The little one.

The little one was home for 2 weeks. It was so good having him home. And the best part is that I don't even have to miss him yet because he is home for the weekend again tomorrow. I made a point of taking some photos of us together.

Sometimes he was being pretty difficult.

Sometimes he was being pretty funny.

Sometimes he was being pretty sweet.



Sometimes he was being pretty werid.

But whatever faces he was pulling, it sure was great having him home. Can't wait to get him home again this weekend for his birthday. How is it that my baby brother is turning 18? This scares me a lot.

Curly.

My beautiful, baby brother left for his Navy training yesterday! Excuse me, but when did he grow up and how did I miss it? I honestly can't believe it.

A few days before he left we had a "date night". We went to the movies to see Due Date. I knew that it was going to be good because Fin had gone the night before and loved it! He was very happy to go and see it again. There were a lot of people in the cinema watching the movie. I got a little bit annoyed though. It seemed like there were hundreds of people that were all there together and I think they thought they were on their sofa watching it at home. Every couple of minutes they would turn around and talk to the person 2 rows behind them!! I didn't notice this too much because I was far too busy laughing at the movie. Seriously, if you haven't seen this yet then you should definitely go! I am probably going to see it again.

I do have a few knew bruises after our date though. Aparantly I have an annoying laugh when we are at the cinema, so my sister and brother kindly told me. So, whenever I laughed during the movie he would elbow me in the arm! Lovely. I must have been because it was really funny! Anyway, I had a lovely time with Fin.

Before we left I told him that he needed to get changed into something smarter. And this is what he came down in! He always makes me laugh!!

Fin is such a funny, caring, loving, thoughtful guy and I will miss him. I love you, Curly.

"For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10 NLT

Back in the Summer of 2004!

I am finally finding time to sit down and blog about my summer. Sorry it has taken me so so long. It was a pretty exciting summer filled with fun, friends and family.

The first time I went to California was way back in 2004 with my sister. We were invited by friends we met at a wedding in Scotland. Long story short, we met a lovely couple there who invited my sister and I to spend the summer with them. We were very excited about the opportunity to go over there having loved the time that we got to spend with them while they were here. So off we went, I was 15 and my sister was 17. We all hit it off straight away and had a wonderful summer together. The last week we were there we went to their Church Beach Camp. My sister and I were both really, really dreading going to this camp. We had no idea what it was going to be like and didn't really know anyone that was going to be there. Little did I know that this would be a life changing week with lots of learning. It was so hard to leave them when we came back to Scotland. We didn't really know if we would see each other again.

We shared with our Church what we had experienced that summer. We were able to show them the Beach Camp baptism video. This really moved them and they were encouraged by this. We wanted more kids from Scotland to be able to experience what we had. So we pitched this idea to the Elder board and they loved the idea. The Church were happy to pay for the flights for the kids to get over there. In 2006 we were all set to go over, myself and another guy who attended our Church. At the last minute her pulled out so I went over by myself again. Of course, I had another great summer there.

I come from a small Church so for the next few years there really wasn't any kids that were old enough to go over. Until last year, 2009. My baby brother was now 16 and I thought it would be great for him to experience this before he finished school. And a close friend of mine was also in her final year of school. So we got ourselves oganised to all go over. I was so excited that finally I was going to be bringing more students over with me. It was a wonderful summer. They both learnt a lot and got to share their summer with two wonderful families who fell in love with both of them. I was able to go along to Beach Camp with them and help with the childcare there.

This year we were fortunate enough to send another student over again this year. I went over with her and was able to go along to Beach Camp with her. Anna is such a beautiful young girl, inside and out, and it was a real joy to have her there this year. She has a such a sweet spirit about her.

This year I was blessed with a lovely group of girls. They are all such sweet girls and loved having the opportunity to spend each evening with them at Beach Camp.

This summer I was so happy to spend more time with my very special friend. It is very hard being so far away from someone the is so dear to me but I am very thankful for the friendship that we do have. I have so much fun with this lady. She is such a blessing. Love you, boo.

Every year that I return to California I always make new friends. This year was no exception. I was lucky enough to share a tent with this girl as well as LOTS of laughs. She is a close friend of my lovely boo so we were sure to have a great time together. And we certainly did. The Lord definitely blesses us through friendships, and that is exactly what He did this summer. We had a lot of fun together this summer. I miss seeing these lovely faces each day.

For some reason I seem to have NO photos of my dear family over there, The Allens. They know how much they mean to me. They are famly for sure. I was blessed with many laughs, long talks, hugs, grandkids, "taking the mic", delicious meals, and even more special memories made. I love you dearly and miss you lots.

I will leave you with just a taste of what it is like when Karen and I are together. Lots of faces that look like this.

"Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart." Philippians 1:3-4