Why I Love CA!

For Christmas my dad got us a dinner and night away at the Hyatt in Mission Bay San Diego. We decided to use it this past weekend as an early anniversary present. Our anniversary isn't until Feb. 8th but with Morgan's birthday landing just 2 days after and Marriage ministry stuff that weekend it was just to crowded to do anything else. We could not have picked a nicer weekend for weather. We dropped the kids (yes all three!) off at my dad's Saturday we headed to our hotel while they all headed to Sea World.

We rode bikes all day and I just stopped at random spots and took some pictures.

We love down town San Diego because you never really need to get in your car to have fun. We walked all over and even got to try 2 really fun restaurants. So fun! And the fact that it was short weather in Jan. AMAZING!! :)

I know it's dark but you get the idea. We were on the 21st floor and this was our view. At night the air craft carrier was all lit up which was beautiful! We had a really fun time as did the girls. My brother has a trainer friend at Sea World who took them behind the scenes a little. I think it solidified Morgan's desire to be a Marine Biologist. :)

You Do All Things Well............

I was sharing with a friend that sometimes I feel like I have so much on my plate that I need and want to pray about that it seems overwhelming. As I go to pray I often imagine this huge bubble over my head with all this "stuff" floating around in it and as I try to go to the Lord about one thing another jumps in the way and pretty soon I am so distracted it's ridiculous. Are you following me? I told my friend the other day that I pictured myself taking the "stuff" from the bubble and throwing it all in the air and just "giving" it back to God to deal with. I just know if I get my hands in that bubble I will screw it all up. :)

So all that is to say we have had A LOT going on here lately. Good stuff. Just a lot of "stuff."
The cool thing is; I woke up this morning and the very first thought that came to my head was a line from a song we sing at church that goes,"You do all things well........" I just keep hearing that over and over all morning. In the shower, in the car, walking the dog etc. I realized something; this was Gods way of reminding that yes HE does ALL things well. Not half way, not half good but ALL things well. If we allow him the time and space to be in control of our lives he does all things well and good and for his glory. After being reminded of this a peace washed over me.

Thank you God that you are in control of Dan's testing and future at work.
You do it well.

Thank you God that you have your hand on this marriage ministry and you are in control.
You do it well.

Thank you Lord that when I fail at being as kind and sensitive to people around me as I could be you quicken my spirit.
You do it well.

Thank you Lord that you know the friends we need in our lives and the support our family needs and you provide.
You do it well.

Thank you Lord that as you stretch us and grow us in our ministry, our marriage, in our relationships, our work, our families etc. you give us peace and courage to move forward.
You do it well.

"You Do All Things Well.................................."

Meet Macy.......

Well, we said we would never do it again. Then a while back we really started talking about it. But no we have had such bad luck with "dumb" dogs since our boxer died 8 years ago. No I mean seriously DUMB dogs. Once we adopted this beagle and every time we opened a door he bolted and ran full speed down the street. Then a few years later we adopted this American Bull dog and every time we opened a door it jumped over the wall (on a really steep cliff mind you) and ran down the hill into the people who live below us back yard. Are you seeing a pattern here? We were starting to think it was personal really. Then we felt bad that every time our kids got attached to a dog we had to send it to some crazy dog farm to run wild. So we got 2 birds. Then we got 2 cats.....ohhh and a fish. Ya' an everyday petting zoo really. But then Ry really started to want a dog cause frankly you can't lay your head on a cat. And cats have well; an attitude when it comes to say oh shoving them in the dryer or throwing a hard tennis ball at them. They tend to get hit between the eyes as apposed to fetching it. Do you see where I am going with this? So Dan and I did tons of research and I will say right off the bat we DO NOT like small dogs. Not even small-medium dogs. Please, if you own a small dog don't hate us it's just one of those things. Like for example some people like huge homes. Me? I prefer one I can keep picked up in say 30 minutes. Or some like small cars. I break out in hives at the thought of getting in a 2 door, low to the ground car. Personally we will always own large trucks. OK so it is when people think of getting a dog. Dan thinks it could possibly put into question his manhood if he were to walk down the street with a chihuahua. It's a fireman thing. LOL! So meet the newest member of our family;
3 month old Macy

We spent some time finding a breeder out in Simi Valley that truly loves her dogs. We didn't set out to spend money on a pure bred dog. We originally looked into rescue pets. But with a dog this size we wanted to know her background. Also we wanted to get her young so we could train her to be part of our family. Do the things we love to do.

