Merry Christmas

We know this is the First Post in quite some time but it's better late than never.

So as you can see in the pics above, we woke up this A.M. to frost all over. It was on the roof, on the grass, and on a bunch of the cars but, being from Florida, I thought it was snow :-).

Jenn and I are getting ready to fly home for a week and are so excited. We'll be home from the 20th-28th , just long enough to defrost a little.

Speaking of defrosting, I got to go surf yesterday afternoon and scored some good little waves (waist to chest high) just up the road from the school. The water wasn't too cold since I've got a good wetsuit, but when I got out of the water and tried to change in 39 degree weather my hands quickly became numb. It was so bad that it took me about 5min. to get my car key off of the elastic loop on my wetsuit, after getting it off I could barely turn the key to start my car and once I had changed and got on my way it took about 15min. to regain the feeling in my hands.

Well thats all for now, we will do our best to keep you all up to date on all the fun.

Abel

Happy Birthday Abel!

Shh...don't tell him I told you, but Abel turns 30 today! Please leave a comment with your birthday wishes.
Love you babe!

Chihuly

Abel & I love this artist's glasswork. We saw his exhibit 2 years ago at Fairchild Tropical Gardens & it amazed us. We've seen pieces in different museums & his studio at the Bellagio hotel this summer. So when we saw he had an exhibit here at the deYoung museum in San Fran we knew we had to see it. His art is amazing....I had to show you a few pics so you could see what I mean.

It was completely different than the display at the Gardens. Remember, it's all blown glass. The colors are breathtaking.
The display that resembles the Native American baskets was one of my favorites simply because it was so different than anything I'd seen before.
There was a room with many pieces layed in the ceiling- it makes you want to lay down & never get up again. It was really cool.
We were so inspired & enjoyed it so much- we are planning to visit Chihuly's hometown (Tacoma, Washington) sometime while we're in Cali. They have a glass museum with a hot shop where you can watch other glass blowers work. Chihuly also has pieces around the town in various places as well as a whole bridge filled with his art. Hope you enjoyed the slideshow! Find what inspires you and share it with us.

My New Job

Sorry I haven't updated lately. It's amazing how much time a job takes up! =)
I work for Golden Gate Regional Center which exists to help individuals with developmental disabilities and their families receive services to become more independent. It's completely different than anything I've done before so I am learning a lot, but it's mostly a paperwork position. The perks are: the office is 2 miles from our home, the schedule is very flexible, and I'll be continuing the process to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (which is my ultimate career goal, for now). Everyone is very nice and helpful and I've enjoyed getting to know them while they help me learn what I'm doing.
If nothing else, it's good to get a paycheck again!
Thanks to everyone who prayed- I believe God answered with just what I needed.

Cats, You Either Lovem or You Don't

Hitting the Books Hard

So classes started last week and I've hit the ground running. I am registered for six classes, which although sounds like a lot is not so bad yet since one of them is a two day (8hr) class which does not occur till the last weekend in Oct. and the first weekend in Nov. I am however pushing the limit since I am taking two somewhat intense history classes. (Old Testament intro 1 and Survey of Christianity to 1517) I kind of like it better this way because the pressure forces me to stay up to date with my reading and projects.

On a different note Jenn was offered a job yesterday and will begin next week. This is a big blessing since we have heard mixed stories about the difficulties others have had in finding jobs. We continue to experience Gods blessings at every turn. We are very grateful for the prayers of our friends and family.

God has also blessed us with some new friendships most of which are couples in which the husbands surf and the wives are either pregnant or have a newborn. Which means that while Jenn gets to hang out with the ladies and the babies I get to hang with the boys and go surf.

Their is so much that we are thankful about and so much that we are loving about our new home.

We will try to keep you all up to date on all the latest as best we can but it is becoming really easy to forget in the midst of all the fun and busyness.

Talk to you all again soon.

It's Official....

