Category: family

  • We think we’ve found it

    We’re at that 99% point in the house search. We think we’ve found a place in the city of San Diego that will work for us.

    It’s pretty small, only has two bedrooms. But it has several upsides as well. Well maintained, (a rarity for rentals in this area for some reason.) nice yard, pet friendly with a doggy door, washer/dryer, quiet family neighborhood, close to stuff, two blocks to a charter school, and some stuff like that.

    The drawbacks. It’s not as close to work as we’d like. Obviously, being a bedroom short means we probably can’t stay much longer than a year. But it’s a place. And the landlord is super cool which helps greatly.

    A bonus. Being a city of San Diego resident means we can get some resident prices that other county residents can’t get as consistently. The resident price at Torrey Pines is much more affordable than the non-resident green fee. Besides golf, there are other area attractions where a San Diego city address will come in handy.

    More on this later. Including pictures.

  • Buyers market vs. Sellers market

    Yesterday was a bit of a shock to the system. It’s not until you leave the Detroit area that you see just how different it is from SoCal. In many ways, the area seems oblivious to the deep recession (I’d call it borderline depression. If not economically, definitely on the psyche of the area.) 

    Walking through store is funny. While I’m certain that there are many people on the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, the stores don’t seem to notice. Next time you’re in Target on 26 Mile notice the posture of shoppers. It’ll indicate the confidence level in spending money.

    Clearly the housing market is polar opposite. You wouldn’t believe the sales pitch this lady tried to give us on an apartment last night. Not only was the apartment sub-par (worn out, horrible location for a family) when we were done she just said, “We’ll wave the application fee if you give me $100 to hold the place. But we can’t get you in until August 25th.” That’s the hook for spending $2000/month in San Diego? We weren’t impressed.

    The general pitch I’ve gotten from renting a house (as opposed to renting an apartment in a complex) is “this house would sell for $500,000 so we don’t think what we’re charing for rent is a lot. Never mind the fact that the person has owned the property for years and probably bought it for under $200,000. For us… this is like Michigan pre-bubble when there is a massive difference between what a place is worth and what the market will sustain. 

    We know this is how it is here. We’re not in denial. And I’ll even admit that it’s a little refreshing. It’s fun to not hear every newscast or front page story be about the economy or gas prices. In some respects I understand the “Nation of Whiners” comment. I think most of what we’re feeling is that millions of people have to bite the bullet and start paying down their personal debts. Having less personal debt automatically makes you a more aggressive shopper. 

    More housing stuff later today. We’re pretty excited about the next one we’re looking at. 

  • Move Update


    our big move    With the move just a few weeks away I thought it would be good to give a quick update on our move. 

    The Romeo House. We had a flurry of showings last week and only one this week. No offers, not much we can do, just keep waiting for God to reveal His plan. We are at the point where we really need to find a caretaker to live here until it sells. I’ll be the first to admit that I’d take a tenant as well. 

    The San Diego House. That’s a big part of why the whole family is going out next week. I am pretty cheap, so the expense has Kristen and I upside down. But we wanted to involve the kids in picking a place to live so they knew where they were landing. While we’ve not made a final decision we would definitely prefer to be in El Cajon, La Mesa, or some of the other town near th YS office. Lots more on that next week.

    Our moving date. I booked the truck to arrive on August 4th and leave August 7th. That’s really soon! We will likely be leaving shortly after that. School starts August 25th at the latest so we have plenty to do before Megan and Paul go to school.

    Megan McLaneSale! Yes, we will be having another, larger and longer, garage sale. Depending on the place we rent next week we may be unloading a little stuff or a lot. We’ve made decisions on a lot of inside furniture. But all the outside stuff completely depends on the place we’re moving. The more stuff we sell the more cash we have for decorating the new place and the less we need to pay to ship stuff 2300 miles. 

    The car. After 10 years we are selling the Camry. It’s been an awesome car for us. 136,000 miles and no maintenance issues. Seriously, a car wash and a fresh set of tires and its ready to sell. We’re going to sell it way below Blue Book too. Right now we are talking to various dealers about getting a new car out there. 

    The kids. They are super excited about going to San Diego to pick out a house. And I think they are ready Paul McLaneto move. Of course, they are sad that we are leaving friends behind and that they won’t be going to Amanda Moore anymore. I know I’m really sad that Paul won’t have Ms. Berringer since Megan had such a great experience there with kindergarten. At the same time they can’t wait to explore all the new things San Diego has to offer for them. 

    The job. Loving it. My co-workers are a blast! They don’t take themselves too seriously. The stuff that I’m doing, work wise, is perfect for me. It’s awesome to interact with so many youth workers around the country about our shared passion… reaching and teaching kids with the message of Jesus Christ. I’m very excited that the project I’ve been working on since I started are about ready to “go public.” There is a lot of stuff coming for this fall that just has me jazzed. Can’t wait.