She already weighs about 35 pounds and thinks she is a lap dog.

Did I mention she is a Great Dane? :)

Girls Week In San Francisco

We took a girls trip to San Francisco this past week. My cousin and I flew in and met there a couple of years ago and decided it was so much fun we should do it again sometime. I thought since Graph had never been this was a perfect time to go.
Four days later I have NO voice. :) To much fun and not enough sleep.

The weather was unbelievable!! So beautiful! We only had one cold wet day and the rest were like this.

The girls enjoying the moment. You can NOT get a bad photo in this town.

My mom, my mother in law, our three girls and then my cousin and her daughter flew in.

OK this "bird lady" was driving everyone nuts. She was standing on the dock with bird seed in her hand and every so often she would open her hand just ever so slightly and birds form all over would flock to her and climb all over her to eat the bird seed. Feathers were flying everywhere. I thought at first she might be crazy but really I think she had to think it was funny to see everyone take off when the birds came.

The girls would have stayed on the dock watching the seals all day if I would have let them.

There are no shortage of fun things to do in this city.

Alcatraz Island

No trip to SF is complete without taking the trolley. We NEVER drive in SF as there are way to many ways to get around town without a car. We ride the bus, subway, trolleys etc. Plus you meet all kinds of interesting people that way.

View from the trolley window

Our girls are not used to all the street performers and homeless people. Ryanne talked to everyone and Morgan informed me she likes her small town better. This homeless guy barked at Ryanne and she just waved and smiled at him.

No trip would be complete without Grandma doing your nails.

Do they look like city kids?

We went to this amazing museum over at Golden Gate Park. It was four levels high and had a natural history museum, an aquarium, a planetarium and a rain forest.

They even had a penguin encounter and we got there just in time to watch them get fed.

There was this cool water tube you could climb inside and look up at the fish above. My cousin took this picture of us all waving up at her. Kinda cool. :)

The kids all loved the hands on stuff and asked lots of questions.

The End!

Year Of Words

I have hesitated blogging about the "word" I have selected for the year because as I read all my friends posts on their words I wondered if my reveal would hold me to a level of accountability that might just make my year uncomfortable. LOL! I am not one for New Year's resolutions so when a friend ( I think it was you Susie) came up with the idea of having a "word" for the year I jumped on that idea. I mean how hard could a single word be right? Yaaaaaaaa................so you would think.

I have been praying about how God wants to grow me and use me this year and the thing is three words came to mind for the new year. Invest, encourage, inspire.

Invest in more time with God. In his word, in worship, in prayer. That way I can be filled with his strength, his love, his energy, his wisdom and grace. That I am hoping leads me to invest more time in the relationships that have been on my hear lately. Also, more energy to invest in the Married Life Ministry at church that Dan & I are involved in.

Encourage other women around me that are also trying to eat healthy and find a Godly balance in their lives when it comes to their marriages, kids, eating and health.

Allow my time with God to inspire me to move out of my comfort zone and into a place that lives for him on a daily basis without second guessing myself. Stepping out and praying for people when they are hurting and not thinking about it after the call ends or they walk away. Being inspired to act out my faith as apposed to only spending time thinking about it. Inspiring my girls to love others that may be difficult to love at times and also teaching them to act out when the Holy Spirit nudges them forward.

Encourage,
Inspire,
Invest!