After two visits to the DMV, taking the written test, and paying all the fees....
Smog certificate (that we didn't need)...$65
2 new license...$56
Registration...$185
Special license plate holder for the front of the car...$50
They're going to let us drive in California! =)
Can I tell you...I felt like I was 16 again. That written test was tricky! I kept thinking about how embarrassing it would be if I didn't pass, but I guessed on at least 11 of the questions (out of 36). I guess I should have read the handbook, oh well.
I also drove over both the Golden Gate bridge and the Bay bridge into Oakland, in addition to the streets of San Francisco (in our car with a stick shift)...so I feel like I passed my driver's test as well. =)

I thought I'd include a list of other things we've seen here in Cali you don't experience in Florida:

• coyote and deer in the front yard
• cactus leafs in the produce section at the grocery store
• goats to "mow" the grass on the hills
• sweaters & scarfs in the summer

(This picture was taken on our first day in California...fortunately it's warmed up over the last few days) I gotta say...we're lovin it though.

Weekend Review

This weekend was great....Fri night the school had a Luau for the new married students and their spouses. They had a roasted pig and everything! The seminary has really gone out of their way to make everyone feel welcome and especially to make sure the spouses feel included. It's very nice.

Saturday morning Abel got to try out his new surfboard. We got up at 7:30AM to find some waves (in 60 degree weather!). Luckily both spots had the parking lot nearby so I was able to sit in the car and still see the water. Abel's lips were so frozen after a half hour that I couldn't understand what he was saying. =) He had fun but realized that it's better to go in the afternoons when it's a bit sunnier and only worth going out when the waves are really good, b/c it's really cold! He has also met a couple of guys that surf, so hopefully I won't have to sit in the car every weekend. =)


Then Sat night we ate dinner with our neighbors before their friends came over and we all hung out watching the Rick Warren interviews. Their friends were really nice and we had fun hanging out with them. One couple has a two week old baby girl! She was precious and I got to snuggle with her for a long time. I love having friends with babies (sorry Dad, I don't think it's rubbing off on me. I still like handing them back over to go home with their parents). =)


Today was a great day too. We drove about 45 minutes to Santa Rosa to visit this cool church- New Vintage Church. They had Mac Powell from Third Day visiting and the whole service was like a worship concert. The church had an environment that was a lot like Flamingo Road, so it made us feel good to be there. And the music was great! We probably won't make that trip every Sunday, but it was fun to be there today. After lunch we drove back towards Napa and saw all the vineyards. It was a beautiful and relaxing drive and the weather was warmer than where we live. A nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.


We're really enjoying living in California! 'Til next time....

Home Sweet Home

We officially arrived in San Fran last Tues. at about 5 P.M. after a long but beautiful drive up the coast. In the days that followed our arrival we worked hard to get all our stuff unpacked, we shopped for and purchased some furniture for our space, and after getting everything set up we have been showing my parents around and enjoying some of the cool sights around San Fran and Marin county where we live.

It's beautiful here, the weather is cool at night and in the 70s-low 80s during the day. We have really nice neighbors and are looking forward to meeting more people as the week goes on. Here's a few pics of our new place so you can picture where we live.

We miss everyone back home! Abel signed up for classes last night and I've started applying for jobs- please keep us in your prayers.

Viva Las Vegas

Vegas was….well, hot! We were a little tired and over the desert heat by the time we arrived so we actually spent most of the time resting in our hotel room. And even then, we were suppose to stay on the Strip in the New York New York hotel, but chose to stay in a Doubletree 5 minutes off the Strip both nights instead. We thought it was great. We needed the rest, and coming from all of God’s beauty we’ve seen in the last week the Strip wasn't very appealing to us.

We did have one special Vegas night, Sunday night, we had dinner at Olive’s in the Bellagio hotel and then saw the Cirque du Soleil show “O”.

