Rich, Kristi and the Fam! (Elli, Emma & Baylee)

I'm BAAAACK!

2007-04-19T22:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, so
I stumbled upon this blog that I have not touched in about a year. Absolutely crazy! Yep I have not even thought about this for a long time. Still here I am! Yup I'm back. Now who knows how long this will last... 2 weeks, 3 days, or maybe this could be my last post... I really don't know.

Anyways if there is anyone out there... and I'd be pretty impressed if there was because who sits around checking a blog that is never updated... except for you apparently.

Well if you are out there... hello. It's good to be back.

Check This Out

2007-04-18T13:26:00.000-07:00

If you're wondering what in the world this post is doing on my blog... they said they'd give me $10 off my order to do this so I thought what the heck :)! Besides I got a nice fast 2Gig SD Card for only $27. that's after the 10 off but still it's quite a deal since Circuit City is selling the 1Gig card for the same price anyway if you want to check them out they're right here... They have all kinds of memory cards :)

www.MemorySuppliers.com

Happy New Year!!!

2007-01-07T19:07:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been a million and a half years since we've done anything on this blog... our apologies-- if you need them. :)

In April, Elli turned 4. She had the coolest parties ever! I go years w/out having a birthday party and she gets 2 in one week... what a life! My sister treated her to a Princess Party at Ariel's Grotto in California Adventure. For any of you with little girls, you know that was the most incredible time of the girls' lives. They got to have pictures taken with every single princess and autographs in their special books. It was SOOOOO much fun!!!

Ok, on to summer... it was great, warm and full! The twinners turned 3 and decided panties were the new way of life... worked for us- FINALLY!! :) We had a great time with friends and family at the park for their party. We had a most excellent time at COTS (Camp of the Son), which is our summer camp full of wakeboarding, skiing, tubing and impacting time with the Lord. That is one of the biggest points of the summer, in ministry, so I guess I'll just mention that one. It was so long ago, I don't think anyone cares anyway. :)

October brought along with it the FULL knowledge that I am no longer THAT young. I (Kristi) turned 30.... it was a biggie for me, but truthfully, I still don't feel any different. So it couldn't be that bad, right?

CHRISTMAS!!! OH GOSH, that was fun! My parents and Tim & Amie came up and spent almost a week with us. The time FLEW by, which was very sad, but we really had a great time!! I wish it could be like that every year... but we can't control everything, unfortunately.

Well, it's the new year and we are jumping into it with a BANG!! The girls started back to preschool this past week and that was REAL good for all of us. They love it so much!!! I can't believe how much little kiddos can learn in just 7 hours a week of class time- it's the greatest ever!

Welpers, that is about it for now. I will try and get this going again. It's so fun to keep in contact with all our friends and family this way. Talk again soon!! Over and out!

They're Up!!!

2006-03-25T00:03:00.000-08:00

Come gettem while they're hot!
The New Album is open for viewing...

Yes I (Rich) fixed it.

Man, we make 'um cute!!

2006-03-24T23:13:00.000-08:00

Cutest kids ever, huh? Top girls are Emma (lft) and Baylee.... then there's Elli!!

I hate the "FLU"!!

2006-03-24T22:31:00.000-08:00

This past week could, quite possibly,have been the worst week of my life. My entire family, except me, of course, had a stomach bug created in HELL, then spread out to the innocent little children of the earth to cause their loving mothers to start looking for something very HIGH to jump off of to end ever having to smell water-poo and vomit again, leaving them with the sad realization that the tallest thing available is the kitchen table! Yes, it struck my family! From last Wednesday (a week and a 1/2 ago), until yesterday, I was cleaning up 25-30 smelling poopies (a day), in the form of liquid stench, washing up the last thing either drank or smelt and disinfecting any place where anyone from my family even looked at!!! Does washing your hands so often that they bleed indicate a problem with the situation? So, after a few tears shed here and there, 2 bottles of bleach, a big sprayer of Lysol and a few pounds off of the babies... WE ARE DONE!!! I think Emma might be back into size 6-9 months.... somewhere around there! :) See the picture, I took that just yesterday!! :) :) I tell you, when I think about a week ago, I feel like it was MONTHS!!! If you love me or have ever loved me even for an instant, please pray for the rest of your lives that this NEVER EVER HAPPENS TO US AGAIN!!!!! Thanks so much for your thoughts!

