The Whalleys

Home Sweet Home

2010-07-10T12:49:00.001-07:00

We really are happy to be home in our own beds! That was definitely the trip of a lifetime and we are so happy we decided to go. The countries we chose were all so unique and the weather was awesome while we were there. No rain to speak of and some hot days in the eighties and nineties. So David and I chose our favorite big city and small city. Mine are Paris, France and Venice, Italy. Davids choices are Berlin, Germany and Monterosso, Italy. We didn't really buy anything while we were there besides books that we left behind after reading. We both read five books while we were there on the long train rides. Nothing got stolen but we did get approached a lot by gypsees trying to swindle us.

Wonderful day in Paris! Champs élysées, louvre, Pompidou! Tomorrow we head to versailles. We love the French unlike the stereotype!

2010-07-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

I got stung by a jelly fish in nice. The lifeguard helped me clean it up and he barely spoke English. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a snake.

2010-07-02T08:04:00.000-07:00

Made it safely to Avingnon! It is awesome here. Just a small French town with lots of shopping. Off to Paris tommorrow for crepes!

2010-07-02T08:02:00.000-07:00

On the French riviera enjoying the warm water and rocky beaches. David likes rocks over sand. Tomorrow we hit the modern art museum and Monte Carlo!

2010-06-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

We are Alive

2010-06-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

We havent been able to get to WiFi in awhile because of small towns and expensive internet. We are in Monterosso, Italy enjoying a wonderful time on the Mediterannean. No idea how to spell it. We are off to Nice, France tomorrow. We love you all and miss you much. Sorry I havent called you mom.

Italy continued....

2010-06-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

David, Michael, Meg and me are waiting for our train to Rome tonight. Meg and I were a little surprised by what Florence was like. It is quite a bustling city with lots of leather merchants and random old buildings scattered about. Once we got down to the bridges over the water it looked like the Florence I had heard about. It was very pretty and quite romantic. We luckily were there on the day they celebrate the patron saint of Florence so we saw a wonderful fire works show over the water with about a million other people. Florence definitely has the most English speaking people and more leather than I have ever seen. I would have brought my Dad back a brief case if we had the room. We arrive in Rome tonight and are doing a two day speed trip through Rome. We were thinking of spending three days there but I really want to spend a day in Tuscany so we might bug out a day early. Then we will spend some time in Cinque Terre. These last two days have been really hot and I bet Rome will be even hotter. We miss you all very much.

We are just finishing our time in Venice looking at canals and eating gelato. The four of us are off to Florence and then Rome! I love Italia

2010-06-23T08:18:00.000-07:00

Munich Monday. Today we are taking a Walking Tour around the City and then Hopping a Night Train to meet the thompsons in venice.. We are in an Apple.

2010-06-21T00:35:00.000-07:00

The Countryside

2010-06-20T01:40:00.000-07:00

After leaving Tobys house we traveled by train to St Goar and stayed in the smallest room we have ever seen. It was worth it though because we could look out our window and see a castle. We took at fifteen mile bike ride down the Rhine River and saw a dozen castles. We ferried across the river and went up the other side which was against the wind and I was super tired. I drafted behind David so I wouldnt be blown away. We then left for Rothenburg ob der tauber, a walled city in the gorgeous countryside. We stayed at Frau Lieblers house which was wonderful and beautiful. We slept for ten hours. We are spending the afternoon here and then are off to Munich this afternoon. We are skipping going to Fussen and will stay in Munich two nights. Then we are off to venice to meet megan and michael. We miss you Mom and Dad, and by that I mean both sets of family. We will try to call the Moms next time we get WiFi. Sorry we missed you Laurie. Love you guys. We are having the trip of a lifetime. We still cant believe we are here. Sorry but we cant post any pictures so you can see them when we get back. Imagine us in a medieval town with blanklooks on our faces as everyone speaks languages we dont know.

We met Toby and his family yesterday and slept at their house in Hannover. We are going to explore Hannover today and then take the train to St Goar!

2010-06-18T01:16:00.000-07:00

We spent a full day in Berlin seeing all the cites and historic Nazi head quarters. We touched the Berlin Wall and saw Brandenburg Gate!

