What a weekend!!!

Sometimes when God brings things together, he brings things together in a really big way!!

That's how I felt about this past weekend on my trip down to the valley. The trip started off in a big way. After going out to dinner, Holly and I went to the Chris Tomlin concert. Wow, what a blast! The only downside to the concert (other than the volume!) was the fact that they wouldn't let me take photos inside, even though I carried the camera in with the strap over my shoulder! Still, it was so much fun.

One of the 4 photos I got of the concert before I was asked to turn my camera off.

Holly's dad was leaving for a hunting trip in Africa, so on Saturday we dropped him off at his friend's house so they could carpool to SFO. Afterward, we hung out with Holly's mom for the rest of the evening. We went to church (I got to play again for the first time in a while!!), and then took her out to dinner at BJ's in Folsom.

Sunday morning, Holly and I went for a walk and explored her old middle school. Afterward, we headed down to Folsom, where Sam and I played a game of 1-on-1. We have been playing these games (12-minute quarters) for years, and so far I had won zero games and lost 75 in a row! In this particular game, with time winding down, I found myself behind once again. With only 3 seconds left and down by 3 points, I missed a shot and fouled Sam. Amazingly, he missed both free throws, and I got the ball back and called a timeout. I passed the ball in, dribbled once or twice, and fired a 3-pointer, which dropped through the net with half a second to go. Sam called timeout and tried a half-court shot at the buzzer and missed, so we went into overtime tied 89-89. In overtime, I eventually took the lead by 5 points, before Sam battled back hard and scored 6 in a row to take the lead 103-102 with less than 15 seconds to go. On my final possession, I used a little time, and fired in a 2-pointer with one second to go to take the lead 104-103. Sam tried another half-court shot at the buzzer, and as the ball was in the air, he said, "It's over." I actually won a game finally! OK, so my record is now 1 win and 75 losses (0.013), but still, at least it's a start! It was a lot of fun. We'll see if I can back it up with another win sometime in the next 76 games!

Holly and I and Sam and Amy had a nice turkey dinner with my parents and grandparents after the game, and us 4 "kids" headed down to the Kings game against the Nuggets. This was Holly's first Kings game, and the Kings actually won! Wonders never cease, right?!

Wrong!! Here comes the highlight of the weekend. This event could not have been timed any better, even down to the minute!! I drove down to Sacramento on Monday to meet with Holly and go for a 45-minute walk on her lunch break. We were only 2 minutes into our walk when I got "the call." I had told her that I was waiting for my phone to ring and say the word "Missouri" on it, since the place within the Weather Service that makes the job offer calls is in Kansas City. This particular call was labled "Missouri" on my phone, so of course I interrupted our time together and answered the call. Holly's reaction was priceless when I told the person on the phone that I would accept the job offer! She backed up, covered her face with her hands, and said, "Thank You, God!!!" We had the rest of her lunch break to celebrate the incredibly happy news!! Just another example of God's perfect timing! I am sooo glad that Holly got to be there by my side when I got the call! I will be starting work in Sacramento the second week of May. Later that afternoon, my sweetie sent me an amazing gift and had it delivered to my parents' house. Check it out!:

Thank you, Sweetie!

Here's a few details about the job - it is within the National Weather Service's California Nevada River Forecast Center in Sacramento, currently located on El Camino Ave. near Watt. My job will consist of forecasting rainfall amounts and snow levels for most of the states of California and Nevada, and a small portion of Oregon. We have the opportunity in the winter time to brief state water officials in person and live over the Internet. Oh yeah, and even though we are open 7 days a week, it is a 6am-2pm day job!!! That's right, no more evening or night shifts, except for rare occasions when there are extended operations due to flooding potential! WOO HOO!!!

Holly and I had dinner at my grandparents' house on Monday evening, where I took this photo. We don't look happy at all, do we?! ;)

Every trip down to the valley is incredible! God has certainly shown Himself to be good and faithful to us! So what's up for the next trip? Holly's first trip to the races (and my 24th season!), and maybe a trip to Tahoe, we'll see. Oh yeah, and In N Out Burger. Sounds like a winning weekend to me - I can't wait!!!

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