Jazz & Angels

It's not very often you get the VIP treatment for FREE.

This weekend we were lucky enough to go to a Jazz Festival/Dinner at the Hyatt in Newport Beach, CA & an Angels Baseball game in a suite.

My boss gave me the $95.00 (per person) tickets for Fridays dinner & show. I've never been to a jazz concert before, the band is the world famous, "Fourplay." They were awesome & it was a nice romantic evening under the stars.

Dinner on the Patio at the Hyatt, Newport Beach, CA

Our seats were great until the tallest couple in the world sat in front of us!!
Then today my sister-in-laws boyfriend has a suite at Angels Stadium, so another fun FREE day! After the game they invited all the kids under 12 to come down to the field & run the bases. My nephew wasn't too sure if he wanted to go down. So me, being me...grabbed his hand & said, "C'mon Daniel, you'll love it!"

I never want anyone to miss out on a fun opportunity so I often do this to my hubby & kids too... (they always have fun & thank me afterward).

He still was hesitant, but I had started to run...with him in tow, trying to get to the other side of the stadium in time.

Once we got in line, he was so excited & ready to go. Unfortunately I didn't have my good camera with me so I had to settle for my cell phone, not the best quality, but you get the picture.


Daniel rounding the bases


My hubby & Daniel...yes I dragged him down with us!

Daniel in front of the dugout. Good thing they have people to clean up after them.
This NEVER would have been tolerated in a Little League dugout.


Elijah & Adam in the Suite


Adam in his new car...he drove us to the game, it was his 2nd time on the freeway, YIKES!
No, but he did good.

We had such an awesome weekend. I have to tell ya, date nights are a MUST for married couples. Be sure to take the time to hang out alone with your best friend at least 2x a month!

Street Dancers Perform?

My husband and I decided to spend a quiet day at the beach on Sunday after church. We walked down Main Street, ate lunch and then headed to the pier and sat down on a bench overlooking the ocean. We were spending some much needed alone time, watching the surfers, talking and just hanging out. A team of street dancers walked up and told everyone who was sitting around to please hang out because they would be performing shortly.

We both love watching any type of dance...but especially street dancing (it takes us back to the 80's, you know OLD SCHOOL). They began their preparation to perform. They stretched, did hand stands to strengthen their arms, several hard balancing moves, more stretches and then put on protective padding. This continued for about 30 minutes. We could tell that they were very talented as one of them ran up the side of a pole and did a back flip off of it.


The crowd was becoming restless with anticipation. Finally they were ready to perform. A lifeguard pulled up at the exact moment they were going to start and asked them for their permit to perform. They didn't have one...they scrambled around nervously for a while, but...it was over. We all walked away feeling let down. Sitting their waiting through all of their preparation for NOTHING!

Do you think God sometimes feels the same way? He begins to shape and mold us, using the hard times in our life to help us grow. Years and years of preparation. Getting us ready for all the blessings He intends for us. He waits patiently, day by day, trial by trial, as we slowly began to take shape. Finally when we're almost there...we become discouraged and quit. We feel that we don't have a permit to perform the way that God wants us to. We don't feel qualified. We are fearful and forget that he has been stretching us through hard times, strengthening us through his word and supplying us with protective padding through prayer and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Don't stop before you achieve your ultimate purpose! He is waiting with loving anticipation...for us to be stretched enough to be able to display our GIFTS to the world.

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground." Psalm 143:8, 10

STOP AND ASK

As I left my step sons football banquet at about 6:30 p.m. (it was over earlier than usual), I started to go my usual route home but then the light turned green so I took a different way. It was already very dark outside...I hate the time change. I pulled up to a light and was waiting for it to change, when all of a sudden I see an elderly woman walking across the street. She had a walker that had a seat on it, which currently carried her purse and a bag of groceries. She was very hunched over and slowly making her way across the street. The light turned green but people had to wait for her to finish crossing. I looked around to see if anyone was with her and just lagging a little bit behind...nope, she was all alone. I consider my town pretty safe, however I don't even walk alone at night. I drove through the light and then decided to turn around and see if she needed a ride. I thought she would probably be a little scared and not accept...but I decided to stop and ask.

I pulled up along side of her, rolled down my window, "Do you need a ride somewhere?" She pushed her walker closer to the curb, leaned forward, trying to get a better look at who was offering and if she thought it would be safe. "Oh, God bless you, I had to walk all the way to Walmart and now I'm still only halfway home." I said, "Well, I'm more than happy to give you a ride." I got out and started to load her things into my car. She told me where she lived and I was shocked that she had walked that far (about 2 miles each way)!

Then she proceeded to tell me that she was 93 years old! My 13 and 14 year old kids wouldn't even walk that far! She said that her husband had died three years ago and he drove her everywhere. Now she rely's on her nephew who lives with her for free. He unfortunately had to go by some parts to spruce up his car and told her he couldn't take her (nice, huh).

She was so sweet and spry...she even knew how to get in the back way to her house when I missed the turn. We pulled up to her house and she said, "Oh look, he was nice enough to leave the porch light on for me." I wanted to get out of the car and go smack her nephew in the face! But since I've gotten so much better at holding my temper, I helped her out, set up her walker, put her things in, and gave her a hug. I also handed her my business card and told her what time I got off work and to please call me if she ever needed a ride because I'm always out and about running errands. She thanked me again and told me how much the Lord has blessed her. I told her, he definitely loves you! She smiled and said, "I know"! With that she slowly headed up the driveway.

I wanted to share this story with you, not to have you think..."Oh look how nice Lisa is!" I hope to try to inspire EVERYONE to NOTICE the needs of others around you and STOP AND ASK if you can help them. Let me know who you find to help today...I would love to hear other peoples inspiring stories, no matter how small or insignificant...PLEASE SHARE!!

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Matthew 22:39

Date Night and The Duchess

I have the funniest story to tell you guys, but I’ll wait until tonight so I can add the pictures to give you the whole effect! It was Homecoming this weekend and both my senior son and my freshman step-son went. Here’s a little clue...The Freshman and The Seniors. That’s all you get for now...check back tonight if you want a laugh.

My husband had promised me a date night...which was going to happen immediately after taking pictures of the kids. We were going to go out for Sushi and a movie (a VERY special treat for us) we NEVER go out. It was so late by the time we finished, the parents at one of the houses invited us to stay and have dinner with them after the last group of kids left. So we stayed and visited, we had a good time...they’re a funny couple. Then it was off to the movies, which it was my turn to pick (he chose last time) I was debating between the new football movie or The Duchess (I LOVE period piece movies)...so I decided to be selfish and take him to see a romance. He has liked a couple of them in the past...as long as there’s violence and humor.

Well that wasn’t the case and I noticed he had to “go to the bathroom” an awful lot during the movie. When he came back I whispered, “Do you want me to tell you what happened?” “NO...I’m sure it wasn’t anything important!” I could tell he was VERY pleased with my choice, hahaha! For those of you who haven’t seen it, I will only say, it wasn’t what I expected...Keira Knightley was beautiful as usual, the costumes were amazing, the acting was great...just unexpected ending. You’ll have to see it yourself and tell me what you think. A word of advice...don’t take your husband (no matter how sensitive he is) definite chick flick!

Don’t forget to check back tonight!