2010-06-16T12:20:00.000-07:00

Taking off! Just spent three hours with the dansons in the airport!

2010-06-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

Europe here we come

2010-06-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow David and I are going to be taking off to Germany, Italy, and France. We will be meeting our good friend Toby in Berlin and then seeing his hometown in Hannover. The plan after that is to see the Rhine Valley, Heidleberg, Rothenberg, and Munich. We will end our trip in Fussen and then cross into Venice, Italy. There we will be meeting our great friends Megan and Michael Thompson. They have alot of energy and will keep us on our toes. The four of us will head to Florence and then Rome for three days. The Thompsons will leave us there and David and I will take the coast up to Cinque Terre. After a day or two we will head to Aux en Provence, France and Nice. After the French Riveria we will be in Paris for three days. Next, we chunnel under to London and fly out July 7. We will be able to do all these cities in three weeks? We are not sure but we have high hopes. We plan on updating this blog when we have internet along the way. We are blessed to have an adventure like this!

Change

2010-03-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

There is something really fun about change. I guess I have always been intrigued by moving somewhere new though I don't know where that would be. So because me and david aren't really going to change anything in our lives I have settled for changing things in our house. I am hoping to paint the kitchen and de-yellow it a little. We are contemplating doing a gray-blue in the bathroom and beige in our bedroom. I think I may change the pillows in our family room to add in a new color. Any ideas on a new color scheme?

Kate's Surgery

2010-02-23T21:09:00.000-08:00

She looks so cute! This picture makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Our Star Look Alikes

2010-02-17T19:29:00.000-08:00

My diagnosis

2010-02-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of years I have gotten really red from working out and when I take a shower my face is red and rashy for about a half an hour. I was trying to figure out what I have and I think this is it. Cholinergic or heat urticaria is a form of chronic hives that is caused by an increase in body temperature. Hives are caused by any increase in body temperature, such as hot showers, exercise, spicy foods, or being under too many covers in bed at night. Strong emotions may also cause hives to occur in people with cholinergic urticaria. So what I have to do is take cool showers, use lots of lotion, and try to stay cool. Last night I went to bed lathered with face lotion and David thought I was a little over the top.

Haiti

2010-02-04T21:59:00.000-08:00

Ten U.S. missionaries charged over attempt to kidnap and smuggle Haiti 'orphans' could face up to fifteen years in jail

Last updated at 2:39 AM on 05th February 2010

Ten American missionaries have been charged with kidnapping and criminal conspiracy for trying to smuggle children out of earthquake-stricken Haiti.

The Baptist group sang hymns as they were whisked off to jail after appearing in court in the capital Port-au-Prince.

They were arrested last week as they tried to take 33 Haitian children to an orphanage across the border in the Dominican Republic.

As she entered the closed-door session, mission organiser Laura Silsby claimed: ‘We expect God's will be done. And we will be released.’

But there was confusion as the hearing drew to a close with a lawyer representing the group claiming that he expected nine of the ten Americans to be released.

But minutes later, the five men and five women were led looking grim and unsmiling to a bus and were driven back to jail.

After announcing the charges, Haitian Deputy Prosecutor Jean Ferge Joseph told the defendants that their case was being sent to an investigative judge.

‘The judge can free you but he can also continue to hold you for further proceedings,’ he added.

The Americans, who insist they did nothing wrong, were still behind bars last night awaiting the investigating judge’s decision.

The case has become a flashpoint for fears that child traffickers could profit from the chaos in Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries, in the aftermath of the January 12 earthquake.

Haitian authorities said the group lacked the authorisation and travel documents needed to take the children out of the country.

After the Americans' arrest, evidence emerged that the majority of the children intercepted with them were not orphans.

Haitian police said some parents admitted to handing over their children to the missionaries in the belief they would get an education and a better life.

The defendants deny they were engaged in child trafficking and said they were just trying to help some of the thousands of orphans left destitute and abandoned by the quake.

The children, ranging in age from two to 12, are now being cared for at the Austrian-run SOS Children's Village in Port-au-Prince.

Haiti's government has tightened adoption procedures since the quake, saying it feared unscrupulous traffickers could try to take advantage of the disaster by spiriting away vulnerable children.

Officials said they already had reports of trafficking of minors, and even of human organs.

