Santa Barbara

Last Saturday morning we took a drive about 1 and 1/2 hours north of where we live to hang out at Santa Barbara for the day. We spent the day shopping, people watching, and walking along the coast. We're making the most of our last few weeks here in California. Here's a few photos from Santa Barbara: There was a guy on some kind of board (similar to a wake board, I assume)who was being pulled by the parachute thing. He glided real fast along the water. Not sure what this is called but it was pretty neat to watch:

Johnny Mac Ballin'

So this is Andrew posting this time...I don't do this much but here it goes.

So I found out that John MacArthur was recently in Louisville, KY at Southern Seminary. Here is a preview of what he was doing while he was there.

Johnny Mac Ballin'

I'm sure that wasn't all he went to Southern for. From what I understand the guys over at Together for the Gospel (T4G) put together a new promotional video for the 2008 conference. It is gonna be great. That is definitely one of the benefits of moving to KY. While you're on the site you should check out their blog. The four guys that contribute have quite a bit of fun. Anyway, I guess that is all I have to say for now. Thanks for reading.

Moving, planes, and prom

Braden's parents and brother Grant will be out here in Cali on May 10th. They get in late that night and then we'll spend the next few days packing and saying our last goodbyes to sunny Southern California. Then I along with Braden's mom will be flying home to St. Louis on May 14th! Braden, his dad and brother Grant will be driving the moving truck (pulling my Mustang) and Braden's Focus. I'm so excited to be able to go home for a few days before we start all over again in a new place.

In other news:
My brother Zach had prom last night, he's a junior at Christian High School, where I graduated from. He looked so handsome....and he asked a girl to go with him, her name is Tanisha, very cute girl and mom says she's very sweet. My mom sent me pictures:

Also, I got a haircut! Here's my first attempt at trying to style it:

In search of the Hollywood sign

No access to the Hollywood sign? Yeah right!

I think we've graduated from being tourists to real Californians...too bad we'll only be here for another 5 weeks.

Dodgers vs. Padres

Arturo, a guy at my work has season tickets to the Dodgers games and he let me buy two off him for Friday night's game vs. the San Diego Padres. There is a big rivalry between these two teams and it is very evident from sitting in the stands when everyone yells "Padres suck! Padres suck!" whenever they make a bad play, strike out, or whatever. So needless to say the few Padre fans that did come to the game were harrassed the whole time because the Padres ended up losing to the Dodgers 9-1.

We went to the game early to see batting practice...

We got free Dodger hats when we walked into the stadium and we bought Dodger dogs, nachos, and soda at the concession. Yum!

Easter Weekend

Saturday morning we went to Zuma Beach once again, it may be our last trip to Malibu, so we took full advantage of the opportunity and went early (and took lots of pictures, of course!): There we enjoyed a great breakfast of fruit, bagels, cheese, etc. As you can tell by the pictures, it was kind of chilly out...so to warm up we ran around and played some tracball and frisbee. After a while we went exploring down the coast.

We stopped when we saw this: it reads "NUDE BEACH"! haha!

Easter Sunday morning Braden and I woke up at 5:30 to go to the special early 7:00 service at church. After that we headed over to Josh's house to go with him and his grandma to their family get-together. It wasn't the same without seeing our own families, but Josh's family welcomed us and we were very thankful for that. We had a really good time watching all the little ones play, eating great food, and watching some basketball. By the time we got home we were pooped from being up so early, we were ready for bed by about 8!

7 weeks to go!

