Made it to San Fransisco

We are in SF at the airport. After chaining up through the Siskouyou mountains we got into Simpson in Redding at 2:22AM. As an Alliance pastor I get free lodging at the school which is pretty cool. I guess I wasn't clear that the whole family was coming, so we had 2 bunks, 2 pillows and 2 sleeping bags. It was pretty comical. We made due. then we got up, had Manhattan bagels for breakfast and met up with Travis O (you may know him as Old Skool) and his family at sbux and then headed to San Fransisco.

We had a bunch of time so we decided to do some sight seeing. We had In-N-Out and it was sooo yummy. Then we drove past the Persidio (I lived there when I was in 5th grade) and crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. We took some pics at vista Point and then crossed back over. We got our SIX bucks out for the toll and the lady said we did not have to pay today! Weird. I didn't ask, but I wonder if someone in front of us paid for it. Cool. We then went to the Norwegian Seaman's Church where we went a few times when we lived there. We got some Norwegian waffles and then bought some Norwegian chocolate from their little store. I got to use my Norwegian with Torre. That was awesome!

We are now waiting to get on the plane. Been here a few hours. We are tired, but in good spirits. We could get bumped and get a total of $1,600 worth of Delta dollars between the four of us. Unfortunately we wouldn't get in till MUCH later tomorrow or the next day. We are already 2 days later than we started off. So we will take our first class seats and sit in them and sleep well...and eat and watch movies, etc. :)

Can't wait to get to the "other side." Pray we get there safely and swiftly. Pray also for sleep for the kids and JA and I too. Thanx!

Christmas Plans have Changed!!!

We were supposed to fly out of Portland to head back to the east coast for Christmas today. Paula Smith was going to go up with us to the airport, but her flight got canceled yesterday so she headed down to California yesterday. Too bad, because our flight got canceled this morning and we were told we could not get out until the 25th! Well that threw a wrench into everything.

Long story short, every flight that is going out of Portland, Seattle, Eugene, Redding, etc. is booked solid and we can't get out. So, we got a flight out of San Fransisco tomorrow night. We will be driving a rental down there. It's about a 10 hour drive without snow or traffic. Hmmm. We will have to see what happens. The plan is to try to stay at Simpson University over night (free for Alliance pastors) and then drive down in the morning. That helps to break up the trip a bit. The problem there is I can't get a hold of anyone at the university. grrrr!

So we will drive and pray. Would you pray for us too? We could really use it.

trace Bundy plays on his iPhone

This was amazing!!! He plays the first song he ever learned to play on guitar. His brother taught him how to play One by Metallica. His brother was in the audience that night. very cool. Aubria (who plays violin with him from time to time) also played a violin app on an iPhone. This was the first time they had played this live before. It was really cool.

Getting up early to get in line?

Have you ever stood in line for something so you can be one of the first ones to "get it" or to "experience it?" Maybe it was standing in line to get tickets for Star Wars. Maybe you camped out at Best Buy overnight so you could get all those incredible deals. Maybe it was trying to be one of the first 250 to get a chance to get on Survivor. Yes, I am in all those camps.

For me, a big part of it is the experience with friends. It is an adventure and fun to do with others. it is also fun to be part of the "hunt." Well, This morning I got to experience a new one. And I gotta be honest with you, it is the super bargain hunter in me that caused this slightly embarrassing journey:

You see, Jeanne-Ann and I went to Old Navy last night as part of our "finish our Christmas shopping and then go on a date to a guy movie night." Well, the lady there told us that today (Saturday) they were having a huge sale and we could come back and get money back on what we bought last night. She also told us that the 1st 50 people in line would get a bracelet good for 4 movie passes if we spent $20 and she said the doors would open at 7. soooo....you know me. I love a good bargain.

I called Steve and he agreed to go. We got up and left the house at 6AM!!! to get in line. We got there about 6:20 and we were the 1st ones in line...(I kinda felt dumb, but it was fun to do with Steve). So then we put our chairs at the doors and sat in the car until two ladies got there about 6:40. Then we proceeded to wait in the bitter cold. That was when we saw a sign saying they opened at 8! The ladies had heard it was at 7 as well. I asked them if they were told this by a short Latino lady and they said yes and I started to get really mad.