Pray for Kate

2010-02-04T15:01:00.000-08:00

Kate Bug is going in for a small procedure on Tuesday morning at 7:30 to get tubes put in her ears. She is just like her daddy and sister who both have tubes as well. She does have to go under anesthesia so pray that all goes well. The doctor says that Kate can only hear 20% right now so we are excited for her to get the other 80% back.

Somewhat Healthy Cookies

2010-01-24T12:39:00.000-08:00

Tollhouse Whole Wheat Cookies

1c. whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

10 tbsp. apple sauce or butter

1 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. oats

1 c. dark chocolate chips

1/2 c. nuts, unsalted and unsweetened

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes

Hugs and Kisses

2010-01-23T12:25:00.000-08:00

Last night David and I took Miss Ava Jean out on a date. We drove in the pouring rain to the Olive Garden in Ventura and met Addison, Kate, Kelli, and my mom. The girls were so excited to see each other. Addison couldn't stop smiling and laughing and Ava kept asking "What did she say?" They couldn't quite understand each others lisps so we had to interpret alot of the conversation for them. Ava wanted to have spaghetti and Addison wanted mac and cheese, but when Addison heard what Ava was having she quickly changed her order to spaghetti too. Once we were done with the dinner we went outside and the girls held hands and ran together. They gave each other hugs and kisses and Ava told Addison she loved her. Kelli flew with the girls back to Colorado this morning and I will really miss them. Josh may be taking a new position in San Francisco, California or Atlanta, Georgia so I will be praying for their decision hoping it brings them closer to us!

Time with the Girls

2010-01-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

Family and Guns... the two go together for the Angels

2010-01-16T10:48:00.000-08:00

I have been down in Thousand Oaks on and off this last week because my brother, his wife, and daughters are out from Colorado. We have been getting up at 6:30 to 7:00am every morning and starting the day off with a bang. While the girls have been here we have gone to Sea World, Gigi's house in San Diego, to Santa Barbara for shopping, and today we may go to a petting zoo. David and my brother are in a shooting competition in Lake Piru. I am not sure David really knew what he was getting into, but I hope he is having fun doing a man thing. David is shooting his Glock today that my dad bought him for his 25th birthday. I think it is the first time he has shot it so I am anxious to hear how it went. My dad wants to get me a gun for my 25th birthday so I have to decide what kind I want. A glock seems to be a bit of a gang banger gun to me. Maybe I will go for a nice riffle.

The Sweetest Gift

2010-01-14T09:35:00.000-08:00

After we came home from our date this gift was sitting outside our house. Our dear friend dropped it off for an anniversary gift. It is the cutest pillow! http://www.etsy.com/shop/GiggleRoom

Two Year Anniversary

2010-01-14T09:28:00.000-08:00

Here we are outside the Enterprise Fish Co. David got lobster and it was half off because we were there on a wednesday. Because it was just the two of us we had to take pictures of each other.

Yes. It fit! I loved having the dress back on. Can we have a girls party where we all wear our dresses again?

Two Year Anniversary

2010-01-06T17:48:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken last year on our one year anniversary. I wanted to see if I could fit into my dress again. So January 13, 2010 will be my second time trying on my dress since my wedding. I have no idea if I will fit in it or not. We shall see....

Peer Pressure

2010-01-06T17:36:00.000-08:00

David is still really sick today so I made him come into the office to get shots. He was a little reluctant but when he woke up feeling as sick as a dog he decided it was important. First I gave David two shots of Rocephin in his butt/hip. The shots stung pretty bad. After that I drew his blood for cholesterol, thyroid, mono, and some other things. David is kind of my little experiment. When I was a little girl I used to coerce my friends into letting me cut their hair, do their makeup, and I even pierced some ears. I am glad I was a good girl growing up because I am really good at peer pressure.

Our Dating Days!

