Christmas Blur

Our apartment all decorated for Christmas

Happy Holidays everyone!  We had a whirlwind of events the last couple weeks, and are just now catching our breath and getting some rest. Here are some highlights from the week of Christmas and some pics of Christmas at our house.

1. December 19th-21st we were able to sneak away to Vegas to see my dad and his family for Dad and Tony's Birthdays.  Delicious steak dinner (I had a rack of lamb... mmmmm)  and some good conversation!

2. Christmas Eve morning we skyped family in Florida, where Brian's parents and grandparents were together for the holiday!

3. Brian joined St. Paul Lutheran for 3 Christmas Eve services later that night. I made it to the 11:00pm candle light service just in time after my shift at work.

4. We got to skype family in Denver Christmas morning, which made me feel like I was home with them opening presents around the tree! 

Some holiday treats I made to get into the mood for Christmas

5. Then off to Christmas morning service at SPLC, which was a delight with Christmas carols and beautiful poinsettias.

6. We joined Pastor Tom and Sue and their family for a Christmas morning brunch following the service. Delicious breakfast rolls together in the shape of a Christmas tree are a tradition for the Goellrich's. 



7. Back to work for me, 2pm-midnight, and Brian stayed with the Goellrich's for the remainder of their evening with family.

8. Sunday morning Brian was back in the pulpit at Shepard of the Hills, a church that St. Paul's is supporting this year with church services and pastoral care. 

9. By 1:30pm on Sunday the car was packed with camping gear and we were headed out the door to Joshua Tree National Park. 

I hope you all had a wonderful time with family and celebrating the spirit of hope that Jesus' birth brings to us this time of year!  We miss you all!

Our First Christmas as Rev. and Mrs. Ward :)

Thanksgiving

Yvonne made Butternut Squash soup that was amazing!

This year I have to work on all the holidays.  The group home I work at is a 24-hour residential facility, and many of the clients do not get to go home for the holidays. So instead we take them out to a buffet restaurant and to a movie, which is how I spent this Thanksgiving Day. It was a nice time with the clients, and really the whole weekend was pretty fun with them, since it was the holidays it lightened the mood of the place. As hard as it is to miss out on family time over the holidays, and to be living so far away from all my family, it felt purposeful to be with the clients who also could not be with their families. We were able to make their weekend as festive as possible, with hot chocolate, fires in the fireplace, and cookie making. 

Brian was invited over to many houses for Thanksgiving, and he ended up joining the first family who asked him. He had a good time with them and was able to feel the warmth and cheer of the season. In addition, a nice couple from church, Stan and Yvonne, wanted to share some holiday joy with us as well. So on Sunday they had us over along with a second cousin and his wife, who are around our age. They cooked a whole Thanksgiving meal for us, which we got to all help with. It was very festive and fun, complete with a game of bocce ball in the yard before dinner. It was wonderful that Stan and Yvonne remembered us for the holidays, and created a holiday meal for us at a time when I could join and didn't have to work.  I am very thankful for their thoughtfulness and generosity!

Stan cutting the big delicious Turkey!

 

Adam and Abby, originally from MN, now living in West Hollywood (Yvonne is in the background)

New table

 We were given a new table and chairs from a couple at church. I was starting to get a little tired of the card table that we were borrowing.  Though it was very nice to have the card table instead of just a box, it was getting to me that I couldn't have candles and place settings. Then all of a sudden last week a gentleman at church asked if we needed a dining set. I was so surprised that he had exactly what we were hoping for.  He and his wife brought it over that day.  It matches things perfectly in our house, and is a cute little table.  We were thinking we wanted a bigger table to have enough space to have a group over for dinner sometime, but this table works well for what we need right now.   Everything in our little apartment has come together so well!

Adventures on our days off

We have been busy here in California, and haven't updated the blog lately.  I will try to catch up with a few stories of our adventures to give you a taste of our lives out here.

