5 Years Ago Today...

A boy met a girl in a coffee shop. 

April 2006, 1st picture together

Big Bear Break Down

Matt blogged about Big Bear yesterday but left out this little jewel.  The boys were in the funniest mood and were dancing around in a circle together.  Let me state that all the ladies were lounging around and watching (Molly actually took this video).  Isn't it usually the other way around?

Enjoy.

Big Bear 2011

Ever since childhood the mountains have been one of my favorite places to go.  I'll take any excuse to go where there's snow, which maybe explains our out-of-character splurging on snowboards and lift tickets last year.  While we didn't snowboard, this past weekend our community group took a quick trip up to Big Bear that was just what we needed.

We rented a cabin and played games, sat in a hot tub, and had good conversation.  Ellen cooked everyone two great meals and we just used the time to relax and have fun.

I really do love these people.

Like a Tree Planted By Water

Thought I'd share this little passage from Jeremiah 17.  Matt and I read it regularly to keep sane.  Living in LA with very uncertain career choices can lead to constant worrying and stress.  Who knows what the Lord has planned for us, but whether success or failure, we choose to be "trees planted by water" that are not "anxious in the year of drought."  Maybe it will be encouraging to you today.

5Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man

and makes flesh his strength,

whose heart turns away from the LORD.

6He is like a shrub in the desert,

and shall not see any good come.

He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,

in an uninhabited salt land.

7"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,

whose trust is the LORD.

8He is like a tree planted by water,

that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes,

for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought,

for it does not cease to bear fruit."

9The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it?

10"I the LORD search the heart

and test the mind,

to give every man according to his ways,

according to the fruit of his deeds."

11Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,

so is he who gets riches but not by justice;

in the midst of his days they will leave him,

and at his end he will be a fool.

12A glorious throne set on high from the beginning

is the place of our sanctuary.

13 O LORD, the hope of Israel,

all who forsake you shall be put to shame;

those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,

for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water.

14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;

save me, and I shall be saved,

for you are my praise.

The Back of Matt's Head is FAMOUS



If you find yourself perusing the magazine aisle at your local Barnes and Noble you might want to pick up the January/ February 2011 edition of Relevant Magazine.  Why you ask?  Because Mr. Matt Godfrey is in it!  Well, the back of his head is anyways, and at this point in the game, we are going to count that as a WIN!



Here Matt is shooting a scene for Blue Like Jazz with Steve Taylor (director) and Don Miller sitting in the background.  If you don't want to purchase a copy of the magazine but you still want to read the article, click here.

Maybe next time, we will see that cute mug of his too :)

*Photo credits: Jonathan Frazier

Little Lucy Turns 2

It is hard to believe that this little girl:

Has turned into this big girl!

As I mentioned earlier, my dad, step mom, and some of my brothers and sisters paid us a visit over the weekend making a pit stop on their way home from Birmingham to Los Angeles.  I always have the best time when they are here, then go into a funk for a couple days after they leave because I miss them so much.  In honor of Lucy's birthday today, below you will find some video we took while she was here.  Lucy has gotten so funny and social.  She is one of the happiest babies I have ever been around!  She kept making us laugh especially with her obsession with our window unit and crazy dance moves (Seen below.  The "Running Man" is our personal favorite.  What is that face!?).  I hate that I miss so much of all my siblings lives, but I really cherish the little bit of time we spend together.  Matt and I hope to visit them all in Hawaii this summer.  Can't wait!

*Excuse the bizarre lighting.  This weekend was a true lesson in using the iPhone camera in various situations :)

New Years Disney World Trip 2011 (Or reason #1 we haven't blogged in two weeks)

We have been MIA on the blog for nearly two weeks despite our rules, but I can't say that I mind because we have simply been too busy.  In the past 13 days we have gone to Disney World for 6 days, enjoyed a visit from my dad and the kiddos, celebrated Matt's 25th birthday (with a surprise party) and both dealt with nasty colds.

We'll have a blog post to cover all the above (Except for maybe those colds.  Who wants to read about snot and coughing?)  

First things first, Disney World!

Matt and I always love a good Disney World trip and we have been dying to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter ever since it opened and we have been reading articles about how good it is.  So, as birthday gifts for both of us, Matt's parents took us on a trip over New Years to Orlando to spend time at Disney World and a day at Universal for our beloved Harry.

This trip was quite a bit different from our last trip because, well, it wasn't just the two of us and we had half the time to get everything done.  Since we have Disneyland here at home, we spent about 4 hours total at the Magic Kingdom and tried to do things we can only do in Orlando.  We spent the most time in the Animal Kingdom and Epcot.  

And we spent about half our time EATING.  I know most people (heck, I'd probably think the same thing if I had never been since childhood since I usually hate touristy things) think of Disney as a cheesy place for kids with crappy, expensive food.  Yes, there are things about Disney that are cheesy and crappy but there are some LEGIT restaurants there.  We went to three (Artist Point, California Grill, and Boma) that I had never before that I thought were super tasty. 

But on to the main focus of the trip:

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was AMAZING.  It was so detailed and whoever was in charge got it right.  The stores looked exactly like they do in the movies, Moaning Myrtle could be heard in the bathrooms, and the "magical" touches everywhere were a lot of fun.  Our only criticism was how small it was.  That part of the park was so crowded while the rest of universal was a ghost town.  Hopefully in the coming years they will expand it beyond the one street it is now.

Butterbeer was so yummy!  Like a caramel soda.

The main focus is the ride: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey that is located inside Hogwarts castle (Which is so cool inside!  The talking portraits looked so real!).  We only got to go on the ride twice because the wait was so long and it made me very motion sick, but it still was a ton of fun (read this article for a description).

Thanks Jimmy and Nida for the trip!  We had a ton of fun.