THE YEAR 2010

We will remain confident in the Lord's direction for our lives....

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Karate Kid

On Tuesday we signed Dylan up for karate at Sunridge Karate. Sunridge Karate is a Christian based martial arts program. In order to progress through the belts you must not only learn the martial arts, but also memorize Bible verses.

He received his white belt tonight. In order to receive it, he had to do an act of courtesy. So today at the pool, he helped a family collect their toys so they could leave and when asked to do the same for us, he said "yes, mam" and gathered cheerfully. So he is now officially a white belt. He has also memorized his first verse -

Matthew 7:12 "So in everything, do to others as you would have them do to you."

P.S. We eat lots of popsicles around here...

Saturday, July 19, 2008

New MX Gear

For many this event is not worth blogging; however, I still have to share. I know the Granddad will enjoy seeing his grandson in new MX duds.

Today we went to a MX store called Chaparrel Racing because Dylan was in need of some new gear. It was the coolest place of its type we have ever been to. It literally had everything a BIKE rider could possibly need or want. In the past I have ordered basically everything online for Dylan and Garth, but today it was great to actually have them try things on to know exactly what style and size worked the best for them. Dylan walked away with a brand new get up.
First though I want to share a picture of my little MXer about 1 1/2 years ago:












This is Dylan today -







WOW!!! He is changing and getting so much bigger.
After our purchases, we had dinner at Jason's Deli (an Aldrich staple) and then found another MX track to try out soon.
It was a fun day with the boys!
P.S. Jaydon got in on the action too -
What cute boys we have!!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

California Kid



I just had to share these pictures of Dylan. The boys got haircuts today. He has been asking for a blue mohawk, so instead we settled on "spikey" hair with some red wash-out gel in it. He thinks it is cool. We may as well have fun while its summertime. Besides........ we're in Cali!!!

Contentment

The "newness" of California is wearing off and I am really kind of ready to take residence back up in Texas - Huey Drive would be fine. I know I have friends there. Those to chat, laugh, and cry with. Those that love my husband and kids. Kiddos for Dylan and Jaydon to play with. I know exactly where Garth works and what he does. I can follow along in a conversation about his work because I know the people he works with and what they do also. I know my family can reach me or me get to them in 6 hours. I was COMFORTABLE.


Don't get me wrong, California is great. The terrain is beautiful. The weather is great. There are more than enough things to do... pools, playgrounds, etc. But, I'm not comfortable yet.

However with this rambling I do know that I am not to live in the past. We have be placed here at this appointed time by God for His reasons. I have to be content in that. I recently heard a sermon out of Matthew about Jesus healing the leper after coming down from the Mount. Basically the leper asks Jesus to heal him if it is His will. The leper fully believed Jesus could heal him, but was content (there's that word again) if He didn't because He knew Jesus' will for him was the most fulfilling way. I've read and heard this many times, but this time it hit me in a different way. I need to apply the leper's words to my life. "Lord, you have placed me here. For what reason I do not know. I know you could take me "home", but I want your will to prevail. Help me to be content where you have placed me and keep me looking forward to the things to come." I have been dwelling on these thoughts for this area of my life and my physical life. I hope that I can become so saturated with Jesus that I am content no matter where I am, who I know, or how I feel. I am such a work in progress.

Thanks for letting me share. I will share more pics and happenings from Cali soon. Tonight is "Aldrich Hang-out night". We are starting to take 2 nights a month where we get some one-on-one time with the boys. Tonight, Garth gets Dylan and I get Jaydon. Next time, we switch. I thought it would be a good idea to give them each some alone time where we can focus on them individually. I'll let you know how it went.

Till next time or next lesson learned......

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Blasts from the Past

I've got dinner started and Jaydon is still napping, so I thought I would take a moment on the computer.

Garth had a weekend of reunions.

Reunion #1

Once about 12 years ago there were two guys, Garth and Leon. They lived in Hawaii - Garth in the Coast Guard and Leon in the Marines. They met at church and were great friends while both stationed there. It is funny how things work, but now both families are stationed here at Camp Pendleton. The guys are no longer single. Leon is married with 4 children and of course, you know our family make-up. We spent the 4th here at the house with Leon and 3 of his kids. It was great to have a familiar face around.


Garth did the tradition grilling for the 4th. It was very tasty. I even made that dessert that looks like an American flag. It was fun to make and delicious. I would recommend it. So easy to make. We drove around to find some fireworks. People come out from everywhere around here for some fun. There were people all over. The fireworks were cool and Dylan even enjoyed them.


Reunion #2

This one goes way back to the high school days. Garth had friends of course that he was close to back in the "day". Well after about 15 years or so, we met Jared, his wife, and 14 month old son. What great people!! It was fun to watch Jared and Garth talk about old times, friends, and where life has led them now.