2010-01-05T18:56:00.000-08:00

David's Neon Phase

2010-01-05T18:39:00.000-08:00

2010 Calendar

2010-01-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

Today was an amazing day. I stayed at work from 8:30 to 5:00. And get this, I walked to work this morning. Staying at work all day is a challenge and walking to work means I had to wake up early which is an amazing fete. I am a new woman in 2010. Just kidding I am the same old me that got into my sweats about three minutes after I got home tonight. The new year always makes me anxious to get a new calendar and try to map out all my vacations, appointments, parties, events, etc. This year I hope David and I can go to Colorado to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and nieces. Then this summer we really want to back pack through Europe. We want to go to England, France, Germany, and Italy. Currently I am researching flights and asking people for help who are familiar with Europe. Whenever my boss decides when he is going on vacation then we can book flights! I hope nothing gets in the way of Europe this summer!

Me and Hudson

2010-01-04T18:44:00.001-08:00

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

2010-01-04T18:21:00.000-08:00

I must admit that I may have been the only person this monday morning who was excited to go back to work. We kind of have a little family at the Doctors office. We are still a one car family right now so David had to drop me off and pick me up from work. It reminds me of the days when we were first married, prior to the purchase of our volvo. Don't worry, the volvo is just in the shop for a check up. Today when I got home from work I finished the book Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. It was a really sad story about a girl named Lily in nineteenth-century China who has to endure foot binding and an arranged marriage. What is so interesting about this story is that Lily is closer to her laotong or same old (friend) Snow Flower than she is her husband. When the ladies were in their thirties they ended up losing their life-long friendship over a misunderstanding. There were a lot of good lessons in this book. What I found to be thought-provoking was that Snow Flower wanted a friend who would sympathize with her while Lily thought it was most important to remind Snow Flower of tradition. Lily was as hard as a rock and regretted it the rest of her life. I don't want to ever be like that, but a good friend has to tell the truth. I wrestle with Snow Flower and Lily's style of friendship.

Kate's First Christmas

2010-01-02T20:02:00.000-08:00

Kate, our niece, is the most smiley little girl I have ever seen. We get to see her this weekend and Addison who I have renamed doodle phink. I like renaming people really close to me. My brother Josh is Sechwan. His wife Kelli is Snelli. And Kate is yet to have a new name. We will make it up together when she learns to talk.

Being Domestic

2010-01-02T19:25:00.000-08:00

Being domestic is a challenge for me and I am continually learning the art of being a housewife. Today I excelled in housewifery if I might say so myself. I woke up and made fresh carrot apple juice in my new Jack La Laine juicer. Then I made Quinoa for lunch with artichoke hearts, garlic, spinach, onions, and red bell pepper. For a snack I made David whole wheat chocolate chip oatmeal cookies that were pretty yummy. It is nice finding a good whole wheat recipe that doesn't taste like dirt. For dinner we had scrambled eggs with spinach, onions, cheese, and chicken apple sausage. I so far have kept my new years resolution of eating more veggies and david stopped eating the sausage when he got full. Well done.

I am Back

2010-01-01T13:50:00.000-08:00

Today I was talking to my sister-in-law allison and decided it was time to get back to this blog since she is an avid reader of blogs. So this blog is dedicated to Allison. My one and only reader. Today is January 1, 2010 and I am ready to begin the new year. I have decided to eat more vegetables this year and David is stopping eating when he gets full. Funny that both of our new year resolutions are about food.

Kara's Art

2008-08-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

Hello all, long time, no post. To much of your dismay, things have been a little crazy lately, and blogging kind of fell by the wayside. Now, we are back on, and back at it. We are so committed to blogging that Kara now has a new blog! It displays her artwork that she is working on and has already painted. To give you a bit of a teaser, I have decided to post a couple, hoping it will peak your curiosity to view her blog. She is very talented (and I am not just saying that).

If you are interested in checking out more of Kara's work go to the Kara Whalley's Art Blog. God Bless!

Paradox...the website

2008-05-08T15:44:00.001-07:00

Well, I want to announce to you all...the Paradox WEBSITE! It is brand new and is in full swing. I have been working hard on getting it dialed in and I think that it is looking good and working good. If there is anything that you think would be better for it, let me know. But I hereby invite you all to check it out for yourself.

The address is:

www.paradoxsb.com

That is all for now, there will be a post coming soon. God Bless!

davies' wedding...

2008-04-28T15:52:00.001-07:00

It seems like only yesterday that Kara and I were walking down the aisle and exchanging vows and becoming one in front of our friends and families. That was such a special time for me, therefore, I was so excited to see my good friend Tim Davies get married on Saturday.

