Fast forward...

My sincerest apologies for my blogging absence....life continues to move fast forward for Sean and I! It just seems just a moment ago I was blogging about the California fires (sorry about the blog delay ~ I asked you to pray....then NOTHING). Thank you so much for praying!! My "temporary" residence was spared, as was the home of my friends Andrea and Jim. In fact, with the winds slowing on the day I blogged, the firefighters were really able to make significant strides to save so many homes.

I am now at the airport on my way home for a quick weekend visit with Sean (it's American Thanksgiving), and the lady I am visiting with has just been here to spend time with her sister who lost her home in the fire. The reality is overwhelming as you hear about the homes that were lost and the challenges people are going through emotionally to recover.

So since I last blogged, I had a wonderful visit at home and was able to connect with some friends, enjoy two weekends with my home church community (The Meeting House Uptown) and successfully lead a real estate conference. Then I came back to San Diego and got sick....ahhhhh. Anyway, I spent 2 weeks in bed, but am feeling much better and am incredibly grateful to the Director of my program, as well as my professors and classmates for being so supportive. There is lots to catch up on, but it feels feasible. Most of all, Andrea, Jim and the kids took great care of me - often giving me a place to go and be loved when I wanted to get out of bed.

Overall right now, I am so grateful for the people in my life.....I wish more people were as blessed as I am to have the love in their lives that I have. Thank you to each of you who love me.....you make my life better.

Please pray!

Hello family and friends,

As I am sure most of you have heard, there are severe fires in the San Diego area right now (actually, from Malibu all the way to Mexico). The fires in San Diego are are the most severe, and I have just heard on the radio that my friends Andrea, Jim and I are among 500,000 in the area who have been evacuated. The fires have destroyed over 1000 structures, the majority of which are homes, and they are estimating another 1500 homes are likely to be lost today. At this point, they have 0% containment of these fires.

Those are the statistics, but what is most important is that people have been able to get to safety. Us included. We (the Moriarty's and I), left Solana Beach Monday morning before the evacuation request/demand had been made in our area. The smoke and ash in the air was already terrible and the fires were getting closer. Fortunately Jim's wisdom encouraged all of us to get out early, before there was panic or wall-to-wall traffic to exit the area. Jim was also organized enough to touch base with a hotel owner he knows near his office in San Clemente and was able to get a room with a kitchenette for the 5 of us, out of harms way. Praise God!

We watched the news online and on television yesterday, prayed, talked....and mainly prayed that the Lord would stop the winds as only he can do (yesterday they were measured as high as 40-50 miles/hr which was making the fire spread faster). We prayed again this morning before turning on the news, fearing the Moriarty's may have lost their home...and God answered our prayer!! Literally, the weather man reported the winds in our area were at 0 MILES AN HOUR!!! God lifted our spirits and gave us such hope in such a helpless time. The winds are increasing again, but gave the fire fighters enough time to get helicopters in necessary areas and start dumping water, which at this time, allowed them to slow the fires for now, which were heading directly toward Solana Beach.

To see the current status of the evacuation and where the fires are, please see the Relevant Links on the right hand side of our blog.

We are continuing to pray and ask that all of you join us in our time of prayer.

Sleeping in San Diego

Hello friends,

Just wanted to send a quick hello to everyone while we are together in San Diego (actually in Solana Beach) and enjoying each other's presence. The ironic part of finally having a California time away, is Carla is in the middle of midterms and studying all the time, while Sean is sick and sleeping most of the time. Oh well! We are just grateful to be together....Sean is enjoying encouraging Carla to study (see Carla's other blog), and Carla is so glad to be able to nurse her husband back to health.

Okay, okay....we were able to fit in some great memory making - dinner with Jim & Andrea, dinner with Carla's classmates, a few great walks, some fun breakfasts, and this pic is part of the view from our first dinner together after Sean arrived in San Diego - what a meal!

That's our update for now....

A Weekend Together

What a gift our few days together was!! We loved walking and talking and laughing together. And the weather was perfect for being in Muskoka! In the evenings we enjoyed some wine by the fireplace and played a lot of Scene It - a really fun DVD-based board game that is about movie trivia (and YES - Sean Wood CAN be beaten at movie trivia!!).

