A-"Muse"-ing Thoughts

Doug Fields Leaving Saddleback Church Staff

Just announced... doesn't appear like there's any 'back-story' here.  Doug is leaving the staff, but will remain an attender, supporter, and speaker at Saddleback.  Sounds like a healthy transition.  Doug is leaving to 'speak and write'.

Here's more from Rick's Saddleback Family Newsletter...

Dear Saddleback Family,                       

As you know from watching our years of kidding and teasing each other from the pulpit, Doug Fields is one of my best friends and I love him like a brother. We have so much fun together! He really is as funny and sharp and brilliant as he is when he's on stage preaching a sermon that I've written for him. (Just kidding about that last part!)  

For several months now, Pastor Doug has been feeling the tug of the Holy Spirit in his heart to do something new in the next season of his ministry. I want you to know what's happening with him. In today's media culture, we sometimes feel the suspicion that we may not be getting the whole story" behind the news. Because of that, I asked Doug to write this week's News & Views to hear directly from him and I'll add my comments at the end his letter!    

Love Letter To Our Church Family- Pastor Doug Fields  

For the last several months I have sensed God leading me to something new and different. After a lot of prayer with Cathy, my family, Pastor Rick, and others, I have decided to resign from my role as a Saddleback pastor in order to follow God's lead. This step of faith has been difficult and I'm already feeling the painful loss. But, as difficult as it is, both Cathy and I are confident and=2 0excited in God's leading.  

As you might expect, Pastor Rick has been wonderful to me during the decision making process. He has been a pastor to me and I'm grateful for him. He gave me two months to continue to pray and be certain of this decision and even told me I could write my own job description to keep me on staff-that was so gracious. And once I was confident of God's will, Rick gave me his unconditional support. Neither Rick nor any of the other pastors wanted me to leave staff, but they obviously understand how God can prompt us toward something new.  

What am I going to do? Well, there's not another specific job" that I'm departing to, but I am leaving staff to pursue some incredible opportunities to express my writing and teaching gifts. What I'm really doing is what I've taught you to do-listen for God's whisper and obey it! Several people have said, You're crazy to leave a secure Saddleback Church job during this unstable market." Humanly speaking, they're right... following God doesn't always make sense, but I know I need to do the right thing: listen and obey.  

I can't even begin to put into words how=2 0grateful I am for my 18 years serving at our church. I came here as a 28 year old youth pastor with a desire to love God, love others and help build Saddleback Church. I have so many great memories and friendships and wonderful feelings confirming God used me here. These have been incredible years for me! From working with teenagers to teaching adults to building the Refinery to starting Fuel to becoming closer to Jesus to hiding all of Rick's disgusting Hawaiian shirts. It has been quite a ride! I am a better person and deeper thinker and a more committed follower of Jesus because of my job and my interactions with the wonderful people at Saddleback Church. When I think of our church I know I am richly blessed indeed.  If you didn't get to read my dedication to you in my book Refuel, here's what I said".  

DEDICATION: I would like to dedicate this book to the people who call Saddleback Church their home. I love being one of your pastors! I love teaching you the Bible. I love your passion for learning. I love your concern for your neighbors. I love your commitment to pursuing God in all areas of your lives. I love your dedication to giving-and giving generously. I love talking to you and hearing about what God is doing in your lives. I love you!  

As a family, Saddleback Church will continue to be our church home. Our best friends are here... our small group... and our ministry is here. I'm not resigning from church, just my staff position. My kids will be involved in the high school ministry, Cathy is leading a small group of teenage girls, and I will occasionally fill-in and preach for Pastor Rick and teach in the high school ministry.              

Well, there it is--that's the whole story in a nutshell. Rick and I and the other church Elders wanted you to hear this news directly from me. Unfortunately, many times when a pastor leaves a staff position there are crazy rumors that start flying around. That shouldn't happen here, because there's nothing wrong and I'm not upset about anything...actually, I'm thrilled to be able to leave with integrity and strong leadership support. So, now you can say you heard it straight from the horse's mouth (or the donkey's...whichever you prefer).              

This weekend, I'll have the privilege of teaching part 3 in our Life's Healing Choices series. Then, after our current series, Rick has asked me to preach a 3 week series in November. So we'll still be seeing one another... the biggest difference is that I won't have to attend meetings anymore...yeah!   I can't wait to see your smiling face this weekend as we open up God's Word and celebrate together!   So blessed!   