Tim "Nailgun" Davies was a college roommate of mine (David) during my years at Cal Poly. He was definitely the manilest man in the house (for evidence, observe his nickname). He is a great friend and married a great gal. Their wedding was inland from Leucadia (15-30 min. north of San Diego) on an estate that was B-E-A-utiful! But more than that, it was a beautiful wedding.

We also were able to reconnect with many friends of the past. It was wonderful to see them all, especially our good friend, Melanie Rhodes. She was like a sister to us in the A-Town house. She would bake us cookies, style our hair (mainly Tyler's dreadlocks), and bring a joy to the house that only she could. Currently, she is in New Orleans teaching 2nd grade in tough school district. But if anyone could do it, it would be Melanie!

Congrats to you Tim and Jen, may God Bless your marriage and your lives! We had a wonderful time, enjoy the pictures!

photo display...

2008-04-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

I wanted to pose a survey to all you "Blog-watchers" out there. Do you prefer the "Slide" way of observing photos (see planting trees...) or the posting of the photos individually (see spring retreat...)?

I much appreciate your input and I will utilize that method in the blog entries to come. Thanks so much!

spring retreat...

2008-04-25T18:21:00.000-07:00

We want to first give "props" to our parents for taking us camping all of during our younger years. We learned that there is a lot more work involved than in your average weekend away. From the shopping, to the setting up of tents, to the cooking for 20, and to the drive down gave us much more respect to the efforts of our parents. Therefore we want to thank them.

Anyway, we took 20 college students down to San Clemente State Beach for a Spring Retreat. It was the first retreat for Paradox and for us. Hence, it is needless to say, we learned a lot and had a great time. We left on Friday, which was more monotonous than working at the Library, and sat in traffic for about 4 hours, and we returned on Sunday, and that took a record time of 2 hours and 40 minutes.

The weekend was filled with bonfire smoke, sugar, tents, surfing, soccer, pranks, and a lot of milk. All in all, it will definitely be something that will happen again. Below are some pictures of the weekend.

planting trees...

2008-04-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

Well, albeit that there are many out there who wonder what exactly I (David) do for a job. You might ask yourself, "What in the world does he do all day at church? Is there enough for him to do to fill all the time?" And those are legitimate questions to ask if you have never worked done this type of work before, it would seem that there was enough things to fill up my time. But, let me tell you, there is plenty of things to be done.

One thing that Paradox (the college ministry) was involved in was the planting of trees at a nearby High School. One girl in the group had a desire to reach out to the community of Santa Barbara and show the love of Christ to them, therefore we have participated in numerous service opportunities to exemplify that love to those who don't normally see it. This particular time we planted trees. It was a great time, although hot, it was great doing something out of love for the people.

I have included a slideshow to show you all the good time we had.

The Angels

2008-04-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

This is the whole Angel crew with our newest addition. Sadly we are missing my hubby in these shots. I made that Too- Too for Addy and she could not figure out why she was wearing so much material. Her face tells the story.

Our Little Girls

2008-04-04T12:04:00.000-07:00

Ava, my new neice, is a joy to be around. She is learning new words everyday, but still loves the word "ball" the most. Addison, my brother's daughter, is an absolute doll. She has the best personality and I miss her everyday. I hope to go back to Colorado soon and see how much she has grown in person.

Women

2008-04-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

Today I went to a womens bible study at Susan Riders house. While I was there I realized that there is something special about Christian women. We are able to gather with all different types of ages and feel completely at home. The bond that Christ gives breaks down all barriers and gives you a connection to anyone. We also ate an amzing breakfast of red rasberry waffles and had a study on prayer. I can't think of anything I would have rather done on a foggy morning in Santa Barbara. David is sitting in front of me studying the bible right now and I have nothing to do today. That means that I might just paint or read. I am so excited because I found a chair and a half on craigslist that we are planning on purchasing. I love decorating my new home!

reflections on evangelism...

2008-03-28T15:23:00.000-07:00

I, David just finished, yesterday, another book. For some that is an accomplishment that is as normal as apple pie, but for me I get this feeling of Gladiator-like accomplishment. I, Kara, am still in the middle of a book I started on our honeymoon. Finishing a book for me is more like a painful run where the finish line never seems to come and the light at the end of the tunnel seems more like a distant fade.

