The Sabin spark

David Sabin is the man of our home and namesake of our Sabin Family. In high school he was fondly known as Sabe or Sabaroo... he has a zest for life, a huge heart and a love of God, these have always been the things I adore in Him. We are immersed in this Crescenta Valley, we've only lived "away" in Orange County a very small portion of our 33 years- me in Irvine/Newport Beach and him in Long Beach.

As his fellow classmate from 20 years ago, wife of 7 years and partner in parenting with faith the last 5 years (I count gestation as the beginning of parenting) our influence has grown and we are blessed to share life with two very healthy, sweet and very energetic "Sabaroo" boys. Hence the origin of the blog.

David & I have embarked on quite a journey to get to where we are today...when we talk about the past it can still get heated because it took awhile...we both can be a bit stubborn...and it's always good to remember how it's progressed! Although we aren't high school "sweethearts" there's a fair amount of history of shared classes, mutual friends, dances, ASB together, sports, yearbook staff, heartache, determination and spark that fuels this story forward. Some of you witnessed it and know it rather well...including the part about my mom seeing David almost yearly at the Christmas tree lot "oh what a nice boy" ...I still hear it now!

We re-connected at Los Gringos Locos Taco Tuesday in August 2000, as single, working, college graduates thanks to our mutual friend "Lyle". In the days following we BBQ'd, went country dancing, out to dinner at Twin Palms and by our third date where Dave snuck a kiss under the "mistletoe" we knew this was headed somewhere. Shortly thereafter marriage seemed eminent and our engagement in December 2001 occurred on the beautiful "suicide bridge"- (Ha!) in Old Town Pasadena and dinner at Cafe Santorini in Old Town Pasadenda. Then on a warm September evening in 2002 we were married in the church with the reception at Pasadena City Hall with more than 150 dear guests. We have artwork of these special "places" in Pasadena in our home and they hold a special place in our "hearts" as we return to them.

Our first married years were spent in a small fixer upper we were blessed to purchase in La Crescenta before the housing bubble. We viewed the house on a rainy February day and although it needed work, we loved the location and the view from the back deck- it was ripe with potential. We were so blessed when the older couple "selling" chose us as the buyers over others that offered more money because they believed we cared about the community and would be good neighbors- talk about God providing when our financial limits were set! Amazing.

David began the journey (with my meager help) of painting, concrete, plumbing and gardening... he is SO handy and such a hard worker! Much of our days were spent pursuing careers and friendships from church, work and via co-ed softball games. The pre-kid years we enjoyed traveling to wine country, camping in Central California, Alaska, Honeymoon in Tahiti and the amazing chance to see Europe. This is also when we started to roast coffee in the garage and our projects in woodworking and crafting.

Plus, we had German Shepherd puppies to love and add a bit of chaos, Dahlia was a 6 week old stray that David found and brought home to me right as he left for his bachelor weekend in August 2002. A sweet, loyal girl, she chew, ate and hunted things, including the Dahlia flowers in our front yard. Although I'd never owned a dog, David adored our "baby" and I concurred the unconditional love outweighted the mess and maintence, at least most of the time. Ginny, 1 year old, found me just a year later, at a pet adoption near the market in October 2003 when she licked and wagged her tail into my heart; named after my maternal grandmother Virginia, for the depth of her love. I remember longing to get home to my pups and the warmth of seeing them excited to see me at the end of each day, taking them to the beach, swimming, dog park, even along camping because we never lacked sense of adventure!

David makes this journey fun, he reminds me of my own father: he's the one that is spontaneous- always wanting to get outside- to go fishing, hiking or play in the snow. He notices when the trees bloom, enjoys the changes in the seasons and never misses a good sunset. He's silly and childlike... often quick to get down on the floor or run around in the yard playing with the boys- wiffle ball, construction zone, building blocks, airplane control tower, army men or water guns, for this I am so thankful. Although introverted, he is fiercely loyal, creative, sensitive and thoughtful. Life is good when simple: a cup of black coffee or tea, some homemade soup or tacos and the joy of fresh fruit of the tress or home grown garden, of course a piece of pie or homemade cookies is right up there too. Just being together at home... no plans makes him happy. Although his perfect day would be outdoors fishing, a grilled dinner and smores around a campfire.

We both always knew we wanted kids; we are "onlys" (our much younger half siblings are 8 & 12 years younger, so we were raised like onlys) and both kids of divorce that has us fiercely committed to a lifetime of marriage. And although life has changed quite a bit in these years there's one thing that keeps getting better: seeing God's plan unfold, we look back and see "His" timing, not "ours".

2009 was full and gave us much to reflect on, including our recent move- back to the house where this journey started. We are excited for a new year, a new decade, a new chapter and look forward sharing our life in faith, as we seek and trust God to pave the way.

*Pictures to follow...need to scan some in!