It was incredible; the Cirque people really know how to wow your senses! O is the show where they incorporate water into the performance- so there were divers and swimmers as well as the acrobatic routines. There are several Cirque du Soleil shows in Vegas, and it was worth going to Vegas just for the show. In front of the Cirque theater there was an art exhibit that featured sculptures of different Cirque performers. That was really neat too. We watched the famous fountain show in front of the Bellagio hotel a couple of times which was a cool ending to the Cirque show we had just seen. We didn’t walk around any of the other hotels but we enjoyed our time at the Bellagio.

We missed the beach, so we headed out this morning and drove to Laguna Beach, which is just south of LA. The weather is amazing, and we loved being in the cool breeze! We then drove up the coast to Ventura Beach, which is just south of Santa Barbara. The drive took a lot longer than we expected, but there were a few pretty beaches along the way. Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be our official last day on the road. We hope to arrive in San Fran in time to have dinner with Abel's parents. They flew in on Saturday (Happy Birthday to Rosa!) to help us move in. We've had an awesome trip, our dream vacation became a reality, and now we are ready to see our new home. We'll let you know what it's like so you can begin planning your vacation to visit us! =)

Isn't it Grand?

We arrived in the Grand Canyon on Friday night after a long day of driving and exploring Antelope Canyon. We had reservations to stay in a cabin along the rim of the Grand Canyon and it was beautiful. The weather was cooler when we arrived, which was great. We got dinner, sat at a table next to the window, and watched the colors change as the sun went down. We walked around and watched the sun set before heading into bed for an early night’s sleep.

We woke up early and enjoyed the cool breeze and stillness of the early morning. There were very few people out on the rim and we decided to walk along the rim for several miles while it was still cool out. We saw two deer feeding along the path and continued to take in the vast beauty of the Grand Canyon. About 10am we got on a shuttle and rode out to the furthest point along the South Rim to see a different part of the Canyons. We climbed the Watch Tower and saw an amazing view of the River. After a long ride back on the shuttle, we had lunch, and headed on to Las Vegas. On our way out of the park there was a huge elk feeding on the side of the road. It was so cool, and it totally didn’t seem to mind all the cars pulling off or the many people staring and taking pictures of it.

The Grand Canyon is an amazing site. We really enjoyed the early evening and early morning times, when there were less crowds. It was so calming. There’s not much to do but look at the Grand Canyon, but it is breathtaking.

Antelope Canyon

Antelope Canyon was simply amazing. It is one of God’s wonders. We spent more than two hours walking through and just couldn’t get enough of the simplistic beauty. The swirled patterns, shapes of the rocks, and the rays of light were mesmerizing.

To get to it you walk out into the desert and squeeze through these cracks in the surface. There are steps and ladders at times to help you descend. If you look thru the pictures you can see some of the path we took. They lead tours through the Canyon, but we bought a photo pass which allowed us to go through on our own pace.

After Antelope Canyon, we drove by Horseshoe Bend to see this beautiful river. Only I was toooo hot, so I turned back and sat in the car w/ the AC on full blast while Abel hiked on. So I'm enjoying this beauty through the same pictures you are. =)







It was amazing. Definitely a day trip you have to do when you visit Sedona and the Grand Canyon….which everyone should do. =) It has been an incredible trip and we’ve been trying to burn all this beauty into our memories forever.

We were in the Grand Canyon Fri night and Saturday so we are a bit behind on posting updates. Today we are resting in Las Vegas before dinner and a show on the Strip. We'll post more on the Grand Canyon soon. We've changed our plans a little so we will head to California tomorrow so that our last day we can travel up the coast all the way to San Francisco. We're looking forward to leaving the desert behind and being at the beach again! Til next time....

Speechless in Sedona

Today we were blessed once again to spend the day enjoying God's creation as we continued on this trip of a lifetime.