    The hobby. A side benefit of having a job which captures so much of my passion is that I’ve now got new found free time. Before I had a job at the church and a hobby with YMX. Before YMX it was golf, coaching golf, watching golf, and doing anything golf. So I’ve been thinking a lot about what my hobby will be. I still don’t know. I’m thinking it may be golf… which would be right on schedule. I typically play a ton for 3-4 years then take 3-4 years off. I’ve not played much in the last 2-3 years… so I’d love to be in a league again. Maybe even go back to coaching if I can. 

    A quick addendum. A few friends were quick to point out on this post that while we won’t be seeing our Michigan friends as much, we’ll still be friends! The internet has made the world so much smaller. In fact, I’ve been reconnecting with high school friends via Facebook.  Between Facebook, blogging, IM, twitter, etc. While our proximity will be different, friendship will remain in tact. 

  • Finding a church home: The Prize

    Ladies and gentlemen, let’s look at the grand prize and see what churches in San Diego would get if they won the McLane lottery.

    The total package. This family of four churchgoers label themselves as “contributors.” They won’t just be bumps on a log at your church, they will give it everything they’ve got. Adam has a passion for student ministry and would love to be the best volunteer you’ve ever had. Besides helping with those crazy adolescents Adam is pretty handy with all technical areas of the church. He can create stuff, manage teams of volunteers, or just generally make all your tech stuff work. Kristen has served on church boards, lead small groups, and loves doing outreach to other moms like her. These bible college grads don’t just give their time, they give their money too. But wait, there’s more!

    Adam and Kristen don’t come alone, they bring kids. Their two children are the perfect addition to your kids ministry. Megan is entering 2nd grade, loves to make friends, and will make your children’s workers gush with pride. Paul is a fresh faced kindergartner who is 100% boy. When he’s not pretending to be Scooby Doo or a Power Ranger, Paul will amaze you with his intellect. 

    Could there be more? Why yes! Not only does this family come regularly and contribute positively, they bring people! This family is hard wired for outreach into your community. Whether you are looking for people to head up a major outreach event or just looking for someone to invite their neighbors, look no further.

  • Stoney’s Diet

    If I’ve done the math correctly, Stoney needs to lose about 10 pounds before we move to San Deigo. 

    If his crate and Stoney weigh less than 70 pounds, he costs about $350 to ship. If he is 71 pounds or more, he’s $480. 

    Of course, we are taking him either way, but $130 is a lot of money. So this week he started his diet plan. I switched him from Iams Lamb & Rice formula to Iams Weight Control. We also looked at the bad and discovered that we were offering him about 50% too much food each day. Even “better” is the fact that Stoney is protesting the switch by not eating very much. When you put that with the fact that we’ll be gone for a week and he always eats less and spends more time outside when we’re away… this plan may just work. 

    Aren’t you glad the airlines don’t make you pay more for being overweight?

  • Picture Post, July 4th 2008

  • Brave things

    brave heartToday we booked everything for our upcoming trip to San Diego. That’s right, I said “we.” The whole family is making the trip out to check out houses and get excited about the move. We leave in less than two weeks and will be gone for 8 days. After that it’ll be less than 2 weeks until we fly out to move “for good.”

    Megan (7) has started to feel what is happening. She told mommy today, “This is a brave things we are doing together.” I think that that may have come from a conversation she and I had on Saturday. I told her, as we worked together, that this was probably the last time we’d be trimming these bushes. She shot back at me, “Yeah, we’re moving and we’ll never come back here again!”

    The word “never” lead to a discussion about God’s sense of humor and how God was laughing at our move to California. Just a couple of months ago we joked that “We’d never live in California again, we just don’t like it. It’s not for us!” Who is laughing now? I think God is. He has a funny way of rewarding my “never” with a “Oh yeah?”

    I believe God calls us to recklessly follow Him. I don’t mean we are called as Christians to be fools. But I think we are called to have “stupid faith.” God wants us to put faith in Him beyond logical fact.

    And the McLane family is learning exactly how that works. We’re taking a major step of faith. We’re leaving the security of people we love. We’ve walked away from a job we loved. We’re leaving the perfect house on the perfect street. And why? Well… because daddy (me) is pretty sure God has called us to leave.

    That’s why we can look at these tough few weeks ahead with a smile through the tears. You better believe there will be tears as we pack the truck and watch it head down Bailey Street. We’ll hug one another as this chapter of our life departs for the next one.

    I know that the kids are sad. I know Kristen is sad. And I know that life will never quite be the same for all of us… because daddy is pretty sure God has called us to leave Romeo.

    Where do you go when you’re entering times like this? I run to the classics. I think of Moses. I think of Joshua. I think I don’t want to be Jonah. I want to look into God’s eyes (figuratively, of course) and say… “It’s a crazy plan, but I will wrecklessly follow You.”

    Everyone in our house is more brave than I am. Let’s be blunt about that. For me, there is little fearGun Show because I’m not stretching myself as much as they are. I know what San Diego is like and I know where I will work. I don’t have to start at a brand new school. I don’t have to find all new friends. I don’t have to find a job. But Kristen and the kids do. Heck, even Stoney and Lovely (our dog and cat) are more brave than I am. You don’t see me getting in the cargo area of a plane.

