The Simple Things

I have to admit, sometimes the simplest things are the most satisfying to me. Andrew says this is the result of my good wholesome Iowa roots. Is he biased toward the Midwest or what?!


But back to my point.

This weekend, we had one of those dismal rainy days which most southern Californians hate, but I found refreshing. I love watching our garden on these days. It's still winter, but I can see the promise of spring in my budding rosebushes, those dainty white blossoms on the strawberry bush, and the blueberries forming on our vine that tease of sweet fruit to come.





One of the highlights of our weekend was the grand opening of a new library just 1/4 mile from our house. We grabbed our coats, a backpack, and an umbrella and set out on foot to visit this exciting addition to our neighborhood. I think what I love most about our new library is how quaint it is. Once the ranch home of a prominent city resident, this building burnt down in a fire over thirty years ago; the property was since given to the city, and a library was built according to the plans of the original ranchhouse, with groves of orange and avocado trees still surrounding it. Lucky for me, Andrew also loves to read, and we have high hopes of making the library a regular date locale.




Who could ask for more? A walk on a rainy day. A good book at the library. Spending time with the one you love. Ah, the good life.

The Newlywed 15?

When you were in college, did you join that all-so-famous "Freshman 15 club", resulting from that notorious dorm food? I always marveled that with the long trek up and down the hills at UCLA, I still packed on the traditional 15. On the other hand, Rieber Hall, my dorm home for 2 years, sure had fantastic curly fries and weekend breakfast burritos.


Anyway, that was years ago....nobody told me that the same phenomenon occurs post-marriage! Is it just us, or does this happen to others out there? I'm a relatively healthy cook...although I do give in rather easily when Andrew asks for chocolate chip cookies or some fresh banana bread.


Well, I'm not a big fan of unrealistic resolutions, but the Newlywed 15 stops now. Goodbye cookies. Hello swim workout.

Happy Birthday Laurel!

A very happy birthday to my cousin, Laurel. Laurel is not only a cousin, but a lifelong friend, a travel companion, an adventure companion (we did a century bike ride together this past September), a 'hipster' (as Andrew would say), and as you can see by the picture, an excellent dancer. Laurel, you are an incredible woman , and I hope you have a really special day today!

"Welcome to Winter”

These were the teasing words I heard from my husband when I offered to help him shovel the snow that had practically buried our SUV last weekend. The scene of the crime: Sorensen's Resort in Hope Valley (just outside of South Lake Tahoe), where we spent last weekend, celebrating my birthday and playing in the great outdoors. While the majority of Andrew’s life has been spent in a snowy locale, this was my first time scraping windshields and shoveling piles of freshly fallen snow to extricate a car from its parking spot.

John Muir was right when he said, "The charms of these mountains are beyond all common reason." We spent the weekend in a rustic little log cabin, built in the 1800s, at Sorensen's, where we enjoyed some R&R (at the local hotsprings and in the resort's wood-fire sauna), as well as some time on the slopes with me skiing and Andrew snowboarding. Andrew specifically enjoyed the 'cold plunge', which consisted of spending about 20 minutes in the sauna then running outside and jumping into a snowbank, then back into the sauna. Thank you, Andrew, for planning such a nice weekend away for my birthday!

Here are some pictures from our weekend, and take a look at the snow that greeted us when we opened our cabin door on Sunday morning.

A Super God on Super Tuesday

As I was driving to my polling place on my lunchbreak, my head was spinning with thoughts of this election...I was about to hold my nose and vote for a candidate who was, in my estimation, the lesser-of-two-evils, to represent my party and perhaps lead our country for the next four years. All this, in the midst of a soured economy, which could seriously affect my job in the financial sector, and a middle east crisis that seems to only get scarier.

I looked up and noticed the majestic, snow-covered mountains, and was immediately reminded that I serve a big God. Bigger than politics. Bigger than worldwide crisises. Bigger than the small cares of my day. Bigger than those incredible mountains.

In BSF, we've been studying Matthew, and I realized how much I am like Jesus' disciples. In Matthew 14, which we studied last week, Jesus had a crowd of 5,000+ in front of him, and when he asked his disciples to feed them, they were overcome with the 'bigness' of this task. They didn't have enough money. They only had 5 loaves and 2 fish. Yet, Jesus showed them that they served a big God: Jesus fed the crowd, and had 12 baskets of leftovers. This week, in Matthew 15, Jesus again had a crowd of 4,000+ in front of him. When he again asked his disciples to feed them, they again gave him a scared, unsure look: "How can we feed all these people with only seven loaves and a few small fish?". They had not learned. They needed another reminder: Their God is big enough to do the seemingly impossible.

As you face the cares and worries of your personal life and those of our world, join with me in remembering that God is bigger than all of these things. He just wants us to trust Him with them.