We spent the day in Sedona, AZ where we started our day hiking in Red Rock State Park. While on our hike we came across a field of wild flowers, (if you stood quite all you could hear was the sound of bees buzzing), we saw a snake crossing the trail, a colored lizard, and we came up on a deer grazing who seemed as curious and interested in us as we were of him. The park was awesome, although it got really hot quick, we did get to enjoy not only the wildlife but the amazing scenic views as well.

After lunch we went to a place called Red Rock Crossing which was just outside the state park. We took pictures and sat in the shade next to the creek to take in the scenery and cool off. The pictures say it all.We later went up to see this cathedral that was built into the rocks. It was beautiful.

AND finally we ended our day with an off road jeep tour that was out of this world.

So far this has been my favorite stop. It reflects God's beautiful creation everywhere you look. In fact our jeep tour guide said something which was amusing. "even the gas stations have a view in this town"

Jenn and I feel so blessed to be able to experience all this and we've been able to spend so much time talking about how awesome God has been to us. We are totally having a blast and we wish that you guys could experience this to so we hope that the pictures and stories will do for know and maybe they will inspire your next vacation.

White Sand Dunes

Today we woke up at 5 AM to repack the car and head to another destination. Today’s trip took us by the White Sands National Monument.

The White Sands is a large area where all you can see are the white sand dunes with the mountains blue in the background. It was quite beautiful. It was sort of like being on a beach in the middle of the mountains. You can walk around on them, camp out, picnic, and even sled down the dunes (although we didn’t). Again it was hard to capture the vast beauty that we saw on the camera.

Around the White Sands is an Air Force Base so we saw several planes flying around while we were there. And there’s also a Missile Range surrounding the White Sands, it was kind of cool!

Once in Arizona we started to see Saguaro Cacti along the road.

We got into Sedona tonight about 6:00 and learned that we gained another hour! Today’s drive took us 11 hours….but we were amazed as soon as we started to see the Red Rocks. It is unbelievable- this is the best part of our trip so far. The views are spectacular, and our hotel room has a full wall of windows that face the mountains. We can’t wait to check it all out tomorrow. We had an awesome dinner tonight with the same view- it was near perfection. Below is the view from our room- I’m not sure how we’re ever going to leave…

Carlsbad Caverns

Carlsbad Caverns is awesome! It is a must-see-in-your-lifetime place. It is so amazing, and so hard to describe it all. We went on two guided tours and through two self-guided areas, each were unique and fascinating! It sort of reminded me of scuba diving, but without the water, because it was like being in a different world. Other times it reminded me of sand castles. It was neat to think about how the early explorers experienced the caverns, which is something the rangers talked a lot about. These Caves were discovered by a 16 year old kid. We had a chance in both tours to experience a "blackout"- I know I couldn't have gone in those caves 100 years ago!
Hope you enjoy the pictures, it's not the same as being there, but I think some of them came out good. Be sure to read the captions along the bottom for a little more explanation.

Tomorrow we're headed to Sedona, AZ but first we're going to go by the White Sands National Monument. We've heard the white sand dunes are another must-see in NM so we're looking forward to checking them out. Thanks for following us along on our trip across the country! Til next time.....

On the road again...

Today we drove from New Orleans to Carlsbad, New Mexico. Yup, all the way through TEXAS!

We traveled 995 miles and it took us 15 hours, not including our stop for lunch. It wasn’t too bad though, and it’ll be our longest stretch of the trip. We were just really excited to be getting out West. We’ve never driven out here so it’s fun to see different things.

We saw some billy goats by the side of the road; don’t usually see those in Florida! We passed windmill farms also. Abel’s favorite part of the day was when we passed San Antonio and the speed limit went up to 80 miles an hour. (See photo for proof) =)

Tomorrow we’ll be underground all day…which I’m excited about escaping the heat!! The only thermometer we saw was in Houston and it said 98.

