Stay Classy San Diego
Hello readers of the Brutton blog!
The last two weeks have been a blur! I’ll bring you up to speed on the happenings in the Brutton household in a moment, but first, let me share a number with you.
513
What’s that number represent you ask? Is it a useless piece of sports trivia? Perhaps it’s the number of times I cussed at the washing machine yesterday? Could it be the number of diapers I have changed in the last month?
Well, keep reading to the end of the post and you will find out, but no fair scrolling early!!
On the Saturday after Thanksgiving the kids and I left for a week in San Diego. Sticking with the whole numbers theme . . .
Strollers – 1
Kids – 3
Checked bags – 4
Carryon items – 5
Lost kids, security mishaps, TSA patdowns, body screens, tears shed at the airport – 0
My sanity – questionable
Problems on the plane – none
My sanity – questionable
(Wait, I said that already. See, I’m loco. I traveled with 3 kids by myself. Don’t mess with me. I’ll cut you. Seriously)
In all seriousness though, we had a great time and had no real problems all week. The kids did great in the airports and on the plane and we arrived at our destination without incident.
We had a lot of fun all week. We went to the San Diego Zoo as well as Sea World. The kids had never been to a Sea World and they were pretty impressed by Shamu and his buddies. Mostly though, we just hung around the hotel and took it easy. We stayed at the Beach Village in the Hotel Del Coronado and it was spectacular. If you are ever looking for a great vacation spot, I cannot recommend it enough. The staff knew us by first name by the second day we were there and went out of their way to take great care of us. The villa was awesome and the views were incredible.
The hotel staff was able to arrange a nanny for me for the week, and what a blessing she was! After hearing our story, the concierge handpicked the nanny. Her name was Linda, and get this, her husband passed away when she was 30, leaving her with 4 small kids. She is now 72, and is an active member of the Shadow Mountain Community Church. You want one last nugget? She sings in the choir. So let’s just review, shall we? We traveled 1850 miles away from home, to a city in which we did not know a soul, only to spend the week with a Christian grandmother who had experience dealing with kids who have lost a parent. And to top it all off, she sings in the church choir just like Kathy did.
Remember that whole plan thing I talked about a while back? Yeah, still going strong.
All in all, it was a great week. I took a ton of pictures. I have uploaded them to Facebook and you can view them by clicking here. You don’t have to have a Facebook account in order to view the pics.
Permit me to publicly acknowledge my Travel Agent, Shannon Vessells of Vessells Voyages. She did a wonderful job of helping me narrow down locations until I chose The Coronado. If you have a vacation coming up, please consider contacting her. She can be reached at Shannon@VessellsVoyages.com
So before I wrap up for the evening, let me shed some light on the number.
So what does 513 represent?
Well, that is the number of times the replay of Kathy’s celebration service has been viewed in the last 2 weeks.
Told ya she was gonna keep shinin’!
Trina Stephens said,
December 7, 2010 at 10:33 pm
Mike, I had a feeling you guys were traveling and I have been praying for your trip! Sounds as if it was just what you all needed and God helped in the arrangements!
Nice to see the smiles on the kids’ faces.
513……….all I can say is AWESOME!! I’ve said many times you all will never know how many lives you have touched………the number is growing!
emily kuhn said,
December 7, 2010 at 10:46 pm
I love the coronado! What a great place! Super glad that you and the kids had a good time with a great nanny. Em
Debra Gleason said,
December 8, 2010 at 8:03 am
Beautiful pictures. Glad you guys had a good time.
Gretchen Reese said,
December 8, 2010 at 8:48 am
Hey Mike!! Sounds like you guys had an amazing trip… You met someone that was a gift from God to remind you of your dear Kathy. I am glad that you are able to move on a bit and keep her memory alive so well. I enjoy reading your blog.
Thank you
Jill Strange said,
December 8, 2010 at 4:08 pm
I’m one of the 513 since I was only able to view the first hour from work, it was my conference hour (Im a teacher right down the street from your church!) and I knew it was God’s plan that it even worked out that I had a break to be able to watch it. I was truly thankful that you were able to post it for replay. You are amazing! Thank you for reminding me with every blog entry that He is always at work. How awesome that your nanny there would mean so much more! Thank you for posting, I’ve missed you, your family and your testament! BTW, I’m one of the thousands who read your blog whom you do not know! I’m very blessed to have found it!!! Thank you.
jaime said,
December 8, 2010 at 8:26 pm
Glad to hear you had a wonderful trip with your children and were able to find a nanny like that.
M said,
December 9, 2010 at 9:39 am
I never knew Kathy..but her picture on the internet drew me to your blog. I watched her service and all i could do was cry. I have been a Christian for 15 years..but..I have battled borderline personality disorder which has stolen any sort of shine from my life. I watched as you spoke things about your wife, that I daily take for granted. I too am 32 years old with two small children and all the while watching I silently prayed..oh no lord, please don’t take me for I have squandered my time here. i live out each day in a battle for sanity and happiness is fleeting. I stared at Kathy’s picture and said Lord change me, help me to have this shine that she had, that I may be a blessing to my children and husband…I don’t want to miss a thing. I have all too often thought one day Jesus will heal me and I will be happy, but in the mean time this haze of depression has consumed my life. squandered my time with my children. I saw her birth date was April 10, mine is the 24th…we are the same age..it was a scary thing to see that someone so deserving of life, had hers end so early. I cried out for forgiveness for taking for granted I had so much time left to “fix ” myself and be happy…I took for granted time…Thank you for making your journey with Kathy public and allowing me to see her shine. it has caused me to be jealous for it, please pray that I catch her shine that I too may reflect the true nature of God and pour that into my family. I desperately desire to be more like him and less like me. As I type this I am even battling the selfishness of my post..”how dare I write this on the blog of someone who was so wonderful”..but my intent was not to draw attention away of such an amazing women..but rather to cry out and say I want to be like that, please pray for me. I pray that God would surround your family day and night, strengthen you each day and pour his love into your children just as he poured himself into your wife…what an amazing inheritance they have in her and with God. (you too). Any way enough of my blabbering.
Judi Reece said,
December 9, 2010 at 5:18 pm
Mike
I know some of the nurses that were touched by Kathy watched the service on line.
We would love to have a CD of her singing if you could burn one.
You can send it to me thru the hospital or text me and I can pick it up or give you my address.
We all talk about wishing we had known her before she got sick!
Praying for you John and all the family
Keep her shine going!
Nurse Judi
Mary S said,
December 11, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Great pics! Thanks for sharing. Will continue to pray for you guys and will remember your great strength and God shining through all of you.
Leona Hong said,
December 15, 2010 at 8:34 pm
The pictures were really good. Glad to see you all had a great time. Your family are in my prayers are you continue to move forward.. Thanks for keeping the funeral up. Being able to watch it over and over has keep Kathy close to my heart. I just wish I had got the chance to get to know her better.