Grander earth has quaked before
Moved by the sound of His voice
Seas that are shaken and stirred
Can be calmed and broken for my regard

And through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And through it all, through it all
It is well

And far be it from me to not believe
Even when my eyes can’t see
…
And this mountain that’s in front of me
Will be thrown into the midst of the sea
…
So let go my soul and trust in Him
The waves and wind still know His name
…
And through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And it is well with me

{ Blessed by the rawness and authenticity of the songwriter’s story (side note: spotted the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood we rented bikes from in SF) and the inspiration for the song. }

It was a rough start to the year when E ran into some stairs @ home and severely bruised his mouth/gums and knocked several of his teeth. Lots of blood and lots of tears were shed but always lessons to be learned. Indeed, however difficult any circumstance can be, “grander earth has quaked before.” Our eyes are on you. On our daily drives from the mountains to the bay, we believe that he can throw those mountains in front of us into the ocean if He so chose. But sometimes… those mountains are there for a reason.

In the end, E had to get both front teeth extracted but thankfully, they were baby teeth and will be replaced — in nature’s time.

He had a Jogathon on the calendar just a few days after the accident and we are so proud of this boy for his commitment and resilience in deciding to still run — on behalf of his school and the friends/family that had decided to donate and support him. Mommy had to squirt water directly down his throat as he couldn’t even drink out of a cup or through a straw because of the pain… and then had to be fed piece by piece @ lunch. Never will we take for granted even simple daily things.

Right past the water station ‘cuz Mama’s got my bottle. Like an elite, haha.

BFF mimicking his can’t open my mouth look. :D

Yay, second highest number of laps in his class and he raised the most amount. Um, so who are we going to hit up next year, lol.

Indeed, life is full of seas and waves that are shaken and stirred but it is He that calms and breaks them. These kind of lyrics really become to alive to us in places and moments like this.

Back in the day… when he had front teeth. :D

Always thumbs up for farmer’s market local fare.

A hike near dusk around the boulders accessible from our neighborhood.

If we knew about this view, we would’ve come sooner!

Some parts were pretty steep.

Saw quite a number of folks with their pads and climbing shoes doing actual bouldering.

Of course he wanted to try! Um, in a few years?

“From the rising to the setting of the sun, the name of the LORD is praised.” – Psalm 113:3

A common occurrence after school — learnin’ hard, playin’ hard?

… is Mammoth’s cute trunked mascot. We caught him a few times on the mountain but didn’t get to catch a pic.

Back up a little, we planned our snow trip cushioned with a stop in L.A. Daddy got some seats in his co.’s suite at the Staples Center for a Lakers game so we decided why not (though def not big b-ball fans).

We left SD after lunch so had enough time to stop at the La Habra Children’s Museum (yep, in the ASTC program).

Look beyond. :)

All in all, it wasn’t huge but had some nice local/regional touches and good use of their space.

Historical caboose outside the museum. The museum actually used to be a train station and depot.

Sweet Veggie, we meet again! And oh, what a delight. We stumbled upon this place (during their grand opening) last year when Mommy was headed to TW and the boys had to drop her off @ LAX before going to Big Bear. AYCE Taiwanese vegetarian goodness, mmmm-mmmm. This boy had ??? many bowls of shaved ice, haha.

With our bellies full, it was off to Staples Center.

Saw this line on the walk there and asked security what it was for. We were assuming some kind of concert or celebrity. Um, no. It was the queue for ice skating???

They gave out Lakers fedoras.

He enjoyed the experience and it turned out to be a close and exciting game.

The other side of the crazy ice skating line. We peeked in the rink and it was seriously like shoulder to shoulder skating.

A quick Chinese bakery run afterwards and then we drove to our overnight in Victorville before going up the mountain the next day.

We stopped at Fossil Falls for a short hike to stretch out our legs. Can’t really tell from the pic but it was super cold and windy.

All volcanic rock in unique formations…

Another one of those in the middle of nowhere jerky places.

We then took a drive around the Alabama Hills, the gateway to Mt. Whitney (tall mountain in the background) — Daddy’s dream hike that will likely soon come true. :) This area is also known to be the backdrop for quite a few shows and movies.

E was excited for Nightmare Rock — painted by local artists. It was getting dark and even colder so we decided to make a beeline for our condo and then spend some more time exploring here on the way back.

Geared up and ready to go.

We spotted him on the mountain with his snowboard group and tailed them for a bit.

Ladies and gents, we are all on a lift together as a family. :))

Mommy and son riding. Mama’s dreamed of this day since you were born, hehe.

A mighty fine mountain…

Our high altitude date. :)

But gah, it was snowing on the day we were leaving. No powder this trip but still some great runs.

Daddy likes seeing the SUV in all these new and adventurous places.

Found Convict Lake while coming down the mountain.

In search of snow for his snowballer. (Remember when we picked this up in Utah?)

Back at Alabama Hills for a hike to see the arches.

A nook of warmth.

A couple hours later, grabbed some comfort Chinese food in LA w/ some to-go hot desserts and rolled into home sweet home in the late eve.

Annnnnnd, yo, it’s another new year!

Had to do the cheesy beach/cliffs pic for our first family photos here, right?

It was actually pretty fun, though, and we enjoyed working with our photog who moved here from Russia a few years ago. :) It really just felt like a stroll along the cliffs around sunset, which is when we usually go anyway.

A few other takes we really liked:

For the first half of E’s holiday break, we hung around town.

Sat on Santa’s lap @ a library party. Afterwards, he saw Santa getting in a car and asked why he didn’t come in his sleigh. :D

Acai fix. You really can’t beat Everbowl — all you can ask for toppings.

Checked out this neat biker-centric coffee shop before going to an artsy, handmade market in Barrio Logan. Daddy is sold on their coffee.

The skate park under the bridge on our walk there was pretty neat. Lots of cool street art, too.

Went to see lights at the SD California Temple. It’s similar to the one in SLC.

More lights @ Starlight Circle.

Lots of spectacular decorations but this Star Wars one was his fave.

These are the back at Legoland faces. :P

Did a lot of water/boat rides this time.

We had about an hour to check out SeaLife which we also get entrance with our passes.

Not huge but still better than the one in Dallas.

All the Lego ornaments!

Christmas passed quietly but yet meaningfully. We lit a b-day candle for Jesus and had a little devo. Like our new minimal, birch tree? :)

He was def dreaming of a Lego Christmas and that he got! He pretty much built all gifted sets day of. :) Santa brought: The Hulkbuster Smash-up, Tatooine and First Order Specialist Pack, Killow vs. Samurai X and then a few from friends.

Rooftop of The Nat was open post-Christmas.

Some fun and creativity @ Fleet Science Center.

Just enough daylight for a little time by the playground in Balboa.

Went for Jungle Bell festivities at the SD Zoo. Thanks to one of our neighbors for the tix!

And this is how a hippo sleeps. :) Every number of seconds, he goes above water to take a breath. Poor guy, talk about interrupted sleep!

The tree lights show with music was quite good.

Short Torrey Pines sunset hike. Didn’t get to trek down but there’s always another time.

We’ll say it over and over: this.never.gets.old.

It’s off to L.A. for a Lakers game in Daddy’s company suite and then Mammoth Mountain for our first snow tracks of the season. First time Ikon Pass-holders, woohoo! :)