Blessings & a Prayer

In front of the Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle!

So, I haven't quite kept up with my twice-a-week blogging, so this week I am going to try and make up for it! The rest of our visit with Ryan's family was nice! I ate more than I possibly ever have in my life, including Hitching Post, Jocko's, and Flatbread. On Wednesday we went to Hearst Castle, which is just about 2 hours north of here. We had all been before, so we took a tour of the upstairs rooms of the castle. Then, we were able to wander around the gardens, which were amazing! I wish I could get these people to landscape my yard! We then drove over to Paso Robles and stopped at Jocko's on the way home... YUM!
This week I am busy trying to get a ton of stuff done before going to Texas for the wedding of the year! I am working on my English teaching credential, and I have a lot to do before I can register for student teaching this fall, most of which needs to be finished before August 1. However, it's difficult to focus when I have all kinds of much more fun things I could be doing.

Finally, I wanted to mention something that has been weighing on my heart this week. Keith Martin, a family friend, lost his battle with cancer last week. "Brother Keith," as I knew him, was the music minister at my church while I was growing up. His son, Joshua, and I were very good friends growing up, and daughter Bethany was Alyce's roommate in college. The Martin family is an incredible family, and it breaks my heart that they have to go through this. Keith was one of the most Godly, joyful people I have ever known. There were thousands of people across the country praying for him, and sometimes it's hard to understand why things work out this way. However, please join me in praying for the Martin family in the coming weeks. It is my prayer that they experience an outpouring of love from those who were touched by Keith's life.

- Katie