Not sure if we’ll get any good pictures inside the caves, but you’ll see them if we do! Till next time…

Our Day In New Orleans

We spent the day checking out New Orleans. We started by going to the City Park, where we visited the Botanical Garden and the Sculpture Garden. We then drove into the heart of the famous French Quarter to meet up with our friends Jennifer & Ryan. Jenn & Ryan took us to lunch and then sightseing around the Quarter. We saw the St. Louis Cathedral in front of Jackson Square, we walked through the French Market, down by the river (where you could see the unfortunate results of the tanker spill that occured just a few days ago), and we had coffee & beignets at the world famous Cafe Du Monde.

It was realy HOT, kinda like in South Florida but we had a good time and it was good to hang out with friends.

Tomorrow we're off to Carlsbad, NM which is supposed to be a 14hr. drive but I'm sure it will be fun.

San Francisco Here We Come

We’re out of Florida!! We arrived in New Orleans after 12 hours on the road. (Abel wasn’t speeding too much) We got to eat lunch in Tallahassee (where I went to college), so that was a nice perk to our day!
For those that don’t know our itinerary, here it is: Our trip began with driving to New Orleans. We’ll stay here for a day, then we’ll drive to Carlsbad, NM to see the Caverns. After that we head to Sedona, AZ to see the Red Rocks. Then we’ll stay in the Grand Canyon for a day. We go by Page, AZ to see Lake Powell and Antelope Canyons and then our final stop will be Las Vegas.
Leave us a comment and let us know if you have any suggestions for places to eat, or things to see along the way. If you’ve been to any of these places, or heard of things we should check out, let us know!
Check back for photos, we’ll be trying to post daily. We’re taking you all along with us on our trip across the country. San Francisco…here we come!
We are going to have a contest running this week- leave a comment below: what do you think the cheapest we will pay for gas on our trip, and what will be the most expensive? For extra credit-in what state do you think we’ll find this gas? Be sure to enter your guess….there may be a prize for the winner(s)…..

Goodbye's

It's been a busy week filled with all sorts of packing and preparing for our trip.

We’ve packed all our stuff into the small container which my father in law and friend Jimbo thought would not be big enough to hold all our stuff. (Yes it was small but just as I thought it was the exact size for all of our stuff, and since it is all nice and snug I don’t think anything will be shifting.)

We’ve spent the last 2 days spending time with our family and some close friends to say our goodbyes. But although we are excited about our move, and we have enjoyed hanging out with our friends and family, it has been tough. We have so many people that love and support us and we feel so blessed and grateful for that.

We love you guys and will be thinking of you. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Our Last Weekend

This weekend was our last weekend home before our big move and it was full of good times and great memories with friends and family.

- Saturday we spent the day at my parents house where my brother and his wife were having a baby dedication service for my niece Izabella. My uncle who is a pastor, and married Jenn and I, did the service and it was very special because of how personal it was. But if that wasn't special enough, my family had also asked my uncle and aunt to say a few words and pray for Jenn and I as we head out to seminary and this new chapter of our lives. It was fun to hang with family, eat great food, and share love with each other.

- On Sunday night Jenn's parents hosted a going away party for us at their home. They invited our friends from church and we had snacks and just hung out visiting and laughing with friends.

I know some of you reading this were there and Jenn and I want you to know how grateful we are to have friends and family that love us so much. We appreciated you spending time with us, we appreciated the sweet cards and gifts that we received from you all and we mostly are grateful that you helped us make a memory that we will remember when we think of all of you. God bless you guys and thank you.

It's Been a While

I haven't posted much lately but I must say that Jenn has been doing an awesome job of keeping our blog up to date. I'm sure you can imagine how busy one can get just weeks before moving across the country. I have been keeping busy doing some good old manual labor in order to make a few extra bucks before our trip so it's been tough to post stuff when all I've wanted to do is come home and rest. I spent the last few weeks doing tile work and although it's hard work it is a lot of fun. I've demolished two bathrooms cut and grouted tile put up sheet rock and helped install a huge glass block window. Here are just a few pics of it all.