(these 2 pics are of the cottage, and the name of the resort of which the cottage is a part)

Sean even started the weekend off with a bang by picking Carla up from the airport and taking her downtown Oakville to the lake where they enjoyed an incredible breakfast picnic. There isn't much more romantic than a husband planning a picnic for two....

Carla's back in California now, but this time apart will be much easier to bear knowing there are only 16 days until the next visit. Sean will be in San Diego October 12th.....YAY!!!

Seeing your Spouse Soon....SENSATIONAL!!

We are SO excited....it is Sunday and Sean and Carla will be seeing one another at 7am on Friday....that is only 5 days away!



It is hard to believe we have managed to spend 22 days apart already....it hasn't been easy. The weekends have been the most difficult time for us both, but this weekend seems much more manageable since we know we will be together again soon.


When Carla gets home we are going to sneak off for a romantic weekend away in Muskoka...we are EVEN missing church on Sunday!! Don't worry - we are fitting in a quick visit with our parents, but other than that, it is ALL ABOUT Sean and Carla!


Anyway, we wanted to celebrate our near-togetherness with all of you and thank you for your incredible support. We feel your prayers and are grateful for each one of you!

Out of touch, back in California

Hello my nearest and dearest! This is Carla writing.....unfortunately Sean and I have been remiss in our blogging of late with all the exciting new changes going on in our life! I am now in Solana Beach, CA, and Sean is back home, at a wedding rehearsal for a couple he is marrying tomorrow. We are missing each other a great deal, but I know those of you who are near him, will be reaching out to say hi....and I would love it if you would do the same for me down here in Sunny California!!!

I am going to keep this really short and suggest you go to my travel blog to read my last 2 entries - it will catch you up a little bit - the link is on the right hand side of your screen, or you can just type in www.carlaincali.blogspot.com.

We will send some more updates soon.

Lots of love!!

Another Adventure

Well, we Woods had another wonderful adventure this week....we spent the day in Stratford!! Lunch, then watched "My One and Only" starring Cynthia Dale - it was so fun and FUNNY. The music was incredible of course (have you ever heard of the Gershwins????), the dancing was phenomenal and the story was fully enjoyable.

Post-show we walked and watched people and places, went in and out of the shops, met a Brazilian and a few Spaniards, drank a bunch of coffee and hot beverages, and just relaxed.


Oh....and Sean became re-acquainted with his Scottish roots!!

As we were heading out of town, we passed by the coolest concept...a restaurant, in an old church...so we stopped and went in for a leisurely 3-hour fabulous dinner in an incredible space. The food was delicious, our server was terrific and the ambiance was second to none....so if you are heading to Stratford anytime soon, make time to enjoy "The Church" for dinner. You won't be disappointed!

Toronto Tourists for the Day

As we prepare for our time apart as Carla ventures off to San Diego for her sabbatical (if this is news to you, stop reading and quickly visit www.carlaincali.blogspot.com, then come on back!), we have tried to plan some special "Sean and Carla Dates" to optimize our time together. We are eagerly planning for our upcoming adventure, but also intensely focused on loving one another more deeply than ever!!

So here was Day One of Summer 2007 Special Dates for us....Carla had massage and acupuncture for her whiplash (the acupuncture allows for a day of reduced pain fun, but don't worry, she is on the mend!), and Sean relaxed at home. We discovered Sean lost his wallet, so that took up a few hours of our day....arrrgh - fortunately no one used any of the cards!! Then our date began - a brief stroll downtown Oakville, and then into Toronto to the CN Tower for an early dinner at the 360 Restaurant. It was a wonderful 3 course dinner (all gluten free), with an excellent Cave Springs (Niagara region) Wine, with a perfectly clear day that allowed us to see the Molson Indy, the open SkyDome (I mean, Rogers Centre), as well as Uptown, Downtown and Center Island. Our server Stephen was great!! How wonderful to enjoy our city and sit face to face, enjoying conversation with the one you love.



