May the peace of Christ go with you….

 We had the most wonderful last 36+ hours with Taylor on our trip to CA. Upon arriving in SFO, we got our rental car (so thankful for the minivan the rental place gave us so that we did not have to strap a giant bike on top of the car!), and we drove to San Francisco to take Liam out to lunch. It was so good to see him. and he gave Taylor some good tips on putting himself out there to make friends and dive in. We then drove to Boulder Creek (about ½ an hour from Santa Cruz) and had the warmest welcome as we were invited to join the Koekers for an outdoor picnic. Their granddaughter Emma is transferring to UCSC as well and we happened to be there on the night they were gathering to celebrate. Pure magic. 

Move in was smooth this morning, and we made one more Target run to stock Taylor up on good dorm snacks before going down by the ocean to see some otters and surfers this afternoon. We had a great Mexican meal together and then had our ugly cries in his dorm room before heading to the airport. After saying the prayer “May the peace of Christ go with you wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors” for so many years, it felt especially poignant to say it to him again tonight before we left. 💛

GO BANANA SLUGS! 

at USF on Thursday afternoon for a wonderful visit to see Liam 

a magical picnic with the Koekers in Boulder Creek Thursday night 

Friday morning run at Henry Cowell State Park with these majestic trees

He met a few folks already today during check in who seem very cool,

 and he was really excited which helped make the goodbye so much easier…. 

Taylor's college at UCSC

 (check out all these trees that are just a few of the over 15,000 trees on campus! 

  

   

the bike fits under his bunk bed! 

I pushed Taylor to choose some pictures before we left and these were the ones he picked for me to print out. It was such a fun job for me to turn them into wall decor for him while he unpacked :) 

with Aaron (one of Taylor's roommates) 

so happy to see this boy so happy.....