MrAndrewBradley

We spent our second Christmas at the Bradley Lodge . We were welcomed by about 3 feet of snow around the property and on the deck and within about 24 hours had an extra foot of fresh powder as our Christmas present. My dad and I made it to Bear Valley to enjoy all of the fresh powder and a beautiful day (although very cold, with temperatures as low as -3). After hanging out on the slopes and seeing Erin and Eric , we played lots of cards , ate well and just had a good time relaxing.

With just a few hours until Christmas I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. It has been a busy last few months and as I look back on it a great year. From going to Las Vegas and Florida twice and spending lots of time at Bayside , the Bradley Lodge and with my family on trips and vacations (like Christmas Cruise 2008 ), life has been great. Although the economy is depressed, there is lots to be happy and thankful for and hopefully 2009 will bring even more good times and fantastic surprises. Track Santa

Between holiday parties, getting snowed on in Las Vegas , scraping ice off my car in the morning and taking the time to " Experience Christmas at Bayside " ( service times now through Christmas Eve ) it truly is Christmas time. With feet of snow forecasted for next week and plans to head up to the Bradley Lodge and ski at Bear Valley it will continue to be a magical holiday season.

Well after being in Sacramento for 19 hours after flying back from the cruise I was back at the airport and went to Las Vegas for a quick business trip. A co-worker and I headed to our hotel and then went to the Rio Carnival World Buffet (she had never been to a buffet in Las Vegas) and then lost some money at the slots . Today we both had separate events in Las Vegas, crazy to have two different events on the same day in Las Vegas, but hey, that's the life we lead. Although parts of Las Vegas had snow today , my partially outdoor event just had rain and lots of people braved the storms to come and see me. After our events we went to lunch at Gordon Biersch , our traditional after Las Vegas event restaurant and then it was off to the airport and back to Sacramento. After being in Sacramento for a total of about 50 (probably less) hours since before Thanksgiving , I think I will actually be in town for an entire week until I go to the Bradley Lodge for Christmas, simply ama...

I just got home from a great family cruise. Although sometimes difficult to say who we were traveling with ( see previous post ), we all had a great time on board the Royal Caribbean's " Liberty of the Seas ." On day 1, we all flew from Washington , Oregon , California , Utah and Texas and met at the Miami International Airport with our 30+ bags (that included carry-on’s) and went to our hotel for the night. Day 2 we saw our ship for the first time, it dwarfed the other 3 cruise ships at the Port of Miami and we knew we were about to have a great time on board. While at sea we ate some amazing food and even went to Johnny Rockets for lunch, climbed the rock wall, watched an ice skating show, played miniature golf and soccer, rode the FlowRider , tried our luck in the Casino, admired the nightly towel animals, worked out at an amazing gym and of course relaxed in the sun and around the pools. At the ports we saw friends in San Juan, Puerto Rico , while visiting an old...

Just wanted to let everyone know that Bayside will again be offering Christmas Eve services well before Christmas this year. The 13 services , beginning on Thursday, December 18th will run through Christmas Eve and should be awesome.

I got home last night and that began my 36 hours in Sacramento before flying to Miami for the family cruise . For my last night on the road I went to Alioto’s on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco , an upgrade from the previous nights of eating in the room. I had some great homemade New England Style Clam Chowder and Lobster Thermidor , which is lobster sautéed in butter, onions, mushrooms, white wine & a light cream sauce and served with rice. It was really good. Last night I unpacked everything and repacked new clothes for the cruise, today I am off to work and tonight I am headed to First Covenant Church's " An Evening in December " and then tomorrow I fly out. It will be busy, but it's all worth it and I am looking forward to spending time with family and exploring the Liberty of the Seas . Oh and I might go to Las Vegas for an event the day after I fly back to Sacramento from the cruise. I t's a crazy life, but it's my life and it's g...

As I have mentioned in the last few posts, I have been (and will be) traveling a lot over the next few weeks and I just wanted to give everyone an updated and brag about my current hotel room. I went from my house to the Bradley Lodge to San Jose. The San Jose hotel was nice and I was able to have food from some of my favorite road restaurants ... In-N-Out , El Pollo Loco and Outback Steakhouse , the last two were both to-go orders that I enjoyed in my room while watching TV. Today I traveled from San Jose to the heart of the Mission District for an event at one of the largest non-profits in San Francisco , Arriba Juntos , which had some really cool murals on the building and the bus staff and I ate lunch at Weird Fish (it was really good), then I checked into what could be the nicest hotel room I've ever stayed at. I stayed at this hotel a few months ago for another event and really liked the room ( see previous post ), so I figured I would like it again. Although not the ...

