A little break...

Did ya miss me? It's been a little quiet around staciewood.com as of late and I do apologize. It has not been for lack of content, but rather the opposite extreme of too much going on to keep up with the blog. So get ready, because you are about to be bombarded with pictures and updates and thoughts.

We just got back last night from a ten day trip to South Carolina where we celebrated my parents 40th wedding anniversary. That, I do believe, is the longest vacation Mr. Andy Wood has taken since our honeymoon 8 years ago. It was absolutely wonderful.

My brother and his wife, sister & her family, parents, and the Wood clan all rented a beach house for the week.

Here's my typical morning schedule:

6:30 AM: Wake up call courtesy of 5 very excited cousins all ages 5 and under
7:00-8:00: Go for a run on the beach with my sister and sister-in-love
8:00-9:00: Eat breakfast, get the kids ready for the beach
9:00-12:00: Beach baby!
12:00: Lunch and then naps

The afternoons were filled with more beach or pool, a walk to the pier, painting sea shells, or movies. Each family took a turn cooking dinner so we ate like kings every night and I've got about 4.5 extra pounds to show for it!

We killed some desserts:

• Peach cobbler with ice cream
• 2 (TWO) nights of homemade peach ice cream
• 3 dozen chocolate chip cookies
• 2 pound cakes
• 1 chocolate bundt cake 
• smores
• Chocolate Passion Bowl
• 2 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts
• 1 loaf of cranberry bread

If you count, you'll notice that that averages out to be more than one dessert per day. But that's what vacation is for, right?!

Ok, enough commentary for today. It's time for a few top pics.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Andy found some $10 tickets to the Giants game last night so he and Caedmon had a special Daddy Date! It was a blessing on so many levels:

1. Caedmon has been struggling lately with some behavior stuff / heart attitudes. Andy has really been wanting to get some one-on-one time with him to invest deeper into their relationship and to speak into his life. This was a very bonding experience for them.
2. Sammy and I tagged along up to the SF where we all enjoyed dinner with the Pilgreen family. Sammy & I stayed at their house while Caedmon & Andy went to the game. ANYTIME I get with Shauna Pilgreen, it is an enormous blessing to me! I picked her brain all night.
3. Andy & I enjoyed some great conversation in the car for the ride up & back. Love that!

Here's a few pics from the night...

 5 boys: 3 Pilgreens, 2 Woods

all enjoying some pizza before game time

 As usual, Sammy was the last man standing (or sitting)

at the dinner table. Slow and steady. Not a crumb left!

 Caedmon and Sam "playing" Monopoly

I would have loved to hear how far they actually got.

 Every child benefits so much from Daddy Dates

Notice Caedmon's glove.
He thought he might catch a home run!

Happy Mother's Day!

Andy & I did a complete role reversal yesterday. I "preached" at South Bay, while he bent over backwards to make an incredible breakfast for me and take care of the kiddos almost all day long! I think we both have a greater appreciation for the other person's role after walking in their shoes. :-)

Andy made blueberry pancakes, bacon, and juice for breakfast...which is no small feat when you're trying to do it while managing two little boys who are full of energy from a good night's sleep! Breakfast was so yummy and the little "goodies" were much appreciated.

In addition to this, Andy ran over to Starbucks (we have one in our apartment complex) and got me my favorite drink...a non-fat Chai tea latte, of course!

Then it was off to church. I must say that it felt quite nice sipping my latte on the way to church while I enjoyed the peace and quiet of a little prayer time. It was a welcomed change of pace from loading up the Littles all the while trying not to get dirt or snot on my Sunday clothes! That's what Andy got to enjoy this Mother's Day.

I shared at all three services and it was such a joy to have that privilege. Someone said to me yesterday, "You should do that more often." I just laughed and said, "Are you kidding me? I've been working on this talk since LAST Mother's Day! I don't know how Andy does it ever 7 days!"

If you would like to listen to the talk, you can click here to download. Or you can watch the whole service here.

Can we do that again, please?!?!?!

OH. MY. GOSH! You have got to try that! Skydiving was perhaps the most fun and exhilarating thing I have ever done. SO worth it. Even if you are scared, just have someone push you out of that plane, and I promise you that you will not regret it once your feet land back on the ground. It is crazy exciting!

