We drove down to Monterey/ Carmel for two days. It rained quite a bit, but we had moments of sunshine. It's so beautiful there! We drove along 17 Mile drive, and it rained nearly the entire time. Despite the rain, we saw some of the most beautiful coastal views.

While posing for a picture on the beach, we looked back to see a huge wave coming in. Ooops! Wet feet!

Just Before the big wave came... and the wet feet!

Scott's moment in time on Pebble Beach Golf Course.

Who can't resist a Sundae from Ghirardelli?
Monterey Bay

Mom P had a Birthday while she was visiting. It's not often we get to celebrate Birthday's together. We had a fun day. And as our niece Jenna says... Happy Dirt-Day Grandma!!








Happy Dirt-Day Grandma!
Who Says you can't have Birthday Pie?

Trip to Colorado Springs

Most of you know how much Scott and I love Colorado, and that we've been known to babble on and on about it. Well we were able to spend six days there this past week as we looked into some possible job opportunities. It was a very busy six days, but we were able to spend a few minutes enjoying the beautiful Garden of the Gods.

For those of you who don't know, Scott was unexpectadly laid off from his job. (ahh the wonderful economy!) We went to Colorado to investigate a few opportunities. In Colorado we were presented with some really interesting ideas that we are continuing to pursue and pray about. We would ask for prayer through this time as we seek out what God has for us next....

Ahh Colorado!

Baggage Returned
It's rather amazing and a little scary how incomplete one can feel when they are missing some of their belongings. I finally had my luggage returned to me yesterday after being without it for nearly five days. Ahh I can breath a sigh of relief.
My luggage was "lost" in Chicago for a few days before it was driven to Savannah (my final destination) on Monday morning. It was then put on a flight to DC and then home to Sacramento. It arrived at my doorstep by truck from Sacramento on Tuesday mornig. My bag has seen more of the country then I was able to see and it has also seen better days. It was returned with one wheel missing, and all the plastic that holds it together broken in a million little pieces. Thankfully, my luggage however remained very jossled, but intact.
The only good thing to say about United's baggage service is that they were actually able to return the bag. They communication is lacking, and the outsourcing of Baggage claim representatives leaves a lot to be desired. Honesty and forthrightness being foremost.
But through it all, God has allowed my patience to be challenged. I've also been reminded that I have a lot of things to be thankful for... including all the little possesions I hold so dear and really miss when I am without them.

12 hours in Chicago and I'm back where I started...

I shouldn't be sitting here on my couch at home right now. I should be in South Carolina preparing to stand up next to my friend as she is married, and celebrate God's bringing two wonderful people together.
But God had other plans. I left our house yesterday morning at 4:45am to catch a flight out of Sacramento at 6:00am. Everything seemed fine, but when the plane rested on the tarmac for two hours before taking off, I knew it would be a challenging day. When we finally left Sacramento, I knew I would be missing my connecting flight in Chicago... yah, I was flying to Chicago... on the day after Christmas. I arrived three and a half hours later in Chicago to find that my flight had been cancelled. The next flight was 6 hours later at 7:30pm. I was hungry, I was tired, and I was frustsrated. Chicago O'hare International Airport was a madhouse! There were people everywhere, many of them trying to reschedule flights, the terminal was hot and stuffy and I was getting claustraphobic. There was nothing I could do but wait. I waited and waited, only to see my flight delayed again until 8:30pm, then 9:50pm, then 11:00pm, then Cancelled again. My cell phone battery was going to die and I began to feel desperate. I called Scott and he called the airline to see what flight I could take. There were no more flights going to Savannah until Sunday! The wedding would be over by then. I wanted out of Chicago, and I didn't care where I ended up. I couldn't get anywhere. The only option was to fly back to Sacramento. I couldn't believe there weren't any other options. The airline couldn't even get my on a flight with another airline. It was Sacramento or nothing. So I waited and I waited. If this flight cancelled, I would be stuck in Chicago for two days! The flight was delayed four times before leaving at Midnight. Only to get me back home at 2 am, where I started nearly 24 hours before. I still can't quite get my head aroud the fact that I'm missing the wedding. I can't understand how, in this day and age, it is impossible for me to get to where I need to be. I can't really understand why I went through an absolutley horrible day yesterday, only to return right back to where I started. The picture below is a very meaningful braclet I wore yesterday. I wore it for the bride, who made it for me a few years ago to represent all that God had done in our lives. It represents the fact that we can trust God and believe that God is who He says He is, and we are who God says we are. We can trust God's promises and His Word. We can believe God, and we can trust Him even when we don't know what is going on. My friend has believed God to bring her a husband, and now after waiting so long, they will be married tomorrow. I too can testify to God's goodness in my life. He has provided for my needs, and he has used the good and the bad times to draw me closer to Him. God provided a supportive husband at home to fill me with encouragement and love when I called crying on the phone. He provided people in the airport to talk with and be encouraged by. He provided a way to get out of Chicago -( on the last United flight of the day by the way) He even provided a kind man to let me use his cell phone when mine was about to die. This bracelet was a constant reminder to me yesterday that God is in control, and no matter what happened, I could trust Him. (Even if I was going to be stuck in Chicago for two days!) I don't always understand why things happen, but I do trust that He knows, and His way is perfect. I am so dissapointed to miss the wedding, and not be able to stand up with my friend as she is married. But I trust the Lord, and I believe that His plan is perfect... He hasn't failed me yet. Now I trust Him with my luggage, as I hope and pray it gets back to me. Until then, I will wear less make-up and I will have to hand-dry my hair.

