Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was a good day for us, however, it was full of emotions and memories of our family that we would not be with on this holiday. Janelle and I spent the day reminiscing of past Thanksgivings with our families and wished we could be with them once more. Despite the many miles that distance us from most of our family, we were thankful to have some family here to celebrate Thanksgiving with. That evening we had dinner with the Pearsons and it was an enjoyable time. God has been gracious this past year and we continue to give thanks. For those whom we were not able to share thanksgiving with, we love and miss you very much! Happy Thanksgiving and hopefully we will see you soon! 

C. J. & A. O'Brien

~Our Thanksgiving Dinner~

~Yes, thats right, we had ham :)~

~A little cloudy, but still 65 degrees~

A Day at the Beach...

Last weekend we decided to go to the beach. We went to Santa Monica Pier and let Alijah run free with the birds. He loved playing in the sand and chasing the gulls into the ocean. We had a great time playing in the sun. By the end of the day, Alijah was plenty tired and ready for bed.

~The Beach-Walk~

~The beach and the Pacific Ocean in the background~

~Santa Monica Pier~

~Alijah was captivated by the gulls~

~The "Little Man" looking for a date~

~He was looking for sharks~

~He tried to walk on water~

~Those silly birds are trying to hide beneath the pier~

~A little muddy~

~Hiding out with the birds~

~Checking out the ocean~

~"Mom, I think I see a Sea Monster"~

~The beautiful beach~

Happy Halloween!!!!

Fuller Seminary hosted a harvest festival for the Fuller community. They provided food, a band, a hayride, games, and much more for the kids. Alijah dressed up as Darth Vader from the movie Star Wars. He loved his suit and was overwhelmed by the lights, noise, and people. We had a great time and look forward to the next festival.

~Mommy and Alijah~

~Our friends James and Amy and their family~

~Darth Vader and Grandma Pearson~

~The Festival~

~Darth Vader on the run~

~Darth Vader checking on the party~

~Darth Vader in disguise~

~The Death Star was full so he had to take another form of transportation~

~Like uncle Shane, Alijah loves music~

A Miner Reunion

To our suprise, some of my friends from college live in the L.A. area. We were able to meet up with them (Beville and Dave) and a friend (Chris) visiting from Denver. They showed us around town and we had a great time.

~Chris and Beville~

~Beville and I~

~Chris and I~

~Beville and his city~ ("L.A. Baby!")

~Chris and Alijah~

~Alijah learning from the soccer Master~

~Chris trying to feed Alijah a turtle~

The Voyage Begins and Crashes Before It Ends

On Friday, September 5th, we loaded up all of our belongings into a large Penske truck. Fortunately, we were not embarking on this voyage alone. Janelle's parents decided to move to Pasadena to be our full-time daycare. This decision provided an opportunity to travel together and to have some family nearby. (Which we are very thankful to have!!) Our journey to Pasadena, about 2,200 miles, would take us through several states which we have never seen before. We were excited to see the vast sceneries; however, at the same time we were very anxious to get to Pasadena to set up our new home. The journey from Wilmore to California took about five days.
Alijah would be an Adventurer's best friend. He traveled very well and enjoyed the short stops where he could run around and explore.
After a couple days we had a feeling that something would happen because the trip was going so well. That instinct (or one could argue an implicit grounded belief) came true. Stopping for the night, Wes (Janelle's father) misjudged the overhang of the hotel and ended up damaging the truck and hotel. Due to the damage on the truck, we had to get a new truck and repack everything. Despite this unfortunate event, the rest of the trip went well.


~The Mississippi River~

~Janelle and a Long Horn from Texas~

~Arkansas~

~Chris and a Long Horn~

~Alijah decided to sit on the cow's head~

~New Mexico~

~Alijah wanted to go for a walk in New Mexico~

~Low Clearance~

~Arizona~

~Arizona~

~The Mountains of California~

Moving out of the "Old Apartment"

On September 5th, we (Janelle, Alijah, and I) embarked on a life changing move that will surely have a perpetual affect on us as family. Our journey began in Wilmore, Kentucky, where we had moved just a year earlier. And suddenly, we were going to make a larger move that would have us relocating our family, jobs, and schooling to Pasadena, California. We were nervous and excited to travel to new country and experience the "hustle and bustle" of Los Angeles.

~The front of our apartment stacked with stuff.~

~This is our "old apartment".~

~We figured it would be easier to just box up Alijah.~

~Alijah decided to help us disassemble the couch.~