Brian and I have Mondays off together and we usually try to explore something fun in our area if we have the whole day free.  So three weeks ago we decided to bike to Huntington Beach, which is the closest beach, and about 20 miles away.  Usually a 45 minute drive or so, but on bike it took about two hours.  We enjoy biking because we get to see so much of the city while we ride through the streets.  We got out to the beach and ate lunch at a restaurant on the pier called Ruby's.  We had a gift card, and enjoyed burgers and malts!  Then we stopped at a bike shop because we have been thinking about buying new bikes lately.  Surprisingly we found a bike we liked and decided to buy it.  We got to ride it home that night, and then had to return to pick up my old bike the next day. We are sharing the new bike, but I usually ride it when we bike together.  We still need another bike, because Brian's old mountain bike is really getting rusty.  But we love the new one and are excited to add a rack and other accessories to it.  I will try to get a picture to show you soon.

 
So then the next Monday we took our bikes and rode to a nearby state park to go hiking.  The bike ride was challenging because it was uphill to get to the Chino Hills State Park entrance.  And we got a little lost, so had to call my sister Alyssa to help find the trail head.  When we finally got there, it was great to see the views from the tops of some of the hills.  We have lots more we want to explore at Chino Hills, and it is fun that it is so close!  It's actually the same place we went last time, but this time we went to a different entrance, and it was nice and clear, so we could even see all the way to the ocean. It was a great day to explore our local hills and trails, and to get some exercise on our bikes!  More soon about our new table and Thanksgiving.

Happy Birthday to My Mom

Wednesday, November 10th is my mom's birthday!!  She will be (can I say it mom?)... 61 years old!  Since 60 is the new 20, she is living it up in her prime age right now. Just a week ago she was in Northern California visiting Napa and enjoying a wine tour with my dad, Guy.  Now she is back to work teaching, but get's the day after her birthday off! She says every year she gets the day after her birthday off for Veteran's Day. Enjoy your day off mom.  You deserve it!

Can you believe it was just last year that we were all together in Denver celebrating her 60th?  Just one year ago!  What a fun time. Here are some pictures to recap our big celebration.

To the most wonderful woman in the world!

Brian's Installation and we are busy!!

Last Sunday (over a week and a half ago) we celebrated Brian's installation to St. Paul Lutheran Church.  It was on October 31st, so we didn't expect a full house, but there was quite a good turn out of church members, members of neighboring churches, and clergy.  The music was fantastic, as it generally is with out music director, Chris Winn, and the choir and praise band.  Brian has been participating so much already in the ministry at St. Paul, so it almost seems strange that he is only now installed. But it is fun to have an event to celebrate and honor him as a leader in the church here.  And it is neat how many people showed up to support him and to show their appreciation for him.  They are very excited to have him, and we frequently get compliments and comments about their enthusiasm.  He is adding "youth" and energy to the ministry.  And the kids just love him! (as kids usually do... an adult who acts just like us, yippy!!)  The energy among the young adults at the church is really fun to see, and it will be fun to watch it grow over the next couple years with Brian's leadership. 

Since the installation, I have had lots of training for my work and Brian has been busy with church stuff. We are just kind of hanging on and getting everything done.  It's crazy to not even get a day off together in a whole week. We finally did get one day off together this Monday and had a great time.  I will write another post about our adventures on Monday.  Now Brian is at church council, and has a young adult event tomorrow.  I begin my workweek tomorrow, and will work 1-11pm all the way through Saturday. 

Santa Barbara and Family

Brian and I got to do a little exploring this weekend as we headed up the coast to Santa Barbara.  My Grandma Stanfield was there visiting my great Uncle Earl (Stanfield) who lives in beautiful Santa Barbara.  They were awesome hosts, and showed us around to the arts fair, dinner and lunch at beach side restaurants, a tour of the bell tower at the historical court house, and a quick look at a gorgeous Spanish-style Catholic Church.  We had so much fun hanging out with them and talking to them late into the night. Earl is 90 years old and sharp as tack!  He is full of knowledge and energy, and healthy as anyone could hope to be at his age.  And Grandma Carlene is full of adventure!  She is ready to see the world and feels free as a bird.  It was great fun to be with them both and encouraging to see the fullness they live their lives with. 

The View from Uncle Earl's porch. You can see the ocean out there.

Grandma at the top of the Bell Tower

Santa Barbara is a coastal city about 2.5 hours North of us.  It is flanked by the Santa Ynez Mountain range and the beach, and is nicknamed the "American Riviera" by locals. It is much greener than where we live, with trees and plants all over the rolling hills and mountains.  It is a very expensive place to live, and Montecito, a neighboring town, is home to many celebrities including Oprah, Kirk Douglas, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

The Catholic Church they showed us. It was too late to get inside, but the outside was very neat.

