Cleaning up and moving on...

On Tuesday, around noon, the skies grew very dark and we had a "midwest-type" storm complete with straight line winds and driving rain. We had two very large branches break off from a tree close to Pastor Jose's house (our neighbor). There were also some power lines that went down and damage at the local airport. This morning, as the Hillcrest bus was packing up to leave, the cleanup crews arrived and started cutting up wood.
Meanwhile, over at the church, the kids were getting ready to leave for their next destination, Phoenix. Well, some of the kids were busy and others were playing...
The boys were a big help as they packed all the luggage and sleeping bags in the compartment under the bus. (Is this bringing back any memories for you former Hillcrest choir members???)
Unfortunately, the weather was cool while the kids were here in SoCal. Of course, it will be beautiful and warm this weekend, but they will be on their way back to MN.

It's been a busy week...

On Tuesday afternoon, this big bus parked in front of our house. The Hillcrest Choir had arrived in Fullerton! There was excitement in the air all afternoon, as several ladies helped to prepare supper for our guests and finish up all the arrangements for housing them. Our house and church turned into "grand central" where the majority of the people ended up staying. (Six girls, the choir director, and bus driver stayed at our house. All the boys and a few girls stayed in Sunday school rooms at the church.) The church parking lot turned into a giant playground at night, where the kids played tag and frizzbee. (Carefully avoiding the bus, of course..)
On Tuesday evening, the choir performed a wonderful concert of a variety of songs. The last time that Hillcrest performed here at CCC, was a band concert back in 1994. So we were all happy to be part of the tour destination this year.
These are the six young ladies that stayed with us on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. It was a change of pace for us to house so many girls at one time! They all wanted to stay downstairs together, so they could have a "slumber party." It was fun to get acquainted with these girls since we know almost all of their parents and grandparents. The kids were gone all day Wednesday, visiting Disneyland.

Enjoying our oldest son

The past three days, Jamie was attending a seminar in Long Beach. Since he was so close by, he came over for supper every evening. We have really enjoyed having him so close by after living so far from us for the past ten years. We all missed having Krista here these days, though!

A Busy weekend

This past weekend, our church was privileged to host a women's leadership conference. We had fun preparing for the event (in spite of some last minute glitches that made us very nervous!) and the attendance was quite good. I was asked to speak on missions, something near and dear to my heart, so it was fun to share. It was also such a blessing to have my cousin Ruth, second from the right, stay with us for a couple days. God is so good to bring so many friends and family to visit us since we moved!
While I was busy at the conference, Jamie and Mark were hanging out for their last day together. Last minute video games was on their "must do" list.
And Jim just kept everything under control back at the house! (we just got a new camera, so we have been having fun experimenting with it...)

He's back!

Mark came back home four days ago for his second spring break. This time he has been practicing on his parents-- doing eye and ear exams. Some evenings we see alot of "spots" after he attempts to examine us! And it is always music to our ears to hear him say, "Wow!Beautiful! Incredible vessels!" We are also learning alot as he is also doing patient teaching...
...complete with full explanations, diagrams and all! We are very proud of our family doctor!

Weekend Guests

We were happy to have a visit from some dear Minnesota friends this past weekend. Gaylord and Carol traveled this direction to visit several of his family members who lived further up the coast, and then honored us by stopping by our house and staying for the Sunday service. It was so fun to visit with them and catch up on the news from Fergus Falls. We had lovely 84 degree weather when they arrived, so they were able to enjoy being outdoors.

Downtown Fullerton

Last evening, we joined several friends and family members at Roman Cucino for a delicious supper. The restaurant is owned and operated by Jon and Christina Walla, who we have not seen for many years. (He is the son of Jim's cousin Lorna.) Christina and baby A ate with us, and Jon was even able to come and visit several times during the evening. We were spoiled with great service and wonderful food. After the meal, three of the couples came over to our house and visited for several more hours! Lots of laughing and reminiscing about Hillcrest days!

Sunday--Sunday!

We have just had a delightful weekend with a houseful of guests! Jim's cousin Dennis and his wife Sandy (from Seattle area), have been here visiting southern California this week. Dennis sang in church on Sunday--what a blessing!
Dennis and Sandy have been staying with her aunt Betty. It was so much fun to visit with her since she is a long-time native of this area. The weather was a lovely 80 degrees, so most of the time visiting was on the back patio. (However, Betty preferred the indoors, since the sunlight bothered her eyes.)
We had other guests that day as well (Jim's classmate Darwin; and Wade, the son of a pastor friend, who is stationed at the Marine Base close to San Diego). But the most special guests were our son Jamie and Krista, and of course Izzy the dog (who thinks she is human...)!

confused cactus

I think that my Christmas cacti (now the white one is also in on the act!) became very confused by their seasons when we moved from Minnesota! The red cactus bloomed in January, after Christmas. Then around Valentine's Day, I noticed that the other side of the plant was loaded with blossoms! So now, the first of March, we have all these red (and now also white) blossoms again! I think that the plants like all this sunny weather here. Or maybe the warmth, or maybe all the birds that are constantly serenading us outside the windows...
Who knows? I only hope that I can coax these plants to bloom for me again come December 25th!