On This Good Day

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Visitors

Last week we enjoyed a visit from my (Marilyn's) MN cousins. Jane and Shirley and their husbands came to visit for a few days before they left on a cruise to Hawaii.

We did alot of visiting while they were here, but we also did some sight-seeing. One afternoon we visited the Crystal Cathedral. This is the first time that we've taken the tour and actually heard some of the history behind the building.

The structure and the grounds are awesome.

We even enjoyed a little shopping time in the bookstore...

Jane and Steve in the atrium just outside of the bookstore.

Next to the parking lot, we saw a large grove of Bird of Paridise plants. They are such a beautiful sign of spring!

Another day we visited the Nixon Library. The day was sunny, but a little bit windy, so we appreciated being inside. (Above: Roger and Shirley, Steve and Jane)

It was interesting to be able to walk among the statues of some of the world leaders that President Nixon had encountered during his time in office.

We were told the statues were made life-size from a light-weight substance, the clothing was real and then the figurine was "bronzed."

Our guests were very happy to enjoy the warmth and sunshine of SoCal and be away from the snow and sub-zero temps they had left behind in Minnesota!

On Saturday AM, bright and early, we accompanied the cousins to LAX where they boarded a plane to Hawaii where they would cruise around the islands for the coming week. It was a great few days that we had together and we really appreciated them taking the time to stop by our house on the way to the islands!

Thanks for the fun visit!

Monday, February 18, 2008

Family Times

Sorry it has been so long since I've updated this site! Work and guests have kept us very busy lately! Here's a brief summary of the last few weeks and some pics of the things that we've done.

On Super Bowl Sunday we were invited to M&B's house, and had a great time together cheering for the two different teams.

It was a great game and we all enjoyed the excitement! Well, I should say that Sammy didn't really get into the excitement of the game, but he did enjoy sleeping on a nice warm lap!

The following week , we headed for J&K's to attend a baby shower for Krista and baby Jayden. Krista and Kristen, the two "ladies in waiting" were beautiful mothers-to-be. Krista's mother and sister (together with several other friends and family members) decorated so beautifully for the party...The "Little Yellow Ducky" theme was even carried out in the punch bowl!We had a fun time meeting new friends, playing games, eating... and of course watching Krista open all those lovely gifts!

J&K received so many lovely gifts from so many generous friends and family members!

The gift that got the biggest laugh, was the "Pee Pee Tee Pees!"

(At least the two grandmothers had a good laugh over it!)

And then Jamie and his friend Tim found a new use for those little things...!

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Friendships Renewed

A couple of weeks ago, while Jim was in Minnesota, I had the blessing of a visit from some dear friends from Cameroon. We have known Blaise (in back) and his sister Carole (far right) since they were young adults in college. Now they are both married and have families of their own!

Blaise spoke at our church on the Sunday that Jim was back in the Midwest. He is presently studying for his doctorate in theology here in the States, with the intention of going back to Cameroon to help in church ministry there.

I had not seen my friend Carole for 13 years! She is now a mother of two (the baby in the pictures is her youngest) and works as a flight attendant, so is able to travel all over the world.

What a blessing to have our friends come to us when we can't go to visit them!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

A Rainy Week

While those of you back in the Midwest are enjoying your winter wonderland, we here in the Southwest are enjoying a week of cold, rainy weather!

My flowers need alot of attention right now, but at least they are green and growing!

We are very appreciative of the moisture, as we have had very little rainfall the past three years, leading to drought conditions. It has been wonderful each morning as I drive to work, to watch the mountains and hills surrounding us turn green and beautiful.

Our creator God is so magnificent!

An afternoon at Newport Beach

A couple of weeks ago, we met some dear friends at Newport Beach for an afternoon and evening of visiting. They are presently living in North Dakota (years ago they lived in SoCal!), and had traveled here for a warm weather break from the chilling temps of the Midwest!

The day was warm and sunny...

the surfers were enjoying the waves...

It was fun to watch the seagulls as the hovered around, looking for scraps of food.

The area was not crowded, it was perfect for an afternoon walk on the beach.

It was so fun to re-connect with Scott and Aida! We had a great time getting caught up on news about their family, church and neighborhood friends, and also the latest farm news from their area! But best of all, was the great fellowship in Christ that we've enjoyed for the past 12 years.

Of course, one can hardly go to the oceanfront and not eat fresh seafood!

So just before sunset, we headed over to the famous Crab Cooker for a delicious meal.

We had a delightful time! Thanks Scott and Aida!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

A Trip to the Aquarium

While our family was visiting, we went to the Aquarium of the Pacific.

Unfortunately, M&B could not join us for the day.

There was plenty to see, and we were glad that we had allowed plenty of timeto look!

This huge tank was one of the first sights that greeted us as we walked into the building.

Watching the floating jellyfish was mezmerizing!

One of the most beautiful areas of the aquarium was the Coral Lagoon. There we saw live coral (below) and thousands of exotics: colorful fish, seahorses, anemones, sea turtles, sea snakes and other marine animals. It was awesome!

We also enjoyed watching the seals, sea otters and puffins diving and playing.

The video below is of the stingray tank where we could actually "pet" the stingrays.

Below that video you can see some of the beautiful little fish that were in the tropical fish lagoon.

The most awesome marine creature that we saw was the Leafy Sea Dragon. It was so graceful and yet looked very fragile! Once again we marveled at the intricacy and beauty of God's wonderful creation!