On the way home we stopped at a fruit stand we saw on the coast on the way up.  They were advertising 10 avocados for $1. We had to check it out!  We ended up with 20 very small avocados (that are delicious!), fresh strawberries, and some delicious tomatoes.  Yum!  We also got to pick lemons from Uncle Earl's tree, leaving us with a huge bag of lemons to think of something to do with.  At a church event last night a friend of mine also gave me pomegranates from her parent's tree. It is so crazy to have so many fruit trees around, with abundance of harvest that everyone is trying to give away.  I love it! 

Who could pass up 10/$1 avocados?

CHOC Walk

On Sunday I got to walk through Disney Land and California Adventure (Disney's second park in Anaheim) with a group of youth from the church for a fundraiser. The walk was raising money  for the Children's Hospital of Orange County.  We walked with Team Natalie, organized by a college freshman from church who has spent a lot of time at the Children's Hospital due to a rare seizure disorder. She is so passionate about the hospital and is energized to give back after all they have done for her.  She is a youth representative for CHOC, and plans to work in the health care field after college.  We had a great time at the walk early on Sunday morning. As you can see in the pics, it was a little overcast and misty again.  The Californians said it was "raining" but I assure you it was not. Just misting a bit :)  Fun times.

I started my job!

You may have noticed that there haven't been many blog posts lately. Previously, I was writing quite frequently since I was waiting around without much to do.  Last Monday, however, I began my job at Crittenton Services for Children and Families.  It is an organization that works in many areas with at-risk children and families, including foster care, Wraparound services, group homes, and therapeutic services.  I work at the Valley View location in Orange County, which is 2.5 miles down Harbor from our apartment.  Valley View campus is four cottages that each hold up to 14 girls and several babies. The girls are there for several different reasons, mostly for breaking laws or having delinquency problems either at school or at home. A small minority of the girls are there for Child Protection cases, meaning there is a situation with their parents or foster parents or they are in a transition between caregivers. 

My job is Team Leader with the residential counseling staff. There are two team leaders per cottage (on opposite shifts) and a unit supervisor, along with 2 residential staff on each shift.  So far I really enjoy all the staff in my cottage, and feel really comfortable with the position.  The group home runs very similarly to my previous job in Minneapolis at St. Joseph's Home for Children. I am so happy I found a job so quickly, and it is in a field I really enjoy working in. I have never lived so close to work either, so I feel that we are just in the right spot at the right time here.

Things are going so smoothly for Brian and I here in California.  I suppose this is a good place for us to be, after a long transition this summer, we are rewarded with a great church, and a great job for me in a great community.  I suppose we were just waiting for everything to fall into place for us, and now it has!  Thank you all for your encouragement and support over the summer as we were waiting to get to where we are now.

Oh, and it's official now: I am a California Resident!

Mom was worried about the safety of my identity, so I blocked cropped out the important information :)

Call Us The Rainmakers

Don't believe the rumors you hear that it never rains in Southern California.  75 degrees and sunny all year round?  Lies.  All lies.  And the So. Cal. residents don't even know the truth.  "This weather is SO unusual for us," they say practically everyday.  When we visited for interviews in July is was a little on the chilly side. "Totally unsual."  When we came back for the vote in August, when it was sweltering in MN, the highs here were just reaching 68-70, and cooler at night.  "Not the typical August heat." Now I know everyone is saying that 68-70 is practically perfect weather, but not in my opinion!  I was visiting California this summer expecting the famed Sunshine and warm beachy weather.  I was hoping to have a suntan and wear shorts year-round. I left Minnesota hoping for hot temperatures!

And now, here we are, with rumors of outrageous 117 degrees while we were away for ordination, it is all clouds and rain. Highs reaching only 60 with rain falling steadily for 3 days in a row. We even had a couple days of patchy rain and lightening at the end of last week.  "Lightening" meaning an isolated wispy cloud situated directly over Fullerton, releasing bolts of lightening onto our high school and college campuses, while the rest of the sky was bright blue and sunny.  The bizarre storm left me scared for my life while out on a run on the trails through town. I thought I could predict the weather here.