Pastor Doug  

My words of praise - from Pastor Rick          

I love Doug Fields with all my heart! In my opinion he has been the greatest Student Pastor in history. He and Cathy are dear friends and we've been through so much together while building Saddleback Church.              

Let's review: (1) Doug & family are NOT moving away. They'll continue serving in ministry here. (2) Doug is resigning his staff role as one of our pastors and will no longer have to carry the responsibilities and meetings of being a pastor. He's going to write and speak and serve the Lord. (3) Doug will continue to help me with preaching. He's actuall y speaking 4 of the next 9 weeks. Beyond that, there's no other back story!"              

When the beautiful Refinery was finished, I knew that Doug felt this was the capstone of the most successful youth ministry in America. Doug has raised up and mentored a generation of Student Pastors who are now taking leadership of our next generation of student ministry to the next level, and God is leading Doug to another challenge.              

Over the past 30 years, I've had literally hundreds of people join our church staff, become dear friends while serving with us, and then, after a while, leave our staff for a variety of reasons. As a young pastor in the 80s, I felt only grief when staff left. But now my understanding of how God works in peoples' lives is bigger. I've learned this important truth: God calls people through Saddleback, not to Saddleback. What that means is that God calls just the right person, at just the right time, to both serve our church and to learn from our church. Then he sends them out to other places as missionaries. We now have former Saddleback staff serving as missionaries in other churches and ministr ies all around the world. I call them our purpose driven agents!"              

This weekend, as Doug preaches, I am proclaiming it Doug & Cathy Fields' Day! To honor him for 18 years of ministry with us, I want us to pack out every service in his honor, and give him a sustained standing ovation before he preaches! Will you help me do this? It will be an historic week to thank Doug for his dedication to our church.

via mondaymorninginsight.com

Wow! At first when I heard this news, I thought it was a joke. What a huge transition for Doug and Family. I can't wait to see what God has in store for him next. God Bless you Doug!!!

Made My Heart Smile

So yesterday I was in charge of doing the Pastoral Prayer in the church service.  My family was there with me - my wife, my 4-year old daughter, and my 2-year old daughter... all sitting in the 3rd row.

I got up and said the prayer, and right after I said, "Amen" my 2-year old daughter said loud and clear, "Thank you Daddy!"

It was a very precious moment that made my heart melt.  And then after service 4 different people came up to me at separate moments and repeated, "Thank you daddy" with huge smiles on their faces and told me how endearing that was.  

These are the moments that are treasured and kept in that soft spot in my heart where I can reflect back on them during times that are more challenging.  Thanks MuMu for making my day and melting my heart!

I feel like a college student again

Well, I guess in a sense I still AM a college student... but I feel like I am back to those 19-year old freshman days.

Last night I got into a groove of research and writing.  Stayed up until 3:30 am working on my paper, and got up again at 8:00 am sharp this morning to get back started.

However, my body is not as young as that 19-year old freshman, so I can already feel that I will need a nap this afternoon.  LOL

But, I am very excited to say that I've been making great progress on my dissertation so far.  

A GREAT Gift from my wife

I have received an amazing gift from my wife.  One that is invaluable.  As I have updated, I am working very hard on my doctoral dissertation right now.  In fact, I am in my final year allowed to complete my doctorate degree.  If I don't finish it this year, I will be dropped from the program and if I want my doctorate degree I would have to start the entire program all over from the beginning.  That will NOT happen.  Christi has been so incredibly supportive of me in this venture - in fact more than supportive.  She has been the kick in the butt that I've needed to get this dissertation done.

Well, trying to study, research, read, write, revise, edit, re-write, etc. can be very challenging at my home right now.  Having 4 year old and 2 year old daughters is absolutely wonderful and amazing, but it is not the most conducive condition for getting the writing, research, and revisions done.  And, with my Nov. 1, 2009 deadline quickly approaching the stress level had continued to increase.  

Christi came to me with the plan for me to take some study leave, to go away to an isolated location where NO ONE knows where I am (but her, of course) and spend 4 days in isolation working on my dissertation.  What a HUGE gift this is.  I've just begun, but I am so blessed by this gift she has given me.  She is taking care of everything at home, ALONE, for the next 4 days.  On Friday, my family will come and join me and we will spend one more night away as an entire family - just enjoying being together as a family.  Then, to make this gift even more amazing, Christi put together an entire cooler of goodies for me - sodas, chips, candy, salad, cheese, and other snack items so I would have "fuel" to keep on going.  How is that for an amazing gift?  I owe her BIG TIME!!!!

