We love it when people visit us! (*hint, hint*) And you'd think living in an exotic location like Los Angeles would bring in dozens of families on vacation. Not so much. We get a few every summer, but not as many as you might imagine. I guess people do other things, like hike in Colorado or go boating on a lake somewhere rather than come to the smoggy big city, never mind that we have beaches and nice hotels and hiking and attractions and wonderful people--like us! Okay, enough of a travel sales pitch. All that to say, a few weeks ago, when I met a darling young girl at Girls' Camp whose family was planning to vacation near L.A., I immediately suggested we meet up! I didn't really think she'd see it through considering I was scaring myself away with my over enthusiasm, but she did! Last week we met her and her family at The Getty Museum, a beautiful art museum not too far from us. Amazing architecture, beautiful gardens and fountains, and, of course, lots and lots of art--it made for a fun afternoon. Well, that is to say, their oldest daughter, an art major, loved it. The younger...was patient, we'll say that. That evening we went to Santa Monica Promenade to watch the street performers and ate dinner together.
I forgot to take pictures. Well, I did snap one shot of the gardens before putting my camera away and totally forgetting about it. Typical.
But, here it is, the one I did remember to snap!
A few days later, we enjoyed some more company and a church picnic! Bill Schick brought Manuel for his routine doctor's appointment, and Karla got to come along! Karla was one of the 5 girls who lived with me at CVE. We were reminiscing that, even though that was just a little over a year ago, a lot has changed for both of us! She and her younger sister, Tania, are both in the process of being adopted by Bill and Joan. This was Karla's first time in the States!
Sunday, as I said, was a church picnic. It was gorgeous weather, the food was fantastic, and the fellowship even better! And, as is tradition, the kids broke a piñata!
Little Evy takes a swing at the shiny star!
Her older brother's turn. I love that he's wearing his candy bag as a hat!
Now they're blindfolded! I love everyone's faces here!
Some of the spectators.
Unfortunately, my camera died before I could document the mad scramble for candy which is so classic! Sorry!
The rest of the week was full of catching up with my lovely Karla. She's so grown up! This last year she did a fantastic job with the 1st and 2nd grades at the school on CVE campus, and this year she'll be teaching English. It was so good to catch up with her!
Ice cream at Manhattan Beach Creamery.
Tiramisu cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory.
Apparently we bond well over food! Random fact, we accidentally got cheesecake on National Cheesecake Day, so the place was packed but the cheesecake half price!
We spent time at the beach, went for a walk, sang together, and generally goofed around. She got to spend the night with me too, which was a lot of fun!
Actually, Karla's spending the night worked out perfectly because Jonathan left for a quick trip up to Cupertino (near San Francisco) for, of all things, a job interview at Apple. Speaking of job interviews, thank you for your prayers regarding our future. These next few months will bring lots of change to our family, and sometimes the unknown can drive us crazy! Me, especially. But we're learning the daily surrender of choosing to trust God and wait on His good timing! And He's never late! Some sweet words that have encouraged me lately:
"Be still my soul: the Lord is on your side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to your God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain...
Be still, my soul: your God does undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelled below."
I love this modernized version of the hymn sung by Jadon Lavik. Check it out.