We rushed off from dinner down the CN Tower in just over 2 minutes (amazing), and went to our super-terrific 200 level seats for the Toronto vs. Cleveland game. The game was exciting the whole way through - good pitching, great hitting, and excellent outfield play....more fun to be had....and Sean was good enough to let Carla snap a few pictures of him, the baseball fan, while he watched the game - WHAT A CUTIE!!




We hope you enjoyed sharing in our Toronto Tourist date - we sure loved the experience. What a great city we live in!! (p.s. The Jays won...8 to 6...YAY)

West Coast, turning 40 and back to California

We're back!!! Obviously blogging is not our forte, but we have had lots going on in the last 2 months and thought we would catch you up with a brief summary and pics...and this will be the new beginning of our blogging life.

We enjoyed an amazing few days with the Willows clan in Langley, BC at the end of April - it was a priceless time away and we are already wishing we could be back to visit them. Little Sean turned 11 when we were out West and we had a blast at his birthday party!! Meredith renamed Carla, to Carlie, and it stuck...Marshall showed us his never-ending array of talents. Sean and Terry had some quality "guy time", and Michelle and Carla continued enjoying getting to know one another. One moment as meaningful as the next. THANK YOU WILLOWS FAMILY - WE LOVE YOU!!

California was pretty spectacular as well. The MOSAIC conference was invigorating, and some quality Sean and Carla time in Palm Springs was memory making. We were even able to catch a few quality moments with Lynn in LA, which made the bustling city feel familiar and welcoming. Most of all, our time in Solana Beach with the Moriarty's was what made the sun shine the brightest on our time down South. Reid scaring Sean during his nap on the hammock, and then Sean scaring Reid right back was a wonderful way to start our time with them, and enjoying horse back riding lessons of Allie's, and her school concert reminded us of her ability to be great at whatever she sets her mind to. Jim was so generous with his time, encouraging Sean and hanging out, and Andrea - well she is practically perfect in every way. :) It was a wonderful place for Carla to celebrate her 32nd birthday....the whole trip made us want to come back for more...hmmmm, how can we arrange that?

We came home and enjoyed an intimate celebration of Sean turning 40 on May 23rd, which was really memory making. Just the two of us on the rooftop of the Hyatt enjoying a drink and laughter, then a couples massage at Stillwater Spa. We wrapped up our evening with a late dinner at Splendido...and splendido it was...champagne trolley, tasting menu with wine pairing...ALL GLUTEN FREE....incredible. This private time threw Sean off the scent of the upcoming surprise party we enjoyed on the rooftop of the Cardamone's place - lots of friends and family celebrating with us. Great food, incredible music, fabulous weather, lots of laughter, and most of all, a true celebration of the man Sean is and our appreciation of him, and of our friends.

What else you ask??? Well, a couple of weeks ago Carla was in a car accident and is off work right now with serious whiplash and soft tissue damage....but between serious medication (driving is not recommended!!), physiotherapy, massage therapy and some acupuncture, we're hoping she'll be back selling real estate in no time!!!

We will leave you with this for now....after all this....we are heading back to California soon. Our next posting will fill you in on the details!! (just to help you get in the habit of checking our blog regularly).

Our Intro

Here we are, entering the world of Blogging!!!! We thought we would start out by giving you a quick update of what life looks like for us these days...

Sean is continuing to serve Uptown Toronto at The Meeting House while pursuing his Masters of Divinity at Tyndale University College and Seminary. He is also exploring and dwelling in the wild world of iTunes and iPod. Sean continues to display his passion for his tropical fish, and the aquarium looks amazing! His desires for learning the acoustic guitar and hand drumming continue, but right now he is recovering from completing Greek Exegesis in his first year of a 3 year M.Div program (YIKES!!).

Carla is feeling much better lately - we have discovered some new allergies which should keep her healthier if she avoids them. Work is going well - in fact, she just returned from a week in Puerto Rico on a conference for the Top 1% of Realtors in Canada for Royal LePage. In her free time she is painting again, and even doing some leisure reading...it feels great!!

We are finally starting to plan for our trip out West in late April...first to BC, then down to sunny California.

We hope you enjoy our Blog and continue to visit us through the web, and in person when you have the chance.