Thanks Christi - you are my wonderful FLCE!

The Role of Parents in Kids’ Faith

As I’m reading Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults, the new book by Dr. Christian Smith and his National Study of Youth and Religion team, I am once again struck by how important parents are in teenagers’ faith.  Here’s a quote from Christian on page 284 that is so powerful I’ll just let it stand on its own for my blog post today:

Most adolescents in fact still very badly want the loving input and engagement of their parents — more, in fact, than most parents ever realize.  They simply want that input and engagement on renegotiated grounds that take seriously their growing maturity and desired independence.  All too often, however, parents misinterpret their teenager’s signals about renegotiated relationships as simple demands to be left alone and, for whatever reasons, they readily comply.  So just at a time when teenagers most need engaged parents to help them work out a whole series of big questions about what they believe, think, value, feel, are committed to, and want to be and become, in many cases, their parents are withdrawing from them.

via fulleryouthinstitute.org

Even in all of my doctoral research, I have found that the research shows time and time again that parents the most influential people in a teenager's life. This paragraph above is SO powerful and I wish that I could engrain that into the brains of many of the parents of the teens in my youth ministries over the years.

Parents - your teens need you and want to be engaged by you. Don't just dismiss them or give up. Treat them how you wanted to be treated when you were that age. It is easy? - NO. Is it worth it? - DEFINITELY!!!

The 85% Statistic is Back — and Pretty Strong Actually

You’ve perhaps heard the infamous statistic that 80-85% of people who become Christians do so before age 14.  We youth workers especially love quoting that data when we’re asking for a larger ministry budget.

There hasn’t appeared to be lots of hard data to back up that stat.  But maybe that’s changed.

Sociologist Dr. Christian Smith and his team at the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) have studied teenagers of all religious persuasions (Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Mormon, Religiously Indifferent, etc.).  He reports in his new book, Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults, that 85% of those 18-23 who have ever made a commitment to God did so before age 14.

Remember, the study includes teenagers and young adults of all religious persuasions, and it’s not entirely clear from the book what students mean what they say they have “made a commitment to God”.

But nonetheless, this is the best data I’ve seen in a while that supports that 85% statistic.

via fulleryouthinstitute.org

I've heard this statistic since I was in Jr. High. Nice to finally see some actual evidence for it. As always it remains a powerful statistic to me!

Dissertation Update

Well, it has been a long time since I have posted an update on the progress on my doctoral dissertation.  And since this week is a pretty important week for me, I thought I would share.  Also, I have had a few people asking me about it lately... so figured I would get it out there for everyone.

So here is where I am at:

* Required to be 8 chapters long.

* I've finished writing chapters 1 - 7 and am started on writing chapter 8.

* I've sent the first 7 chapters to the professional editor and received them back.

* I have the final chapter to write, and a conclusion.

* I have to edit all of my chapters, send back to the editor for final approval, then put it all together and send it to the doctoral committee for review.

Deadline:  Nov. 1, 2009

So what am I doing about it?  Well, this week I will be going away for 4 days on Study Leave.  The only person who will know where I am will be Christi.  I will not take cell phone calls, text messages, or emails from anyone other than Christi during this time.  I will spend the days writing, revising, editing, and doing whatever else I need to do in order to try and get this project to the state of "completion."  

However, once I send it in, then the doctoral committee will read it and send it back to me with any additional required edits, changes, etc.  Then I have about 1 month to complete the final edition, have it printed and bound, and sent back to them.  

Lord willing, I will be graduating in June 2010 with my Doctor of Ministry degree in Youth and Family Ministry.

Out of Site, Out of Mind

(And yes, the Pun was intentional for the title of this post)

Ugh!  What can I say.  I feel like a broken record sometimes on this blog about "I can't believe it's been so long..."  and "ok, I'm gonna get back to blogging."  

You know what they say about good intentions... well, I have good intentions.  But life seems to always get in the way.