On Monday we went for a day hike, hoping to reach the top of Chino Hills to see a spectacular view of the San Bernardino Mountains and Santa Ana Canyon.  The usual morning fog never burned off, and we proceeded to hike steadily into a thickening cloud.  Constant mist, mud, and wind was not what I had in mind for the day.  The "view" consisted of a small radius of our immediate surrounds: hiking trail and hillside. Beyond that was thick clouds and fog.  Brian's laundry that he insisted would dry that day once the "marine layer" burned off is still hanging outside in the rain. Did I mention he is a tad stubborn?  He insists the sun will burn the clouds off one of these days. 

Just call us the Rainmakers.

Bountiful Generosity

We have had quite a weekend full of church activities!  Friday night I joined the women of St. Paul's Lutheran Church for Ladies Night Out.  I was very impressed with the turn out, and had so much fun getting to know more names and faces of the wonderful people from our new church home! 

Saturday we were up early and off to the 2nd Harvest Food Bank distribution that St. Paul's puts on once a month in Fullerton.  A truck load of food was delivered, sorted, and distributed to around 150 families that morning! We helped with sorting the many different foods and produce, including onions, potatoes, strawberries(yum!), cantaloupe, and even buckets of hard boiled eggs! The families carried home quite a load of food.  It was impressive to see the St. Paul families who are dedicated to this ministry out there early on a Saturday . Next month I will try to remember my camera :)

On Sunday the women of St. Paul's threw me a wonderful welcome party! Everyone has been so welcoming to me since the very beginning, so the party was really unnecessary. But holy cow are these people generous!  I was so overwhelmed with their generosity and hospitality.  The party was just wonderful, and another great time to get know people better and to know more names and faces.  They are truly just a fun bunch of people to hang out with.  They spoiled me with grocery gift cards to Sprouts, Trader Joe's, and Albertson's.  As well as LOTS of cleaning supplies and pantry items like zip-lock bags and paper towels.  And many other wonderful things: hiking books, cook books, spices, bowls, flowers, an herb planter with herbs, homemade chocolate sauce, fresh eggs from their own chickens, fresh avocados from their own trees! 

And to top it off, a group of them bid in a recent church auction for a homemade quilt from a member, and also gave that to me!  The quilt is entitled "Minnesota Seasons," and is absolutely beautiful! How wonderfully thoughtful of all of these women to welcome me in this way. We are very happy here and excited to build deeper relationships with the people we are already starting to know. 

Country Crossing Re-cap

Minnesota to California, back to Minnesota, back to California...Let us quickly re-cap where we have been and what we have seen in our cross-country travels. 

After the ordination in Minnesota, we spent a few more days with the Wards in Mapleton. In Minnesota it is apple season, so I got to join Annette in preparing apples for applesauce. And of course with all those delicious apples around, we decided an apple crisp would taste good too!












Also taking place in Minnesota over the weekend was Shannon and Alex's wedding.  We were happy to be in town in time to celebrate with them in a beautiful setting at the Semple Mansion in Minneapolis. What a wonderful couple and spectacularly beautiful wedding!

We left Minnesota on Monday morning following the wedding, and headed straight to Wheat Ridge, CO.  A quick night with my parents, complete with cheese enchiladas and chile rellenos for dinner from mom!  Thanks mom!

Then back in the car and off to Vegas for a night with dad and Cindy.  We didn't rush the next morning, and it was wonderful to spend some time with my dad before getting back on the road.  Here's the sunset in Vegas as we were arriving.

We have returned "home" to California, and are settling back in, once and for all (for now). Exhausted from travels and overwhelmed by all that has transpired for us in the past several weeks, we have agreed to stay put for a while and get acquainted with our new community.  We have rested and caught up now with our weekend duties and chores, and are ready to take in all that California has to offer.

The Reverend Brian Ward

It's official.  Brian is called and ordained. We gathered with family and members of his home church, St. John's Lutheran, on Thursday night to celebrate Brian's ordination into ministry.  After nearly 10 inches of rain and still falling,we were reminded once again of our rainy wedding and our new trend of celebrating big events in the rain.  Many kind people made it to join the celebration despite flooded basements or washed out roads, and a very meaningful event was created to welcome Brian into his ministry.  Delicious food was served by many busy ladies in the kitchen, and tables full of desserts were shared following the service.  So many people came together to support Brian in his ordination, and he reflected on the many who have supported him all along his journey.