    We’re brave together. I like that about what Megan said. To be honest, it’s a good thing to be brave together. I want to take big, bold, crazy steps of faith together as a family. God has proven Himself to me over and over… I know I can trust in Him. And I love teaching that to my kids.

  • Santa = George W. Bush

    I don’t know what the rest of you did with your economic stimulus plan checks, but Kristen and I spent it. We were irresponsible, reckless, and unspiritual about it. We just flat out blew it on stuff we wanted. Easy come, easy go baby!

    Let me also say, I don’t know about you haters, but any president who sends me cash is my best friend. Bill Clinton never dropped $1200 from the sky on you, did he? Haters. Shoot, I’d vote for him again. 

    So what did we get? We blew our money on electronic toys, of course. And we bought over the internet, of course.

    Kristen broke our last two Sony cameras. I don’t know what happened but both cameras started showing us a crazy error message and stopped taking pictures. She got a Nikon D60 (The Ashton Kucther camera) For those looking to buy a sweet Digital SLR, this is it. And please don’t stimulate the economy of Ritz Camera or Best Buy. If you are looking for a sweet deal on your camera I have two words for you: Ebay.

    I got a GPS. I have a unique ability to get lost. And with all of my recent travel I decided it was time that I advanced technologically. So I went to Amazon.com and bought the Tom Tom One. Kristen and I tested it out last night and it works great. If you’ve not used a GPS lately, they’ve come a long way. This one talks to you in. (You can even buy Mr. T’s voice for $12! “I pity the fool who don’t turn right.”) It’s loaded with features too. With our upcoming move to San Diego, a place I’m always turned around, I felt like this was a smart buy. And it was really cheap! And to complete my geek fest, Tom Tom has an online community that I joined last night. Love it.

    For those who have received their “check that dropped from the heavens” what did you do with yours?

  • Paul is Dangerous

    father sonI see a ton of myself in him. But Paul is also himself quite unique. My son is awesome and I love spending little glimpses of time with him, just the two of us.

    Sometimes his shyness comes off as being obstinate. When he’s backed into a corner he squirms away. When everyone stares at him he drops to the floor. He has an amazing vocabulary and imagination if only you are patient enough to activate it. You can confuse his knowing exactly what he wants with stubbornness. For his age, he has an incredible attention span. He is thoughtful. He is polite despite what his daddy teaches. He loves being physical, punching and wrestling and climbing are some of his favorite things. He’s pretty good with a computer. He can navigate where he wants with the family iMac, google to search for things, remember all his passwords, master tons of games, and still dominate on Wii. Just ask Tom and Tim who witnessed Paul nonchalantly bowl 220 in Wii bowling. Paul fascinates me with his complexity. But in the end he is fairly simple, like all complex people. Meet his basic needs and he’s good to go. Food 24 hours per day, a computer, and his mommy is all he needs to survive.

    Dangerous Book for BoysI’ve been telling him lately that he is brave and fierce and dangerous. He likes that a lot. Recently, Cathy  (from YS) gave me a copy of The Dangerous Book for Boys to give to Paul. When I last came back from San Diego Paul looked at it, then I told him the title on the cover and his eyes got huge. He snatched it from my hands and ran off to his bedroom to read it. Of course, he’s 4– but he read it in the way a 4 year old reads. Every once in a while he’ll tell me, “Did you know my book teaches me how to hunt rabbits?” “Did you know?” On and on he tells me of the adventures he will have.

    I love going on junior adventures with Paul. Tonight he and I escaped for some “man time” to the park. While we were riding our bikes he and I were dreaming of climbing the high ladder on the fire engine. (They were testing it or something.) We talked about being brave when he rounded corners. We talked about falling and how much fun that can be. We talked about bugs and spiders. 

    Paul is dangerous. I think burned on the heart of every young man is a deep desire for adventure. Every young boy wants to do things a little dangerous. I’m just thankful I get to be here for him. And I can’t wait for the adventures we’ll have tomorrow. 

  • Because I’m pretty much amazing

    It’s impossible to wrap-up five years of ministry. There are too many memories. Too many good times. Too much fun. Too many 6:00 AM Bible studies. Too many tough times. Too many scary phone calls. But you can try. And some of my former students did a very nice job putting together this video for me on my last “official day” as a pastor in Romeo. They know I’m not sappy and teary. But I am sentimental… I love this video. It’s super cool.

    While ministry in Romeo has come to an end… two things are worth saying. First, I’m not done in ministry, I am not hanging up my Pastor super-hero costume just yet. Second, being done at Romeo doesn’t mean you’re going to see me on “Pastor’s Gone Wild.” I’ll be the same person when I wake up in the morning that I’ve been for the last 5 years. I have the same passions. I will think the same things. I will be invested just as much in the lives of students and parents. I’ll just have a slightly different focus and zip code.

    And the deal for these former students remains open… if they can survive the sex talk and other fun parts of pre-marital counseling, I’ll happily come back to perform their weddings.