Although it was fun I'm glad to be done cause with only 4 more days till the big move Jenn and I will need to get busy boxing stuff up and getting all the final preparations taken care of for our move.

Surprises

Last weekend was full of surprises! Saturday night we celebrated my grandmother's 80th birthday, only her birthday is still a month away so she had no idea we were planning this. She was shocked when her daughter's walked in the door and shocked again when they walked into the restaurant to see the rest of the family. It was great to see everyone (or almost everyone) together and to celebrate Nonny's birthday as a family.

Then on Sunday we celebrated Izaac's birthday a little early by taking him to Lion Country Safari. It was lots of fun and so cool to see the animals so close up! Izaac loves animals, especially monkeys, and he even got to feed a giraffe! The park had lots of little rides, a water park, miniature golf, tons of things for us to do. It was a great day and we made lots of special memories. We came home and had dinner with the family and surprised Izaac with a birthday cake and presents.


The only surprise we didn't like last weekend was to find out that the Sawgrass youth team had planned a going away party for us and we had other plans! We felt so bad for missing it, but they were sweet enough to send us a picture. We love you guys and will miss you all so much!

Time

Sometimes time flies, sometimes it seems to stand still. It can be a motivation, it can be a trap.

We find time to do things we want to do, we lose time if front of the TV or computer.

I've just been contemplating time lately- how we prioritize it, how our perspective on it changes...

I've got 4 days left of work, we are leaving town in 2 weeks, and we won't see our new "home" in California for another month! Some days it seems right around the corner, other days it doesn't seem like it'll ever be real.

It's interesting how much more important it is to us and our friends to get together knowing that we don't have much more time for such visits. We've been making the most of every day to make sure we get all our tasks done. We've gone to all those appointments that we tend to put off. I wish we'd live every day like this. Who do we really want to spend time with or what do we really want to do but can't seem to find the time?

It's kind of like the question of what would you do if you knew you only had __ days to live.

I guess that's what's called living life on purpose. Pastor Troy is always talking about that- how we are racing against the clock. No one really knows how long each of us have left here on Earth.

Sorry if this post is random, it's just what's been on my mind lately....

We're looking forward to hanging out in the pool, having a BBQ, and watching fireworks with both of our families together! We hope you enjoy the day relaxing, eating good food, and spending time with your friends or family too.

I love fireworks! The coolest show I've seen was in NY City, but we've enjoyed fireworks on land and by boat- in the Keys, on the west coast, and here in South Florida.

What's your favorite place to watch fireworks?

GARAGE SALE

28 days till we move and we are just about ready. We are having a garage sale tomorrow so we spent all afternoon and night pricing things and getting things ready to go. At about a quarter to 9:00 tonight I went out to try to get some more signs and can I just tell you it was a bad idea. I was to worn out from all the mess and I knew that Home Depot would be closing soon but I went anyways. I got to one store and they didn't have any more garage sale signs that stand up so I went to another one a couple miles away which the cashier told me should be open till ten. (Thats where it began to get fun/funny/annoying.) I get to the second one 2mins. after nine and the lady at the door tells me they're closed (they close at 9:00 go figure). I explained my situation and she was kind enough to let me run in. So you probably think great you got the sign but no! they didn't have the one I was looking for (the stand up kind) so I grabbed my next best option and went home only to find that I somehow overlooked the fact that in all my tired frustration I grabbed two OPEN HOUSE signs instead. I was ticked! But what ya gonna do that's life. Hopefully we'll have better luck with the actual selling part and make some good money off of our stuff. Moral of the story when you are tired and in a hurry remember to double check what you've got before you leave the store cause there's a good chance you've overlooked some small detail. :-0

Sawgrass Students Represtenting This Week @ Student Life Camp

I went on to the STUDENT LIFE website tonight to check on our Flamingo Road Church Sawgrass High school students and I was so excited to have come across a few pics of our students representing. These students rock and how about Craig sporting the Sawgrass Volunteer shirt (you're the man Craig).

