June Lake!

We went on a little camping trip to June Lake. We had such a fun & refreshing time just checking out & spending time with some wonderful people. This was your first long road trip (8 hours w/ stops) & you did so great! You slept pretty much the entire time we were in the car & ate strawberries the rest of the time. The days were in the 80's & the nights were in the 40's so it got pretty cold in our little tent. You did not sleep great because you were in your pack-n-play as well as your little body was cold. You ended up in our bed every night so mommy did not get much sleep. The great thing was I didn't have anything to do the next day except relax.

You really enjoyed playing in the dirt & picking up rocks. That was a hard one for me to come to grips with...I kept wanting to wipe your face & hands. After the first day I did a lot better, you just got a wipe down each night before bed. You also had fun playing with the other kids that were there, you think you are so much older than you really are!!

The very first night we were there we had a bear encounter so that was exciting. The bear was looking right at daddy & I from about 10 feet away. All while you slept inside the tent, I for sure went into protection mode. He did not do anything but stare at us & then he continued to make nightly visits trying to find something we might have forgotten to put away.

While we were there we went to the lake, which was beautiful. The water was a little too cold for you but still nice to play on the shore with your shovel. Another day we went on a long hike around where we could see the pretty scenery & visit the downtown area. Dad did some fishing & caught us dinner for one of the nights. One day we went fishing with everyone & where we were there was some snow. This was your first experience with snow & you loved it. Of course because it is like ice! The first thing you did was touch it & put it right in your mouth. It will be fun to take you this winter to the snow & you can play in it.

Dad & I were also able to take out the ATV's & explore the area. That was a lot of fun, it brought me back to my childhood when I used to do that with my family. The rest of the time we just sat around & played games, read magazines/books, chatted & enjoyed each others company.

This is our PACKED car...I promise you are in there somewhere!

Already in the dirt as soon as we got there...

Good thing we got this warning!

Setting up the tent

The tent was huge, thanks McCawley's!

This is our fun group on our hike

Always have something to say...

I would love to live here...if it were by the beach

Happy Birthday Mom!

Rainbows in the clouds

Snow in August!

Your first look...

touch...

& taste!

Fishing with Dad

I'm a big girl I can do it myself

Silly Kurt, catching a BIG one!

I ate the fish we caught...I had to pick it off the bones.

Good thing it was yummy!

ATV fun

Enjoying the lake

On the way there & home we stopped at the DELICIOUS Schat's Bakery!

This is another place I visited when I was little & love that

you are now experiencing it with us.

We had such a great time & can't wait to head back next summer!

Students Own the Weekend!

This weekend our students ran adult services. Once or twice a year our students get the opportunity to pull together the weekend services from music, greeting, announcements & testimonies. We basically take care of everything minus the message & it is awesome. Our students take such ownership & show the adults what SSM is all about. The adults love it...especially the music! I always walk away so proud of how hard our kids work to make this all come together. I love student ministries!!

We have an extremely talented student Rachel who is ubber creative. She loves to read, draw, write along with many other things. She wrote & read this beautiful poem at services...be prepared to be WOWed!!

There once was a girl

who found herself

in a good home

with some good friends

and some good memories.

On the outside,

the girl liked her life

and was having fun.

But some nights,

she would lie alone in the dark,

and feel the emptiness

that was eating her heart away.

She would ask God

to fill this emptiness

with something to help her

feel better.

But that's all she ever did:

Ask God.

She never thanked Him

for all of her blessings.

She never praised Him

for his never-ending love.

She never really thought about

Him at all;

she was just going though

the motions

of what everyone thought

Christians did.

But God has his timing.

There came a moment

when the girl

was to make a leap of faith,

and she was scared.

Scared that her wings

would not work

and all she would do

is anger the others around her.

Have them see what

she had done

and scowl.

"She's a fake,"

they'd say.
"She can do no good.

Hear her hypocritical words!

Who does she think she is?

Calling herself a Christian!

She is not one of us.

She is not worthy

of the good Lord's love."

She was afraid that

she would think them right

and fall.

Something inside her stirred.

Whispered,

"It's alright,

you're safe in My arms,"

and finally, she believed.

"The Lord is always with me,"

she cried,

"He will be my guide."

and now she flies

with God by her side.

If you were to ask the girl

about that day,

she'd smile at you

and say,

"Becoming a Christian doesn't mean

life will get easier.

God will test your faith

like gold in a fire,

and you have to trust Him

to lead you to safety.

Becoming a Christian means

understanding that

we are always forgiven,

we are always loved,

and we are always with Him.

It means accepting His amazing grace

and the fact that You

are God's child,

and nothing else matters

Rachel Brownell

Family Bonfire

We had a fun family bonfire at Bolsa Chica Beach. It was really relaxing & nice to spend some time with the family. I look forward to more times like this in the future.

Great Grandpa had so much fun hanging out with you...

so sweet!

Fun Aunt Nicole feeding you Graham Crackers

You adore your uncle Daniel & love hanging out with him,

I LOVE your friendship!

Im on a Boat!

