the fam comes to visit

On Saturday, we drove down to San Diego where we met my family. We surprised my sister (we actually were able to sneak up on her in the airport) while she was waiting for the rest of the family from Minnesota. It was fun to have a few moments visiting before everyone else arrived.
Soon the rest of the family arrived. (Mom was busy taking pictures...) We had a short time to visit together while awaiting the luggage. Then we shuttled my brother and sisters over to the dock where they started to board their cruise ship for Mexico.
Jim and I took the folks over to Coronado Island where we enjoyed a walk on the beach with mom and dad. The wind was a bit brisk but the day was sunny and pleasant. I kept reminding my mother that it was the end of January and there she was, strolling on the beach in the sunshine with short sleeves! (Back in MN it was below zero when they had left that morning!)
We also walked thru the gardens and the lobby of the del Coronado Hotel. The place was very impressive and the gardens were lovely.

more on our new home

This is our dining room, simple but wonderful for entertaining guests. The kitchen is to the left.
Come sit awhile in our living room and visit!

saga of the wall

This saga started with a desire for some color in the family room. The entire house (baseboards and all) were a neutral beige-type of color. Selection of colors for each room has been a job in and of itself...
Prep time is always the most tedious. I've been painting all the baseboards white so the color is more of a contrast. I do enjoy painting, but this little project really stretched me!
After the first attempts at doing a colorwash, with one of the three colors being a teal blue, (and seeing that the "attempt" was a massive failure!) I just decided to paint the whole wall teal blue and see how that looked...
We decided that the blue effect was too intense! Then we tried this "red effect" and liked it! We are both happy with the warmth that it gives to our family room. Little by little, the whole house is getting painted. Come and see for yourself!

Sunset at home

This was the beautiful sunset that we recently witnessed as we watched from our front porch (our home faces to the west). It was wonderful to watch as God splashed the colors across His heavenly canvas. What an awesome creator we have!

Christmas in January

Our Christmas cactus bloomed late this year! It was covered with buds at Christmas time, but it wasn't until January 2nd that it actually started to bloom. We have been blessed with the vibrant flowers all this month.
What a treat to have all this floral color during the winter months! Actually, we are quite privilaged to have greenery growing all around our house here in California. We only lost two plants (so far) to the frost that gripped our state last week. (That was the one night that I didn't bother to cover my plants outside...oops!)

Sunset at the beach

We miss the gorgeous sunsets that we used to see in the midwest. But we are enjoying being close enough to go to the ocean beach and watch the sun set. We live only about 30 minutes from Huntington Beach. An easy drive for us. Maybe when summer comes we'll do breakfast on the beach...

What is it about the waves that always makes us stand in awe?

I'm reminded of the song by Samuel Francis

"O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!

Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me,

Underneath me, all around me, is the current of His love,

Leading onward, leading homeward to my glorious rest above."

Our patio

We have a beautiful patio in back of our home. My father made a swing that we rarely enjoyed while we lived in a colder, mosquito-filled climate, but can use much more often here in California. Gradually I am planting flowers in the patio area to give it more color. I'll keep you posted...
M&B enjoying some time on the swing. Even Sammy got in on the act!

Our house has sold!

This was the scene in front of our house in Fergus Falls on Nov 11th as we were helped by many dear friends and family members to load up the moving truck. (It already seems like a long time ago! In fact, today as I had to write down my former address, I had to think hard before I could recall it! Is that age, or maybe I have truly moved on..?) That day back in November was a cold 21 degrees. Today we are looking at highs of close to 80!
We are happy to report that our house back in Fergus has been sold. Praise God! The closing date was last Friday. This is the front of our new home. We are now settled and enjoying life "where the palm trees sway!"

After the Parade

After the Rose Parade, we were hosted to a lovely dinner by Jim's cousin and her family. While the men slept, we girls talked and laughed and took pics! It was so fun to be together again after all these years. We reminisced alot about the years that we spent together in Africa.
That afternoon, we drove up to our son J's house where we spent the night. In the morning, J was happy to have his dad help him build a new shelf for his living room. J did a great job designing and building.
This is the newest addition to the family! Izzy was J's birthday present from his lovely wife! We have all fallen in love with her and she is quite spoiled...
Thirty-two years strong!!! K made the delicious angel food cake and hosted the family for a birthday celebration. (Great job and thanks K!)

Rose Parade 2007

Before 8AM, we joined friends from Immanuel church (and thousands of other spectators) on Colorado Blvd to watch the Rose Parade. The temp was in the 40's so we were bundled up in coats, blankets, etc. Our friends made sure that we had front-row seats! thanks!

The floats were incredibly beautiful and the pageantry spectacular! It was a wonderful experience to see the floral creations up-close as they passed by.

The theme of the parade this year was "Our Good Nature" so there was a strong emphasis on mother nature and her seeming role on our earth. Finally, toward the end of the parade, a float by the Lutheran Hour came by presenting God's Great Nature! That certainly did "lift the theme of the parade to its most glorious level" (quote was from the program brochure!)

New Year's Eve in Pasadena

This year we were privileged to attend the Rose Parade in Pasadena. It was fun to celebrate together with cousins and friends. We older folks slept in more comfortable places, while A and S guarded our chairs while they slept on the street. It was rather interesting to weave our way thru the groups of people that were huddled around their heaters and tables on the sidewalk, waiting for the beginning of the parade in the morning. Life on Colorado Blvd is certainly interesting--and cold! (I was happy that I had kept my MN winter clothes!)