Seven weeks left in sunny, Southern California. May 11 is Braden's graduation day from The Master's College. After that we'll be packing up and hopefully be heading eastward around May 14th. We'll be heading to Louisville, KY where The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary awaits us. Our months here in Cali have gone by quickly, and we have definitely enjoyed our time here. The things I will miss the most are:
-The beaches and palm trees!-The Josh Rivas-Grace Community Church and our Sunday school group
-All the amazing foods and restaurants we've been introduced to...Stonefire, In and Out, BJ's,Wildfire, Buca di Beppo, Jamba Juice
-The shopping!
-Wearing flip flops all year aroundThe things I won't miss:
-TRAFFIC! It's everywhere...and the parking spaces here are tiny!
-High prices for gas, food (Braden refuses to buy soda because of the CRV tax), rent (we'll be paying half of what we pay now when we get in Louisville and for more square footage)...basically everything
-Our good friends Casey and Alicia... we won't have to miss them because they're moving with us to Southern : )
-Being 25 hours from home; instead we'll be 4-5 hours away!

The next step in our life together as a married couple is almost here. Braden is hard at work these next weeks writing papers, finishing projects, and getting ready for his last finals as an undergrad student. His diligence in his studies is paying off! I am so happy for him and am excited for him to start towards his goal of M. Div. in Biblical counseling at Southern.

Round 3

Round 3 Braden picked up the Hackmanns from Long Beach airport and we all went straight to In and Out Burger. It's a California thing...you'd have to try it to understand how great it is. haha!
Friday we did the LA tour again....Hollywood Walk of Fame where there is always something interesting to see:


The Grove:

We had lunch at the Farmer's Market in The Grove: Santa Monica Beach/Peir:
We also did some shopping in Santa Monica, then later we ate at our favorite restaurant, Stonefire Grill. Got some good Tri Tip (another one of those things that only CA has), chicken, pizza, and salad.
Saturday we hit up Zuma Beach in Malibu. We drove along the Pacific Coast Highway to get there. Everyone who lives in California says that you have to drive that highway sometime when you're out here, and I agree...it was beautiful.

Sunday we went to church and then BBQed down by the pool of our apartment complex. Casey and Alicia came over too and we made it a feast of steak, brats, asparagus, corn on the cob, and brownies. That concludes our adventures with our guests....time for some much needed rest.....

Round 1 and 2

Round 1 went very smoothly. Braden's dad (Joe) was at the Shepherd's Conference most of the time, which was the whole reason he came out. Braden and I even were able to attend one of the evening sessions that was open to the public. CJ Mahaney spoke in place of Piper (who father had just recently passed away). It was really neat to see a large number of men coming together from all over the world practically to worship, listen to good preaching, and fellowship together.

We really enjoyed having Joe stay with us. It was great to catch up and hear news from back home. He even treated us to some delicious meals, one of which was House of Blues! Braden and I, Joe, Bob, Dave, and Braden's brother Thomas all went. Afterward I talked the guys into walking the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I'm sure they appreciated it in the end! haha!

Round 2 was a little more intense. Emily and Kara came in from visiting their friend Nathan in San Diego by the train. We picked them up late Monday night in downtown LA. It was halarious when we discovered that we barely had enough room in our car for all the suitcases they brought. It was a squeeze, but we managed. They said that last time they came to California they underpack, and this time they overpacked, so maybe next time they'll get it down! haha!

The next day Braden and I played the part of tour guide/taxi and took them to see all the sites in LA...Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Bel Air, and Santa Monica. We ate at the famous In and Out Burger:
Hollywood Walk of Fame:
3rd Street and Promenade shopping in Santa Monica:

Santa Monica Pier: By the time we got home we were pooped!

Wednesday I took a half day and us girls went to Ventura beach in Ventura, CA. It was a little chilly, but we made the most of it and did some exploring along the beach.
Here are some pictures: On the way home from Ventura, we stopped at a fruit stand along the 126 to get some fresh avacados, plums, and oranges. Yum!

Thursday I went back to work and Braden took Em and Kara to Newport Beach where they hooked up with some more friends for their next stop in their tour of CA.