Week in Review

Here's a brief update on all the fun we've been having lately. In the past week we celebrated Father's Day twice (actually three times), had Game Night at the Kauffmans, Abel went to Middle School Summer Camp, Krystal turned 15 (it was my first Quinces!), and we got to see Celia last night! We're LOVIN spending time with our family.

Could You Survive a "Japanese Game Show"

If you have ever come across these Japanese game show videos on You Tube you might be as excited as I am about the fact that This summer ABC will be hosting "I Survived a Japanese Game Show". They will sending some poor Americans to Japan to see if they can survive the most awesome Japanese Game Show Challenges.

I can't wait to sit back with some Chocolate chip cookies & milk and laugh my head off as I watch this summer.

Another Master

Congratulations to Landy on finishing his Master's degree!! What a great example of perseverance. I don't know how you managed to do it all while working full time and raising two kids, but you and Sandra are an inspiration to us. We'll keep you in mind when life and Seminary get tough b/c I never saw either of you lose your cool. I'm not sure I would have been so nice when as sleep-deprived as you both were!

My First Post!

So you may have noticed a few changes....for starters I had to get rid of the orange and green. Sorry, but we are a house divided (go FSU!). I'm new to the blogworld so hopefully this will improve as we journey together, but I felt it was time to add my two cents in- now you'll all really see how different Abel and I are! =)

I too am VERY excited about our move to CA. I've found the way for me to have contentment in this life is to view everything in seasons...we've just passed through a season of growth and preparation. It's been a long & tough season at times, but we wouldn't be able to pursue these awesome opportunities in front of us if we hadn't followed His guidance. Sometimes it can be hard to see God at work, but I trust that He's always there. I've learned He's got even bigger and better things planned if I can just be patient and wait on His reveal.

So, I look forward to sharing this next season with you! I can tell it's going to be pretty cool already (I mean, hello...California?!?) but we are leaving behind lots of friends and loved ones- so this will be our way of staying in touch. Hope you will leave your comments when you stop by to say hello. 'Til next time.....



PS- does anyone know if sharing a blog is recommended for married couples? This may be a whole new experiment! =)

My nephew Izaac is 3yrs old and is totally attached to my wife and I. In fact he wakes up at least once a week telling his parents that he misses his Tio & Tia (uncle & aunt). So my wife and I have been trying to spend extra time with him and figure out ways to talk to him about us moving. Yesterday I went by Barnes & Nobles to try to find books that help children understand what it means to be moving because we were having Izaac spend the night and were going to try to talk to him about it. Unfortunately I had no luck except for a book that talks about dad leaving on buiseness trips which I might use to create an original book to suite our needs. So we didn't find the book but he spent the night and we had a blast. This morning we watched the disney channel and I took him to preschool. When I dropped him off at school he had a little stuffed wonder pets turtle that he convinced me he could bring to school for nap time (not true I got punked) but you know thats what being an uncle is all about "spoiling kids".
I had fun and so did he as allways but I have to say it was tough spending time with him and thinking about how much we will miss him while we are gone.

Dental Work

I've been trying to take care of a few things before Jenn and I move and one of those happens to be my teeth. As a kid I used to fall all the time and I knocked out a bunch of my baby teeth before they were ready to come out. Because of this I had a tooth that did not grow in correctly and was covered with bonding to correct it at the time. Now that I have reached adulthood the bonding and the tooth are no longer any good, in fact the tooth had a fracture beneath the bonding and the only thing that could be done would be to have a root canal done followed by capping the old tooth.
So I've had the root canal done and today I went in (and as you can see from the pictures) they took a grinder and ground down my tooth to a little nub, placed a temporary cap on it and sent out for a permanent cap to be made. Some of you out there might have had this done before and if so it's no big deal to you, but this is a first for me and I've gotta say it was an interesting and creepy experience.

