California!

people and firework watching at Disneyland,

inhaling food at In-n-Out,

browsing cottages on Balboa Island,

listening to Daddy mindlessly strum the guitar,

taking in the Word from a skilled teacher at Grace Fellowship,

walking to the end of the pier for some Ruby's,

shopping for nothing to spend fun time with Mama,

strolling down Main Street in Huntington Beach, 

hanging out with friends, friends, friends,

saying hi to Fernando, the Manager at Rubio's, 

biking from Costa Mesa down to Newport,

doing laundry and watching TV with Aunt Vicki,

savoring beef brisket at the little Beach Pit house,

laying in a hammock at the Camp,

browsing the racks at Buffalo and Crossroads,

eating delicious pot roast and relaxing with Grandma and Grandbob,

no seasons, no seasons, no seasons.

Aaaaand...JUMPING!

(Jeff, Eiley, and I are in California for Thanksgiving! Unfortunately, we're not doing all the things listed here, but we're certainly having fun.)

Goodbye California

Goodbye California!

Today we fly to Maine with a one way ticket. 

Goodbye land of golden hills and glistening blue waves. Goodbye land of season-less perfect temperatures. 

Goodbye first home outside of the state of my birth. Goodbye to the state where I fell in love with my husband. Goodbye to the state where I gave birth to my first child. 

Is it possible that we will live more than five miles away from the Pacific Ocean? Is it possible that we will wake up to snow falling outside our window? Is it possible to live in a land that does not have In-N-Out?

You've given us so much. Road trips through your hills. Moonlit bonfires on your beaches. Both countless calories and the beautiful weather in which to burn them off. You've given us the saints Barbara, Francisco, and Diego to show us hospitality and new ways of looking at community, church, and communion. You've given our family four degrees and maybe even more education in out-of-school contexts. You've given us a few years to be in driving distance of Manny's family and "Auntie Nina"/my sister Lauren. 

And you've given us so many friends we are sad to have to say goodbye to. 

Farewell ocean, farewell hills, farewell apartments. 

It's been a glorious decade!