In addition, you know the phrase, "out of sight, out of mind" Well, that has been my blog.  I have not been on my blog in a while, and therefore it seems like it has become a victim to that adage - out of sight out of mind.  I have SO much that I want to share.  So much that I feel would be good to journal about.  So much that has happened in the last 7 months.  So much I want to share with everyone.  But I've also been more busy than ever before in my life.  I've had more changes than ever before in my life.  I've had more challenges than ever before in my life.... and this blog seems to be the easiest thing to just ignore.  (and there is a lot of truth to that).  But, I also know that writing can be very therapeutic as well - and I LOVE to write.

So, what do I do with all of this?  Well, here is what I've come up with.

1) Don't feel so stinking guilty about not blogging as much as wanted.  Life is busy and guilt doesn't help get anything done.
2) Take some time out regularly to blog.  Writing is therapeutic and with all that is going on, it certainly couldn't hurt to take a few minutes every couple days or so to write what is happening.
3) Don't feel like very blog needs to be a novella - in fact, if they are, chances are no one will read them.  In addition, if they are, then I am more likely to put it off until I can "find time" - and that will never happen.  So, as Nike would say, "Just Do It!"
4) Relax, Enjoy, Write, and move forward.

To quote a phrase from a sermon I recently preached:  "You can't live in the past with all of it's mistakes, and you can't live in the future because we never know if we will even be there.  But, we must live for today - because it is a GIFT that God has given to us, which is why it is called the PRESENT!"

So here is to TODAY!!!

Book Review: "99 Thoughts for Youth Workers"

Book Review:  “99 Thoughts for Youth Workers” by Joshua Griffin

Review by Ryan C. Nielsen 

         Josh Griffin has written a small book that is full of HUGE ideas and has the potential for GREAT impact.  Josh is the High School Pastor at Saddleback Church in California and maintains a daily blog about ministry.  His blog, www.morethandodgeball.com , is filled with incredible insights, hints, helps, and reflection about life and ministry.  It is one of the blogs that I read every week.  “99 Thoughts for Youth Workers” has taken many of the ideas Josh has presented on his blog and condensed it into short snippets to help the youth worker in various aspects of life and ministry.

         There are a lot of aspects I really like about Josh’s new book.  It is organized in a very clear and concise manner.  It is laid out in short snippets, and grouped into topics making it flow clearly and allowing for bite-sized points to consider and digest.  It is a very practical book and addresses not just ideas, but practical living as a youth worker – in various aspects of the job, but also with personal and family life as well. 

         “99 Thoughts for Youth Workers” is separated into four sections:

1)    Vision and Leadership

2)    Programs and People

3)    Small Groups and Events

4)    Everyday Ministry

These different categories also allow for a focused look at the various aspects of life within student ministry.  I also love that throughout the book, on some of the “thoughts” Josh will ask some thought-provoking questions to help the reader meditate on the issue. 

         Just because something is small, does not mean it can’t carry a big punch – and that’s what “99 Thoughts for Youth Workers” did for me.  It is both an encouragement and a convicting book at the same time.  It has some great ideas to help me keep focused, to keep improving, to feel encouraged, and to share with others.  And it is definitely worth more than the $4.99 price tag.  Great book, great thoughts, and a great buy.  In fact, just to make it even more with the money, Josh included an additional 14 thoughts for free – making it not just 99 thoughts, but 113 (and anyone who knows me and my website, pastor2youth.com knows how much I love FREE!)  I would recommend anyone working in student ministry – full-time, part-time, volunteer, parent, professional, spouse, and even Sr. Pastor to buy and read this book. 

Purchase the Book HERE: 

Swine Flu

I saw this picture today and thought it was SO funny that I had to post it on my blog. (NOTE: No, I am NOT saying that the Swine Flu that is infecting people is funny, I am saying this picture and caption is funny)

Time Flies

Wow.  Where does time go?  I guess one big answer to that would be: "To the Children."  It is so true that a lot of things have changed since getting our foster daughters.  Balancing time expectations is one of the continual challenges that I face every day. 