For a nice blog post about the ordination visit http://stpaulfullerton.blogspot.com/ which is the St. Paul Lutheran Church blog. 

Riding along

A quick stop in Colorado for the night, complete with pasta dinner from mom, and breakfast in Denver with Jenna and Dad!  We all had yummy and cheap breakfast burritos, while dad ate up his spicy Mexican jalapeno biscuits and gravy. He is a sucker for biscuits and gravy!



Then back on the road for us by late morning on Tuesday! A long but good drive for us newly weds, revisiting the mid-west which we so recently moved away from.  We read aloud Eat, Pray, Love, listened to Radio Lab podcasts, and made it late into Minnesota with rain hitting us just an hour from Mapleton.  Lots and lots of rain now here in Southern Minnesota.  They are saying 9 inches of rain in the last 24 hours (which would be normal rainfall for 3 months!), and it is just now letting up.  More to come on Brian's ordination which is coming up this evening!  Think of him as he officially enters his ministry as an Ordained Pastor of the Lutheran Church!

On the Road Again...

You may be asking why we are so quickly back on the road after just settling in to our little haven in California.  We have two primary motivations for this trek, and several secondary advantages.  The first and foremost reason we are headed back to Minnesota is Brian's ordination which will be on Thursday in Mapleton, MN.  The second reason is the wedding of Shannon and Alex.  Shannon is a Ward side cousin, and we are happy to be able to make it to their celebration this weekend.  And of course as we travel across the country we get to see a lot of family members who live in the states between the West Coast and the Mid-West.  So after just a week and a half of living in California, here we are on vacation!   

First stop: Phoenix, Arizona.  We made it to my sister and brother-in-law's house on the Northern side of Phoenix by Sunday evening.  Chris and Alyssa, and their two dogs, cat, turtle and pet rats welcomed us to their home and shared with us a day of fun in the desert!  We spent Monday together mostly focused on food (good, fun, fresh, and sometimes Vegan food).  Alyssa is eating vegan these days and shared with us some of her favorite raw and/or vegan recipes.  We also did some site seeing in Cave Creek, a little area North of Phoenix that has some shops and local artisan work to peruse.

Monday night we adventured with vegan and gluten free bread. While I experimented with the grains and binders, Alyssa made a delicious sweet potato lettuce wrap dish, with chard.  Her coconut milk, lime, and herb dressing for the wrap was oh-so-good along with a warm piece of the bread fresh out of the oven.  It was all so good we couldn't stop oohing and awing all through consumption.

The evening ended with a trip to their favorite yogurt place, Mojo. Yummy frozen yogurt was eaten by all!

We had such a great time with Christopher and Alyssa, and we are excited for upcoming visits, since we now live only 6 hours away from them in the South West!   Many more food adventures to come!  Thanks for the great hospitality Alysstopher!  We love you!

An Inside View

 Welcome to our apartment in Brooklake complex. Clean carpet thanks to Brian and a donated vacuum from church a church member.

 Looking from our front door into the apartment.

                                                          

This room is self explanatory :)

Here is our new bed. For three months we slept on floors, air mattresses, futons, and many other borrowed platforms for sleeping.  Now we have our very own bed together. 

The most important part of any living space is of course the kitchen. We will spend lots of time in this space cooking together, possibly quarreling, which we happen to do frequently when we cook together :) Tonight, however, Brian got the kitchen all to himself to make some delicious dinner while I was busy blogging.   

Boxed Dinner

Tonight's dinner made entirely by Chef Brian Ward.  Homemade tortillas and fajita fixin's all on top of our very own kitchen table/box. We are in the process of acquiring a table, but in the mean time, we have this lovely box which serves the purpose just nicely. Yummy dinner with my husband!  As you can see, dinner was delicious!

Wonderful skillet thanks to Chris and Brittany.  Box/Table provided by the Lisells who bought us our pots and pans!

                                                  Have a great Friday night everyone!!