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California, how I love thee...

let me count the ways…

Ok…so I don’t love California that much, but The Beach Boys would argue that they “wish they all could be California girls…” and, sometimes, so do I.

I have an inclination toward California. The culture, the scene, the SHOPPING. I must say that I have to be on the guard to not become too into it when I am there, but I really love it. And David did too. We had such a blast. We love our friends Nate and Nicole and would consider it an absolute honor and joy to live near them. Not just travel to see them.

Pictures usually do a better job of telling a story than I do, so I will let them speak for themselves…with maybe a caption here and there=)

(We flew into LAX, but then jumped a teeny tiny lil plane into Orange County…a plane full of lots of rich people…except us!)

(A view of LAX you might recognize from the movies…)

(And no sooner than we deplaned did we see a sign that we thought was quite humorous and quite true of Hollywood)

(Later that night, we went to Huntington Beach and got our first glimpse of a Pacific Ocean sunset…absolutely beautiful!!!)

(Now I would like to be able to say that David just happened to captured this pose as I was lost in the captivating beauty of what surrounded me, but he didn’t. I told him to take a profile shot of me gazing with the pier behind me LOL)

(Wednesday was the 4th of July. We had a great time with Nicole’s family in Garden Grove. Later that night we let off fireworks and I was utterly amazed by the amount of people lighting very ILLEGAL fireworks in the area LOL. This is a pic of me and David right before we set off fireworks. David could try to look a little happier. Did I smell bad or something?)

(Since you do have a brain, I guess you can figure out where we were here. We spent Thursday in the greater Los Angeles area. Besides Santa Monica, we saw as follows: amusements on the pier, Malibu, Hollywood (not pictured LOL- too crazy to get out of the car!), the city of Los Angeles, and Grace Community Church (along with The Master’s Seminary), and many others)

(Ok, it was a cloudy day, but the smog was quite remarkable- and remarkable does not have a positive meaning in this case…)

(Nicole’s daughter, Tay, and I. I just love her. She is so precious. Sorry this one’s blurry)

(We spent a LITTLE bit of time at the actual ocean. Here are a few pics. Starting with the Robbins family themselves. Quite hospitable, I must say…)

(Check out David’s new shades LOL. Nicole and I took turns calling him random suitable names, like “Goose” and “Maverick”)

(Say it with me, all in unison, AWWWWWW…)

Well…that was about it. What a refreshing and wonderful week David and I had together. It was so nice to have some time together, although I missed my lil men so much.

Simon…oh my sweet son, Simon. It’s back. Separation anxiety, that is. I am kinda surprised as it came much later with Noah and Sammy. Senor Simon, Si Si, whino albino, or whatever I feel like calling him at any given time, is to that point where any time I leave a room, it is as though someone is killing him. He can be perfectly happy and when I make my exit, he explodes into a rage of tears and growling at everyone around him=) It’s kinda funny, but not when I feel like getting anything accomplished. Here are some recent photos of the lad (with Mommy in sight):

Secondly, I am captivated on mornings where we find ourselves more or less under the clouds. It amazes me to think that these same clouds in Kentucky would be a mile over my head. God’s handiwork makes the tougher days here a little easier to bear. Thank you Lord. Here is a pic of what it looked like this morning:

Did I mention David and I are absolutely loving our new Keith and Krysten Getty CD? It is probably one of my favorites ever! David summed it up best when he said “I want to be that full of joy.” Their lyrics, music, voices, all epitomize a joy in Christ that you just don’t see in so many beievers these days. Ahh…I am so thankful for this CD. It has really fixed my perspective on many things!

Lastly, we finished up the dreaded budget last night. It had been coming for a while and we knew we coudn’t hide from it anymore. This next month is budgeted down to the penny (well, almost.) We have cut back on groceries and gas. It has become increasingly more evident that I drive too much during the week LOL. Anyway, it is really true that when you are under a budget (although restricted) there is an element of freedom because you have a plan and you feel safe. Thanks, Mr. Ramsey

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Nathan McLean

http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/inputSiteName.do?method=search&siteName=NathanMcLean

Please pray for this sweet boy. We went to seminary with his parents. My heart is so grief-stricken for this family, but as believers I know that Christ will sustain them through this.

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