Sorry for the long delay in posts, but before I start with fresh resolve for the coming year, I'd love to record a bit of 2010 first. It was a wonderful year, full of adventure and joy in the midst of regular old life. Many days ran together, but themes did emerge...
Beach Days! We all love the beach, whether it is boogie boarding, playing in the sand, exploring the tidepools, making new friends, or even just sleeping in the sun. We camped at El Capitan beach near Santa Barbara for a week in June and loved it! I expect it may become an annual tradition. Carson is always in the water. He even tried a surf camp this summer- not quite successful yet but he did learn the basics. Henry is the engineer of sand castles while Natalie and Peter love to dig and collect sea life. We spent many Mondays (Eric's day off) as well as summer Fridays (with our homeschool group) at Corona Del Mar in Newport.
Rainy Days. Yes, it does rain in California and our roof leaked, but the kids love rain and run outside as soon as it starts for fear it will be over too fast. They play in streams on our culdesac and ride bikes in the rain. While camping in Flagstaff, AZ (Lake Mary) this summer with my brothers family, we had lots of rain and the kids were quite creative with their mudpies and mud houses. No, it's not snow; but it does get us excited around here.
School Days. There have been plenty of school days this past year. Carson (4th), Henry (2nd), Natalie (1st) and Peter (preschool) have each been excellent students in our homeschool here known as "Eagle Eye Academy". We studied the Roman Empire last spring and are finishing up the Middle Ages now. There have been lots of fun projects and field trips- the Getty Villa (a full scale reproduction of a Roman villa in Malibu) was a highlight. And of course the Middle Ages have been a blast learning about castles and knights and vikings. We've read lots of good books this year including Alice in Wonderland, Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Tales of King Arthur and the Secret Garden. We are also part of a home school co-op (Irvine Christian Academy) where the kids got to be part of their first drama production.
Saturday Sports. Carson and Henry were just the right ages to be able to play on the same
baseball team this spring (Irvine Pony machine pitch). It was the first season for both of them and they did an awesome job as they improved. Natalie also had her first chance at a sport this year and played on a girls under 6 soccer team. Turns out she's a pretty intense competitor!
Sunday Church. We love Sovereign Grace Church of Orange County! It's exciting to have Sunday morning services at the OC Plaza since Easter and to keep building friendships with people here, including some brand new families. Eric is doing an awesome job preaching and leading. The kids and I love helping him out any way we can. We get to host guest receptions and home groups at the house and the kids are growing in their love and care for all the people around them. We get to send Dad off to meetings like the Preaching Practicum, T4G, and Leadership Conferences. And everyone loved going to the Sovereign Grace Together conference in San Diego (especially since we got to hang out with some old friends!)
Date Nights. I love date nights! And so do the kids. Eric and I get to go out alone together almost every week. We have some great babysitters. Since August, our friend Kipsy has been living with us while finding a new job. She is a dear sister who loves our kids and is quick to help around the house and send us out. Eric and I like to walk to the local coffee shop or go to the beach. We went away for a weekend in Beverly Hills in the spring and to a concert this fall. We are still in the stage of exploring Orange County and LA any chance we get.
Family Visitors. We love having extended family come to visit! It's always a sweet bonding time with cousins, siblings, and grandparents, And it's an excuse to do more fun things like the beach, whale watching trips, Sawdust festival, OC Great Park, bike rides, etc. I flew back to PA with Natalie and Peter to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday and got to be with all my siblings in one place. Eric's parents and sister Heather came to join us for Christmas and we celebrated in high style.
Vacation Days. It was a great year for vacations. We try to get away as a family regularly even for a short time. We spent some time at a friend's home in Fallbrook, camping at El Capitan with a side trip to Six Flags, camping with my brother and family near Flagstaff AZ (with his boat!), then some time in the mountains dog sitting and four wheeling in the desert. What memories!
All the other days. too many to describe: sick days (gratefully few), holidays(with new friends and old), losing teeth days (many!), lazy days, grumpy days, lego days, birthdays, cleaning days, even a few video game days in there. I'm grateful for this past year, grateful for this particular season of life that the Lord has us in. He is always good, but He is choosing to show His goodness to us through a season of blessing and prosperity right now and I give Him all the glory for it!
Natalie was an excellent server and insisted that we all keep our pinkies up! (She is also pretty proud of those missing teeth if you didn't notice.)