It was another fun Thanksgiving at the Bradley Lodge . Between watching Luke explore the woods and hang out around the lodge, finishing cutting the massive tree into pieces , planting new trees, getting things cleaned up and ready for winter and of course eating we were busy, but found time to relax, play pinochle and enjoy our last weekend before the family cruise . In between eating and everything else, I also found some time to get to the Camp Connell General Store to do some work and my brother, sister in law and I also went to Erin and Eric's new house that is under construction, it will be awesome when it is all done in a few months. Then on my way to San Jose for work on Saturday, I decided to stop by my old church in Livermore ( Cornerstone Fellowship ) to see if they had a Saturday night service (they didn't when I went there) and they did, so I even got to go to church :-). Now I am about to leave for stop number one of the two week California Partnership for Pres...

As I write this I have just 10 days until I embark on Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas with family and friends for " Christmas Cruise 2008 ." Here's the breakdown: me, my mom, my dad, my grandma, my brother, his wife and my nephew (their son) . Next it's my mom's sister and her husband (my aunt and uncle) and their two daughters. After that you have my uncle's parents and one of their grandchildren. If you are not confused yet ... my sister-in-law's mom is coming with my sister-in-laws sister (and her husband) and brother. Finally, (and I hope I'm not missing anyone), the sister-in-law's mother's fiancé and his two children. But before I fly to Miami , there is Thanksgiving at the Bradley Lodge with the first seven people mentioned above, a Partnership for Prescription Assistance bus tour in the San Francisco Bay Area ( San Jose , San Francisco , Oakland and Fremont ), going to see First Covenant Church's " An Evening...

I went to a family wedding at the Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa . It was a beautiful setting overlooking rolling hills and vineyards. The cake was designed and made by someone who has made cakes for Oprah and other celebrities, it was amazing, and the wedding was great, featuring many children known by the bride and groom. Congratulations to Dave Blake Edwards (my brother's name + cousin's husband's name + my dad and uncle's name) and the new Erin Edwards.

I went to my first film festival, the 7Cs Moving Pictures Film Festival , tonight. It was great to see the creativity of some of the local film makers that are part of Bayside's 7Cs Digital Film School . Although I thought " Thumpity Thump " was one of the best, another very good (and silent) 30-minute film named " Hatched " was the festival's winning short film.

Sometimes we just forget to remember the sacrifices of those who have served our country, our Veteran's . It is difficult for many of us to imagine the horrors of war, the images that are ingrained in their minds for a lifetime. All we can do is simply say “thank you.” Thank you to the hundreds of thousands who have served, who have lain down their lives and to those who still serve. To those soldiers who keep our country safe and who continue to fight for our freedoms that never come without a cost. Thank you.

Well, it might seem like a great thing, when the 15 day cruise you are on gets extended by a day. Unfortunately, it was because some person on the cruise (average age 112) had some sort of a medical emergency as the boat was a few hundred miles outside of Hawaii on its way back to California. So the cruise will be coming home a day later than expected. What does all of this mean? I had to rebook my parents flights at Southwest (which originally meant upgrading to a full fare flight, but I just got off the phone with Southwest and they were willing to waive the additional fee - thank you Southwest!) and figure out how to get my parents from the airport to their house if I'm not in town. All of that, really isn't too bad, the worst part is the Celebrity Mercury might be infected with the Norovirus . That basically means that most public areas of the ship are closed and most of the activities are canceled. The good part, everything that you might normally do yourself (or want...

The first real storm of the season is in progress. Here are a few pictures from around the house.

So I'm working 12 hours or more a day (which is actually really fun), just wanted to show everyone the food selection and let you know that I probably won't be posting anything until after the elections when my life resumes. The home office, some paper, 3 cell phones and a laptop, what else do you need?

In an effort to keep up my one wedding a month streak, scheduled to end after attending a Santa Rosa wedding in November (and to resume again in April with a Clarksburg Wedding), I went to a Granite Bay Wedding. It was set in the front yard of a beautiful estate, with oak trees, lots of grass, ponds, a wooden bridge and tons of great people from Bayside .

I volunteered at Hope Walks today and although I wasn't feeling the best, it was uplifting to be around others and know that what I and 1,000+ others were doing would help kids throughout Africa and Cambodia . What is Hope Walks? Hope Walks engages the hearts and minds of our children to help others. Through Hope Walks we can bring hope to orphans who, like children everywhere, are deserving of care and simply want to be embraced with love and have a secure future. Hope Walks is more than a fundraiser; it’s an opportunity to learn about the struggles of others, to see how they live, to write notes of encouragement and to plant seeds of hope for the future. Pictures from the event - as you can see we started before sunrise, cheerleaders cheered , people got tattoos and kids made an incredible impact.