Right at 7 Claire Allen, a former student of mine, shows up to open the doors right at 7 and I was like, YES!!! Unfortunately she said they didn't open the doors till 8. UGH!! So we ran over to get some Starbucks in the Mall and warm up a little.  We then walked back over and saw about 8 people in line
and at about 7:10 Claire came back out with another employee with bracelets and said we didn't have to wait in line anymore and could come back and get our stuff at 8.

Then we went back in and finished our drinks and got our pic with Santa in the Mall...and yes, we got our 4 movie passes and $5 thermals!!!!!!

(ask me sometime about how Santa tried to "extort" money from me)

Another "camping out" experience in the books.

Youth Pastors beware! 50% off YS stuff for the next 50 hours!

Go here!

Feed the Birds

We had lunch on the 10th floor of this hotel, which was the restaurant. We had some leftovers and decided to share with our new friends.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

I don't know that I have ever done a movie review on here, but I did want to mention 2 flicks I saw. Brian, Steve and I had not been out together for a guys night in a while. So we decided to go to the movies. We had heard a little about this movie, but weren't sure exactly what it was about.

It's about the Nazi's in WWII. A family moves to the country as the father has gotten a promotion in the Nazi army. The kids and the wife really didn't know what it was all about. The little boy (8), Bruno met another 8 year old, Schmol, who was on the other side of the fence. They became friends and Bruno brought him food and passed it through the electric fence.

Long story short (SPOILER ALERT - highlight the next area and you can see what is written) Schmol's dad goes missing (he was surely gassed) and Bruno tells him they could go on an adventure and gives him some of the "striped pajamas." He dug under the fence and they went looking for him. Long story short. They were ushered to the "showers." As that was happening the family realized what was happening and they went looking for him. The dad gets inside the camp and looks for him. he is too late. They have all been gassed (killed). Then it fades to black and the credits roll. Wow. That was tough. It was very depressing and none of us were expecting that.

We decided to do something I am not sure I have ever done. We needed a little lift and then sneaked into the last part of 4 Christmases. We laughed, but it was pretty crass. Quite funny when the baby vomited on Resses Witherspoone's character. I think it was about a gallon of vomit. Vince Vaughn's character couldn't look at it because he was going to do the same. Funny. But, I don't think I would EVER pay for it and I won't be renting it. That was enough insight to show me I won't be needing that in my life.

We left, still being struck by the Pajama movie. Wondering what the target audience was for it. Was it just a reminder so no one would forget what happened? I don't know.

100th Year Birthday Party

Today we went to the Keizer Elk's club to celebrate our friend, Ethel's birthday. 12 years ago we moved to Keizer, OR and lived in a duplex in a quiet neighborhood. One day we saw an elderly lady on a small ladder washing her car while her husband sat in a chair watching. We went over to help and quickly became friends with Jack and Ethel. We got to hear many stories of what it was like growing up in the Salem area. Wow, was it different. Broadway, River and Commercial streets were all dirt roads. Weird to think about.

A few years after, Jack passed away. It was tough on Ethel. We were glad we could be there with her during that time. She is a tough lady and she is stubborn. She doesn't let sickness or anything else take her down either. She is quite an amazing woman. When we had kids she immediately became Granny Ethel. She became a surrogate Grandma for our kids out here.

We moved to the south end of town a bit later and continued to visit and let our kids get to know her too. 4 years ago we moved back into the neighborhood. It's good to back in her world, but it's never often enough. I feel bad. Life goes on and suddenly it's been a long time since we have seen her.

Getting to go to her birthday party was awesome! We told the kids that chances are they would not get to go to another 100th birthday party again. Maybe, but not likely. Have you been to one?

DYC Fun

Just a little messing around with sprout builder. Click the share button and drop it on ur facebook/myspace/blog, etc.

LOST?

A sneak peek. Man, I can't wait! Starts January 21.

Attaboy! another quick freebie.

these guys are AWEsome! I spoke at a camp where they lead worship. And I got a really cool shirt from them. One of my favs. They have a free download over here. Go check em out. You can also find them on myspace and facebook of course.

10 Free Worship Songs..."free" memory cards.

I love getting to pass on free stuff to you my blogger friends! Here is the latest.

Click here.
Included in this fine find:
Lincoln Brewster
Parachute Band
Jared Anderson
Hillsong
Desperation Band
and more!

OH, want to give the gift of memory? Over at Andorama you can get a 4 GB Compact Flash Card for $19.95. If you buy one, you get a $10 visa card. If you buy 2 you get a $30 visa gift card. If you buy 3 you get a $6o gift card. You actually make some money here.