For our friend Ryan's Birthday they rented a Duffy boat to cruise around the Newport Harbor. We all had such a great time enjoying each others company. It was all of the little one's first time on the water so that was exciting! Happy Birthday Ry!!

Hallee did not like her life jacket...it made her super calm...

I might bust the jacket out more often!

Easy going Kara

Funny little Wes

You were happier once you noticed the water!

Driving the boat with Daddy

The fun part was we had a little seal encounter...they were so fun & barky!

Friendship

This morning I had the privilege of listening to another Saddleback staff wife Cathy Constantz share with our Wednesday morning Treasured group on Friendships. I was defiantly something that has been weighing heavy on my heart lately. I have been praying & seeking wisdom in this area for a few months now. This was definitely a message that needed to hear.

I thought I would share some of the nuggets I took away...

We all need Role Models

This should be Jesus (John 15:15 & Philippians 3:17)

This could also be a pastor or seasoned friend

*So who are my spiritual models? Who makes me want to know God better?

We all need Mentor(s)

This should be someone who provides you spiritual counsel

This person should hold you accountable & ask the tough questions

*Who asks me questions like: What are you learning these days? How can I be praying for you? How is your walk with God going? How is your marriage? etc.

We all need TRUE friends

True friend makes time for you

True friends are vulnerable with you

True friends give you emotional support

True friends give you verbal support

True friends give you spiritual support

In all of this I have to be asking myself who do I provide this to? Am I a friend like this to the people I'm expecting this from? Do the people that I say are my true friends reciprocate the investment?

I feel like this is such a weird stage in life because my friends are married with kids & have busy lives. Is it realistic for me to expect time & energy from them? I have been feeling lacking in this area because the awesome true friends that I had live further away from me now. Does that mean that I need to start over & build friendships that live closer to me? I get kind of discouraged when I think about starting over because those other friends know everything about me, that is just a lot of time to unpack the past 28 years to someone. Part of me wants to just keep those long distance friendships & save the time.

I know that it is important to invest in those around you because that is who you are currently sharing life with, but it is hard. I definitely see a few friends that offer me a glimmer of hope that true friendships are possible at this stage & that is exciting. I just need to muster up the courage & energy to pour into them like I'm hoping to be poured into as well. I am so grateful that Christ created us to be in community together because life would be lonely without others. Now mastering His design for true community is my desire!

**This is all my interpretation :) Just some questions & thought I have been processing thru lately. Thank you Cathy for your insight & thought provoking wisdom!

9 Months

You are such a lover of the beach!

You always seem to find anything on the ground...

Sweet Hallee!

We officially have a walker! You have truly mastered walking this month. You went from crawling in what we called the "Mowgli" crawl to walking in what seemed like a matter of days. I feel like it was just yesterday that you learned to pull yourself up on stuff. There was about a week that you would walk until you fell & then crawl until you decided to stand back up. But those days are long gone...you only walk now! I have to say that I am pretty sad cause that means you are that much closer to being a BIG girl.

We took you to the doctors for your 9 month check up & you are doing great. The doctor did confirm our feeling by telling us that we did not have a baby for very long & that developmentally you are at the stage of a 15 month old. So we are wondering if that means we can potty train you in 6 months...since you will be developmentally a 2 year old! I mean if you want to be early on something that would be something I would be okay with...I'm just saying! You are in the 90% for your height at 29 1/2" & are in the 70% for your weight at 18.4 pounds.

You love to make noise! You are always talking or making funny noises. Or you also like to drop or hit things on the floor. You also really enjoy your food. You will eat anything that we give you, even if you just ate. Your favorites are fruit, cheese or chicken but you will not turn away veggies. I think you are going to take after your daddy in this subject because you are not a picky eater at all, which we are grateful for. You think that if we are eating that it must be time for you to eat also & of course you can eat whatever is on our plate...you are a big girl!

This month you have had a rough few days teething so that has not been my favorite. I wish those dang teeth would stop coming in. You are not at 7 teeth in your little mouth! Other then those few days you have been sleeping so much better, you sleep thru the night & don't normally wake up until 7-8am. We are still working on you napping during the day so that mommy can get some stuff done around the house. I know that I'm really exciting to be with but I promise you will not miss much if you nap for little bit :)

It is crazy to think that you have now lived on earth as long as you were growing in my belly. Other then the fact you are more work on the outside then you were when you lived in my belly, I love sharing life with you. You bring so much joy to those around you. We are honored to be your parents. Stop growing up so fast please. We love love love you Miss Hallee!

Love

Mom

Water Baby!

You just love the water! We have spent much of this summer in the water & that makes for a happy baby :)

We met our friends Jorden & Asher at the Irvine Spectrum to walk around some how we ended up playing in the fountains. The two of you had SO much fun!

Happy girl!

YAY!!

Sweet Asher

Then we spent some time in the pool

Love that little face!

Kara got this awesome water park for her birthday so we let the 2 of you play around. You girls were so funny & really enjoyed splashing around. I look forward to more warm days & some more fun in the sun with you girlies!

Funny girls!

Silly Dad!

Hallee loved to push Kara around

Kara was enjoying the ride...

Thanks Grandma for the yummy strawberry watermelon cubes, delicious!