More from Cali!

Finally, we have internet access. I've been dying to post more pictures & updates. It's really been a lot of fun out here. The weather has been cool but pretty... i think rain is coming in for the weekend though. AND to top it off I can't believe it, but Shelby is calling for snow! I knew that would happen. Now I'm just a little concerned for our flight back in on Monday.

Time is flying by and I can't believe we only have a day & 1/2 left. The food has been incredible! I've never seen so many fancy things at one sitting...calamari, ma hi-ma hi, wasabi vinaigrette dressings for EVERYTHING, sushi, imported cheeses, etc. I haven't tried everything but I'm venturing more that I traditionally would. However, I have stuck with my plain ole Coke as opposed to the plethora of alcohol that is offered at supper meals. I ventured out & around town on Thursday while Corby was in class. I was really surprised with this being such a large city that there is no more traffic or people around town. It's really not a busy place, nothing at all like downtown Charlotte. The hotel is in the middle of downtown & there is the Plaza de Cesar Chavez across the street which is a pretty park/sitting area. Also there is a road(-ish) that runs beside the hotel for several blocks back called the Paseo de San Antnio. It's a really cool strip with lots of little shops & cafe type restaurants & a repertory theatre. Across the street from the hotel is the Tech Museum which is a really cool hands on museum that I think tells about how this area became Silicon Valley. We are going to visit it tomorrow. I think this afternoon I am going to the arts museum which is next door. Here's a few pictures of things that I've captured around town.

Lastly, we ventured out Thursday night to the mall. Rather than paying $40 bucks to take a taxi there & back someone told us to take the bus (it was about $8 round trip). That was an experience. We had really no idea where we were going & tried asking several people on the bus where we needed to get off, but didn't have much luck. There are so many Hispanics & Asians around here & not many of them speak English, so they just kind of looked at us. Thankfully, an older man on the bus figured out where we were trying to go & told us where to get off. I think we'll just stick to places within walking distance for our next outings.

California here we come!

Well, we made it... we are in San Jose, CA. I was so nervous about flying b/c this was my first flight ever, but all went well & we are enjoying the crisp, sunny air of CA. It's in the low 60's here, not as warm as I expected, but it's beautiful. The city is really cool & lots of things to see. We are surrounded by moutains on all sides & the views are spectacular. I'll have plenty to take pictures of and tell all about. I'm mainly going to use my blog so my kids can see where we've been & what we've seen, so if there are too many details on here for you... sorry!

Yesterday we flew from Charlotte to Dallas, TX. Didn't see much but clouds... no big deal. But when we flew out of Dallas for San Jose the view was amazing! We flew over TX, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada & CA of course. We saw so many flat lands of absolutely nothing but perfect squares, circles & rectangles. Then we got to see the Grand Canyon which was amazing! We also saw the Sierra Nevada Mountains which were snow capped & very high, the Rio Grande river (I think that's what the pilot said), Death Valley & Monterey Bay in San Fransisco. There were lots more things that I saw, but not sure what & where they were. I have never been so astounded at God's creation and getting that birds eye view of it. I really wished I had my camera out. Hopefully on the ride home we'll have a clear view & I'll have my camera handy.

Until next time... I'm having a hard time finding a wi-fi spot around here that you don't have to pay an arm & leg for. Toodles!

Great worship Day

I'm a little late with this post (been busy getting ready for our trip) but we had a great Sunday... worship & preaching... & I wanted to share it with you. Our KIDS church sang on Sunday with the praise team. It was so great to see ALL of those kids up there on stage, praising the Lord! Click on the link & you can watch it... they sing the first 2 songs.

Kids Worship

Also we had a guest speaker Sunday morning. Our pastor was speaking at one of our church plants in Forest City. This guy's name is Ken Rudolph & he was great! He was SO funny (haven't laughed that hard at church in a long time), but yet still presented a great message on forgiveness. You can watch it here.

Look for posts this week from our trip to CA...you know I'll take tons of pics!

Why babies have Mommies

This is one of the funniest things I've seen in a while (a close 2nd to the colonoscopy email I just sent out...if you want it, I'll send it to you). This is even more hilarious b/c you can watch it!

Things I love about my husband

To keep in theme with yesterday's post, I wanted to honor my husband today... on Valentine's Day. Love you babe!

~I love the way he laughs when he really gets tickled at something.

~I love the way he's good at most every sport he plays... regardless of the fact that I don't even like sports or care to watch them.

~I love his sweet kisses on my neck.

~I love the way he cleans the house when he gets in the mood... nooks & cranny's and even sometimes moves furniture.

~I love that he has a calming factor when I get upset & stressed about some things.

~I love that he has made me come out of my comfort zone & tried some new things since we've been married.

~I love how he looks at a golf score card for weeks & can remember every stroke on every hole for him & whoever else he played with.

~ I love going through the Love Dare with him & seeing what new things God is teaching us about our relationship.

Things I love about my kids

I'm stealing this post idea from my friend Holly because I think it's a great idea & it's all about love.... Happy Valentine's Day.

Things I love about Chandler...

-his fascination with firemen/firetrucks... (and police officers & EMT's). He likes to dress up a lot, but this is probably his fave. He really thinks he is a fireman sometimes & can talk a pretty good game with you on it.

-his gentle & loving nature. He is so tender & nurturing and very patient. He gets that from his Daddy. He most always thinks of others and what he can do for them.

-his blue eyes... they will make a girl melt one day.

-His creativity... to write a story, draw a picture, make something out of a box... anything. He's constantly churning over what he can "make" next. He gets that from me... :-)

-his "loveyness"... sometimes he'll curl up beside you & kind of makes you think he's a cat the way he will rub up beside of you.

Things I love about Carter...

-his ability to make up some far fetched stories & people (adults) really believe them

-his perseverance to do something. If he wants to do it, he WILL do it.

-his red hair. i love it! if i got money every time someone made a comment about it... i would be a rich woman!

-his ability to play sports... just about anything.... and be good at it. He gets that from his Daddy.

-the way he comes to me when he knows he's done something wrong and it's made me upset.

Things I love about Kensley....

~she's a girl and loves girly things like purses, baby dolls, hair bows, etc.

~Her personality is probably the cutest thing ever. She loves life and is always full of funny facial expressions & cute little words.

~The way she wants me to kiss boo-boo's and she really thinks it makes it better.

~The way she gets excited to see her brothers and her Daddy when they get home in the afternoon/evenings.

~the way she dances ANYTIME she hears music. It's likes it turns something on inside of her and she just has to let it out.

How Lovely

Since it's Valentine's week (as one of my friends kids declared it) I thought about posting some "lovely" things that have happened this week.
~The weather has been very lovely. Getting a taste of spring has made me ready to put up my sweats & long sleeves. However, I'm also hoping that with this taste of spring, it will bring one good snow to us since we have "6 more weeks of winter" according to mr. groundhog.
~Participating in The Love Dare over the past few weeks has been lovely and made me more accountable to my thoughts and actions.
~Having my 3 little munchkins in my life is lovely. They are the loves of my life & I am so thankful that God entrusted them to our care.
~Corby has been taking a day off during the week & it's been lovely. Something about having him around during the day is great.
~My friend letting me borrow her Cricut machine has been lovely (thanks Meagan). I'm having way more fun than I should with it :-)

Yeah, it's kind of cheesy, but what a better way to appreciate the little things in life.