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.