summer memories

It has seemed like anything BUT summer here lately! We have been covered in foggy, blustery, windy, cold days. We even had to turn the heat on the past two days because we were so chilled. Well the irony of it is that we will be heading north to Oregon and Washington to find some sun!:) We hear it has been 100 degrees in Medford.

In spite of our coolness here in Cali we are still on a quest to make summer time memories.

We have been making family outings on Fridays nights together. Last Friday night we went to the outdoor shopping area and walked around. Hallel loves frolicking from one fountain to the next. There are about 5 that are just her height with splashing ducks, spitting frogs, and swimming fish statues in the fountains.

The Friday before we went to an outdoor live local music band and I think we might hit that up again in Larkspur this Friday. Hallel loves dancing to the music and watching the other children around her. She kept walking up to this little boy who was playing his plastic guitar ever so seriously and he would just nod his head and strum his strings like a pro. It was adorable!

We also braved the Academy of Sciences Museum this week on their free day. We were there 1/2 an hr early and still in line at the end of the street. When we left the line was still wrapped around the street corner! Crazy! But it was worth it. Hallel kept saying "phishhh" as we looked in the two story aquarium. We even saw an albino alligator but I am not sure Hallel knew it was alive.

(please excuse my annoying camera voice-I love Simeon's big eyes as he looks at the light)

We are so excited to see sun and even more ecstatic to see family! Here we come Oregon!!

riches

I was thinking this morning on my favorite walk down to the "spit" (a beautiful walk along the Bay where you can see Alcatraz, the city, and Sausalito) what riches our children are inheriting. Not a home with a view, or land, or a car but some priceless examples.

This week my dad and mom have been teaching a girls club at VBS at their Church.

Josh's dad is at camp counseling young boys and two of our nephews are there too. And Josh's mom is faithfully working for PRC counseling young pregnant mothers.

What a gold mine to have all of our kids' grandparents spending their retirement days adding to God's family!

Josh and I pray that our children's bling bling will be for the cross of Christ and the rich love of God!

I love these verses in Isaiah 55 claiming God's richness.

"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price...Seek the LORD while He may be found...as the heavens are higher than the earth so My ways higher than your ways."

Well, thanks dads and moms for being great examples!

I hope they see Christ even through the reality of Josh and my squabbles and our everyday attitude struggles:)

Making playdough

M

Simeon being Simeon

Josh and Hallel relaxing after a long day(they even say "ahhhh" together)

sweet cheeks

these days

These days I feel like I am watching time lapsed photography as my children grow right before my very own eyes. When we put on Hallel's socks this morning they seemed 1/2 an inch smaller than they did yesterday. Then I was dressing Simeon and his little pants looked like highwaters so off to the closet I went and sure enough he fit right into a 9mo outfit! Yikes. Can I keep up with these little ones?

It sure is rewarding to see their sweet little faces light up when they learn something new. Hallel has just transferred to a big girl bed and is mastering the skill of staying on her bed until we come and get her. She likes using a spoon and trying a fork for meals. She is working on new words every day and expressing herself in a more proficient way. Daddy even recently taught her how to kick a ball.

We are about to retire Simeon's bouncer as he did a backwards somersault off of it the other night. It was hilarious and he landed upright thankfully. He is rolling to one side. And is working on his laugh. It is so fun to see the two interact together.

Josh and I had no idea how fun it would be to be parents. And to just watch our kids be themselves!

Aunt Sara

Last weekend we had a wonderful visit with Josh's sister Sara. It was a treat to have her here and we packed in a lot of fun in a few days!

It started out with a trip to the airport to pick her up. Hallel is fascinated by airplanes right now so sitting in the airport watching her plane arrive was a thrill. On Saturday we were up and off to Sonoma to visit our favorite Sunflower Cafe for coffee and a walk in the park. We drove through the beautiful vineyards and even stopped for a tour this time. It was fascinating to hear the process of growing grapes. On the way home we had dinner at the Broken Drum in San Rafael (because Josh found an awesome coupon for 80% off:).

On Sunday we had a wonderful day of worship at our church and the unveiling of the new name and logo. Our Abiding Way church will now be called Red Hill Church and we are super excited at what the Lord is doing there! Sara was able to support Josh's Bible Study that he is teaching on The Basics to inductively reading your Bible. And after some afternoon play time we ended the night by watching Invictus. A great story about the leadership of unity through Nelson Mandela and the South Africa Rugby team. This was fun because Sara lived in Burundi for over 2 years and watched a lot of Rugby. Then all too soon it was back to the airport and lots of hugs. We will see you in Oregon next time Aunt Sara-we love you!