Back home.

The Beach Cottage welcomed us home to stay just a little over a week ago.  The following days were some of the craziest yet with dozens of visitors pouring into L.A. to celebrate with Ben and Suzy on their wedding day!  The ceremony was beautiful, the bride was beautiful, the flowers I brought home after helping cut the cake were beautiful, and, most of all, the fellowship was beautiful!

I especially enjoyed a traditional Sunday afternoon walk with this dear girl!

Well, not really traditional, I guess.  

We usually walked the dusty paths of CVE; this was a beach walk!

Jonathan's family was also in town for the wedding and stayed the following week soaking up days at the beach and enjoying family time with aunts and uncles and cousins.  After seeing them off, I celebrated the fact that we were home to stay by giving the Beach Cottage a good going over!

Then...well, now, I guess, life starts getting back to "normal".  Is it even okay to say "normal" on this blog dedicated to chronicling the "abnormal", the times where everyday life gives way to adventures?  The fact of the matter is, our life feels so far from back-to-normal I think I may keep up this little chronicle, just to have a record of the adventures we seem to find even in the everyday stuff.

Like take the past week for example.  You can imagine the unknown mounting ahead of us: Jonathan's dissertation defense in the fall, graduation in December--right after we welcome the upheaval of Silly Goose's arrival into the world, and then...well, a job.  But where?  Here in L.A.?  Back in Illinois, with the same company that just took us all over the world and close to family?  Or somewhere else entirely?  And with job opportunities come other decisions like where to live.  If you can imagine all that, then you can probably imagine the kinds of conversations we've been having.  To top it all off, just a few days at home in dear California and I was clinging to the idea of never leaving again.  I like it here.  I love our church, our romantic little Beach Cottage, the gorgeous weather, having extended family close by.  God had to do some major work in my heart as I listened to Jonathan's big dreams because his heart hasn't settled here like mine did so quickly.  When things came to a head and I shut up enough to listen to the Spirit's call to be surrendered to His plan for us, it seemed like all we could do was wait.  Yes, there were major decisions to be made.  But nothing looked like it would be cleared up in a week, no matter how many times we hashed it out.  Wait.  Be patient.  Know God in this moment.  It's a tough place to be in, but a sweet one.

And then, BANG!  It's all thrown back at us and into our conversations again.  Nothing will be settled in a week?  No, probably not.  But we did find out that a day can bring some pretty significant opportunities.  In the course of a few hours, a new idea was on the table casting a different light on the upcoming fall.  What will come of it?  God only knows.  But meanwhile we've have a good lesson in waiting on Him, 'cause He's got some crazy adventures up His sleeves, that's for sure!