Last Day As A Teacher

Today was the last day of school for me as a teacher. I have a bachelors degree in elementary education with a certification in the area of exceptional student education (ESE). After graduating 5 years ago I was hired at the school where I did my student teaching and have taught 4th grade there for the last four years. It has been a rewarding experience as well as one full of challenges and self discovery. I have learned a lot about myself as I have been able to reflect on my own childhood experiences in school and use the lessons learned to encourage, challenge, and empower kids. Today however I closed the door to that chapter of my life to continue moving towards my calling in life.

You see I went into education as a step towards becoming a pastor. I had been volunteering in the student ministry at my church when I chose education after realizing that God had gifted me to work with students and kids and felt called to ministry. At the time I was not ready to step into full time ministry so I continued as a volunteer, worked towards becoming a teacher, and then taught, knowing that eventually I would go on to seminary. So today I spent my last day in the classroom as a teacher and will soon be stepping back into the classroom as a seminary student pursuing my Masters in Divinity and continuing to do my best to be faithful to God's leading.
I will miss being a teacher and am thankful for how God has used me to minister to parents and students while teaching in a public school but I must say that I know it is time to move on and am excited about the road ahead.

Seniors

The summer is finally here which means that the class of 2008 has officially graduated. At our Flamingo Road Church Sawgrass Campus we took time to recognize our graduating seniors. We gave them each a congratulations card signed by the leaders and then we treated them to lunch at P.F. Chang's China Bistro. It was great to get to hang out with them and talk about their plans as well as reminisce on the fact that all though it seems like my Senior year wasn't long ago it has already been 12 years since I graduated from High School :( I am starting to accept the fact that I am getting old . Well we had a great time and they all enjoyed the food.

Traveling On the Mind

OK, so on July 26th Jenn and I will begin our trip across the US as we make our way to San Fran. Along the way we will be stopping at a few places that we have always wanted to visit together and do a bit of sight seeing. We are basically making a road trip vacation out of it. We will stop in New Orleans/ Carlsbad, New Mexico/ Sedona, Arizona/ The Grand Canyon/ Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona/ and Las Vegas where we will visit the Hoover Dam. You see we figured we have to drive across the country and stop as we go, so why not pick out the scenic spots along the way and enjoy them as we head off on our new adventure.

As we go we will be taking pictures and posting about our daily experiences so that you all (our family and friends) can share our experience thanks to the advantages of modern technology. We are so excited, but as time draws nearer we are also sad to leave all of you and will miss you all dearly. We hope that through this blog we can keep you all up to date on what God is doing in our lives as well as stay in touch. So, please feel free to drop us a comment every once in a while and enjoy the pictures and posts that we share.

In the mean time I'm sure you could understand how hard it must be to not have traveling on my mind.

The Clock is Ticking

June 5th is my last day as a 4th grade teacher and I'm doing all I can to stay focused and finish strong, but I must admit that I can't stop thinking about July. You see This blog is all about what is happening this July when Jenn and I will be moving so that I can follow Gods call on my life to attend Seminary to receive a Masters in Divinity (MDIV). Jenn and I are moving across the country from South Florida all the way out to San Francisco, CA where I will attend GGBTS (Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary) and although we are sad to leave our friends and family, we are excited about what God has in store for us in this next stage of our life. We will be packing up and beginning our drive July 26th and will be taking about eleven days to make our way across our beautiful country making a few stops along the way to soak in Gods beauty. Along the way we plan to take many pictures (as we always do when we travel) and post regularly our pictures and stories from our road trip. We will also try to post regularly starting today and throughout our three year seminary experience, as a way to keep our friends and family in touch with what is going on in our lives. So check back regularly and drop us a comment every once in a while, because we are excited to be able to keep in touch and share with you all.