God Plans My Schedule

I have said it many times before, and I'll say it again. . .God plans my schedule. Let me explain. According to my original schedule, almost everything went differently than what was originally supposed to happen. At the last minute on my first night out, I was changed from a trip to Harrisburg, PA to Grand Rapids, MI. And I had my first encounter with someone I know WELL!
It was my job to make announcements as people came on the plane, so I'm chatting away about stowing their luggage properly, and making eye contact with those coming in at the same time. Suddenly, I see a little smirk and a wave, and I about dropped the microphone! For there, right before my eyes, was one of the girls I lived with in Germany for 3 years in the dorm as an RA! Andrea had just come off a trip from Germany to see her folks, and just "happened" to be on the same plane God had chosen me to work on mere hours beforehand. We took a picture, which wasn't very good, but its the memory that counts, right?Then, because I was in Grand Rapids for a really long time, I got to see another girl I lived with in the dorm, Alli! She works at Crown College there, and just "happened" to be about 1 mile away from where my hotel was. She took me out for a wonderful lunch and visit. :o )
Then my schedule changed again, and I ended up being in Chicago when my cousin was hoping to fly to Seattle, so he was waiting at my gate when I arrived in! I tell you what, I'm blessed beyond measure.
All-in-all, what was a mess of changes schedule-wise was a great blessing to me in the end.

A Baby Shower!

Today I had the privilege of using my free flying to head up to Seattle for a baby shower for my sister, Sharla. Granted, I came right back this evening, but it was a great time of seeing her joy and seeing her friends again, some of whom I have not seen since her wedding back in 2004! This is Rachel and Abby, two sisters whom we have hung out with, and who used to live with Sharla.
Dianne and Kristen, looking anxiously at the gift opening!
And this is the pleased momma with the proud auntie. And Coco, of course!!! :o )
Some great friends and family of Shar. . .Dianne, Joy, Vivian (Ben's mom) and myself.
Now Terra, Joy, and Sharla all graduated from high school together. Can you believe they're all pregnant together, too? Talk about good friendships!
This is our friend, Dianne. We met the year I graduated from high school, and she took two "homeless" sisters in for more Christmas's and other school breaks than I can remember. She and her husband drove down from Vancouver to be there for the celebration.
And Terra, one of the girls that used to live in the dorm with Shar and I when my parents were dorm parents. Great to see her and catch up with her!

A Day in Monterey

I had another great day with Anja, but this time in Monterey with her host family. I got spoiled all day long, and was completely blessed by all that happened, including a gorgeous day. This is Anja getting ready to eat lunch. What a view, huh?!

And this is what we were eating for lunch! We looked a long time at a lot of restaurants, and FINALLY found one that served chilli in a bowl instead of clam chowder. It was DEFINITELY worth the wait! Another view from our lunch area, looking the other direction.
Ahhh! Smilin' and satisfied! What a feeling!
We topped off our lunch with an icecream treat from Giardelli's ice cream sundaes. They were yummy, but the company was better!
Then Jack drove us along the coast, and we got to get out and take some pictures. This is Anja in our photo spot. See her way over there? Beautiful day with beautiful sunshine. I spent the afternoon sitting in it and reading a book.
You know those pictures where the camera shot just doesn't do it justice? Well this is one. I was trying to capture the color of the waves when the sun shone through them, and you can barely see it on here, but I loved it!
And that was the end of our day. Oh, and then we went to the cheesecake factory in Palo Alto. That was yummy, too! All-in-all, a great day with great fellowship! Thanks again, God!

A Day Playing Tourist!

A friend of mine from Germany came to visit San Fran, and we got together yesterday and played "tourist"! This is a beach near Pacifica. This is Anja and I. Not bad for a self portrait, I think!
We then went to another beach near the SFO Zoo. This one we waded in the water!
Another self portrait!

Beautiful sunshine on a beautiful day. It was breathtaking!
After 11 months of living here in The Bay area, I FINALLY got to see the Golden Gate Bridge up close. This was my first picture from the parking lot!
And there she is in all her glory. Wow.
See?!! I've even got the "tourist backpack!"
Love this shot, even if it was a little windy. . . .
My favorite shot of the sunset going down while we were walking across the bridge. Amazing.

A barge that passed underneath. You can barely see a very tiny person near the striped smoke-stack. This was a HUGE barge!
Proof that we did, in fact, walk across the whole bridge!
And the final view of the night. Thanks, God!
There are many other pictures that I took, so if you're on facebook, and you want to see them all, go to my profile page, and look at my photo albums. Enjoy!

An Evening in San Francisco

I got to spend an evening in the city with a girl that used to live in my dorm in Germany. She was here for a conference for her job, so it was super good to spend a few short hours with her. Here's a view of the city looking south (kind of) towards the airport.
And a great shot of Alcatraz, which was spotlighted with the sun going down. Notice the sea lions in the foreground. This is one of their favorite "party spots" and they come here often. The sun just beginning to set.
And the grand finale. . .almost!