Scott and Jenn's Wedding: On 4/25, we got to participate in our friends Scott and Jenn's wedding. Matt got to co-officiate and Sarah Stehly and I got to attend to the gifts. It was a beautiful wedding and a good time had by all!
Here are Sarah and I attending the gifts
Mas Trapeze: On 5/2, I got to go trapezing again with Jennifer (a different one, not the one that got married the week previously), Anna, and Susanna. All these lovely ladies are co-workers with me at the pediatric agency. I've included some videos of how I did and what I aspire to be (Jenn has been trapezing since November, so she's practically a pro!).
Here's me....I got a quasi-catch!!! It was great.
Here is Jenn, the trapezist extraordinaire--what I can only aspire to be...
News from Cambodia: Sunday, 5/3 was our "World Focus Weekend" at our church. Lake Avenue Church partners with World Relief in their efforts in serving Cambodia. As many of you know, Matthew and I got to serve there in June 2007. We have a huge love for this country and its people. It's always wondeful hearing an update about them, but it's also very hard for me. We desperately want to return there to serve someday, but this summer we just aren't able to. Matt needs to use this summer to focus on his dissertation proposal. We continue to pray for God to show us if we will be able to return someday. We'll see what he has planned for us.
A picture from our 2007 trip to Cambodia. This is Sambat and his son David. Cambodians are some of the most beautiful people I have ever met.
This past weekend was busy and grand!
Dodger Game: On Friday, we got to go to an LA Dodger game and enjoy the fan-appreciation fireworks afterward (not to mention the delicious all-beef Dodger Dogs--yummy!).
Date Day: On Saturday, we had a Matt and Alida day, which we hadn't gotten to enjoy in a while. We still do our weekly date nights (usually on Friday, but we've learned to be flexible as long as we get in in one night on the weekend). These are so important to our relationship. Since our weeks are busy (for a boring rundown, see previous whiny blog written last month), it's so vital for us to have a time in which we are not stressed out from work or research, but we get to focus on us. Sure, we get to briefly do this on weeknights during dinner, but keep in mind that I teach classes at times in the evenings until 11 pm and we both have weekly Bible study as well. Since I also work until 7 pm and have to sit in traffic, I don't usually get home until 8-ish at the earliest on weeknights, which makes connecting during the week a little more difficult. Date night is great because it gives us something fabulous to look forward to no matter how our week is going. We try not to discuss work or research during date night, but just focus on us, our relationship with God, etc. It's our time to chat about things on our minds other than menial daily tasks and goings on. It allows us to go deeper, which is something not always allowed to us with our crazy weekly schedules. I highly recommend it for any couple. I realize many of my readers have children or are expecting children, so this may seem like an unrealistic expectation, but it makes a world of difference.
Date Day: On Saturday, we had a Matt and Alida day, which we hadn't gotten to enjoy in a while. We still do our weekly date nights (usually on Friday, but we've learned to be flexible as long as we get in in one night on the weekend). These are so important to our relationship. Since our weeks are busy (for a boring rundown, see previous whiny blog written last month), it's so vital for us to have a time in which we are not stressed out from work or research, but we get to focus on us. Sure, we get to briefly do this on weeknights during dinner, but keep in mind that I teach classes at times in the evenings until 11 pm and we both have weekly Bible study as well. Since I also work until 7 pm and have to sit in traffic, I don't usually get home until 8-ish at the earliest on weeknights, which makes connecting during the week a little more difficult. Date night is great because it gives us something fabulous to look forward to no matter how our week is going. We try not to discuss work or research during date night, but just focus on us, our relationship with God, etc. It's our time to chat about things on our minds other than menial daily tasks and goings on. It allows us to go deeper, which is something not always allowed to us with our crazy weekly schedules. I highly recommend it for any couple. I realize many of my readers have children or are expecting children, so this may seem like an unrealistic expectation, but it makes a world of difference.
But I digress...Matt and I also try to have date days every now and again in which we have the whole day away from the usual and we do something fun. This Saturday, we got to go to the Encinitas Chocolate Festival and the Quail Botanical Gardens, near San Diego. IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!! I think that chocolate is so insanely tastey and I was so excited that an entire festival dedicated to it was nearby. I got to try all sorts of truffles, dips, cupcakes, brownies, cakes, and confections. I have to say that my favorite was a tie between the dark chocolate coconut peanut brittle from Jers Chocolatier (featured on Rachael Ray for anyone who has seen it) and the skewered marshmallows and strawberries dipped in the dark chocolate fountain (see photo below). Heaven, both of them!!! We also got to try novelties like chocolate dipped Twizzlers, vegan raw chocolate with acai, chocolate and cinnamon dusted almonds, and cafe mocha brownies. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM........
The botanical gardens were lovely as well. It's always so great to enjoy God's earth and praise him for his creation. Having a ridiculously black thumb myself, I also stand in awe of anyone who can keep vast arrays of foliage alive and looking great!
I guess I'm officially a tree hugger!
Here are Matt and I at the garden's overlook. It has a lovely view of the ocean. Clearly we were alone and had no one to take a photo of us together. The self-portrait didn't quite turn out so great at this location.
Since Matthew can only take chocolate in moderation, the festival was more fun for him in that he got to see me enjoy the samples. Sure, he had a couple of his own, but he wasn't entranced with the world of chocolate as I was. Seeing that he is such a loving and amazing husband, he would have been fine just going to the chocolate festival and going home, but...that's not so fair to him. Luckily, his favorite Texas restaurant, Rosa's Tortilla Factory, somehow has one franchise restaurant in Temecula, which is between San Diego and LA. It's a tad out of the way, but sooooooo worth it. We got to enjoy dinner there on our way back home. That was super yummy too! 
All in all, we've had some great times these past few weeks. Don't be mistaken, we're both still working super hard and massively stressed out during the week, but it's nice to share the happier side of our lives instead of our stress and insanity. It's great how God uses all sorts of experiences to teach us (and remind us of) things about his character.
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