California Dreamin'

We had such a fantastic time in California - truth be told, we sure hated to leave! Today at naptime, Aaron told me that he wanted to go back to California. So we had a nice talk about how we have to wait on God's timing for our next trip, and we have to wait on God to tell us where that might be. We talked about how God wants us to be content no matter where we are, and discussed the blessing of the trip, and how amazing it was that God provided for us to go. We are so grateful for His provision for our needs all the time, and the BONUS BLESSING of seeing our good friends. It was neat to share that with Aaron, too.

While we were there, we visited a couple of fun touristy places - the Aquarium of the Pacific, the San Diego Wild Animal Park, and various sights around Riverside. We also were blessed to worship with Heritage Bible Church and meet fellow members of the body of Christ there. It was such a special time for us. Other than that, we just enjoyed the time together and laughed a lot. It was great.

We also were re-acquainting ourselves with each others' offspring. It is fun to see how Emma & Olivia have been growing up - they are such fun! Aaron has changed a TON since the last time we were all together - Evan is about the age now that Aaron was when they moved. Plus, Andrea and the girls hadn't even met Evan yet. They were so helpful and patient with our boys.

Since our return, Aaron talks nonstop about Uncle Kris, Aunt Andrea, Emma & Olivia. And of course, Bailey, their miniature Yorkie. What fun for the boys to have a dog - albeit temporarily! Evan took awhile to warm up to her, but by the end of our trip was petting her gleefully.

Here and here are a few of the pictures we took while we were gone. There are hundreds - these are just excerpts!

We do praise the Lord for allowing us to go, and for working out the details of our travel beyond what we could imagine. Only with the miraculous price on plane tickets (yes, miraculous!) could we have ever made the trip. In some ways, I felt like I was on an up close and personal missionary slide show - we pray for the Stephens family often, but without a knowledge that comes from experience. Now we know a little better how to pray for our friends. What a great time together!