I think the most exciting part of the trip, at least for me, was telling all our friends there that I AM PREGNANT! I know most of my blog readers know that by now, but it is fun to finally put it in print on the blog. For the record, I am about twelve weeks along, due April 30.
Saturday afternoon I met my friend Melina for lunch. She was a fellow sixth grade math teacher at Le Conte. Melina caught me up on all the news from school. I don't miss teaching at all but I do miss the wonderful people I taught with. Besides the pleasure of her company, I really enjoyed my meal at California Pizza Kitchen! We just don't have a lot of dining options in Indiana, you know?
We had dinner with our friends Daniel and Aimee on Saturday night, along with their sons. It was just like no time had passed--they are wonderful friends and I miss seeing them as often as we could in LA. Zach and I got to meet the newest member of their family, Jonathan, who was born about a month after we moved. Zach got some Daddy-to-be practice holding him--aren't they both so cute?
Sunday morning we went to Grace Community Church. It was wonderful to see so many friends in one place and hear two powerful sermons. In true John MacArthur fashion, we heard Part 4 of a many-part sermon on the Second Coming of Christ!
Sunday night we went to dinner at an Armenian restaurant with our friend Noah. Again, an ethnic cuisine choice that we probably don't have within 50 miles of Indiana. As Noah promised, they had truly amazing hummus. I wish I had a picture of the enormous piles of meat we were served. So tasty!
Monday was a big day. Zach left very early to go to USC for his doctoral exams. He returned a few hours later with a big smile on his face. Just call him Dr. Collins now! As he repeated often throughout the day, this means no more studying and no more tests. For the first time in 21 years, he is not a student!
Monday afternoon I headed back up to Aimee's house in Santa Clarita. I thought I was just going to have lunch with a few friends. Here is what I found:
Between the time she found out I was pregnant Saturday night and Monday morning, Aimee planned a baby shower for me! Nine of my closest friends were able to come on short notice. I was absolutely overwhelmed by the love and generosity these women poured out on me. I have benefited so much already from their wisdom as mothers and it is comforting to know that they will be there for me in the future as I learn to be a mom.
Monday night was Zach's concert with Southwest Chamber Music. He played Kraft's Encounters II "beautifully,"according to both me and the music reviewer from the LA times! (Read the review online here.) The rest of the concert was not exactly my favorite kind of music (strange, contemporary percussion stuff)--Zach's piece was the most "normal" and if you've heard it you know that's really saying something! Zach recorded the piece Tuesday morning. He felt like the recording session went very well and we look forward to hearing the edited version, although it won't be released until next fall.
So that's our trip to LA, in slightly more than a nutshell. I wish we could go back every three months but I know it will probably be a while, especially with Baby Collins on the way. But everyone is welcome in Indiana anytime!
1 comment:
Sounds like you had a great trip! Do you think you could copy and paste the LA Times review in an email for me? You have to register to be able to read it, and I don't want to sign up for anything. Thanks!
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