The book was Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer. Which, as a side note, I think that if I ever become an author I am going to use my initials as well. There is something quite awesome about the initials (for example, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.H. Spurgeon, and the like). Anyway, this book was a challenging book for me. Not in the respect of the words used, but rather in the content. The premise of this book is since God is sovereign over all things, including salvation, what role does the Christian play in evangelism. And the answer is, a huge role.

As Christians, our lives should be devoted to the vocation of sharing with others the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to be people who share the death of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of all sins, the burial, and the resurrection. However, many times, I fail to do so. Not because of the intense persecution that I face, but rather just that fear of not knowing every question that comes my way, the fear of man, the doubt of the power behind the gospel, and just the sheer discouragement of feeling ineffective in my sharing. And that is where God's sovereignty is so sweet. The Apostle Paul states that it was he who planted, Apollos who watered, and God who grew the people who heard the gospel. In the same way, when we plant the seed, God is the one who does the growing. It is nothing that we can do, but it is all on God, and HE ALWAYS COMES THROUGH.

Therefore, be encouraged that when you evangelize, it is never done in vain. Even when you feel discouraged or frustrated, God is always there and His word doesn't return void. I definitely recommend this book to anyone! God Bless!

engagement...

2008-03-21T20:02:00.001-07:00

As I reflect upon the best time in my life, marriage, I couldn't help but remember that glorious day when my bride said, "yes". So, me being the "youtuber" that I am, remembered that Ben Potter, who made our engagement video, had posted it on youtube. And upon seeing it, the memories filled my mind, and flooded my soul. I praise the Lord for how blessed I am to have found such a beautiful and wonderful bride. It says in the Bible, "he who finds a wife, finds a good thing". And I have found the best!

...baby humor

2008-03-18T06:09:00.000-07:00

This is probably the funniest video that I have ever seen. You may ask yourself, "Isn't it just a baby laughing?" And my reply would be, "Yes!" It is just a baby laughing, but in the most joyous way. You can just feel the utter joy that this child has and the sheer satisfaction he gets in just laughing. I think that it is a lesson we all should learn. Laughing is good, make sure it is part of your day today! God Bless!

ONE TRUTH...RIP

2008-03-11T22:35:00.001-07:00

Well, with deep sorrow in my heart, I am moved to inform you about the closing of one of my most highly esteemed and greatly loved clothing companies, ONE TRUTH. Now, I know what you are thinking, "What? That is ridiculous. You need to suck it up." Well, my response is this, "I am trying." You see, for you hard of heart, this clothing company means more than just sweet SWAG, it means that there is a discontinuing of "clothing with a cause". And their cause was, "the gospel". Being a Christian, it is extremely hard to represent for the Savior when your clothing spells out "nerd alert". You see, ONE TRUTH, with their ingenious designers, were able to produce clothing that screamed, "Redemption, Salvation, Mercy, Love, Grace, and ultimately Jesus" without screaming, "Nerd, Awkward, Rip-off, and ultimately Un-intriguing." But more than the awesome rep that you were able to establish, the message of the clothing was at the center of it all. Many times Iwould leave people stunned and curious after wearing one of my favorite articles of clothing. So I want to express my deepest sorrow, and yet my hardiest blessings to the fellows of ONE TRUTH, and say thanks for showing us that it is okay to not only be a Christian, but to dress the part as well.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. There is a ONE TRUTH "Pillage my Village" sale this weekend, March 15 in SLO. It is at their warehouse, and it will be awesome. I am not able to go, so please go for me! God Bless!

an ode to mustaches...

2008-03-10T22:29:00.000-07:00

Oh mustache, oh mustache,

how delicate art thee.

Although

your presence

is very much annoying.

You look so dapper upon thy upper lip,

but be careful or else the razor will slip.

So, to you oh mustache, the fairest of them all,

keep right on marching beautiful and tall.

