We Had A Great Trip

Yes we did! It was a great time in L.A. Why wouldn't it be? We have 2 beautiful grand children there!!! (Oh yeah, their mom and dad, too). Seriously, seeing how they have changed was a lot of fun. Josiah is getting to be a little man and Lilly is soooo cute. She will look at you so soberly, then break out into a big smile with that big gap in her front teeth. You just want to squeeze her. Whenever she was unhappy because she had been disciplined or didn't get her way she would come to grandpa with her hands up begging, "up, up." Can you guess what I did??? Her vocabulary is growing but she still forgets who is who so most often everyone is "momma." So when she comes begging, "momma" your heart just melts. But her favorite word is "um" for "some" as in "I want some." It doesn't matter what you have, she wants some.

Sorry about not blogging last week. We were sort of distracted by Christmas and playing with all the new toys we got -- err, the kids got. Christmas evening we went to a Disney On Ice at the Staples Center. It was really good and Josiah loved it. Lilly was even entertained by it. Christmas Eve we went to Korak's brother's house for a little while then Joyce and I excused ourselves and went to a movie. That was a different evening for us, but a lot of fun. Then later Jana and I attended a midnight candle service at Westwood Presbyterian Church in Hollywood. And before that, on Friday evening, we went up to the newly remodeled Griffith Observatory. The evening was windy and cold but that also meant the smog was gone so we had a beautiful view of the city. And so it goes. We were busy. Came home early to rest!!! Actually we came home (Grants Pass home) on Thursday so we would have some time here to take care of things around the house. Our trip home was 17 hours because of a lot things: I-5 was closed on the Grapevine due to snow. After killing an hour and a half in Santa Clarita we decided to go around which turned out to be a good move because it didn't open until about 10:30 and then it was jammed with traffic. We detoured through Lancaster, Mojave, Bakersfield, and then back to I-5 -- about an extra 80 miles. Then we stopped a lot for breaks, a nap in Corning, dinner in Yreka, and gas a couple times. Long but leisurely.

This morning we worshipped at Allen Creek. It was good to "be back" and see everyone. Pastor Dan is doing such a great job. I said (and the search committee agreed) that we needed someone who could take the church to the next level. I think Dan is going that. We will return to Newport this week and get busy with the new year. As always this is a constant prayer request. I'll check in to see if you are.

A Full Week

Well, we packed a lot into this week. On Tuesday Jana and I went to see a taping of "Jeopardy." It was a lot of fun to see how it's done. Alex Trebek and Johnnie Gilbert interacted with the audience a lot, answering questions and talking about the program. We were there about 3 hours and saw 3 shows taped. They will air March 12, 13, & 14 (if I remember correctly). I'll remind all of us to watch on those days. You might be able to see us when they scan the audience. Jana and I are in the front row on the right side (as seen on camera). There is a left side where guests of contestants were sitting.

Then on Thursday, Joyce and I went to see a taping of "Wheel of Fortune." Again, it was a blast. The stage is smaller than it seems when you see it on television. Pat Sajak and Vanna White didn't interact with us as much as the people on Jeopardy but Charlie O'Donnel, the announcer, and one of the other leaders spent lots of time answering questions. Again we watched 3 shows being taped. They will air February 26, 27, & 28. Joyce and I are in the 3rd row pretty much in the middle.

And to top all of this, Joyce and I went to the Target World Challenge golf tournament in Thousand Oaks on Friday. We got to see Tiger Woods make a 40 foot birdie putt on the 9th green and then finish one in front. We also sat on the front row as all the players teed off to begin the round. I followed them for a few holes but not all the way around. The Sherwood Oaks Club course is absolutely beautiful. The houses surrounding it... well, they aren't houses, they are castles! The next day we toured the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley.

Then we went to church 1 1/2 times on Sunday so we could see Josiah sing in the program. What a week! It was great.


And there was time for some photos. Notice the smile on grandma and grandpa. Need I say more?

Pictures!

Here's our kids! Korak and Jana are the big ones; Lilly and Josiah are the little ones. We are having a great time with them.









They were helping decorate the Christmas tree. Lilly put this wreath on her head like a hat; pretty soon it was around her neck. Then it wouldn't come off! We thought we were going to have to cut it off but finally her dad got it at the correct angle and it slipped off. Josiah is in constant motion but he likes being a helper.






Josiah was in the children's choir at church Sunday. They sang "Go Tell it on the Mountain" at the end of the service. He is on stage with other kids and more specifically he is sharing a microphone with a little girl who was goofing off when I took this picture so she is not in it. They got in a little tussle over the mic -- trying to hog it, actually. The girl pushed Josiah to get him out of the way. I knew we were going to have an on-stage brawl but, no, Josiah did NOT push back. We told him how proud we were!!





Lilly is soooo cute! She has a gap in her front teeth so when she smiles she looks like an adorable old crone. She knows which button to push on a toy so it plays music, then she gets in the middle of the floor and dances.

Grandkids are Great

We actually left Grants Pass at 3:00 Tuesday afternoon and arrived in L.A. at about 2:00 p.m. Wednesday. We were a little anxious!!! Lilly is gorgeous, Josiah is handsome, both are intelligent, talented, and growing up too fast. What else would you expect a proud grandpa to say? We have been constantly busy with a few tiny down times. It's fun and this coming week will hold a lot of new experiences. More about that next time. Yes, we had rain last night and little mist today but it wasn't much to worry about. We attended church with the kids at Marina Christian Fellowship and I got to watch some football today (we haven't had TV in Newport and have often been traveling on Sunday afternoons).

Trust you had a great day, also.

End of Part 1

Perhaps our stay in Newport can be viewed in 2 parts. The first is getting acquainted and settled, the second will be getting down to the task of ministry and building. And these two are separated by a month in Los Angeles playing with our grandchildren. We are beginning the middle part now. Sunday was a good day -- 19 in attendance including a visitor from the neighborhood; our daughter Ginger was visiting from Salem; we received two ladies as members; and we partricipated in Communion. The church was decorated for Christmas with a couple beautiful trees, some wreaths, candles, and all the other little things that make it all look so nice. Saturday evening we had a "Hanging of the Greens" party to put up all those decorations. About a dozen people participated. We had corn bread and chili (guess who made the chili? -- uh-huh, and I'm told it was good!). A retired pastor from Salem will fill in while I'm gone. We are using the advent candles, lighting an additional one each Sunday until Christmas. I lighted the first one and volunteers are doing it the next three Sundays. A meeting of members after church elected people to various church positions -- and the leadership board. They showed ingenuity and determination to make things work and to look forward.

After the meeting, Joyce and I loaded up and headed for Grants Pass. We have a couple frantic days here and then Wednesday morning we turn south for LA (can't wait to see those kids!). I'll add to the blog each week for anyone interested.