Grateful

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me,

bless His holy name." (Psalm 103:1)

There are so many times in life that we feel very blessed. This past week we have sensed once again the blessing of the Lord--in several different ways. Let me explain...

On Tuesday evening, Marilyn joined ten other ladies from our church for an evening of fun! We went to a unique restaurant close by called The Melting Pot. The meal was actually a four-course dinner that was fondue! (except for the salads, of course) The first course was a cheese fondue with dippers that included various breads, veggies, and green apple slices. This was followed by our own choice of a salad. Because the food took some time to prepare, and our servers were not at all rushed, we ended up with over two hours of time when we could just visit and share with each other.

Following the salads, we were given a choice of several kinds of oil sauces to fondue our main course. We sat at two different tables, and we had three burners on the tables, hence we chose three different oils. Our main course consisted of meat: shrimp, salmon, pork, chicken, beef; and vegetables: potatoes, squash, mushrooms, and carrots. We were also given four different kinds of sauces to dip our fondue morsels in. It was very tasty!

And the best part was last...Chocolate fondue!

Some of us thought that next time we might just skip the first courses and go straight for the chocolate! (We had three different kinds of chocolate fondue, and they were all delicious!)We had such a fun evening and enjoyed each other immensely! God has blessed us with many new friends, and we are grateful.On Friday evening, we helped our niece Kari pack up her belongings from her apartment of the past three months. We have so enjoyed having her close by again. Before we moved here, we lived in the same town and attended the same church, so we saw each other often.

We are excited for her to be moving back closer to her parents and sister. But we will miss her! For our last meal together, we dined at Polly's Bakery Cafe. (We wanted her California experience to be complete in every way!) To finish off our meal, we ordered fresh peach pie. It was made with the juiciest, sweetest peaches that I've ever tasted! We are so grateful for the months that we've had with Kari. And we are so grateful for the Godly spirit our Kari has! Blessings on you, Kari, as you travel and as you begin another new job; we'll miss you!
On Saturday morning, we traveled with some friends to Santa Barbara to attend a memorial service for a dear friend. The day was a bit hazy, so the views of the countryside were not as good as they could have been. With the ocean on one side, the other side of the road was mostly vegetable and fruit farms. This is one of many huge fields of strawberries that we drove past.
This greenhouse, further down the road, was home to tomato plants. We also saw many huge organic farms in that area.

The ocean and the beautiful beaches on the other side of the road.

When we arrived at the church, we were able to visit with several family members before and after the memorial service for Edie (her son, Dan is on the right). Although the family is grieving the loss of wife, mother, and aunt, this certainly was a service of celebration of a life well-lived. Edie loved music; she and her husband served as musicians in all the churches they helped to establish. This woman lived victoriously in the grace of God, even as her mind was failing due to the gripping disease of Alzheimer's.

We were pleasantly surprised to see our good friends Addie and Lu (we worked together for many years in Africa) at the service. We had forgotten that Edie was Addie's aunt. They had a very special relationship with Marty and Edie so sacrificed time and money to attend this service. Over the years, we have watched Lu and Addie's children grow up and raise their families. We are grateful for the friendships that we have enjoyed over the miles and the years.

Marty will certainly miss his wife of over 60 years, but he is looking forward to the time when they will be re-united at the feet of Jesus, to worship the Lord who redeems and restores.

Once again we are grateful for the celebration of a life that was saved by God's grace and founded on God's Word. We are grateful that Marty (and we, also) can rest in the confidence, hope, and joy that our future with Christ is for eternity. The best is yet to come!

Twins Fever

We've had a very fun and busy weekend! We have been blessed to have had alot of family time; each moment has been treasured!

On Friday, our daughter-in-law Becky came to spend the afternoon and evening with us. It was so much fun to catch up with her and hear the latest news about their "house-hunting" process. We are also excited to see that her little one is growing!

On Saturday afternoon, J&K stopped by briefly before they joined their friends at the Angels Stadium for the Twins-Angels baseball game. You can't see it in this picture, but Jayden just got his second tooth! This was Jayden's first baseball game and he was dressed well for his role as a Twins fan!Jayden was also able to sit by himself for the first time in this little rocking chair that his grandmother had when she was a little girl.

The family was all set for the game. (By the way, the Twins won the game!)

On Sunday, following our morning church service, we joined several other family members for the afternoon game between the Twins and Angels. The Angels stadium is beautifully unique.

And of course, being southern California, the beautiful palm trees are in abundance all around the ball park.

These girls certainly enjoyed themselves during the game!

There were over 40,000 people in attendance at the game that afternoon.

We were surprised to see several other loyal Twins fans sprinkled throughout the sea of red! And we all cheered very loudly for our team. The Twins were ahead for most of the game, but alas, that winning streak did not last...

Every time the home team did something fantastic, the fireworks were blasted into the air and the loud yelling and music filled the stadium. It was actually quite impressive! Sometime in the future we will attend an evening game and get the full effect from the fireworks...and when the Twins aren't around, we will cheer for the red team...

Thanks to Kari for organizing this family event. We will certainly miss this "social secretary" when she leaves in a few days! She kept going strong during the game, even though she had just finished working three 12-hour shifts! Following the game, everyone (except J&K) came to our house for supper. We enjoyed several hours of visiting together. Then in the evening Kari, M&B joined us in watching the closing celebration for the 2008 Olympics.
The closing event was certainly filled with fireworks and fanfare. It was an awesome way to end a really fun day!

PS Weekend

This past weekend we were able to get away for a little R&R. We were invited to spend the weekend with our friends Bob and Jan at their beautiful home in Palm Springs. The weather was very hot (it reminded us of the hot season in Africa, and the city really reminded us of Maroua!), but we were thankful that we could enjoy the wonderful air conditioned homes and cars! On Saturday afternoon, we went for a sight-seeing tour of the city.

The view of the city from the surrounding hills.

Lots of palm trees and everything was green because the natural springs provide plenty of water for the city and valley.

A beautiful home and yard

Typical southwestern style

Another view

It took a bit of time and patience, but soon Patch, the dog, accepted us as part of the family!

Thanks Bob and Jan for a relaxing and wonderful weekend together!

After church and a relaxing meal with friends, we headed back home. Just outside of Palm Springs, is an area that is covered by wind generators.

The slow rotations of these giant turbines is certainly mesmerizing! We arrived at J&K's to find our sons very occupied with their fantasy football draft picks. Being the loyal Viking fans that they are, they were dressed for the day!

Even this little boy was dressed for the occasion! But he certainly had better things to occupy his time...

It was so much fun to see how well he can now sit!

Jayden has also discovered his feet!

Of course, the Olympics captured all of our attention also!

After a delicious supper together, we bid our farewells and headed back home through the Badlands toward the big cities.

When we arrived home, we were greeted by these visitors! Ronda and her husband Brian had come for the weekend to visit Kari (on the right). It was a special treat to see Ronda again, after five years, and also to meet her husband Brian.

Even though the visit was short, we appreciated that they took the time to drop by.

On Monday evening, Kari dropped by for another visit and also took us out for dinner (thanks Kari!). It is hard to believe that her time here in the area is coming to an end. In about a week, she will be once again packing her bags and moving on to her next assignment. We will miss her so much, but are so thankful that we have had these few months to spend some time together.

And we know that she is getting anxious to try out her new sandals in Africa! Our prayers and thoughts go with you Kari, as you continue your adventures!