For those who are either uninformed or have enough intelligence to pass this trend by, it is Mustache March and I have been faithful to uphold the long tradition. And since the beginning of time all men, from around the world, have joined in this tradition of growing out the hairs on their upper lip despite the repulsion of their immediate families, friends, co-workers, barbers, grocers, and basically everyone else they come in contact with. So, I salute you, oh mustache grower in the face of the negative stereotypes and all, keep on growing, keep on growing, keep on growing. The mustache lives!

(P.S. There is no "official" tradition, just something we do for fun.)

...slo town

2008-03-10T18:52:00.000-07:00

Kara, myself, and our good friend from Germany, Tobias Grunick, all trekked to San Luis Obispo a couple of weekends ago. The reasons for this journey were two fold. First, and in Kara's eyes most important, was the haircut appointment. Since there was "no one" in Santa Barbara who could wield scissors like "her girl"

in SLO, she made the appointment

and went. Now, to me, this seems quite odd, considering the amount of talented hairstylists in the area of Santa Barbara, BUT the more I think about it, it probably sounds odd toher that I would travel to Ventura for surf when there are waves just over the mountain. Anyways, those will be mysteries, yet in each of our minds they make sense.

The second reason was to see family, sister Lindsay, and friends. And what a blessing they are to our lives. One of the hardest things, among others, about leaving SLO was leaving behind friends who are near and dear to our hearts. And being there brings back those memories of going to Sunshine Donuts at 12 am, hanging downtown at Linea's Coffee Shop, indulging in the best, best, best Tri-Tip Sandwich in

the world (Firestone's, oh yeah!).

SLO is near to our hearts and maybe someday (maybe not, I don't know, it is totally hypothetical) we will be back, living the SLO life. You never know what the Lord is doing! Peace!

nuestra casa...(our house)

2008-02-29T20:41:00.000-08:00

Now that we are somewhat settled into our new home, I thought that it would be appropriate to share some pictures of our place. It is a quaint two bedroom back house situated quite comfortably above the garage area of the front house. We are so thankful to be blessed with such an amazing house to enjoy. So, here we go, we would also like to extend an invitation to come by and visit!

the great freeze...

2008-02-29T20:06:00.000-08:00

This is one of the most impressive/awesome things that I have seen. If there is anyone out there inspired to do something like this, I WANT IN. Let me know when and where you are doing this because I want to be a part of it. It's great!

...what's so great anyways?

2008-02-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

I just finished (I know, I can't believe it either) "What's So Great About Christianity?" by Dinesh D'Souza and let me tell you, if you want a book that will challenge you, this is the one for you.

D'Souza is a well-known author/speaker known mostly for his writing on politics and government. However, being a Christian, he set out to combat this ever growing "atheist regime" whose sole objective is to eradicate religion from the world. Leading atheists such as Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam Harris, among others, have been writing books proclaiming that faith is a sickness, that God is only a delusion, and that Christianity is a cruel and brutal religion. Therefore, D'Souza has taken these claims and confronted them in this book.

The interesting thing is that he not only confronted them on small scale, but on the large scale as well. His arguments address issues such as evolution, morality, wars, education, science, philosophy, all of which the atheists along with many others claim to have rendered Christianity helpless and unable to explain itself to these challenges. But, as D'Souza has accomplished in this book, Christianity has no reason to hide or to run from these claims. TRUTH IS FOUND IN THE BIBLE, and we can't doubt that.

So, I want to encourage you, if you want, to read this book. Even if you are NOT a Christian and share in the same views as those who are questioning Christianity and have the same objectives as these people above, this book is worth checking out. For me, these were also questions that I had concerning my faith, and now it is good to see that I am not crazy and I don't have a "blind faith". God is truth and Christianity is GREAT!

If you want to check out Dinesh D'Souza, check out his website here.

...new beginnings

2008-02-18T22:04:00.000-08:00

Now, since we have become one flesh, according to Scripture, we have decided to take it upon ourselves to become "one blogger". Therefore, we are inspired to begin this new blog for the enjoyment for those who mean the world to us. And it is our pledge to bring you the following:

- up to date news on our lives.

- ramblings that most likely will make sense only to us, but we think you will enjoy as well.

- photos of our life together.

- and anything else "blog-worthy".

We want to thank you all for reading our previous blogs, your support and curiosity are what keep this blogging dream alive. So, without further adieu, I bring you the first of many blogs. We wish you all God's blessing in all that you do!