Here's the video I took of Andy as he discovered that we were going skydiving yesterday:

He seems pretty calm in the video, right? What you don't see is after the camera stops rolling he immediately started checking his pulse and telling me that his heartrate was through the roof! He sat in a chair in our living room with his iPhone and didn't move for about 20 minutes. I asked him if he was okay and found out that he was reading articles about the risks factors in skydiving! He found out that you're more likely to die in a car accident over the course of a years time than you are by skydiving. That helped a little. :-)

It was so great that Jennalene, Jack, and Archie went with us. That really relieved a lot of the stress and made the day more lighthearted and fun.

Andy was scared, but not so scared that he couldn't even enjoy it. By the time I landed on the beach, he and Archie were already talking about when they could come back to do it again! I knew he would love it!! :-)

We have so many good pictures...I think there's close to 500 total. So it's hard to find my absolute favorites. But I'll share a few really cool ones.

A Huge Surprise!

By the time this post publishes, Andy & I will be on our way to go skydiving! Yes, that's right, skydiving! 

I am surprising Andy with a skydiving trip for his 30th birthday (which isn't until June 15). I'm not exactly sure how he's going to react because I know he's pretty scared at the thought of skydiving. So, I'm giving him the gift he never knew he always wanted! :-) I just hope he doesn't get too mad at me!

I wrote the poem below and gave it to him in a Happy Birthday card about 20 minutes before it was time to go. I'm going to video tape him reading it aloud for the first time to get his initial reaction. Bahahaha! I'm having way too much fun with this!

We are currently doing a message series at church called "One Life, No Regrets". I didn't intentionally plan it this way, but it just so happens that next Sunday Andy is preaching about Regret Free Risks! How perfect is that?! Our worship pastor, Archie, is coming along to get some good pictures and video footage...which I suspect you might catch a glimpse of next Sunday. Also, our friends Jack & Jennalene will be skydiving with us. (We're all jumping tandem, in case you're wondering.)

Stay tuned for pictures and video footage! And now, here's how Andy realized what we're going to do...

Peeking just around the corner

Is your thirtieth birthday

And I felt compelled to celebrate

In an unforgettable way.

You’ve only got ONE LIFE to live

It should be with NO REGRET

So I’m helping you to take a RISK

That you never will forget!

Today we’re going skydiving!
Don’t kill me! It’ll be fun.

You’ll be so glad you did it

When all is said and done.

So strap on some courage with your parachute

And let’s drive to Santa Cruz

We’ll be landing on a sandy beach

After seeing breathtaking views.

Just think of it as an illustration

For your sermon next Sunday!
What better way to introduce

The message you want to convey?!

So happy birthday, Andy!
It’s a crazy gift, I know…

A gift you never knew you wanted

To help celebrate your Big 3-0!

A little get-a-way

Sorry I've been a little MIA around here this week. Well, I'm not 100% sorry, because the reason I haven't been blogging is because Andy & I went to Half Moon Bay for a couple nights to celebrate our 8 year anniversary. Our amazing friends, Mandy & Filipe, kept our boys so that we could get away.

Over a year ago, Andy & I were at a benefit dinner for the Freedom House where there was a silent auction. We bid on (and won!) a 2 nights stay at the Old Thyme Inn Bed & Breakfast in Half Moon Bay. It was awesome! If any of you are in the market for a Bed & Breakfast, I would highly recommend this one. The food was amazing, the house is quaint and decorated with lovely antique furniture, and there is a beautiful garden that we were able to enjoy.

We slept in, went for a run together, stuffed ourselves on breakfast, enjoyed a leisurely quiet time in the garden, and then strolled around the rest of the day. Over our 2 day trip, we visited the beach, ate at a couple great restaurants, read a ton, watched the sunset on the Pacific, and enjoyed a couple movies on Netflix. It really was a perfect couple of days for us.

The beautiful garden where we spent time alone with God (& each other!)

 Dinner at "Sam's Chowder House". This restaurant was evidently on The 

Food Network and is famous for their Lobster Roll. It was really delicious!

A breathtaking sunset

(side note: as we were enjoying the sunset, my mom sent me a text 

that just said, "Osama Bin Laden is dead". Added bonus!)