By the way, if you have tried taking a look at the latest "albums"... they don't exist. Don't know what happen, but I'm sure whatever it was, we can blame Rich. Who cares that he wasn't even NEAR the computer when it freaked out and I didn't know what to do, I still think it is Rich to blame.. don't you? Yeah, I knew we were ALL on the same page with that one! :) He'll have it fixed in no time at all (since that will have to be when it happens since he actually HAS NO time at all!). We'll let you know when the pics are up and then you can see how cute the kids are-- until then, you'll have to take my word on it.... they are SOOOOO CUTE!!!!!

'The Day of the Toilet'

2006-02-25T11:55:00.000-08:00

Good day to all of you. This here is Kristi. I just thought I would let all of you fun people know what is going on with us. We actually made it out of our house and went on an adventure! It was so nice! We took the girls up to the John Muir Woods and hiked around for the day (pictures of our fun time are in the albums). It was the first time we have done something like that is nearly TWO years... man, did it feel good to pretend we were a normal family doing things together! :)

I bet you are all wondering what is going on with the toilet... I'm never gonna tell!! Just kidding. Yesterday was the 'Day of the Toilet'. I know you are hearing all this hype about the Year of the Dog... well I think yesterday OUTSHINED the Year of the Dog when it became the 'Day of the Toilet'. When Rich (key word: RICH!!) finally was able to get the toilet off, he looked in the hole (the trap thing, I think) and he saw two little eyes staring at him. I think it kinda freaked him out, but he won't admit it. ;) Emma had thrown her entire M&M toy down the toilet and flushed. I thought it was just the little guy's hat, but NO, she chucked the whole M&M!! Rich said it was pretty funny to see these big, white [pleading] eyes staring at him from inside the toilet. Anyway, the toilet is back and it flushes like it's shooting for the Gold!! We love having it back... it's amazing how much you can take a spare bathroom for granted. I asked it for forgiveness and bought it some flowers to show my true gratitude.

Well, I think that's about all I have to say for now. Happy day after 'The Day of the Toilet'!!

New Album

2006-02-20T23:33:00.000-08:00

Hey check out some pictures from out latest outing. A hiking trip in Mount Tamalpais State Park.
(Just click the Todd Photo Albums Link on the right)

Stick my hand down the toilet? I don't think so...

2006-02-01T12:04:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a blessed day to say the least! After a previous blessed day of Sharpie on the wall, brand new tube of toothpaste spread all over 2 little girls, one container of ticktacks completely consumed and the red food coloring of the ticktacks covering all the culprit's hands, one brand new gallon of milk covering the kitchen floor, and one highlighter stuck in the printer, I was incredibly glad we had only been home for HALF of the day. Unfortunately, most of the above took place while I was going piddle in the bathroom (with the door OPEN so I could make she the monsters were GOOD! HA HA HA HA). Today, well I guess I should learn NOT to take 10 seconds of my day to put my glasses on before I exit my room. In those 10 seconds, Emma decided her toy needed to leave our house. The quickest method.... the TOILET!!! Yep, she flushed her toy down the toilet. After attempting to see if I could plunge it, I realized it was way to far down there for any hopes of retrieval. So, I called the Dad who knows just about everything . The bad day then turned into a HORRIBLE day when he told the germafobe to stick her hand down as far as she could, without getting it stuck of course, to see if she could grab it out of the trap. If anyone knows me, they know I was just about the puke up my pancakes and sausage and high tail it outta of my house without looking back to see if anyone decided to join me. I know the suspense is killing you, so I will tell you what I did......"Ring, Ring".... "Rich, you have to stick you hand down the toilet and see if you can reach the toy in the trap!!" :) Yes, I am the smart one!! :) So that is all I have to say, I will have to tell you later if my plan actually succeeds. :)

On another note, Baylee just came in and let me know she has a poo-poo. No problem you say, she's in a pull-up!! Well, that's when the Todd girls will surprise anybody. Some how she has poop covering both her legs WHILE wearing her pull-up!! Isn't that fun?? :) BYE FOREVER!!!!!!!!

2006!

2006-01-18T23:45:00.000-08:00

The interesting paradigm that I struggle with concerning my blog is this. Either I have plenty of time to spend writing and absolutely nothing to write about, or I have plenty to write about and no time to do it. So I have gone quickly from one to the other. So I will attempt to update you on the busy past few weeks.

1st Day of School!
Elli has now joined the ranks of preschool attending children. She spent her first day at preschool last week and made a friend within 4 seconds. She goes Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30-12:30. At this point I'm not sure who's more excited, Elli or Kristi. Emma and Baylee are still trying to figure out what to do without their leader.