They live in San Diego, and treated us to a couple of hours at the beach. The boys had fun. Dylan loved the water. Suprisingly, Jaydon not so much. He much preferred playing the sand and making little places for puddles to form. After the beach, Jared led us on a quick driving tour of the city and then we headed for a great Mexican lunch. Back to the house and Jared became Dylan's new best friend. Those two skatedboared all over the place. Some pizza to end the day and back to Temecula we came.


Thanks to Jared and his family for hosting us for the day. We had a great time.


That is the weekend in a nutshell. Garth is back to work and I'm doing what I do best -- hang out with my boys. Tonight we are heading to the local duck pond. I can't wait to go feed the ducks "B". I just wish I had Old Blue to travel to the pond in.


Till next time...

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

We have Arrived!!

This post is dedicated to my best bro-in-law ever -- Blake!! (I'll try to keep things updated a little better now that I have internet access.)

I am now officially blogging from Temecula, California. We have been here about 2 wks. We still have a few boxes to unpack and plenty of stuff to get in it's place, but we are getting more settled into our new life by the day. We are learning our way around a new town and enjoying having mountains and the beach so close. We drove down the coast on Saturday and went for a hike after church on Sunday. The boys are enjoying the walks to the parks and area stores. I am just trying to get back into some sort of routine and looking forward to time the "newness" wears off. Garth has checked into his new command and appears to be pleased with what he will be doing. Hopefully he will get on sometime and better explain his new position. In a nutshell, he is over a group called "Charlie Company." (Sounds so M*A*S*H like doesn't it.) He will be training about 50-60 "kids" to go to Iraq or wherever called to at this point. He will officially take over the company in mid-July. That gets you caught up on what's been going on since we arrived.













Now a bit about how we got out here:

The packers took our things away June 23. We enjoyed a fun 3 day weekend with our friends and neighbors on Huey drive. We spent out last few days at the Navy Lodge while Dylan completed Kinder and Garth checked out of the command. Dylan finished strong and we are proud to announce he is officially a 1st grader. It was very difficult to leave Corpus. Who would have thought. After tearful goodbyes, we had Corpus in our rearview mirror headed for Itasca.










It was a brief stop at my parents. We arrived and were surprised by a "Leaving Texas" party. We got to see some great friends and family before heading west. It was great to see everyone and hug their necks. One nights rest at my parents, and off to New Mexico.

This is where the fun begins. Let me explain that we are hauling our family (one that will be two in August, ughhhhh), tahoe (the big red dog), and pulling a trailer loaded down with motorcycles and other various things. We get to Amarrillo and the Expo decides it is not going to accelerate. So Garth basically nurses it and pray for it. Multiple stops on the side of the road and a few stops for Garth because he had to find a toliet a few choice times and we FINALLY made it to Albuquerque. The Expo went to the shop and a heafty bill later, it was up and running again. (Thanks Dad!!) We enjoyed time with Garth's family. We visited the zoo, Explora (children's museum), a fun center with bumper boats, go carts, and games, and a rousing game of croquet with Garth's cousin Claire and hubby Nick. It was great to see everyone and the boys enjoyed some time with the grandparents.










We then headed for Southfork,CO. Our home away from home. We met up with my parents, Blake and Nissy, and my grandparents. We shared a cabin together and had great times. The Expo once again returned to the shop for something else, but this time covered under warranty. (Thank God) And the guys of the group had to change a tire on it. This year's highlights of the trip were the boys riding dirtbikes and our hiking trips with Blake and Nissy. It is so strange to go there every year and do the same things, yet I already can't wait to get back. Dylan says he wishes it was his HOMEPLACE. I can't blame him. Our hope and prayer is that it will be his home at least for a few months in the summer at some point in the future. When out time was up it was time to say goodbye. Boy, that was a tough one. BUT, we got through it and are looking forward to the visits.













We continued on our journey. We got to see the Four Corners and stopped for a few hours at the Grand Canyon. We stayed the night in Kingman, AZ and made it to Temecula the next day.










It was a long haul. It was hard to be that unsettled for that long for everyone. But, it was a neat month. We are now looking forward to what God has for us here. Obviously something because I know His plan is perfect. It is so peaceful to rest in that. I have so much that I would love to share that I have learned even to this point, but I will save that for another time.

By the way, we really missed not seeing Buddo. The Alive Campaing is in Portland today. I can't believe that they are getting so close to their destination. I love reading their blog and keeping up with the happenings. It sounds like it has been quite an adventure. I can't wait to visit with him when it is over and hear about everything. Jaydon needs to see his Uncle. He sees random young guys with brown hair and says, "Hi, Bobbo!" I hope they don't think a 2 year old is calling them something else.

Ok -- that is long enough. Hope this finds everyone well.

Many blessings!