I have a lot of thoughts that I want to blog/journal more fully, but I thought I would give a few highlights since my last blog:

*  Got back to work on my doctoral dissertation.  At the moment of writing this I have 2 chapters written and about 15 pages on Chapter 3 completed.  This is my final year to finish the doctorate.  One way or another I am done after this.  I WILL write my entire project and pray it gets accepted by the committee.
*  May 2nd was the 3-month anniversary of Christi and I being foster-parents to two amazing daughters.
* Celebrated a wonderful Easter with my family - including the first time ever for easter baskets or easter egg hunts for my two foster-daughters.
* Celebrated Christi's 31st Birthday - treated her to a 3-hour spa treatment, lunch together, and then a fun dinner with friends.
* Had "Youth Sunday" at the church - which ended up being a wonderful day with the students doing an amazing job, and many adults giving us all very positive feedback.
* We are getting ready to celebrate our oldest foster-daughter's 4th birthday.  Should be a blast as we are having a "Princess Slip-N-Slide" party  (full of pinata and all)!!!  She is very excited, and so are we.
* We found out 3 days before the deadline that the bio-family of our foster daughters has hired a lawyer petition for adopting the girls.  Needless to say, this is a very heartbreaking thing for Christi and me, and we are praying that God would do what is best for these girls, but do it quickly, and if they are to be returned for him to cover our hearts.
* I am currently the only full-time program/pastoral staff person at the church.  Our Sr. Pastor retired.  We are hoping to hire an interim pastor sometime before September (yikes, that's a long ways away) and the search for a new Sr. Pastor will take approx. 2 years.  (YIKES!)  This has caused extra work for me and an extra element of trying to balance life duties and work duties.
* I have the most amazing and supportive wife that a husband could ever pray for.  Just have to say - Christi is a saint (she truly should be given sainthood status, but since we are not Catholics I am not sure they would accept my application for Christi's sainthood)
* At the end of April, beginning of May, I went on a "Walk to Emmaus."  It was powerful, incredible, and God is really working in my life and heart.  Lots to share about this one.

Well, I know there is more that has happened.  But that will give you a quick highlight of the things going on in my life since last blog in February.  Man, Time Flies!!!  I am going to try and blog a lot more details about some of these things, and some others that have been heavy on my mind lately as well.

LONG Sunday Completed

Sundays like yesterday are VERY exhausting for me!  It is days like yesterday which I am reminded of the HUGE blessing i have in my wife, Christi, who is there to encourage, support, care for, and help me in so many ways. 

So, I preached my sermon yesterday on Genesis 2:1-3.  I even did it in the 20-minute time limit.  When all was said and done I was very happy with how my sermon went.  I got a lot of very positive feedback, including a huge thumbs-up from the senior pastor who also was excited about the breadth of scripture I brought into my sermon and the way I tied it all together.  I also had many people tell me I shared something new about the Sabbath that they had never heard before or thought of.  And I even had six people ask me directly if they could get a copy of my sermon.  Those were all so very encouraging.  I felt good about my presentation and the material.  I felt like I communicated well, was clear, and gave the personal application I felt was so important. 

One additional hard thing about preaching is due to the nature of my job.  See, on weeks when I have to preach, the senior pastor has one element of his job that he doesn't have to worry about that week.  But for me, I don't get to drop any of my "normal" youth ministry duties.  So, I ADD work to my week, and add work to my Sunday.  This makes it a lot more stressful and exhausting.  In fact, the truth is that yesterday, after church, my wife asked me, "what are you teaching at youth group tonight?" and I had to admit honestly, "I have no idea, I haven't prepared that yet.  I have 4 hours to figure that one out."  OK.... I admit, this is NOT a good way of doing youth ministry.  Preparing 4 hours before you are supposed to teach is not wise.  I figured I would pull out one of my many lessons I have written over the last 18 years, and since I've only been at this church for 1 year now I have a lot of unused material that I could revise and recycle.  And this is when I love my wife.  She encouraged and suggested to me a plan for Sunday night.  She knew some material that I had that would be good to use and need only slight revisions.  And so, we got home after lunch and she put the children down for a nap while I began to revise some material to teach for Sunday night. 

We didn't have a large attendance Sunday night, but we had a good core of students there for youth group.  I had set everything up, got my lesson revised, and also had a nooma video set up as a 2nd "option."  The first option was giving them a worksheet I put together on how to prepare a testimony (both a salvation story and a growth story).  Most everyone did both options last night and at least three of the students asked if they could share their testimony at youth group (Praise God)!  So, by the end of last night, i came home feeling exhausted and energized.  I also felt HUGE appreciate to my wife, who not only gave me some great feedback on my sermon, great ideas for sunday night, helped lead sunday night, but also took care of the kids in between church and youth group so I could make my revisions, take a nap, and be ready for the night.  I can't say "thanks" enough to her or tell her how much I appreciate her leadership, friendship, help, and love.

