Wednesday, October 20, 2010

cement jungles

friday afternoon, probably the worst time to attempt an escape from this southern city known for its outrageous freeway congestion. but we were driven to get out.

i prayed as dan drove, listening to the kids listen to "the silver chair" on cd, asking God for some I-10 east bound grace...i wasn't asking for much, just that our 90 minute drive would take no more than 180 minutes (we didn't want to miss dinner!!)

we left at 4:30pm, and arrived at 7:00pm, on the dot!:) seriously no small feat if you know the I-10...and dan didn't break any traffic laws!(wink wink)

so, are you wondering where we escaped to??


here are some hints...

there were more trees than people, more rocks than my kids could climb and WAY more acorns than one mom could hold in her, ehem, purse!

yup! we went to the mountains (san bernadino to be exact)for the weekend!!!



we joined our amazing church family for a retreat...our family's first time ever!



two awesome people we know from church decided to give our family a HUMONGOUS gift and paid for our entire trip! it was AMAZING! we stayed in a wonderful cabin, all to ourselves, with two bedrooms, a big bathroom, beds for all 6 of us, a fridge, coffee pot, microwave and even a fireplace!







our attempt at making a fire...i actually got it going too! :) the kids helped by blowing on it!


every moment of our 2 1/2 days in the mountains was AWESOME! our kids had an incredible time climbing and jumping off huge granite rocks, running up and down mountainsides, laughing, stuffing their faces with more s'mores than any child should ever eat, enjoying a huge bonfire, collecting acorns, praising Jesus with their friends and sleeping in a totally cool wood cabin in four cozy bunk beds all in the same room!





TC and DR we send you both a HUGE thank you!!! You have no idea how special this weekend was for us...thank you so much for making it all possible. May God bless you both, a hundred times over, for your huge generosity!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

influences


one would think that with two boys ahead of her, our little number four would be way more trucks and guns than baby dolls and pink.




although she can be quite tough, at times mean and always able to hold her own with these boys of ours...

she has a way about her that draws out the feminine side in even the toughest of boys!

case in point...these are pics of her having convinced both of her brothers to "do" her hair for her!!

what's crazier is that they were loving it!