California

We recently returned from a trip to California. We were there with most of my immediate family (which with in-laws, grandchildren, and potential in-law now includes 13 and one on the way). Unfortunately, Cameron and Carli had to come back to work before we arrived so we totally missed her first vacation experience with the fam. We'll catch you next time, Carli! We had a great time doing a variety of things including Legoland, the beach, shopping, driving, Disneyland, and a reunion with dear friends.

10 years ago while in Australia and New Zealand on a ministry trip I met Katelyn who then became one of my dearest friends. It was completely a "God thing" that we met at all and then have maintained a close friendship across the miles between here and California all this time. We have seen each other through graduations, a senior trip to Prince Edward Island, starting our relationships with the guys who are now our husbands, stood beside each other in our weddings, struggled as we both prayed for children and dealt with difficulty in becoming pregnant, had sons two months apart, and cried and laughed through many other emotional and spiritual ups and downs. She is a tremendous blessing to me because, while she knows many of the people in my life, she is separate enough from it to be objective and unaffected by my spilling my guts. She has even had to put up with the nickname "Big Katelyn" in order to distinguish her from my sister. We had not seen each other since my wedding five years ago and reuniting in California was such a special time. Her husband is wonderful and so sweet to be willing to take time off of work to spend with her friends. I'm so glad she has him. He and John hit it off and had a great time. Her son is absolutely precious and he and Little John played together as only two-year-olds can - with lots of supervision and reminders to share. We have promised that it will not be another five years before we see each other again. I love you, Kate, and can't thank God enough for putting you in my life.

I will post more pictures on our trip later but we're off for our first round of birthday events for John this week!