Glenn Packiam (Associate Worship Pastor at New Life Church , the Director of New Life School of Worship in Colorado Springs , Colorado , worship leader for New Life's college ministry - theMILL - and is one of the worship leaders and songwriters for the Desperation Band ) posted a pretty funny video on his blog today, I thought I would pass it along to those of you that haven't seen it yet. from Glenn Packiam's Blog ... This is a hilarious spoof video made by the brilliant folks at theMILL. Imagine that worship services were a sporting event, complete with commentators, stats, and worshippers with competitive attitudes that rival Terrell Owens'. Then watch this and laugh your head off.

I had the opportunity to attend an event in the Sacramento Hyatt Regency's "Capitol View Room." The views were amazing, so I thought I would take some pictures and share them with you. Description of the room from Hyatt's Web site : The Capitol View room offers a breathtaking view of [Downtown] Sacramento , [ Esquire IMAX , Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament ] the State Capitol and Capitol Park . The Capitol View room sits on our 15h floor with surrounding windows. Rich green and gold highlights the room's plush carpet. Outdoor balconies offer a chance for your guests to enjoy a spectacular view of the Capitol and the rose gardens.

Awakened , the Shore's Fall Retreat, similar to the Consumed Winter Retreat in February, was another amazing chance to grow closer to friends and to God. Alliance Redwoods Conference Grounds provided the location, while the Shore Worship Ministry Team transformed an old, cold (yet beautiful) " Tabernacle " into an amazing House of Worship (with the help of some Lincoln Brewster concert tour lighting and sound equipment, a trailer sized generator and a 24 foot Enterprise Rent-A-Truck ). Beyond great worship, we heard Curt Harlow talk about "Road Trips" and how, even when we may want to say "Get Me Outta Here" when life gets tough; if we just push through with friends and with God, we experience something many never will. We also got to do some fun things around Alliance Redwoods ... we flew through the forest on a zipline , climbed a " vertical playpen ," took some night hikes, bonded closer together as friends and of course went to Bode...

The Shore officially made the move to the Bayside Worship Center tonight. We had out grown our other room, when in just a year the ministry grew from under 100 to 400+ attending weekly. It has been great watching it grow and now it has room to grow even more both numerically and spiritually. Canvas "Everyone has a Story" truly showed that we all have a story. We all paint our canvas' or have others paint it for us - for the good or for the bad. It makes up our life. So the real question is ... what are you going to do about your canvas?

We spent the last two weekends at the Lodge , unfortunately week one's pictures did not turn out too well and we forgot the camera for week two's adventures. Week one we used a chain saw , so that was fun, we cut the tree trunk into smaller pieces, eventually we will cut split it into more firewood, similar to what we did a few weeks ago . For week two we had planned to continue staining the outside of the Bradley Lodge and get a few other things done outside, however it rained. We did get some stuff done though and more importantly we toured Bear Valley Village and some other places in Alpine County . As I mentioned we didn't have a camera, so the pictures below are the best I could do from Google Images . Entering Bear Valley Silver Mountain at Bear Valley Bear Valley Village in the future , like Squaw Valley Lake Alpine We also drove through Cabbage Patch, no not the kids , the Caltrans Maintenance station where they store snow plows

After meeting in a cultural anthropology class and doing a group project together, my parents have now been married for 37 years! In a world that makes lasting love seem impossible, they have been able to successfully raise 2 kids and 6 cats; they have lived in at least 3 states, 5 cities and 10 homes . They have gone on round the world cruises , been on countless missions trips to Mexicali and have been to nearly every state , many more than once. My mom started, owned and sold a thriving frame shop in both Davis and Woodland and worked for the vision services team that tested school kids eyes; my dad has gotten his master's degree , worked for Shell Oil , UC Davis , GE , SMUD , SAIC , Sutter Health and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratoy , and racked up hundreds of thousands of frequent flyer miles. It has been a busy 37 years and there are many more years to come, hopefully involving more travel and a chance to relax at the Bradley Lodge .

I just wanted to let everyone know that Thrive 2009 is fast approaching. Some of you may remember my posts from Thrive 2008 ( Day 1 , Day 2 , Day 3 ), Life Without Limbs and more recently the Thriving Musicians Summit , all were amazing and Thrive 2009 will be no different. In 3 days Bayside's Thrive 2009 will host more than 90 breakout sessions and have some of the most well known guest speakers and musicians including: Francis Chan , Franklin Graham , Nick Vujic and Lincoln Brewster .

So we took some large pieces of a live oak tree trunk and made them into firewood this evening with some help of friends and a log splitter . It almost made me feel like one of the Ax Men on the History Channel . Below are pictures of the progression, from tree to firewood . A living Live Oak tree ... the tree that was cut down at the Bradley Lodge ... a few of the logs we needed to cut ... splitting one of the massive logs ... a sample cut log ... lots and lots of cut firewood, getting ready for the 2009-2010 winter ...