Preaching Tomorrow

So, tomorrow I am preaching.  I am preaching on Genesis 2:1-3.  I have REALLY struggled with getting this sermon written and prepared for preaching.  I just put the finishing touches on it, revised it for the 4th time, and now am ready to print it and go over it a few times so that I can stick in my head what I am going to say. 

There are a few reasons that this sermon has been especially difficult for me.

• First of all, now having two little girls running around the house makes it way more difficult than it was before to work from home.  It is hard to concentrate when every 30-seconds I am hearing, "Ryan...Ryan... Ryan... LOOK at this!!!"   They are cute, but it does make it challenging.
• I struggle at times when I am assigned a specific passage to preach on.  I understand the desire for this - to fit within the sermon series that is being taught.  But I also struggle with it on a couple of levels.  First of all, I like to allow the Spirit to speak to my heart and be allowed to preach on something that the spirit has placed heavy on my heart to share with the people.  Secondly, I know that the Sr. Pastor has an idea in his head of what he wants communicated with each theme - and my sermon may or may not communicate exactly what he was hoping, or what he thinks is important.  This makes it tough.
• Third, in this particular church, the way the services are set up the individual preaching the sermon is given a time-limit of 20 to 22 minutes to preach the entire sermon (and going overtime is a HUGE mistake here and people get quite upset if you do).  Trying to squeeze into 20-22 minute the material that I have been studying and want to share on this particular sermon feels impossible.

I am praying that my sermon is not choppy, that it flow smoothly, that it make sense, and that it has some clear personal application to it.  I don't want to come across as "look at me, I went to  Seminary and here's what I can do."  I want to share from the word of God and make it applicable and meaningful to their lives today - There is a reason it is called "The LIVING Word!"  I don't want them to leave still having the question in their minds of "so what?  What does that matter in my life?" 

I have attempted to do that in my sermon.  I am finally feeling better about where it is at, but I am also very nervous about preaching.  But, soon it will be over and I can update you on how it went. 

Baby Steps

One of my favorite movies to watch is the movie "What About Bob" starring Richard Dreyfuss and Bill Murray.  If you haven't seen it, I would encourage you to rent it and see it.  However, this post is not actually about that movie.... but an idea in the movie.  In the movie, the character Bob is encouraged to celebrate and rejoice over "baby steps" that are made.  And that's what this post is about.

It isn't about one of my two little girls learning to walk - at the age of 3 and 1, they both know how to walk already.  However, as they have lived in our home, we have seen some "baby steps" that are being made which make us very excited.  A big baby step for me happened the other morning.

I went in to wake the girls up and spent some time in their room reading books with them and talking.  Christi was still asleep in our bed (or at least still resting).  After about 10 minutes I had to grab my stuff to head out to work, and Christi heard me and hollered for me to bring the girls into our bedroom for her to watch.  So I brought them in and they climbed up onto the bed with Christi.  I grabbed the rest of my stuff for work and got ready to leave.  I gave M.K. a kiss and said "goodbye, I love you."  Then I gave Christi a kiss and said "goodbye, I love you."  Finally I gave M.M. a kiss and said, "goodbye, I love you" and M.M. said "I love you too!"  WOW.  This was the first time that M.M. has used the word "love" at all - and was a HUGE baby step to me.  Christi and I both had a look of shock on our faces.  Christi quickly motioned to me "don't make a big deal about it, just go."  To which I said, "ya.. ok... bye"  But my heart has been a flutter ever since.  One small step for M.M.... one Giant Leap of the heart for Ryan.  :) 

Valentine's Day at the Zoo

Christi and I decided to take our 2 new foster-daughters, M.M. and M.K. to the zoo today.  This was also our first trip to the local zoo. 

It was a wonderful day of looking at the animals and seeing the awe of our two little girls.  We are feeling quite certain, from their reactions and expressions, that these two girls have never been to the zoo before. 

Our 3-year old, M.M. was a bit nervous at each new zoo exhibit though.  She had a hard time understanding that these big (and sometimes scary) animals could not get through the glass, or the cage, or the fence. 

Once she had a few minutes, she would then enjoy each animal, but most of them made her nervous to begin with.

I never would have thought of going to the zoo for Valentine's Day - and it was definitely a different Valentine's Day than I have ever celebrated before - but it was a wonderful day with my wife and two girls!!!