2006 Pastor's Retreat
We spent a few days in the wonderful Redwood trees of Nor Cal this past week. We got to spend three days at Alliance Redwoods Campground and got to call it work. It would have been a bit nicer had my work not been waiting for me when I got home. It was a nice time of renewal and growth and a nice time together as a family. We still did have a good time getting out of the house and getting to spend some time with Steve & Shannon and their girls. Let's just say five girls under four is bad enough... I'm not sure what type of chaos will ensue when their next girl arrives. SIX girls under four! Throw Shannon and Kristi into the picture and Steve and I are outnumbered by...SIX! Maybe Steve and I will just have to get together by ourselves.

SnoPalooza 2006
We are on the eve of taking off up to Tahoe for our annual Jr High Winter Retreat. We'll spend three days up in the snow with our Jr High group. We're praying that this is not only an impactful time relationally but also spiritually. In a rather timely fashion, I am also coming down with a cold. Nothing like being sick to make a busy week... really fun!

Well for now that's a quick update as to what the Todd's have been up to. Hopefully I'll be back soon with more to share.

-Rich

Merry Miss-miss!!

2005-12-29T23:57:00.000-08:00

So we had a wonderful Christmas. For the first time in several years, we were able to spend a holiday with my (Kristi's) entire family. The cousins hadn't all met before, so that was wonderful to have them all connect-- and they all did so well too! Watching Camden and Elli play was the cutest thing ever... I think they were a little confused for a while. We had to let them know that they we "COUSINS" and that is as far as it can EVER go! :) Super Cute!! Rich's sister, Jen, is living down in So. Cal too and was able to spend it with all the crazy Chiarelli folks. We all had a great time.

We just found out that Elli gets to start school (preschool) on Tuesday. Let me tell you, I don't think I have EVER been so excited before! The thought of having just the twinners for a little while, a few times a week, is just so cool! Not to mention how much FUN Elli is going to have. She is SOOO ready to have friends other than her sisters and REALLY needs them too. We are a little afraid that she will grow up over night, but oh well, it's gotta happen at some point. I will put pictures of her first day of 'school' after she has it. :) Can't really put them up now, can I?

We hope everyone had a MERRY Christmas and has a HAPPY New Year!!

Want More Pix?

2005-12-12T09:36:00.000-08:00

Check out the new addition of the "Todd Photo Album" (over on the right --->). I just threw a few pictures in to start. As I get going I will begin dumping more in.

Screaming?

2005-12-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

(Baylee)

What's the deal with screaming?
I don't get it?
Apparently my daughters do... they're pretty good at it.
-Rich

A Blog About Nothing

2005-12-03T23:15:00.000-08:00

It is absolutely amazing... or maybe just pathetic, how much of my life correlates with the stupidity of Seinfeld. As I began to think about blogging I thought, how great is this I can just blog the normal stuff of my life and others who are interested, mainly friends and family can occasionally check in and hear what we are really doing and not just the normal "all is good" of the routine catch up phone conversations. So it was here that I began the wonderful journey of my blog about nothing. Interestingly enough I ran into the same problem that George and Jerry did, if a show is about nothing, what is it about? The same is true in the blogging world. If my blog is about nothing, then what is it about? This is the predicament that I have been in the past few weeks. What do I write? So I have decided, instead of running from this, I will embrace it and write about nothing. So that is what I have to say for today. That and maybe that I really like Seinfeld.

Another random note: It's amazing how tired three tiny kids can make you when your wife leaves for socal for three days...

come back.... soon... please!

I think they're organizing and are going to try and take me!

Econo Glass Co.

2005-11-24T11:23:00.001-08:00

Why is it that some business' will bend over backward for you in trivial areas, but when it comes to delivering the goods they falter? I give to you as example, Econo Glass Company. Now granted it was me that called them at 4:15pm the day before Thanksgiving, asking for a specialized piece of glass for a window Baylee broke (a story for another time) and granted I was rather surprised when they said they could have it cut and deliver it to me in an hour and a half, even though they closed in 15 minutes. Rather impressive I thought. So two hours later and with no sign of anyone bearing glass I gave a kindly call to check up on their progress. "I'm going to be their tomorrow at 9am" was the response. I guess he assumed I would just sit around waiting for him for to be 15 hours late, no need to give me a call and let me know! But this was fine we were heading to the drive in and 9am worked okay for me. So 9:30 rolled around and sure enough there he was... but he hadn't cut the glass yet, he needed the dimensions that I had given to him 8 times on the phone the previous evening. So I once again I relayed the information to him only to find out that the piece of glass he brought was too small. He'd have to come back in an hour... Two Hours and Eleven minutes later... STILL NO GLASS! Now I understand that it is Thanksgiving day... and honestly I have no idea why this guys has agreed to bring this to me this on Thanksgiving day, but don't say you will be here when you won't, over and over again! So would I recommend Econo Glass? Well they are a bit cheaper than others, and they will be at your beckon call at all hours and all times... they just won't show up. If you're into that sort of business then they come with very high recommendations. If you are one of those strange people who actually want what is promised... you might want to look else where. So the journey goes on. Will the Todd's ever fix their window???
-Rich

