Daddy Day Off

Took the day off to help Sandy get ready for Olivia's and Jazlyn's birthday party tonight. Lots of excitement around here today. Olivia turned 6 today, and Jazlyn will turn 9 tomorrow! I can't believe it.

Well, a few minutes ago Ava (3 1/2) opened the front door and said, "daddy, there's a box at the door." Lo and behold, there was Olivia's present (thanks FedEx). She has been asking for an American Girl Doll for her birthday, so we finally ponied up and bought her one. She was so excited to see the cardboard box at the door, that she knew was her present (I think she probably could guess, by the size of the box what it is, but I told her is was a box of cheese and sausage).

Back in the Saddle and Burned!

So I feel like I have fallen out of the gravitational pull of the blog-o-verse, but alas I am now approaching re-orbit. Just got back from a trip to San Diego (North County actually), which was a part of my Seminary training--I know, suffering for the Lord! I spent a good deal of my time (between sessions of course) at the beach, thus the burn. When in Rome......

Part of the trip was visiting a great and creative church, North Coast Church, in Vista, CA. NCC is a church of about 7,000 which sounds a bit pretentious, until you visit them. You can read more about them here. They have pioneered a model of ministry that is quite creative and apparently in their context quite effective. They are one church with many locations, many styles, many mindsets, that are linked together each weekend by a shared teaching experience via video. Their senior pastor Larry Osborne is a great leader, and a very creative thinker. We had the chance to spend the day at his house on Friday.

Anyhow, here are some pictures of the trip for those who are interested.