Spring Break Plans

The next two weeks or so, we are going to be busy busy and we'll have lots of company in town. I'm really excited to see friends and family from home! Can't wait! Braden will officially start his much needed spring break on the 12th. So here's what we've got going on starting today:

3/6-3/10
Braden's dad and two guys from our church back at home (Dave and Bob) will be in town for the Shepherd's Conference at Grace. Braden's dad will be staying with us at our apartment.
Later this week Braden and I are going to try to go to one or two of the night sessions that are open to those not registered for the conference, John Piper speaks on Wed. night, Al Mohler on Thurs., and J. Mac on Fri.
Tonight we're all going to the House of Blues down on Sunset Strip in Hollywood. They have good food, although I don't think anyone is playing. That's fine with me though, because last time we were there was when my mom and sister Kendra were in town and a heavy metal rock band was rehearsing and it was pretty scary to say the least! Anything would be nice compared to that! ha!

3/12-3/15
My good friend Emily and her roommate Kara will be in town from back at home in STL to visit and stay with us. Yeah! Surely going to do some hardcore shopping! haha!

3/15-3/19
Our good friends, Kyle and Kim Hackmann will be in town from Chicago where they both attend school at Moody Bible Institute. We'll have alot of fun showing them around LA and Hollywood.

Hopefully our little apartment will be able to handle all the company! I'm so happy to have everyone stay with us...seems like right when I start to get really homesick either somone comes to visit or we get to go home to visit. I like how that always works out! I'm sure I'll have pictures from all our adventures soon!

Update!

This past week I finished up my assignment with the crazy realtor lady and then worked for a few days for a man who owned a nonprofit research company. I helped him by listening to some interviews that he had saved in files on a computer and I typed every word the people said in these interviews. I actually enjoyed it because it was different, and the man that I worked for was very kind. The interviews themselves were....well, interesting, but because of confidentiality papers I signed, I am not allowed to talk about them.

That job ended last Friday, so I checked in with my temp. agency again this morning. At first there was no news, but a half hour later I get a call back from them and they already have a new assignment for me! I start tomorrow as a receptionist at a company that distributes cable for the entertainment industry. Pray that all goes well and it works out, because this assignment would last until we move to Louisville, Kentucky in May and I'll be making more money than I have been previously, which would be very good so that Braden and I can start saving for the rental truck and all the moving expenses.

God has been so gracious to us and I am so thankful that He continues each week to provide work for me. At times it can be hard to trust that He will provide all that we need, but ultimately His will is going to be done no matter what so it is our choice to be patient, remain faithful, and trust in Him.

Only in California...

Braden and I went to the park over the weekend:

Crazy that most people don't even have wireless in their own homes, but in California, just go to your local park to surf the web.

The Life of a Temp.

So last Friday LDI told me that they would no longer be needing me. That's how it goes when you're only a temp....but nonetheless I was out of work and a next paycheck.
So Monday morning I called my temp. agency for a new assignment...they didn't have anything for me, nor did they on the next two days. So Wednesday morning I went to a different, bigger temp agency (thanks to Alicia!) and did the usual job hunt routine: fill out paperwork, few computer tests, watched a video, and fill out more paperwork.
Later that day I got a call from my account executive. She found work for me...only a 2 week assignment, but it's two paychecks more than what I'd be getting otherwise so, of course I take it! They tell me that I'll be organizing a bunch of paperwork for a realtor at Re-Max.
Next thing I knew I was sorting receipts, insurance paperwork, check stubs, bank statements, medical bills, car bills, credit card bills, and any other sort of important document that you could think of for my new supervisor. I have access to her whole life for the past 3 years! Crazy! I unfortunately know way too much about this lady and her family....2006 beauty queen, two kids, her age, her favorites palces to eat and shop, what kind of makeup she wears, how much her cell phone bill is each month, etc. I....the professional organizer (haha!)...do my job, apparently helping this lady with her taxes that she hadn't turned in in the past 3 years, while she takes care of finding a private detective to spy on her husband because they are going through a nasty divorce, calling both of her kids' schools to make sure they were there, making appoinments to get a drug and alcohol test done to have proof that she's not abusing either. Ahhhh...just the normal life of a temp...haha!
When you think about it, is it crazier to have a complete stranger do this sort of thing for you or someone you know?