Christmas 2008

We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with family this year. Christmas Eve was spent at our house with my parents and brothers. Christmas day was spent at my uncle's house in Calistoga. Kona enjoyed his gifts and tearing up the used wrapping paper. What a beautiful Christmas!








We decided to try our hand at making our own Gingerbread house. No Gingerbread kit here! We did it all from scratch. It doesn't really matter that the house leans to the right, and the oversized chimney leans to the left...

Three Years of Marriage.

We celebrated our 3rd anniversary a few days early this weekend. We attended the Christmas musical at the church in Napa where we were married. We then had a fabulous dinner at Rutherford Grill in Napa Valley. I had forgotten how wonderful "The Grill" is!! Scott and I enjoyed our time there very much, including the fireplace outside where we sat in rocking chairs with blankets and enjoyed the crisp and clear evening. We then toured all the Christmas lights around the Valley, which brought back many wonderful childhood memories for me. I enjoyed sharing the evening with my husband who has been more than I could have asked for or ever imagined. We are both very thankful for the past three years!

The Christmas tree is up and shining with all it's millions of white twinkle lights. We were stoaked to find a place that had great fresh trees for a decent price. We also got a beautiful fresh wreath to go along with it! Kona and Jake LOVE to spend time near the tree. Jake even made his own space among the gifts under the tree. He loves the warm glow of the lights I think.





OUr long awaited Mantle is finished, and it is up and full of Christmassy display! We love it! It has added so much to our room. I was amazed with Scott's creativity, and we were both very pleased with the outcome.

Thanksgiving 2008

On Thanksgiving morning we woke up to the distinct sound of a gun shot. No, the Mountain Ranch natives near my parents house weren't rioting... It was my youngest brother, Adam, the passionate hunter. He had been out hunting the local Turkeys... and well, I don't need to say any more. We had very fresh Turkey for our Thanksgiving meal. We had two birds actually, one very fresh, and another more conventional turkey. The taste test proved that fresher is better. (Hopefully I haven't offended any of our readers too much)









It was so good he could't wait!












We've been talking about a mantle for our fireplace for two years now... We've had a variety of ideas, and nothing has ever been pursued. FINALLY I couldn't wait another Christmas season, I wanted a mantle to hang the stockings! So Scott got to work (more seriously anyway) and he and my dad came up with a fantastic idea. It was actually an idea that sort of evolved as they went along... It took a lot of thought and planning...



My Mom and I made an apple Pie... a little bit of her influence, a little bit of mine.... its the "dobersicke" pie... MMM it was SO good! And pretty too!



The guys enjoyed some poker after the big meal. No money was bet, but they all still enjoyed the poker tradition.











We deliberated a long time over the right stain to choose for the mantle. We finally settled on one. We'll take more pictures when the mantle is finally up. I can't wait to decorate it!



Despite the long awaited coolness in the air, it just doesn't feel like the Christmas season should be here already. We decided to put up our outside lights to try to get us in the Christmas mood.

Scott's mom was able to come out from Michigan to spend a week with us. While she was here we traveled to Apple Hill to visit the orchards and experience the fall colors. We also spent a day and a half in San Fransisco touring Alcatraz, Fisherman's Warf, Ghirradeli Square, and North Beach. The weather was absolutely perfect while she was here. It was the warmest day I've ever experienced in San Fransisco, a perfect 75 degrees!
We enjoyed relaxing and working on other projects around the house like stringing up white lights in the tree in our backyard. Now our back patio glows with a warm luminious glow. Kona loved having Grandma here for the visit. Kona was so sad when she left, Scott let him sit in his lap for a while on the couch...
We've been staying busy with work and projects. We're looking forward to a couple days off for Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Camping on the west coast has never been as much fun as it was with Jon, Jessica, Eli and Joshua Flowers. We spent the weekend camping near the Russian River. We visited the ocean, played in the River and Eli and Josh enjoyed their first smores. Kona enjoyed every moment from watching people walk by our campground, to running on the beach, and swimming in the River. Kona finally swam on his own (after some promptiing from Scott) and he couldn't get enough. We all had a great time watching Eli and Josh (2 years) play in the dirt and eat smores with their grubby little fingers. They made us laugh as they giggled while watching Scott and Jon throw the frisbee. And they were both quite cuddly after little sleep on the second night. With great weather, beautiful surroundings, and wonderful company it was the perfect camping weekend.

Scott and I had a great three-day weekend. We spent most of Saturday at the Air Show at Travis Air Force Base. We had a blast watching the old WWII planes, Aereobatics planes, and the Thunderbirds show their stuff. We also toured a C5-A, and got to see many other planes and jets up close.
We were also able to spend time with our friends and their dog at Tildburn park in Berkeley. Kona and his best friend Bentley played in the water and mud and had a great time shaking off all over us as we ate our lunches. We said goodbye to A as he leaves tomorrow for a 6 month deployment in Iraq.