Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Book Love Lately

With some extra time while I'm still looking for a job, I've gotten to do lots of reading.  These are the books I've read in the past few months...



The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
I've heard so many people talk about this book, so I decided I needed to read it.  It was an easy read & was entertaining, but wasn't my favorite.  It's an interesting plot...a love story of two terminally ill teens...but obviously that can get kind of depressing.

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
Typical Nicholas Sparks.  I love to read his books because they don't require much & they're almost always easy to read because they captivate you from the very beginning.  I'd already seen the movie, but still wanted to read the book.  This is one that makes it easy to like the book & the movie.  My favorite of Sparks' books are the ones that combine a love story with a thriller kind of plot.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
I didn't love this book.  It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't really very exciting to me.  I know a lot of people are reading it because the movie's coming out soon, but it wasn't my favorite.

The Sweetest Thing by Elizabeth Musser
This is one of my new favorite books.  I read Swan House by Elizabeth Musser over the summer & loved it.  I loved this one even more.  Musser is definitely one of my new favorite authors & now I want to read everything she's written!  A beautiful story of friendship set in Atlanta during the Great Depression.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth
I think this is the first time I ever bought a book on the day it came out.  I read Divergent & Insurgent a few months ago & have been excited for Allegiant ever since then.  No spoilers, but I thought it wrapped up well, even if not the way I necessarily would've chosen.  [I read here that Veronica Roth is a Christian, & I can see that in much of the storyline even though they are secular books.  However, the books are marketed to young teens & I think a few things could have been left out if they are to be read by that age.]

Monday, October 28, 2013

Miscellany Monday

one | Right now I just want to read all day.  I've read several good books lately & wish I could just sit by a fire & real all day long.

two | We've had cooler weather lately & have had several fires.  I love living in an apartment with a fireplace (& am already excited about having a mantel to hang our stockings from this year!).


three | Typical family picture.


four |  Have I mentioned this exciting news?  Gonna have to find a way to make it back to Georgia in May.

five | Still can't get over some of our pictures from Yosemite last weekend.  Some of my favorites I've ever taken & the landscape there just made it so easy.  Called for some Photoshop creations for new lock screens on my phone.



 
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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Weekend at Yosemite

Grayson & I have talked about going to Yosemite ever since we moved.  It's only about 3 hours from us!  While we're living here, we want to do & see & go as many places as we can.  Right now, any vacation money we have will probably be spent on trips back to Georgia, so we want to do as many mini-vacations & weekend trips as we can.


Last week I started looking into going to Yosemite & realized that if we wanted to, we only had about a week to do so since most of the park roads are closed from November-May because of the snow.  Seemed like the perfect time (especially since it just re-opened after the government shutdown 2 days before).  We'd planned on just leaving early Saturday morning & going for the day, but now I'm glad Grayson suggested just finding an inexpensive place to stay near the park because there was so much more to see than we even knew about.  


We got to the park Saturday morning & first drove Tioga Road.  It takes you through a big portion of the park, so we spent several hours doing that.  After that, we went to Bridalveil Falls & Yosemite Valley, & didn't leave the park until it was dark.  Saw this great sunset on the way out!


Sunday morning we drove back to the park & headed up into the mountains to Washburn & Glacier Point.  Then we took a hike up to Sentinel Dome where you have a beautiful 360 of the park.  After that we drove back down into Yosemite Valley & spent some time there.


We left as the sun was setting (Grayson pulled off the road multiple times because I had to have a picture of this sunset).


I tell Grayson that he has a severe case of wanderlust.


I thought I was a goer & a doer, but he is even more so than I am.  But I love that about him.  I love his need for adventure (& that he wants me along for the adventures!).


I do things that I never thought I would do, & go places that I never thought I would go.  It reminds me of that opening scene in While You Were Sleeping when Lucy is telling about her father giving her mother the globe & how, in her mind, he gave her the world.


Friday, October 18, 2013

God is bigger than a resume.

This morning I was reading about Solomon (part of the new She Reads Truth James study plan) in 1 Kings.  He tells God, "And now, O Lord my God, You have made me Your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child.  I do not know how to go out or come in" (1 Kings 3:7).

Solomon was only a twenty-something at the time.  He was not qualified.  He had no experience.  But he was God's chosen king.

Right now, in the midst of a job search, but during so many other times in life, I've felt less-than-qualified.  We all have felt that way, as though we are not equipped for whatever lies ahead of us.  And the truth is, we're not.  We're not enough.  We're not qualified.  We're not experienced.  But God is.  God is bigger than a resume.  He more than makes up for our lack of qualifications or experience.  He is always more than enough. 


We have to believe that it is not only okay, but pleasing (1 Kings 3:10) to God when we ask for His help.  Asking for His wisdom & guidance in situations & believing that He can & will come through for us brings glory to Him.

Later in that passage God answers Solomon's prayer for wisdom, "behold, I now do according to your word.  Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you & none like you shall arise after you.  I give you also what you have not asked, both riches & honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days" (1 Kings 3:12-13).  God didn't just answer Solomon's prayer.  He gave him exceedingly more than he had even asked for because He was so pleased with his asking.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Blog Updates

I've been working on redesigning my blog the last few days and have added a few things.  It's still a work in progress, but you can read the new "our story" section here.


Monday, October 14, 2013

Miscellany Monday

We had such a great fall weekend!

Saturday: Slept in & then went to Mount Diablo State Park for a little hike.


Sunday: Church, farmer's market in Los Gatos, then to the fair to ride the ferris wheel, then home to carve a pumpkin!


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Thursday, October 10, 2013

Carrs + Carters in Cali

My parents flew in late Friday & stayed until yesterday afternoon...their first trip to Cali!  :)

We left Saturday morning & drove down to Carmel for lunch.  Drove a little longer down to Big Sur, & then meandered back up the Pacific Coast Highway...a necessity when you visit California.

And a stop in Santa Cruz on the way back to see the surfers...& get ice cream, of course.  My dad is a true ice cream lover like we are.


Sunday was church & then an afternoon in San Francisco.  


We even took a boat tour of the bay so we got to see the Golden Gate & Alcatraz up close.  Grayson & I had been wanting to do that, so it was good to get to do it with my parents.


Monday morning I had iPhone tutorials for my parents who just got new phones (!!!)...& then we had lunch at my favorite pizza place, Blue Line Pizza, in downtown Campbell.  Grayson hadn't been there yet, but he got to leave work to come have lunch with us.  Tuesday we spent the afternoon walking around downtown Los Gatos & then went to the Google campus & Shoreline Park once Grayson got off work.


Come back soon!


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Our First Visitors!

Grayson's parents have been visiting with us for the past week or so.  We tried to cram in every good thing that we could while they were here...dinners in Los Gatos, lunches in downtown Campbell, a drive on the Pacific Coast Highway, a trip to our favorite ice cream shop in Santa Cruz, an afternoon riding bikes on Google's campus, a sunset in Carmel, a walk around Stanford's campus, a hike in the mountains, & a drive up to Half Moon Bay.



Next up: my parents!