Lil Angels!

2005-11-21T20:41:00.000-08:00

...Yep, pretty camera shy!

2005-11-21T20:29:00.000-08:00

Attaining the Unimaginable!

2005-11-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

After four horrific days of potty training Emma and Baylee. We have had success. On the scoreboard we have Emma - 2 pees, Baylee - 1 Pee, 1 Poop! Yes I have arrived! A little bit of advice for those of you out there looking for it. Don't try and potty train twins at the same time... or better yet just have one kid at a time, like the good lord intended! This area in our life apparently is going good. After going through the tough time with Elli I thought we were really in for it with the twins. I think now that they might catch on rather quickly!

God is continuing to wrestle with me concerning what my action needs to be from what He's teaching me. I know it means a radical change in how I look at ministry. God is continuing to call me to reach a lost generation. Obviously the tactics and methods of the past are not working, and I don't think a new fangled program, or course is the answer either. I think it's much more basic than that. It's introducing people to a relationship with the all powerful, loving God, to Jesus, through relationships. The question I'm struggling with is, can this happen in the existing setting that is the north american church? Obviously it can happen, but is it the best way? Is this where I should be? Or should I be seeking to take this passion to create "church" in a new way to a new generation? What does that even look like? That is my question. So the wrestle goes on as I seek to find direction.

-Rich

2005-11-11T23:15:00.000-08:00

Wow! I actually got a picture with all three smiling! (Baylee, Elli, Emma)

2005-11-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

Here's the Fam! Yosemite 2004

Numero Uno!

2005-11-11T10:25:00.000-08:00

Okay so I’m finally doing it… here is my first real entry! Not that pictures of my girls aren't real entries. I’m sure that’s what most of you are more interested in anyways.

What a week! God has been doing some amazing things in me! How can I explain it... I guess He's lit my fire again to reach the lost youth of Fremont/Newark. I know I know it sounds really stupid. I'm the Youth Pastor here and I've been here for two years. It sounds like something I should have grasped two years ago. I guess it's not something I didn't know before but He has reminded me of it in a powerful way. Over the past month God has been building up the fire for me to reach these lost kids. He gave me a picture of todays youth in Acts 3. Read it and you'll understand a bit. Basically the crippled man was asking for the best thing he could think of to fix his problem... money. Peter and John recognized the fact that money wouldn't fix his problem... he wanted to walk! So instead of giving him money, they introduced him to the God that can heal. This is what todays youth are like. They're asking for what they think is going to fix their problem (Money, Sex, Power, Fun, ETC). God is saying that's not going to fix the problem... you need Me! You want to be healed and that only comes from God.

So this is what I'm processing through. I'm trying to figure out how this translates into action here in Newark. How do I not introduce people to church, but into relationship with a wild, loving, powerful God that wants to heal and fix their lives!

Pretty Exciting Stuff!

On a different note...
Kristi... and I (when I'm not working)
have taken on the challenge of a lifetime! HEAR ME OUT! I do not recomend this for anyone! But we (mainly Kristi) have begun potty training Emma and Baylee. Their lives now consist of regular stops to the potty... to absolutely no avail so far though. Basically right now it seems to be serving as a reminder that "as soon as I get off the potty and my diaper's back on I need to go pee." Maybe by the time they graduate High School they'll have it figured out! I think more realisticly we're looking at college but I'm thinking hey lets shoot for something ambitious. So there senior year it is!

Elli on the other hand seems to be content with running military manouvers with her sisters, still waiting on the day that she makes an attempt to take over the world (you have been warned!)

....i guess that is all for now. As our governer is fond of saying... I'll be back!
-Rich

2005-11-09T14:21:00.000-08:00

Here's one of Emma and Baylee. Baylee of course is in her Flops.

2005-11-09T14:17:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest of our girls! For you novices out there, left to right Baylee, Elli, Emma.