 year old you have ever seen as has the most sensitive spirit about her. She frequently asks about how random people are doing, she gets very upset when people are sad or hurt, and loves to pray for people as needs come to her attention. I can't wait to see how God uses this gifting as she grows up. We are very excited for her to start preschool, I know she will blossom and discover so many new things!

I hope you enjoy the pictures, and we would love to hear from all of you!

Maria

Levi & Ian swinging.

Ella & Kate swinging.

Grandpa Darrell (Baba) & Levi on the boys first birthday!

Levi & Ian at their first birthday party.

Ashley & Ella - Ashley packed Ella her own special backpack for the long trip to Durango.

They were special friends and Ella adored Ashley!!

Ashley, Lacey & Levi -

These are the two most incredible babysitters in Durango!!

Grandma Barb & Ian

The boys first birthday party!

Birthday Cake!

Levi's first cake experience!

Ian's first bite of cake!

Ian, Levi & Sadie

The Men! (Adam, Mark, Seth, Dwight & Benjie)

This was the staff at our church in Durango

The Ladies(Linn, Kristin, Megan, Jill, Maria & Kelly)

The wives' and awesome church admin asst!

Lily, Ella, Kate & Elizabeth

Our incredible church family in Durango!

Grandpa Darrell & Levi

Ian sporting his shades.

Levi getting ready for the summer!

Mr. Ian Waters

Mr. Levi Waters

Seth & Maria at a jazz show in San Fran!

Ella and Mommy in front of the Bay in our new home, South San Francisco.

Daddy & Ella

Daddy & Ella looking for crabs.

Spring in Durango!

Three weeks from today we will be moving to San Francisco!!  We are sooo excited, although we will miss Durango as we have incredible friends and an awesome church here.  Since our last post, the boys have mastered crawling.  Ian is our speed crawler and Levi has a future in the military as he crawls comando style.  Ella turns in to more of a princess by the day.  Her new favorite phrase is..."Oh my goodness, I don't even believe it!"  Seriously?  Where do kids pick this stuff up.  The twins also love to fight over toys.  They do the tug-o-war over every toy they own and are usually broken up by Ella stealing it from both of them, then she has to apologize and give them a kiss.  It's a cute little routine, really.   

Last week we were officially approved by the Foursquare Board of Directors and Seth was appointed "Lead Pastor" of Bay Church!!  Whoohoo!  The newest, hottest church in San Fran! Our move date is May 4th and our first service will be June 28th.  If you're in the area, check us out!  

Well, below is a conglomeration of pictures from the past few months.  The first is a video, so turn up your volume.  Enjoy!    

Ian

Ella watching Veggie Tales


Feeding time!!  Levi closest, Ian in the background.

Tug-o-War  Ian on the left, Levi on the right


Ella on Easter in her Princess Dress
Ella and Grandma Barb

Ella and Mommy

The Waters Boys

(Aren't the twins' suits adorable??)
Ian opening Easter Eggs

Ian again
Ian in front, Levi behind

Ella and her friend Lily
Feet first would be to safe!

I always wondered why infant swings had 4 holes..... Levi on the left, Ian on the right
Throwing rocks in the river

Just hanging out.  Levi on the left.
   Levi's first ride in the swing

Ella on the monkey bars
Grandma Barb and the kiddos

I told you she was a princess!

On our way to San Fran in March

The view from the area we will be living in. The Bay in the background.

Mommy and Ella's princess toes

Waters Family Update

Hi Everyone!

It's been awhile, and we still have more pictures to post from the last couple of months, but this is at least a start. We had quite an adventure in January when we took all three kids in the car on a road trip for 2 weeks. We drove first to San Francisco and stayed there for a week and then drove up the west coast through Oregon and up to Seattle before we headed back to Durango. Along the way we saw every Grandparent, almost all aunts and uncles, some cousins, and some dear friends. By the end, I'm pretty sure Ella thought she was related to every person in the world! =) Below are some pictures that we had from our camera with some of Maria's Grandparents and Seth's Grandparents. Also, the twins were dedicated at church so there are a couple of pictures from that. As you can see, the boys are getting bigger each day. They are crawling now, the funny thing is that they can only go backwards!! It seems like a million times a day I am rescuing them from underneath the couch or a table or something since they are stuck in reverse. Ella is talking more each day. Her newest phrases are "knock it off," ""sorry"(with a shoulder shrug), "as far as I know," "Whoa Dog." It amazing how frustrated you can get about these until you realize that they all came from your vocabulary. Ahhh!!! She is a very attentive second mother to the twins and helps me all day long make sure that they are okay and is very quick to take care of any situation that may arise, usually having to do with one of them playing with one of her toys. =)

We are moving ahead with moving to San Francisco and as Ella will tell you there are lots of fish and sharks there. The move date is set for May 4th, so please continue to pray for us as we make the transition.

We hope everyone is doing amazing and would love to hear from all of you. We are transitioning to new e-mail addresses, Seth.Waters@baychurch.tv and Maria.Waters@baychurch.tv.

Talk to you soon!
Maria